 A new league , the Canadian Hockey Association ( <unk> ) , was formed in late November 1909 . One of the teams , the All @-@ Montreal Hockey Club , hired Ross as a playing @-@ manager , but the league only lasted to mid @-@ January 1910 before disbanding . Ross , who scored four goals in four games in the <unk> , then signed with the <unk> <unk> of the National Hockey Association ( NHA ) , a league formed in December 1909 , which proved to be the stronger replacement to the ECAHA as the highest level of hockey in Canada . He received $ 2 @,@ 700 to play in the 1910 season , which lasted from January to March , playing twelve games for the team and finishing with six goals . Before the following season , the NHA imposed a salary cap of $ 5 @,@ 000 per team . The players , including Ross , were unhappy as this would result in a pay decrease , and began looking to form their own league without a cap . Ross wrote to the Montreal Herald , stating " all the players want is a fair deal ... The players are not trying to <unk> the NHA , but we want to know where we get off at . " The plans were abandoned when they realized all the suitable arenas would be unavailable as they were owned or leased by the NHA . Ross scored four goals in eleven games with the Wanderers , who finished fourth in the five team league . During a match against the Quebec Bulldogs on February 25 , 1911 , Ross knocked out Eddie <unk> in a fight , provoking a massive brawl between the two teams , which the police had to break up . The fight helped to increase the reputation Ross had as a tough player unwilling to back down from any opponent . The following season Ross had eleven goals in nineteen games as the Wanderers improved to second in the league . 
