The Montreal Maroons story

 With the end of the Montreal Maroons, here are a few tidbits.

1. Their first season was the 1924-25 season, while their last season was the 1937-38 season.

2. Founded for the English speaking community of Montreal.

3. They never really had a nickname. The media eventually coined the Maroons because of the color of their sweater.

4. Started with success.  Even though their first season wasn't good, they were drawing. They won the Stanley Cup in their second season.

5. November 26, 1926 they were the first opponent of the New York Rangers.

6. Fielded some some competitive teams into the 1930s. Once the great depression began, they began selling off their stars to stay afloat.  This led to some bad seasons.  They managed to improve enough to win one last cup. This included being in the longest playoff overtime game against Detroit.

7. June 22, 1938 they asked to suspend operations, which was denied. They were given until August 1 to decide to field a team. They didn't.  Players were transferred to other teams.

8. They tried to sell the team to St. Louis, but the failure of the Eagles led to permission being denied.

9. Discussions at a 1945 meeting to sell the dormant team to a group in Philadelphia led by Len Pero. Governors were ready to approve transfer to Philadelphia providing ownership got funds, which they got. Governors also clarified that the Maroons franchise rights would expire unless something was done.  Pero got funds but needed a rink. There were two rinks that had no ice plants and didn't want to spend the money on one. The third one had an ice plant but with bad sightlines and small capacity, it was ruled out. Peto was given until the 1946-47 season to get an arena. February 1946, plans were made to build a 20000 arena on the old Baker Bowl site at 2.5 million dollars.  Unfortunately Peto's group did not get the required funding by deadline. Maroons franchise soon expired.

10. Last Maroons player was Herb Cain, who played until 1946.

11. Maroons were last non original six team to win Stanley Cup (1926, 1935) until 1974. They were also the last team to win the cup and fold afterwards.

So there's the story.

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