A great playoff run to getting run out of town is wild. However, early leagues need owners like Calvin who has money and isn't shy on using it, so perhaps it's actually a blessing in disguise for the league in this era. I feel bad for Quebec though, I hope they get a new team soon. 

The yellow socks are definitely something though.

1937 MHL Offseason: On the ice

Notable Retirements:
(note: because of the deletion of the original file, some statistics and dates may be wrong or incomplete)

Daniel Vanderbeken - W (CHI 1920-38)
One of the legends of the MHL’s first era. Vanderbeken is the last player from the league’s inaugural season to retire, and was twice the league’s leading goalscorer, in 1926 and 1927. He captained the Wildcats to their 2 Abbott Cups, and had one of the most feared shots in the league for his tenure. His 309 goals rank 2nd all-time, and his 466 points, at least for the time being, are the most in league history. He will absolutely be one of the league’s first inner circle hall of fame members when it gets built.

Robert Smith - C (OTT 19??-32, NYB 1933-38)
Smith was never the guy when he played, but he was always a consistent point producer. Helping Ottawa win their Abbott Cup in 1931, he made a big move to join the Blue Birds after the Lumberjacks folded, and was one of their best offensive weapons for the rest of his career. Smith finishes his career with 192 goals and 290 points in 559 career games, a solid resume.

Transactions:

Boston:

Ins:
Jean Rheault - W (Rookie)
Lucien Bernard - G (Rookie)

Outs:
Jeff Apps - C (FA)
Ivan Davison - W (FA)
John Wilson - D (FA)
David Gagnon - G (MTB)

Re-Signings:
Joseph Levesque - D
Christopher Russell - C
Basket Parker - D

Boston lost 3 longtime pieces of their roster in the offseason, with Jeff Apps, Ivan Davison, and John Wilson being 3 of the most synonymous names with the franchise. Davison is their all-time leader in GP and goals, while Apps has the hold on the all-time points mark. Wilson didn’t score much, but was always a dependable defenseman. Joseph Levesque is their future on defense, and he was signed to a big deal. Rookie winger Jean Rheault has lots of promise too.

Ins:
James Whaley - C (Trade - NYB)
Simeon Edwards - D (Trade - NYB)
Christopher Rice - W (CHI)
Richard Scott - W (Rookie)
Ronald Wiebe - G (MTG)
Frank MacNeil - D (MTB)
Frank MacMillan - W (Rookie)

Outs:
Michael Ferre - W (Trade - NYB)
Earl Cyr - G (Trade - NYB)
Marcus Hall - D (MTG)

Re-Signings:
George Patchian - D
Wallace Harper - C
Anthony Sapnick - C
Michael Clarke - C

Brooklyn had one of the busier offseasons in the league, trading away star winger Michael Ferre and backup goalie Earl Cyr for elite centre James Whaley, young defenseman Simeon Edwards, the rights to rookie Frank MacMillan, and cash. Most analysts agreed that the Kings won this trade, so the reigning champs are looking even better this year. They also had key re-signings with George Patchian, one of the top defensemen in the league, and Wallace Harper and Anthony Sapnick, who were big parts of their Abbott Cup run.

Ins:
Herbert Schmidt - W (NYB)
Charles Wayne - D (WSH)
John Mateas - C (Rookie)
Louis Ville-Monarque W (Rookie)

Outs:
Daniel Vanderbeken - W (Retired)
Christopher Rice - W (BRK)
David Jones - C (WSH)
Neil McInnis - D (NYB)

Re-Signings:
Marcel Girard - W
Daniel Dyck - W
Roderick Racine - W
Alexander Walters - D
Gerald Quizzetre - C

Chicago’s big offseason news was the retirement of Vanderbeken, an MHL legend. It’s a new era in Chicago now, as they added some youth. Their biggest acquisition was Herbert Schmidt, a German-born winger who had impressive rookie numbers for New York in 1936-37. Their two re-signings secure their future, as Daniel Dyck has been touted to have sky-high potential, and scored 26 goals last season.

Ins:
Bradford Russell - W (TOR)
Adam Wilkinson - D (TOR)
Jeff Dezouvre - W (MTG)
Louis Pierre - G (Rookie)
Stephen Wagner - W (Rookie)
Raymond Tittensor - C (Rookie)
Bon Ouellet - W (Rookie)

Outs:
Steven Davis - W (NYB)
Clarence Labelle - D (Retired)
Simon Comeau - W (FA)
Thyge Hedeland - G (WSH)
Barry Mayne - D (FA)

Re-Signings:
Bentley Doull - W
Michael Fraser - C

Detroit had lots of turnaround this offseason. Steven Davis, one of their most dependable forwards, left for New York, and longtime defenseman Clarence Labelle retired. Despite that, they made some big gains with veteran winger Bradford Russell joining, solid blueliner Adam Wilkinson getting signed, as well as 4 rookies. Their two re-signings are most the stars, but solid secondary scorers that will be key parts of a season the Guardians will look to build off of.

Ins:
Jon Young - D (TOR)
Nesbitt Tacocat - C (Rookie)
David Gagnon - G (BOS)

Outs:
François Longpre - W (TOR)
Dim Meredith - D (FA)
Frank MacNeil - D (BRK)
Earl Cyr - W (FA)
Martin Mitchell - G (FA)

Re-Signings:
Michael Rourke - C
Michael Francis - C
William MacKay - D

Montreal didn’t have a super busy offseason, with their biggest acquisition being Jon Young, who is a middling defenseman now but has big potential. The re-signing of Michael Rourke was good too, as they locked down their offensive anchor for the next few years. All other moves were pretty minor. Not a big offseason for a team that collapsed last year, which doesn’t seem to bode well.

