An NHL 80-year anniversary is celebrated by Strat-O-Matic this year with the release of the 1943-44 NHL season, in both cards and Windows.

Likely the oldest season Strat will ever release, the 27^th year of the NHL marks the beginning of the league’s modern era as it’s the first season with the center ice red line.

Montreal’s .830 win percentage (38-5-7) is the best win percentage for any NHL team with at least 50 games played. The Canadiens remarkable authority on the league was their first winning season in six years and coincided with Hall of Famer Bill Durnan’s first season in net for the team. As a rookie, Durnan topped the league with a remarkable 2.18 GAA (the first of four consecutive seasons he would lead the league) and 38 wins.

Five other Hall of Famers skated for Montreal: the “Punch Line” of Elmer Lach (24-48-72), Toe Blake (26-33-59), and Maurice ‘Rocket’ Richard (32-22-54, his first full NHL season), plus Buddy O’Connor (12-42-54), and Butch Bouchard (5-14-19). The team finished 25 points better than the second-place Detroit Red Wings, leading the league with 234 goals for and a mere 109 goals against. Toronto had the next best goals against, 174.

Here’s a fun what-if: Take the star-laden Canadiens against the hapless New York Rangers (6-39-5), whose .170-win percentage is bottom-10 all-time. The Rangers gave up 6.2 goals per game while scoring a league-low 3.24. Will the Canadiens ever lose a game?

Despite the Rangers’ woes, the rest of the league were worthy competitors. Chicago’s Doug Bentley led the league with 38 goals, a career-high for the Black Hawks winger. His teammate Clint Smith’s 49 assists were a league high. Herb Cain led Boston’s attack, scoring 36 goals and assisting on 46 more. His 82 points led the league. Babe Pratt won MVP, putting up 17 goals and 41 assists for the Toronto Maple Leafs.

It was Chicago who had the honor of being swept by Montreal in the Stanley Cup Finals. Bentley and Smith teamed with Bill Mosienko and Earl Seibert to the last playoffs spot and then upset the 2^nd seeded Red Wings in the Semi-Finals in five games.

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