1917–18 NHL Season - League Business

League Business

In November 1917, the owners of the NHA, apparently unwilling to continue the league with Toronto NHA owner Eddie Livingstone, decided to suspend the NHA and form a new league, the NHL, without Livingstone. The events transpired in the following way:

On October 19, a meeting of the NHA board of directors was held. Livingstone did not attend, sending lawyer Eddie Barclay. Barclay was informed by the directors that Toronto would not play in the 1917–18 season due to the difficulty of operating a five-team league, both in scheduling and availability of players during wartime. Livingstone then publicly announced that he would set up an international circuit and raid the NHA players.

On November 9, 1917, it was reported that the Toronto NHA franchise was sold to Charles Querrie of the Toronto Arena corporation. At this point, NHA president Robertson and secretary Frank Calder denied that the NHA would change, dissolve or adopt other subterfuge. This sale never completed.

The November 10, 1917 annual meeting of the NHA was presided over by Mr. Calder, attended by Martin Rosenthal and E.P Dey for Ottawa; Sam Lichtenheim for the Wanderers; George Kennedy for the Canadiens and M. J. Quinn and Charles Fremont for Quebec. At the meeting, Livingstone is represented by J. F. Boland, who states that if the league operates that the Toronto franchise intends to be full members. The NHA votes to suspend operations but not wind up the organization and will meet in one year's time. According to the Globe, there is a movement to form a new four-team league of Toronto, Ottawa and the two Montreal teams. According to Holzman(2002), the Toronto representative offers to allow the Arena Gardens to manage the Torontos and lease the players.

There then followed a period of speculation in the newspapers as to whether Quebec would play in the new season and what would be the league organization. One name for the new league was speculated: the "National Professional Hockey League". If Quebec could play then the Toronto players would be dispersed; if Quebec could not play then the Toronto players would be loaned to a temporary Toronto franchise. Representatives of Ottawa, Quebec and the Montreal teams met on November 22, 1917, but adjourned without a decision.

On November 26, 1917, representatives of the Ottawa, Quebec and Montreal NHA clubs met at the Windsor Hotel in Montreal. The decision to start a new league is finalized and announced. The decision was made to start a new league, the National Hockey League:

• constitution and rules the same as the NHA
• Frank Calder elected president and secretary
• M. J. Quinn of Quebec was named honorary president
• franchises were granted to Ottawa, Canadiens, Wanderers,
• Quebec players to be disbursed among the other teams

A Toronto franchise was to be operated 'temporarily' by the Arena Gardens while the Toronto ownership situation was resolved. The franchise uses the players of the Blueshirts, including those who had been transferred to other NHA teams for the second half of the 1916–17 NHA season. While Livingstone agreed to a lease of the team, the NHL owners do not intend to share any revenues from the players. Livingstone would sue for the team's revenues in 1918. George Kennedy, owner of the Canadiens, would later say:

"The Toronto players belong as a body to the National Hockey League, for they were only loaned to the Toronto Arena Company, though Livingstone tried to make the Arena Company believe that he controlled those players"

The team played without a nickname for the season.

According to Holzman, the NHL itself was intended to operate temporarily until the Toronto NHA franchise was resolved. The NHA had a pending lawsuit against the 228th Battalion, and could or would not fold until after that was heard.