The 1919 Stanley Cup Final ice hockey play-off series to determine the 1919 Stanley Cup champion ended with no champion decided, being suspended after five games had been played due to an outbreak of Spanish Influenza. This was the first and, as of 2009, only time since its donation in 1893 that the Stanley Cup was not awarded after the playoffs began.
Hosting the series in Seattle was the the Pacific Coast Hockey Association (PCHA) champion Seattle Metropolitans (Mets) playing off against the National Hockey League (NHL) champion Montreal Canadiens. Both teams had won two games, lost two, and tied one before health officials were forced to cancel the deciding game of the series. The entire Canadiens team and its manager George Kennedy fell ill with the flu and were hospitalized. The flu would eventually claim the life of Canadiens' defenseman Joe Hall four days later. Kennedy was permanently weakened by his illness, and it led to his death a few years later.
Paths to the Final[]
The Canadiens won the first half of the 1918–19 NHL regular season while the Ottawa Senators won the second half, setting up a best-of-seven series between the two clubs to determine the NHL title. Montreal ended up winning the series, 4 games to 1.
Meanwhile, the Metropolitans finished the 1919 PCHA regular season in second place with a 11–9 record, behind the 12–8 Vancouver Millionaires. The two teams then faced off in a two-game total-goals championship series, with Seattle winning game one, 6–1. Vancouver recorded a 4–1 victory in game two, but lost the series to the Metropolitans by a combined score of 7–5.
The Series[]
All of the games were held at the Seattle Ice Arena. As with the previous Stanley Cup Finals, the differing rules for the leagues alternated each game: PCHA rules were used in games one, three and five; and NHL rules were to be used in games two and four. The actual game five used NHL rules, as it was considered a replay of game four.[1]
Game One[]
| March 19 | Seattle Metropolitans | 7 – 0 | Montreal Canadiens | |||||
Seattle dominated Montreal under PCHA rules, scoring two in the first, three in the second and a further two in the third.[2] Corbeau of Montreal was injured but finished the game and continued to play in the series as a substitute.[3]
Game Two[]
| March 22 | Seattle Metropolitans | 2 – 4 | Montreal Canadiens | |||||
The Canadiens evened the series in game two with Newsy Lalonde scoring all of Montreal's goals. Montreal took the lead and never relinquished it, although Seattle scored two in the third in 32 seconds to make it close. Joe Hall took a puck in the nose, on a deliberate play by Cully Wilson but the rough tactics did not continue as Seattle tried to catch up.[4]
Game Three[]
| March 24 | Seattle Metropolitans | 7 – 2 | Montreal Canadiens | |||||
Back under PCHA rules, the Metropolitans won game three, 7–2. Seattle scored four goals in the first to take a commanding lead. No goals were scored in the second. In the third, Seattle prevented any comeback, outscoring Montreal 3–2.[5]
Game Four[]
| March 26 | Seattle Metropolitans | 0 – 0 | Montreal Canadiens | |||||
Game four ended tied, 0–0, after 20 minutes of overtime, with both Holmes and Montreal's Georges Vezina blocking every shot. Near the close of the second overtime, Berlinguette of Montreal had an outstanding chance to win it, but missed by inches. Wilson of Seattle would mix it up with Berlinguette who had to leave the ice. The crowd gave both teams an ovation after the game in appreciation of the teams' play.[6]
Game Five[]
| March 29 | Seattle Metropolitans | 3 – 4 | Montreal Canadiens | |||||
Between game four and five, discussions were made about which rules to use for game five. As game four had finished in a tie, the Canadiens wished game five to be a replay of game four, using NHL rules and Seattle wanted PCHA rules. The game was played under NHL rules, and it was agreed that in the future, teams would play overtime until a winning goal was scored.[1] Lalonde scored two goals, and Jack McDonald scored the game winning goal 15:57 into overtime, to lead the Canadiens to a 4–3 victory. Montreal was down 3–0 after two periods, but Seattle had tired and Montreal scored three to tie the game, Lalonde scoring Montreal's second and third goals.[7]
Cancellation: "The Stanley Cup Series Is Off"[]
Announcement of Cancellation in The Globe
The sixth and deciding game of the series was scheduled for April 1, but the epidemic of Spanish Influenza caused several players on both teams to become seriously ill. With Lalonde, Hall, Couture, Berlinguette and McDonald of Montreal hospitalized or sick in bed, with fevers between 101 to 105 degrees Fahrenheit, game six was canceled just 5.5 hours before it was scheduled to start.[3] Kennedy said he was forfeiting the Cup to Seattle, but Pete Muldoon, manager-coach of the Metropolitans, refused to accept the Cup in a forfeiture, seeing that it was catastrophic illness that had caused the Canadiens lineup to be short of players. Kennedy asked to use players from the Victoria team of the PCHA and president Frank Patrick refused the request.[8]
Montreal player Joe Hall eventually succumbed to pneumonia.
Five days later, Joe Hall died of pneumonia brought about by the flu.[9] His funeral was held in Vancouver on April 8, with most team members attending,[10] and he was buried in Brandon, Manitoba.[9] Manager George Kennedy also was stricken. His condition declined and his wife arrived from Montreal to be with him.[11] He seemed to recover and was released from the hospital, but he never fully recovered and he died a few years later.
