1932-33: Eddie Shore Is All Hart

The Three Stars:

The Red Wings Are Born - These are tough days in the Motor City. The hockey team - the recently renamed Falcons, formerly the Cougars - are in receivership . But in September 1932 the team is sold to Chicago grain millionaire James Norris. Norris instantly renames the team the Red Wings and introduces the now famous winged wheel logo. Norris then begins to build one of the greatest franchises in all of sports history.

Doraty Ends Marathon - The final game of the best-of-five playoff series between Toronto and Boston began on April 3rd but did not finish well into the wee hours of the morning on April 4th. Early in the sixth overtime period, Toronto's Ken Doraty beats Boston goalie Tiny Thompson after 104:46 of overtime! The game ended at 1:50 am! The game is the longest game in NHL history, though it would bettered three years later in a famous game between Detroit and the Montreal Maroons.

Rangers Win The Stanley Cup - The New York Rangers win the Stanley Cup, thanks to the Bread Line and goalie Andy Aitkenhead. The acrobatic Aitkenhead may be the least respected Stanley Cup winning goalie in history's eyes. Meanwhile the Cook-Boucher-Cook line goes down as one of the greatest trios of all time. Bill Cook captures the league scoring championship before scoring a spectacular Stanley Cup winning goal against Toronto.


Season Highlights:

• Voss Wins First Rookie Of The Year - The NHL introduces a new trophy. The Rookie of the Year award (later named in honour of Frank Calder in 1937) is first awarded Detroit forward Carl Voss. Voss went on to a vagabond career, playing for 8 teams in 8 years. He is better remembered as an official and referee-in-chief for which he was one day enshrined in the Hockey Hall of Fame.
• The Ottawa Senators return following a one season hiatus. The Great Depression is hurting the NHL. A team salary cap is introduced at $70,000 per team and $7500 maximum per player.
• For the first time the NHL allows teams to choose a skater to serve minor penalties charged against goaltenders.
• Eddie Shore becomes the second defenseman to win the Hart Trophy as the most valuable player. To this day it is rare for a defenseman to win hockey's most coveted individual prize. Shore would win a total of 4 Hart Trophies in his career.
• Reg Noble retires at the end of the season, making him the last of the original NHL players who debuted back in December, 1917.