The 1915–16 NHA season was the seventh season of the National Hockey Association. Five teams played a 24 game schedule. Montreal Canadiens won the league championship and defeated the Portland Rosebuds to win their first ever Stanley Cup.
League business
Toronto Blueshirts included the players from the Toronto Shamrocks/Ontarios/Tecumsehs franchise. Before the season, Ed Livingstone, the Shamrocks owner, purchased the Blueshirts franchise from Frank Robinson. At the annual meeting of November 9, 1915, he was ordered to sell the Shamrocks franchise but could not do so as the Pacific Coast Hockey Association 'raided' the franchise and signed its players.
Emmett Quinn continued as president
Frank Calder continued as secretary-treasurer
Directors:
Sam Lichtenhein, Ernie Russell, Wanderers
E. J. Livingstone, Shamrocks
Frank Robinson, M. J. Quinn, Toronto
Barney Kane, Quebec
George Kennedy, Canadiens
Martin Rosenthal, Frank Shaughnessy, Ottawa
President Quinn instituted a rule that officials would be locked in their dressing rooms between periods to disallow influence from the press or players.
Regular season
Several players from the PCHA signed with NHA clubs: Frank Nighbor, Ottawa Bert Lindsay, Wanderers Walter Smaill, Wanderers
Highlights
On January 23, 1916, Skene Ronan was arrested by Toronto police and charged with assault for hitting Alf Skinner.
On February 23, 1916, Gordon Roberts of the Wanderers drew a match penalty for cutting Ottawa's Frank Nighbor in a game in Montreal. On the next visit of the Wanderers to Ottawa, Roberts was pelted with bottles from the Ottawa fans.
The race for the scoring championship was close between Newsy Lalonde of the Canadiens, Joe Malone of Quebec and Cy Denneny of Toronto. Lalonde finished with 31 goals in 25 games and Malone and Denneny tied for second with 26 goals. Clint Benedict of Ottawa had the best G.A.A. of 3.0 to surpass Georges Vezina's 3.2 goals per game. Gordon Keats of Toronto scored five goals in a game against Quebec on February 7, 1916, and finished the season with 22 goals in 24 games.
Final standings
Montreal was the O'Brien Cup champion by virtue of leading the league in its season.
Playoffs
The Canadiens hosted the Portland Rosebuds, champions of the Pacific Coast Hockey Association (PCHA), for the Stanley Cup.
Stanley Cup Finals
Exhibitions
After the Stanley Cup playoff, Portland and Montreal traveled to New York for two exhibition games. The teams then played two games in Cleveland. Montreal then traveled to Boston to play the winner of an exhibition series played between Ottawa, Quebec and the Wanderers.