Summary
The National Hockey League began a period of major expansion by adding two teams, the Montreal Maroons and the Boston Bruins, who became the league's first United States franchise.
The schedule grew from 24 to 30 games and the NHL also changed its playoff format to have the second- and third-place teams meet in a preliminary series, with the winner facing the first-place team for the league championship.
The Hamilton Tigers, after four last-place finishes, finished in first. But the Hamilton players were unhappy with the fact that their salaries hadn't increased despite the expanded schedule and they announced that they wouldn't take the ice for the playoffs unless they were paid an extra $200 apiece.
NHL President Frank Calder suspended them all, setting up a playoff confrontation between second-place Toronto and the third-place Canadiens. Montreal won the series.
The Pacific Coast Hockey Association had folded and two of its teams, Vancouver and Victoria, moved into the West Coast Hockey Association. The third-place Victoria Cougars won the league's playoff and then defeated the Canadiens by winning three of four games to take the Stanley Cup. It was the last time the trophy was won by a non-NHL team.
The NHL trophy case grew with the addition of the Lady Byng Trophy for the player who best combined skill with sportsman-like play. Ottawa's Frank Nighbor scored a unique double by winning the first award; the previous season, he had become the first winner of the Hart Trophy as the league's MVP.
