1924–25 Boston Bruins
1924–25 record6–24–0 (12 points)
Goals for49
Goals against119
Team information
General managerArt Ross
CoachArt Ross
Captainnone
ArenaBoston Arena
Team leaders
GoalsJimmy Herbert (17)
AssistsJimmy Herbert (5)
PointsJimmy Herbert (22)
Penalty minutesJimmy Herbert (50)
WinsDoc Stewart (5)
Goals against averageDoc Stewart (3.08)

The 1924–25 Boston Bruins season was the team's first in the National Hockey League (NHL). Along with the Montreal Maroons, the Bruins were the first expansion franchise in the NHL and the league's first American-based club. The Bruins finished sixth and last in the league standings.

Offseason

In 1924,[1] Charles Adams, the magnate who owned the First National grocery chain, obtained an NHL expansion franchise for Boston. The approval was finalized on October 13, 1924, for US$15,000 (equivalent to $256,136 in 2022), making the Bruins the first NHL team to be based in the United States. Adams' first act was to hire Art Ross, a former star player and innovator, as general manager and coach.

Ross nicknamed the team "Bruins", which also went along with the team's original uniform colors of brown and yellow, which came from Adams' grocery chain.[2][3] Most of the Bruins' players for its inaugural season were signed from the Pacific Coast Hockey Association and the Western Canada Hockey League.[4] The first player to sign for the Bruins was defenseman Herb Mitchell, who signed for the Bruins on November 2, 1924.[5]

The Bruins first saw action in an exhibition game against the Saskatoon Sheiks of the Western Canada Hockey League on November 29, which was then Thanksgiving; it was the first professional match held in Boston Arena.[6] Boston lost the game 2–1.

Subsequently, leaks in the Arena's cooling system forced the team to practice in Montreal in the runup to the season opener.[7]

Regular season

Despite problems with the ice plant that threatened the home opener [8] the Bruins started the season out auspiciously, defeating their fellow expansion Maroons squad in a nearly empty Arena 2–1. The first goal in franchise history was scored by Smokey Harris, while Carson Cooper, who assisted on Harris' goal, scored the game winner.[9] It was the first NHL game played in the United States.[10] The game was broadcast by radio station WBZ, with play-by-play by the Boston Traveler's Frank Ryan.[11] Since the crowd failed to meet expectations, the Bruins dropped prices to US$2.75 (equivalent to $46.96 in 2022) for a reserved seat and US$1.10 (equivalent to $18.78 in 2022) for standing room.[11]

However, Boston lost its next eleven games, as well as having a seven-game losing streak — which included their second home game on December 8, initiating the Bruins' most intense rivalry over time[12] — and finished in the basement. The Bruins had signed veteran West Coast star goaltender Hec Fowler as their netminder, but behind a weak defense, Fowler and backup Howie Lockhart played very poorly and the Bruins were repeatedly shelled, allowing ten goals in a game twice, one of which saw Toronto player Babe Dye score five goals on December 22.[4]

The signing of senior league star netminder Doc Stewart and the purchase of Lionel Hitchman helped somewhat, but the team was riddled with injuries, and only Jimmy Herbert and Carson Cooper (who spent much of the season hurt) showed any offensive flair. The team's winning percentage of .200 was the second worst in league history to that date, and remains the tenth worst in NHL history.[13]

The Bruins' debut season home games were played in the only "debut" rink of any of the Original Six NHL teams that has survived into the 21st century — Boston Arena, the world's oldest indoor multi-sports facility that is still used for ice hockey at any level of competition.[14][15]

Final standings

National Hockey League
GP W L T GF GA Pts
Hamilton Tigers3019101906039
Toronto St. Patricks3019110908438
Montreal Canadiens3017112935636
Ottawa Senators3017121836635
Montreal Maroons309192456520
Boston Bruins3062404911912

[16]

Note: W = Wins, L = Losses, T = Ties, GF = Goals For, GA = Goals Against, Pts = Points
       Teams that qualified for the playoffs are highlighted in bold.

Record vs. opponents

1924–25 NHL Records [17]
Team BOS HAM MTL MTM OTT TOR
Boston —1–52–43–30–60–6
Hamilton 5–1—3–34–23–2–14–2
M. Canadiens 4–23–3—4–0–23–33–3
M. Maroons 3–32–40–4–2—2–42–4
Ottawa 6–02–3–13–34–2—2–4
Toronto 6–02–43–34–24–2—

Schedule and results

1924–25 Game Log

Playoffs

The Bruins did not qualify for the playoffs.

