defenceman Eddie Gerard, Hitchman became a regular for the Senators thereafter, a starter on the 1924 regular season champion team. The following season, with the Senators in a losing streak - and Hitchman thought to be expendable due to the play of long-time amateur and newcomer Ed Gorman - he requested a trade to the expansion Boston Bruins in January 1925. He was subsequently loaned to the Bruins for the remainder of the season, subject to him coming to contract terms with the club. Boston Bruins His first season for the floundering Boston team not otherwise notable, due to being traded mid-season to a team which had played fewer games than the Senators, Hitchman set the NHL record for games played in a single season with 31, in a season scheduled for 30 games. Hitchman scored his first goal as a Boston Bruin on January 12, 1925, in Boston's 4-2 loss to Hamilton. Matters improved in the 1926 season with the acquisition of Doc Stewart in goal and Hitchman's old nemesis Sprague Cleghorn, with whom he was teamed on defense. The Bruins finished the season with a 13-3-1 run, missing by a single point overtaking the Pittsburgh Pirates for a playoff berth. Hitchman finished third in team scoring, logging seven goals and eleven points, his career high in both categories. Under Cleghorn's veteran tutelage, Hitchman adopted a much scrappier style - if without Cleghorn's habitual dirty play - and his penalty minutes more than tripled. The 1927 season, with the dissolution of the Western Hockey League, saw ex-Edmonton superstar Eddie Shore sign with the Bruins. Shore replaced the fading Cleghorn as Hitchman's defence partner, and was quickly recognized as the league's preeminent defence pairing. The two would team up for the rest of Hitchman's career, with Shore's rushing style paired with Hitchman's stay-at-home play. The Bruins fell to the Senators in the 1927 Stanley Cup Finals, and Hitchman's play was sufficient to receive a $1,400 bonus from the team, the second highest awarded. Cleghorn retired after the 1928 season, and Hitchman was named to replace him as team captain. His first year as captain was highly successful, as he led the team to its first Stanley Cup championship, with the Bruins defeating the New York Rangers in the finals two games to none. His toughness was proven the following campaign when, in a March 1, 1929, game against Ottawa, his