Ins:
Marcus Hall - D (BRK)
Gilbert Markle - G (Rookie)
Richard Carter - W (Rookie)

Outs:
Kenneth Lalonde - W (FA)
Jeff Dezouvre - W (DET)
Ronald Wiebe - G (BRK)
Tom Ash - D (PHI)
Corey Gravel - D (FA)

Re-Signings:
William Smith - C

The Greys’ biggest move was re-signing William Smith, one of the league’s best players. This should ensure that he will stay in Montreal for the remainder of his prime years. None of their new players will be instant helpers, but the future potential is very high. Longtime Grey Kenneth Lalonde did not renew his contract, so he will most likely retire if no new offers are made. Lalonde is a Greys legend, and will be missed.

Ins:
John Gilchrist - G (WSH)
Martin Rousseau - W (Rookie)
Robert Stratford - C (Rookie)
Anthony Gordon - W (Rookie)
Michael Cote - W (Rookie)

Outs:
James Urban - W (FA)
Harold Sutton - W (FA)
Oswald Williams - D (WSH)
Keith Powell - G (FA)

Re-Signings:
Lennie Triplett - C
Wystan Zenn - W
Mark Adams - W

The Scouts brought in John Gilchrist to be backup to Mike Whitlow, giving them a very experienced goaltending room. As well, the signings of Martin Rousseau and Robert Stratford give them promising rookie players for the future. Their three re-signings should all continue being key contributors offensively.

Ins:
Michael Ferre - W (Trade - BRK)
Steven Davis - W (DET)
Neil McInnis - D (CHI)
Earl Cyr - G (Trade - BRK)
Perry Johnson - W (Rookie)
Edward Bryner - W (Rookie)
Peter Perderko - C (Rookie)

Outs:
James Whaley - C (Trade - BRK)
Simeon Edwards - D (Trade - BRK)
Marcel Lavallee - D (TOR)
Robert Smith - W (Retired)
Joseph Kimmins - W (FA)
George Green - W (Retired)
Herbert Schmidt - W (CHI)

Re-Signings:
None

The Blue Birds had a busy offseason, with the big move being the acquisition of W Michael Ferre and G Earl Cyr from crosstown rivals Brooklyn in exchange for James Whaley, Simeon Edwards, the rights to rookie Frank MacMillan, and cash. Most reporters agreed the Birds sent a lot, though Ferre is a great player. Steven Davis is an underrated pickup as well, he did well with the Guardians in their playoff push. Time will tell to see if this offseason turned out to be good or bad, but the Birds are a team that rarely makes changes, so they’re finally breaking free of that.

Ins:
Tom Ash - D (MTG)

Outs:
Ronald Chabot - D (FA)

Re-Signings:
Wayne Robinson - D
Lionel Hansen - W
James Cash - D
Joe Hart - D

The Minutemen, having come off of a first-place finish, made minimal changes. They signed no rookies, and their only new player is defenseman Tom Ash, who will play on the bottom pairing. He’s not at the same level as Raymond Chabot, but he is younger and will grow along with the rest of the core. As for their young players, the big ones were all locked up. Philly was scary last year, and they’re not even close to their ceiling yet. They’ll be a team to look out for over the next few years.

Ins:
Henri Fortier - W (Rookie)

Outs:
Alexander Brissett - W (FA)
Bob Johnston - D (FA)

Re-Signings:
Stephane Crevier - C
Calvin Thomas - W

While their off-ice offseason was plenty busy, the Blues didn’t do too much in terms of players. They signed one rookie who won’t be an instant contributor, and neither player lost to FA will be too much of a loss. Their two re-signings were big pieces last year, and will continue to be dependable over the course of their contracts.

Ins:
Marcel Lavallee - D (NYB)
Oliver Morgan - W (Rookie)
François Longpre - W (MTB)
Wilfrid Sylvester - D (Rookie)
Russell Marge - G (Rookie)

Outs:
Bradford Russell - W (DET)
Adam Wilkinson - D (DET)
Melvin Stjelylai - W (FA)
Jon Young - D (MTB)
Gerald Lindham - G (FA)

Re-Signings:
Ajax Sorensen - W
Justin Turgeon - D
Claude Brown - C

Toronto made some notable moves in the offseason, with the departure of players such as Bradford Russell and Adam Wilkinson. Marcel Lavallee will have a big role on the blueline, and they hope that rookie Oliver Morgan can take on a big role right away. Ajax Sorensen was re-upped, and Claude Brown will continue on as a veteran presence.

Ins:
Oswald Williams - D (NAS)
Thyge Hedeland - G (DET)
David Jones - C (CHI)
Warren Miller - W (Rookie)
Jean St. Laurent - C (Rookie)
Tony Branghi - G (Rookie)

Outs:
John Gilchrist - G (NAS)
Joshua Lee - D (Retired)
Charles Wayne - D (CHI)
Caleb Ross - G (FA)
Lucien Bernard - G (BOS)

Re-Signings:
Nicholas Johnson - D
Robert Colquhoun - C
George White - D

In Washington, it was a complete clean house in goal, with both John Gilchrist and Caleb Ross being let go. With slim pickings for goalie options available, the Bats settled on former Detroit backup Thyge Hedeland as their new #1. Hedeland is 34, and will look to be a stop-gap until they find a true new goalie of the future.