Player statistics

Leading scorers

Note: GP = Games played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; PIM = Penalty minutes

    Regular season   Playoffs
Player GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM
Jimmy Herbert301752250–––––
Carson Cooper125384–––––
Red Stuart2452732–––––
Stan Jackson2450536–––––
George Redding2732510–––––
Smokey Harris63148–––––
Bernie Morris62020–––––
Lionel Hitchman1820222–––––
Normand Shay1811214–––––
Bobby Rowe41010–––––

Goaltenders

Note: GP = Games played; Min = Minutes; W = Wins; L = Losses; T = Ties; GA = Goals against; SO = Shutouts; GAA = Goals against average

    Regular season   Playoffs
Player GP Min W L T GA SO GAA GP Min W L GA SO GAA
Doc Stewart21126651606523.08–––––––
Hec Fowler74001604306.10–––––––

Transactions

  • November 2, 1924 – Acquired Alf Skinner from Vancouver Maroons (PCHA) for cash
  • November 2, 1924 – Acquired Bobby Rowe from Seattle Metropolitans (PCHA) for cash
  • December 14, 1924 – Acquired Bill "Red" Stuart from Toronto St. Patricks for cash
  • December 17, 1924 – Released Bobby Rowe
  • December 19, 1924 – Acquired George Carroll from Montreal Maroons for the rights to Ernie Parkes
  • December 21, 1924 – Traded Smokey Harris to Vancouver Maroons (WCHL) for cash
  • January 3, 1925 – Traded Alf Skinner to Montreal Maroons for Bernie Morris and Bob Benson
  • January 10, 1925 – Acquired Lionel Hitchman from the Ottawa Senators for cash
  • January 18, 1925 – Traded Stan Jackson to Ottawa Senators for cash

See also

References

  1. ↑ Hockey Hall of Fame. "Builder Inductees: Charles Adams". Legends of Hockey.
  2. ↑ Donovan 1997.
  3. ↑ Marrazza, Dan (June 14, 2016). "How NHL Teams Got Their Names". National Hockey League. Retrieved January 18, 2018.
  4. 1 2 Vautour 1997, p. 38.
  5. ↑ King 2010, p. 29.
  6. ↑ Hoey, Fred (November 30, 1924). "Bruins Lose First Clash". Boston Globe. Boston.
  7. ↑ Hoey, Fred (November 30, 1924). "Hockey Practice at Arena Held Up". Boston Globe. Boston.
  8. ↑ "Hockey Practice at Arena Held Up". Boston Globe. November 30, 1924.
  9. ↑ Coleman 1964, p. 468.
  10. ↑ Fischler, Stan (November 30, 2022). "Bruins won first NHL game played in United States in 1924". NHL.com. Retrieved December 27, 2022.
  11. 1 2 Ross 2015, p. 114.
  12. ↑ Canadian Press (December 9, 1924). "Canadiens Downed Boston, Rallying in Final Period". Montreal Gazette. p. 16.
  13. ↑ Klein & Reif 1964, p. 56.
  14. ↑ Fitzpatrick, Katy (October 2, 2009). ""New Season Brings Renovated Arena for Northeastern," USCHO.com, October 2, 2009". Uscho.com. Archived from the original on January 9, 2010. Retrieved March 18, 2011.
  15. ↑ "Northeastern University Athletics Official Website". Gonu.com. Retrieved March 18, 2011.
  16. ↑ Standings: NHL Public Relations Department (2008). Dave McCarthy; et al. (eds.). THE NATIONAL HOCKEY LEAGUE Official Guide & Record Book/2009. National Hockey League. p. 146. ISBN 978-1-894801-14-0.
  17. ↑ "All-Time NHL Results". NHL.com. Retrieved August 25, 2023.

Bibliography

  • Coleman, Charles L. (1964). Trail of the Stanley Cup, Vol I. Sherbrooke, Quebec: National Hockey League.
  • Donovan, Michael Leo (1997). The Name Game. Toronto, Ontario: McGraw-Hill. ISBN 9780075528173.
  • King, Tom (2010). The Legendary Game - Ultimate Hockey Trivia. Trafford Publishing. ISBN 978-1-4269-4379-9.
  • Klein, Jeff Z.; Reif, Karl-Eric (1964). The Klein & Reif Hockey Compendium. Toronto, Ontario: McClelland & Stewart. ISBN 978-0-7710-4529-5.
  • Ross, J. Andrew (2015). Joining the Clubs: The Business of the National Hockey League to 1945. Syracuse University Press. ISBN 9780815633839.
  • Vautour, Kevin (1997). The Bruins Book. Toronto, Ontario: ECW Press. ISBN 978-1-55022-334-7.


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