week later, all of the owners other than Livingstone announced that they had formed a new league, the National Hockey League. Livingstone was shut out of the new league, but the NHL retained the contracts of the Toronto franchise players. The Arena Company was awarded a temporary NHL franchise for Toronto and was assigned Livingstone's players for the NHL's inaugural 1917–18 season on an undetermined 'lease' basis. The club—which the press and fans called the "Torontos" or "Blueshirts"—would have a successful season, and won the Stanley Cup. The Arena Company did not pay for the players and Livingstone filed suit for the revenue earned with the players, now inflated by the Cup success. In 1918, Livingstone and Percy Quinn attempted to force the NHA to restart by forcing a shareholder's meeting, where he hoped that the minority position of the Brunswick Company in the Montreal Canadiens would disallow their vote and swing the vote his way. The NHA owners shot down the plan at what would be the final meeting of the NHA owners in December 1918, voting instead to permanently suspend the NHA, although the organization could not fold completely while it had ongoing legal actions pending against the Canadian military. Legal battles with the Arena Having been cast aside by his former business associates, Livingstone spent the next several years in court, in a bid to be compensated for the loss of his franchise and his players. In February 1918, the courts ruled that the NHA and its owners had not acted improperly in suspending operations of Livingstone's Toronto Hockey Club. The decision was appealed and upheld by the Supreme Court of Canada on November 19, 1919. Mounting legal bills from the dispute forced the Arenas to sell most of their stars, resulting in a horrendous five-win season in 1918–19. The Arenas were forced to suspend operations after their 18th game. While this legal action was playing out, the Arena Company returned its temporary franchise to the NHL, but refused to return Livingstone's players to him for the 1918–19 season. Instead, it formed a new team, the Toronto Arena Hockey Club—popularly known as the Toronto Arenas, with Gardens auditor Hubert Vearncombe as team president. This new team was a self-contained corporation that could exist separately from any legal action, and was thus beyond the reach of Livingstone. The newly-minted Arenas were readily admitted to the NHL as a