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New York Americans
The New York Americans, colloquially known as the Amerks, were a professional ice hockey team based in New York City from 1925 to 1942. They were the third expansion team in the history of the National Hockey League (NHL) and the second to play in the United States. The team never won the Stanley Cup, but reached the semifinals twice. While it was the first team in New York City, it was eclipsed by the second, the New York Rangers, which arrived in 1926 under the ownership of the Amerks' landlord, Madison Square Garden. The team played as the Brooklyn Americans during the 1941–42 season before suspending operations in 1942 due to World War II and long-standing financial difficulties. The demise of the club marked the beginning of the NHL's Original Six era from 1942 to 1967, though the Amerks' franchise was not formally canceled until 1946. The team's overall regular season record was 255–402–127.
In 1923, Canadian sports promoter Thomas Duggan received options on three NHL franchises for the United States. He sold one to Boston grocery magnate Charles Adams, which became the Boston Bruins in 1924. Duggan then arranged with Tex Rickard to have a team in Madison Square Garden. Rickard agreed, but play was delayed until the new Garden was built in 1925. In April 1925, Duggan and Bill Dwyer, New York City's most-celebrated Prohibition bootlegger, were awarded the franchise for New York. Somewhat fortuitously given the shortage of players, the Hamilton Tigers, who had finished first the season before, had been suspended from the league after they struck for higher pay. However, the suspensions were quietly lifted in the off-season. Soon afterward, Dwyer duly bought the collective rights to the Tigers' players for $75,000. He gave the players healthy raises – in some cases, double their 1924–25 season's salaries. Just before the season, Dwyer announced the team would be known as the New York Americans. Their original jerseys were covered with stars and stripes, patterned after the American flag. Although he acquired the Tigers' players, Dwyer did not acquire the franchise; as it was expelled from the league. As a result, the NHL does not consider the Americans to be a continuation of the Tigers, or for that matter, of the Tigers' predecessors, the Quebec Bulldogs. The Americans entered the league in the 1925–26 season along with the Pittsburgh Pirates. The Americans and Pirates became the second and third American-based teams in the NHL, following Adams' Boston Bruins, who had begun play during the 1924–25 season.
The Americans played their first home game at the Garden, losing 3–1 to the Montreal Canadiens in front of 17,000 people. However, success did not come easily for the Americans. Despite icing essentially the same team that finished first the previous year, they finished fifth overall in their first season with a record of 12–22–4. However, they were a success at the box office, so much so that the following season Garden management sought a team of its own. A clause in the Amerks' lease with the Garden required them to support any bid for the Garden to acquire its own NHL franchise. The Garden had promised Dwyer that it would never exercise that option, and that the Amerks would be the only team in the arena. However, when the Garden opted to seek a house team after all, the Amerks had little choice but to agree to the creation of what became the New York Rangers.
The 1926–27 season saw the Americans continue to struggle, finishing 17–25–2. Part of the problem was that they were placed in the Canadian Division in defiance of all geographic reality, resulting in a larger number of train trips to Montreal, Toronto and Ottawa. Meanwhile, the Rangers won the American Division title. The next season saw the Americans fall even further by finishing last in their division (ninth overall) with a record of 11–27–6, while the Rangers captured the Stanley Cup in only their second year of existence. The Americans were thus doomed to a long history as New York City's second team.
The 1928–29 season saw the Amerks sign star goaltender Roy Worters from the Pittsburgh Pirates. He led the team to a 19–13–12 record in that season, good enough for second in the Canadian Division (fourth overall). Worters had a 1.21 goals against average (GAA), becoming the first goaltender to win the Hart Trophy as the most valuable player in the league. Standing on Worters' shoulders, the Americans made the playoffs for the first time, but were unable to beat the Rangers in a total-goals series. The Rangers had extreme difficulty scoring against Worters, but the futile Americans were equally unable to score against the Rangers. The Rangers ended up winning the series in the second game, 1–0 in overtime.
