abstract
| - A bidding war for players immediately started, and Frank Patrick and Lester Patrick were each signed by the Renfrew Millionaires for $3,000 apiece, the highest salaries recorded to that time. It became readily apparent that two leagues could not be sustained -- there were five teams in Montreal alone -- and after eight games the CHA folded, the Ottawa Senators and Montreal Shamrocks being admitted to the NHA. Labour unrest was a hallmark of the league, the 1910-1911 season almost foundering because of widespread dissatisfaction amongst the players at the salaries on offer, and players' unions were rumored to be on the verge of creation at several points. However, the league put forth several innovations, among them the abolition of the rover position in 1912, the inclusion of numbers on jerseys, the institution of match penalties and allowing line changes on the fly. The championship trophy of the NHA was the O'Brien Trophy, donated by the O'Brien family and which survived to become the championship trophy of the NHL. However, as the Ottawa Senators joined the league as the reigning Stanley Cup champions, the first five seasons of the league had the Cup awarded to the league champions, which then defended it against outside challenges. Starting in the 1914-1915 season, the Stanley Cup was awarded exclusively to the winner of a playoff between the NHA and the PCHA regular season winners. The league championship was decided by a two-game total goal playoff between the Wanderers and the Senators. Ottawa won the championship, and the right to defend the Cup against Vancouver in a three game series in which Vancouver won in dominating fashion. The notion of a league champion being awarded the Cup to defend ceased with that season, as the Portland Rosebuds were the PCHA champions in 1915-1916 but were not automatically accorded the Cup. Instead, they played the Montreal Canadiens for the trophy (and became the first American team to do so), which the Canadiens won in a five game series.
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