No official Stanley Cup winner was declared in 1919, and thus nothing was engraved onto the trophy. However, when the Cup was redesigned in 1948 and a new collar was added to include those teams that did not engrave their names on the trophy themselves, the following was added:
1919
Montreal Canadiens
Seattle Metropolitans
Series Not Completed
Rosters[]
Montreal Canadiens[]
| Goaltenders | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| # | Player | Catches | Acquired | Place of birth | Finals appearance | |
| Georges Vezina | 
|
Chicoutimi, Quebec | ||||
| Defensemen | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| # | Player | Shoots | Acquired | Place of birth | Finals appearance | |
| Bert Corbeau |
|
Penetanguishene, Ontario | ||||
| Billy Coutu |
|
North Bay, Ontario | ||||
| Joe Hall | 
|
Staffordshire, England | ||||
| Didier Pitre |
|
Valleyfield, Quebec | ||||
| Forwards | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| # | Player | Position | Shoots | Acquired | Place of birth | Finals appearance | |
| Amos Arbour | LW |
|
Waubaushene, Ontario | ||||
| Billy Bell | C |
|
Lachine, Quebec | ||||
| Louis Berlinguette | LW |
|
Papineauville, Quebec | ||||
| Odie Cleghorn | RW |
|
Montreal, Quebec | ||||
| Fred Doherty | RW |
|
Norwood, Ontario | ||||
| Newsy Lalonde – C | C |
|
Cornwall, Ontario | ||||
| Joe Malone | C |
|
Quebec City, Quebec | ||||
| Jack McDonald | LW |
|
Quebec City, Quebec | ||||
{Montreal Canadiens(NHL) - Roster - George Vezina(G-R), Bert Corbeau(D-R), Joe Hall(D-R), Billy “Coutu” Couture(D-L), Didier "Cannonball" Pitre(D-R), Edouard "Newsy" Lalonde(C/R0-R-Captain), Billy Bell(C-R), Joe "Phantom" Malone(C-L), Amos Arbour(LW-L), Louis Berlingrette(LW-L), Jack McDonald(LW-L), Ogilvie "Odie" Cleghorn(RW-R), Fred "Doc" Doherty(RW-L), U.P. Boulder (President), George Kennedy (Manager-Coach), Napolean Norval(Secretary), Aldrie Quimet(Trainer).}
Sources:
- Mouton, p. 153,
- NHL.com - Players. NHL. Retrieved on 2008-12-03.
Seattle Metropolitans[]
| Goaltenders | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| # | Player | Catches | Acquired | Place of birth | Finals appearance | |
| Hap Holmes | 1915 |
|
Aurora, Ontario | |||
| Defensemen | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| # | Player | Shoots | Acquired | Place of birth | Finals appearance | |
| Ran McDonald | R | 1918 |
|
Cashion's Glen , Ontario | ||
| Bernie Morris – C | R | 1915 |
|
Brandon, Manitoba | ||
| Roy Rickey | ||||||
| Bobby Rowe | ||||||
| Forwards | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| # | Player | Position | Shoots | Acquired | Place of birth | Finals appearance | |
| Frank Foyston | LW |
|
Minesing, Ontario | ||||
| Muzz Murray | C/LW | 1918 | 
|
Sault Ste Marie, Michigan | |||
| Jack Walker | C/R |
|
Silver Mountain, Ontario | ||||
| Cully Wilson | RW |
|
Winnipeg, Manitoba | ||||
Harry "Happy" Holmes(goalie), Ranald "Ran" MacDonald(defence), Bernie Morris(Captain-defence), Roy Rickey(defence), Bobby Rowe(defence), Jack Walker(center/rover), Frank Foyston(left wing/rover), Hugh Murray(center/left wing), Carol "Cully" Wilson(right wing), Pete Muldoon(President/Manager-Coach).
Sources:
Game Ads[]
External Links[]
- 1918–19 Stanley Cup Winner: No Decision. Hockey Hall of Fame. Retrieved on 2008-12-03.
- hockeyleaguehistory.com - Pacific Coast Hockey Association. Retrieved on 2006-07-03.
References[]
- Mouton, Claude (1987). The Montreal Canadiens. Key Porter Books, 153.
- Podnieks, Andrew; Hockey Hall of Fame (2004). Lord Stanley's Cup. Triumph Books, 51. ISBN 1551682613.
- (1992) in Dan Diamond (ed.): The Official National Hockey League Stanley Cup Centennial Book. Firefly Books, 50–52. ISBN 1895565154.
- Notes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 "Patrick decides in favour of Canadiens", The Globe, March 29, 1919, p. 22.
- ↑ "Seattle Win First Game", The Globe, March 20, 1919, p. 12.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 "Stanley Cup Series is Off", The Globe, April 2, 1919, p. 11.
- ↑ "Canadiens Win From Seattle", The Globe, March 24, 1919, p. 14.
- ↑ "Seattle Wins Another From Flying Frenchmen", The Globe, March 25, 1919, p. 10.
- ↑ "Teams Battle to 0–0 Draw", The Globe, March 27, 1919, p. 10.
- ↑ "Seattle Lose In Overtime", The Globe, March 31, 1919, p. 12.
- ↑ "Even Division of Cup Funds", The Globe, April 3, 1919, p. 10.
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 "J. Hall Dies In Seattle", The Globe, April 7, 1919, p. 12.
- ↑ "Funeral of Joe Hall at Vancouver To-day", The Globe, April 8, 1919, p. 11.
- ↑ "Mrs. Kennedy Goes West to Bedside of Husband", The Globe, April 4, 1919, p. 11.
| Preceded by Toronto 1918 |
(no champion) Stanley Cup Champions 1919 |
Succeeded by Ottawa Senators 1920 |