The following season saw the Americans plunge to fifth place in the division (ninth overall) with a 14–25–5 record. Worters followed up his stellar 1928–29 season with an atrocious 3.75 GAA. Worters rebounded the next season, with a 1.68 GAA. That was good enough to give the Americans a winning record. However, they missed out on a playoff berth since the Montreal Maroons had two more wins, which was the NHL's first tiebreaker for playoff seeding.
The 1931–32 season saw some developments that changed the way ice hockey was played. In a game against the Bruins, the Americans iced the puck 61 times. At that time, there was no rule against icing. Adams was so angry that he pressed, to no avail, for the NHL to make a rule against icing, so the next time the two teams met, the Bruins iced the puck 87 times in a scoreless game. It was not until a few years later that the NHL made a rule prohibiting icing, but those two games were the catalyst for change.
The Americans' lackluster on-ice performance was not the only problem for the franchise. With the end of Prohibition, Dwyer was finding it difficult to make ends meet. After the 1933–34 season, having missed the playoffs for the fifth straight year, the Americans attempted a merger with the equally strapped Ottawa Senators, only to be turned down by the NHL Board of Governors. During the 1935–36 season, Dwyer decided to sell the team. As fortunes had it, the Americans made the playoffs for the first time in six years under player-coach Red Dutton, but bowed out in the second round against the Toronto Maple Leafs. Even with this rebound, no buyers came forward, prompting Dwyer to abandon the team. The league announced a takeover of the team for the next season. Dwyer sued the NHL, saying it had no authority to seize his team. A settlement was reached whereby Dwyer could resume control provided he could pay off his debts by the end of the season. However, Dwyer could not do so, and the NHL took full control of the franchise. Despite the presence of Dutton, who had retired as a player to become coach and general manager, the team fared no better under the league's operation than before, finishing last with a record of 15–29–4. The only bright spot was Sweeney Schriner, who led the league in scoring that year.
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New York Americans
The New York Americans, colloquially known as the Amerks, were a professional ice hockey team based in New York City from 1925 to 1942. They were the third expansion team in the history of the National Hockey League (NHL) and the second to play in the United States. The team never won the Stanley Cup, but reached the semifinals twice. While it was the first team in New York City, it was eclipsed by the second, the New York Rangers, which arrived in 1926 under the ownership of the Amerks' landlord, Madison Square Garden. The team played as the Brooklyn Americans during the 1941–42 season before suspending operations in 1942 due to World War II and long-standing financial difficulties. The demise of the club marked the beginning of the NHL's Original Six era from 1942 to 1967, though the Amerks' franchise was not formally canceled until 1946. The team's overall regular season record was 255–402–127.
In 1923, Canadian sports promoter Thomas Duggan received options on three NHL franchises for the United States. He sold one to Boston grocery magnate Charles Adams, which became the Boston Bruins in 1924. Duggan then arranged with Tex Rickard to have a team in Madison Square Garden. Rickard agreed, but play was delayed until the new Garden was built in 1925. In April 1925, Duggan and Bill Dwyer, New York City's most-celebrated Prohibition bootlegger, were awarded the franchise for New York. Somewhat fortuitously given the shortage of players, the Hamilton Tigers, who had finished first the season before, had been suspended from the league after they struck for higher pay. However, the suspensions were quietly lifted in the off-season. Soon afterward, Dwyer duly bought the collective rights to the Tigers' players for $75,000. He gave the players healthy raises – in some cases, double their 1924–25 season's salaries. Just before the season, Dwyer announced the team would be known as the New York Americans. Their original jerseys were covered with stars and stripes, patterned after the American flag. Although he acquired the Tigers' players, Dwyer did not acquire the franchise; as it was expelled from the league. As a result, the NHL does not consider the Americans to be a continuation of the Tigers, or for that matter, of the Tigers' predecessors, the Quebec Bulldogs. The Americans entered the league in the 1925–26 season along with the Pittsburgh Pirates. The Americans and Pirates became the second and third American-based teams in the NHL, following Adams' Boston Bruins, who had begun play during the 1924–25 season.
