1925–26 NHL season
| 1925–26 NHL season | |
|---|---|
| League | National Hockey League |
| Sport | Ice hockey |
| Duration | November 26, 1925 – March 27, 1926 |
| Number of games | 36 |
| Number of teams | 7 |
| Regular season | |
| Season champions | Ottawa Senators |
| Top scorer | Nels Stewart (Maroons) |
| O'Brien Cup | |
| Champions | Montreal Maroons |
| Runners-up | Ottawa Senators |
The 1925–26 NHL season was the ninth season of the National Hockey League (NHL). The NHL dropped the Hamilton, Ontario team and added two new teams in the United States of America (US), the New York Americans and the Pittsburgh Pirates to bring the total number of teams to seven. The Ottawa Senators were the regular-season champion, but lost in the NHL playoff final to the Montreal Maroons. The Maroons then defeated the defending Stanley Cup champion Victoria Cougars of the newly renamed Western Hockey League three games to one in a best-of-five series to win their first Stanley Cup.
A special meeting was held on September 22, 1925, to discuss expansion to New York City. The NHL approved the dropping of the Hamilton Tigers franchise and the adding of the New York Americans club, which would sign the Hamilton players. The New York franchise was granted to Colonel J. S. Hammond and T. J. Duggan, although the ownership was held secretly by "Big Bill" Dwyer, an infamous bootlegger from New York City, to play in New York's Madison Square Garden.
At the annual meeting on November 7, 1925, the league added another new expansion franchise, in Pittsburgh, the third United States-based team in the NHL. The Ottawa Senators objected to the adding of the team, but were outvoted. The Pittsburgh team, known as the Pirates was formed because former Toronto NHA owner Eddie Livingstone had been again threatening to form a rival league and mentioned Pittsburgh as one of the possible franchise locations. League president Frank Calder and the governors quickly agreed to grant the Pittsburgh Yellow Jackets organization an NHL franchise, known as the Pittsburgh Pirates, like the baseball club. Odie Cleghorn left the Canadiens to sign on as playing-coach with Pittsburgh.
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