This Day in Hockey History – November 26, 1917 – Happy 101st NHL!

Nov 26, 2018

2 2044

This marks the 101st anniversary of the formation of the National Hockey League (NHL). During World War I, from November 24 to 26, 1917, NHA directors held a summit at the Windsor Hotel in Montreal. According to the anniversary article posted by the NHL, the minutes from that meeting indicated that its purpose was “to ascertain if some steps could not be taken to perpetuate the game of hockey.”

Since 1909, teams in Ontario and Quebec, Canada had been playing in the National Hockey Association (NHA). However, the Great War soon took its toll shipping out hockey players, especially large numbers from Toronto teams. After a new Compulsory Service Act came into effect in August 1917, the NHA suspended operations.

Attendees of the meetings in November included George Kendall/Kennedy (of the Montreal Canadiens), Sam Lichtenhein (of the Montreal Wanderers), Tom Gorman (of Ottawa), M.J. Quinn (of Quebec), and NHA secretary-treasurer Frank Calder. Gorman’s proposal, “that the Canadiens, Wanderers, Ottawa [Senators] and Quebec [Bulldogs] Hockey Clubs unite to comprise the National Hockey League,” passed on November 26. The other charter member would be the new Toronto Arenas. Calder was voted in as the first president and kept his role as secretary-treasurer. The minutes indicated that he took the role “on the understanding that there could be no appeal from his decisions.” When they all left the room, Calder blithely told the only reporter, Elmer Ferguson of the Montreal Herald, “Nothing much [happened], Fergie.” Perhaps what he meant was that the new NHL would continue following the NHA’s playing rules and constitution. The NHL season would feature 24 games and playoffs leading to a challenge with the Pacific Coast Hockey Association (PCHA) for the Stanley Cup. With that, the NHL was born.

To mark the NHL’s 100th anniversary, on November 26, 2017, leaders of the NHL gathered at Montreal’s Le Windsor ballrooms, the site of the meetings at the Windsor Hotel. Attendees included commissioner Gary Bettman, 31 general managers, and six Hockey Hall of Fame representatives of the “Original Six” teams. The Historic Sites and Monuments Board of Canada had provided a bronze plaque unveiled for the occasion.