The Americans played their first home game at the Garden, losing 3–1 to the Montreal Canadiens in front of 17,000 people. However, success did not come easily for the Americans. Despite icing essentially the same team that finished first the previous year, they finished fifth overall in their first season with a record of 12–22–4. However, they were a success at the box office, so much so that the following season Garden management sought a team of its own. A clause in the Amerks' lease with the Garden required them to support any bid for the Garden to acquire its own NHL franchise. The Garden had promised Dwyer that it would never exercise that option, and that the Amerks would be the only team in the arena. However, when the Garden opted to seek a house team after all, the Amerks had little choice but to agree to the creation of what became the New York Rangers.
The 1926–27 season saw the Americans continue to struggle, finishing 17–25–2. Part of the problem was that they were placed in the Canadian Division in defiance of all geographic reality, resulting in a larger number of train trips to Montreal, Toronto and Ottawa. Meanwhile, the Rangers won the American Division title. The next season saw the Americans fall even further by finishing last in their division (ninth overall) with a record of 11–27–6, while the Rangers captured the Stanley Cup in only their second year of existence. The Americans were thus doomed to a long history as New York City's second team.
The 1928–29 season saw the Amerks sign star goaltender Roy Worters from the Pittsburgh Pirates. He led the team to a 19–13–12 record in that season, good enough for second in the Canadian Division (fourth overall). Worters had a 1.21 goals against average (GAA), becoming the first goaltender to win the Hart Trophy as the most valuable player in the league. Standing on Worters' shoulders, the Americans made the playoffs for the first time, but were unable to beat the Rangers in a total-goals series. The Rangers had extreme difficulty scoring against Worters, but the futile Americans were equally unable to score against the Rangers. The Rangers ended up winning the series in the second game, 1–0 in overtime.
The following season saw the Americans plunge to fifth place in the division (ninth overall) with a 14–25–5 record. Worters followed up his stellar 1928–29 season with an atrocious 3.75 GAA. Worters rebounded the next season, with a 1.68 GAA. That was good enough to give the Americans a winning record. However, they missed out on a playoff berth since the Montreal Maroons had two more wins, which was the NHL's first tiebreaker for playoff seeding.
The 1931–32 season saw some developments that changed the way ice hockey was played. In a game against the Bruins, the Americans iced the puck 61 times. At that time, there was no rule against icing. Adams was so angry that he pressed, to no avail, for the NHL to make a rule against icing, so the next time the two teams met, the Bruins iced the puck 87 times in a scoreless game. It was not until a few years later that the NHL made a rule prohibiting icing, but those two games were the catalyst for change.
The Americans' lackluster on-ice performance was not the only problem for the franchise. With the end of Prohibition, Dwyer was finding it difficult to make ends meet. After the 1933–34 season, having missed the playoffs for the fifth straight year, the Americans attempted a merger with the equally strapped Ottawa Senators, only to be turned down by the NHL Board of Governors. During the 1935–36 season, Dwyer decided to sell the team. As fortunes had it, the Americans made the playoffs for the first time in six years under player-coach Red Dutton, but bowed out in the second round against the Toronto Maple Leafs. Even with this rebound, no buyers came forward, prompting Dwyer to abandon the team. The league announced a takeover of the team for the next season. Dwyer sued the NHL, saying it had no authority to seize his team. A settlement was reached whereby Dwyer could resume control provided he could pay off his debts by the end of the season. However, Dwyer could not do so, and the NHL took full control of the franchise. Despite the presence of Dutton, who had retired as a player to become coach and general manager, the team fared no better under the league's operation than before, finishing last with a record of 15–29–4. The only bright spot was Sweeney Schriner, who led the league in scoring that year.