The 1943–44 NHL season was the 27th season of the National Hockey League. Six teams played 50 games each. The Montreal Canadiens were the top team of the regular season and followed it up with the team's fifth Stanley Cup championship. League business In memory of Frank Calder, the former NHL President who died in 1943, the league's Board of Governors donated the Calder Memorial Trophy to be awarded to the NHL's top rookie. Due to World War II, 75 per cent of the amateurs signed by the NHL ended up in the armed services. In April 1943, Canadian Amateur Hockey Association past-president George Dudley recommended that payments from the NHL for signing amateurs be deferred until players lost due to the wartime enlistments return to professional hockey. The NHL negotiated with W. G. Hardy and the International Ice Hockey Association to sign more junior-aged players than usual, due to World War II travel restrictions. The Canadian Press reported that Hardy was rumored to be appointed president of the NHL, to replace Red Dutton who had been acting president since the death of Calder. Rule changes NHL rules committee chairman Frank Boucher and Ottawa District Hockey Association executive Cecil Duncan collaborated to experiment with then introduce the centre ice red line to the hockey rink, in an effort to open up the game and allow the defending team to pass the puck out of their own zone and counter-attack quicker. "This rule is considered to mark the beginning of the modern era in the NHL," according to the NHL's Guide and Record Book. In 2005, 62 years later, the two-line pass would be legalized for similar reasons. Regular season The Montreal Canadiens had turned the corner and now Tommy Gorman and Dick Irvin had a team to make the fans happy. Bill Durnan solved the goaltending woes, but not before Gorman had all kinds of problems signing him. Durnan knew his worth, and wanted a handsome sum. Just before the first game, Gorman agreed to his contract demands. He was worth every penny, as he ran away with the Vezina Trophy and the Canadiens lost only five games all year, finishing first by a wide margin. The new and more familiar "Punch line" of Elmer Lach, Toe Blake, and Maurice Richard dominated the offence and Richard had 32 goals. He replaced Joe Benoit, who did his duty to his country