National Hockey Association
The NHA was created by
Ambrose O'Brien and the owner of the
Montreal Wanderers franchise. The
ECHA, the premier hockey league of the time disbanded and reformed as the
CHA. They refused the Wanderers franchise, which had belonged to the ECHA, as its stadium was too small to generate enough money. They also refused the
Renfrew Creamary Kings a franchise. The two refused owners joined together to form the new league from their two existing teams, two teams in the
TPHL and
Les Canadiens, an all-Frenchmen team from Montreal. Shortly after the season started, the CHA folded and two teams from the CHA were added to the NHA;
Montreal Shamrocks and
Ottawa Senators.
Timeline
- December 2, 1909 meeting at the Windsor Hotel in Montreal, the league was formed with four teams; Renfrew, Cobalt, Haileybury and the Montreal Wanderers.
- January 15, 1910 meeting, Ottawa and the Montreal Shamrocks were admitted to the league. Three NHA games had already been played and they no longer were to count in the standings.
The Inaugural Season
The first game ever played in the National Hockey Association was on January 5, 1910 between the Cobalt Silver Kings and the
Les Canadiens in Montreal. The Canadians won the game 7-6 in overtime.
Read more.
The Aftermath
The Silver Kings returned to the
TPHL after the inaugural NHA season and the franchise was assumed by the
Quebec Bulldogs.
In 1917, the NHA was renamed the
NHL.
References