The 1931–32 Chicago Black Hawks season was the team's sixth season in the NHL, and they were coming off of their first ever Stanley Cup finals appearance, as they lost to the Montreal Canadiens in 5 games in the 1931 finals. The Hawks would not bring back Dick Irvin as head coach though, as they rehired Bill Tobin, who coached the Hawks at the end of the 1929–30 season. Despite finishing with an under .500 record, as the Hawks would get 47 points in 48 games, the team finished in 2nd place in the American Division, and would qualify for the playoffs for the 3rd straight season.

The Black Hawks would be led offensively by Johnny Gottselig, who led the club with 13 goals and 28 points, while Tom Cook would finish just behind him with 12 goals and 25 points. Mush March would have a big season, scoring 12 goals and earning 22 points, while leading the club with 59 penalty minutes.

In goal, Chuck Gardiner would win the Vezina Trophy, as the Black Hawks would have the fewest goals against in the entire league. Gardiner would win 18 games, post a 1.85 GAA and have 4 shutouts.

One seemingly routine regular season game was recalled 30 years later in a February 1, 1962, episode of ABC television's The Untouchables, titled "Silent Partner" in which one of the characters, agent Lee Hobson, goes to the Black Hawks game vs. the New York Americans. The game was played on March 4, 1932, but narrator Walter Winchell's script put the date at March 5, possibly because researchers would have found stories about the night game in the next morning's newspapers. The show got the 6–1 Black Hawk victory correct, but it cannot be determined if Winchell's remark of attendance of 7,000 was also correct.

Chicago would face the Toronto Maple Leafs in the opening round of the playoffs for the 2nd straight year, however, unlike the previous season, the Black Hawks could not defeat Toronto in the 2 game total goal series, as the Leafs would eliminate the Hawks by a 6–2 score.

Season standings

Record vs. opponents

Schedule and results

Regular season

| 1 || November 12 || Chicago Black Hawks || 2–1 || Toronto Maple Leafs || 1–0–0 || 2

| 2 || November 15 || New York Americans || 1–1 || Chicago Black Hawks || 1–0–1 || 3

| 3 || November 18 || Toronto Maple Leafs || 1–1 || Chicago Black Hawks || 1–0–2 || 4

| 4 || November 22 || Montreal Maroons || 2–4 || Chicago Black Hawks || 2–0–2 || 6

| 5 || November 24 || Chicago Black Hawks || 1–1 || New York Rangers || 2–0–3 || 7

| 6 || November 26 || Chicago Black Hawks || 0–1 || Boston Bruins || 2–1–3 || 7

| 7 || November 29 || New York Rangers || 5–0 || Chicago Black Hawks || 2–2–3 || 7

| 8 || December 2 || Montreal Canadiens || 1–2 || Chicago Black Hawks || 3–2–3 || 9

| 9 || December 6 || Chicago Black Hawks || 0–2 || New York Americans || 3–3–3 || 9

|10 || December 8 || Chicago Black Hawks || 1–1 || Montreal Canadiens || 3–3–4 || 10

|11 || December 13 || Boston Bruins || 3–0 || Chicago Black Hawks || 3–4–4 || 10

|12 || December 16 || Detroit Falcons || 1–4 || Chicago Black Hawks || 4–4–4 || 12

|13 || December 17 || Chicago Black Hawks || 1–4 || Detroit Falcons || 4–5–4 || 12

|14 || December 20 || Toronto Maple Leafs || 0–1 || Chicago Black Hawks || 5–5–4 || 14

|15 || December 22 || Chicago Black Hawks || 1–1 || Montreal Maroons || 5–5–5 || 15

|16 || December 27 || Chicago Black Hawks || 1–3 || New York Rangers || 5–6–5 || 15

|17 || December 29 || Chicago Black Hawks || 3–3 || Boston Bruins || 5–6–6 || 16

|18 || January 1 || New York Americans || 2–3 || Chicago Black Hawks || 6–6–6 || 18

|19 || January 3 || New York Rangers || 1–1 || Chicago Black Hawks || 6–6–7 || 19

|20 || January 6 || Detroit Falcons || 2–4 || Chicago Black Hawks || 7–6–7 || 21

|21 || January 10 || Boston Bruins || 1–1 || Chicago Black Hawks || 7–6–8 || 22

|22 || January 13 || Montreal Canadiens || 2–1 || Chicago Black Hawks || 7–7–8 || 22

|23 || January 14 || Chicago Black Hawks || 0–2 || Detroit Falcons || 7–8–8 || 22

|24 || January 17 || Montreal Maroons || 3–3 || Chicago Black Hawks || 7–8–9 || 23

|25 || January 19 || Chicago Black Hawks || 3–2 || Boston Bruins || 8–8–9 || 25

|26 || January 21 || Chicago Black Hawks || 1–0 || New York Americans || 9–8–9 || 27

|27 || January 23 || Chicago Black Hawks || 3–3 || Montreal Maroons || 9–8–10 || 28

|28 || January 27 || Detroit Falcons || 1–2 || Chicago Black Hawks || 10–8–10 || 30

|29 || January 28 || Chicago Black Hawks || 2–4 || Detroit Falcons || 10–9–10 || 30

|30 || January 31 || New York Rangers || 3–0 || Chicago Black Hawks || 10–10–10 || 30

|31 || February 3 || Toronto Maple Leafs || 0–7 || Chicago Black Hawks || 11–10–10 || 32

|32 || February 7 || Chicago Black Hawks || 0–1 || New York Rangers || 11–11–10 || 32

|33 || February 9 || Chicago Black Hawks || 3–1 || New York Americans || 12–11–10 || 34

|34 || February 11 || Chicago Black Hawks || 1–4 || Montreal Canadiens || 12–12–10 || 34

|35 || February 14 || Chicago Black Hawks || 1–3 || Detroit Falcons || 12–13–10 || 34

|36 || February 17 || Montreal Canadiens || 3–1 || Chicago Black Hawks || 12–14–10 || 34

|37 || February 20 || Boston Bruins || 1–2 || Chicago Black Hawks || 13–14–10 || 36

|38 || February 24 || Montreal Maroons || 1–3 || Chicago Black Hawks || 14–14–10 || 38

|39 || February 27 || Chicago Black Hawks || 2–4 || Toronto Maple Leafs || 14–15–10 || 38

|40 || March 1 || Chicago Black Hawks || 0–1 || Montreal Maroons || 14–16–10 || 38

|41 || March 4 || New York Americans || 1–6 || Chicago Black Hawks || 15–16–10 || 40

|42 || March 6 || New York Rangers || 3–4 || Chicago Black Hawks || 16–16–10 || 42

|43 || March 8 || Chicago Black Hawks || 1–6 || New York Rangers || 16–17–10 || 42

|44 || March 10 || Chicago Black Hawks || 3–2 || Boston Bruins || 17–17–10 || 44

|45 || March 12 || Chicago Black Hawks || 0–1 || Montreal Canadiens || 17–18–10 || 44

|46 || March 16 || Detroit Falcons || 1–1 || Chicago Black Hawks || 17–18–11 || 45

|47 || March 19 || Chicago Black Hawks || 3–11 || Toronto Maple Leafs || 17–19–11 || 45

|48 || March 20 || Boston Bruins || 0–1 || Chicago Black Hawks || 18–19–11 || 47

Legend:

Playoffs Maple Leafs 6, Black Hawks 2 NHL quarter-finals (C2) Toronto Maple Leafs vs. (A2) Chicago Black Hawks

Player statistics

Scoring leaders Player GP G A Pts PIMJohnny Gottselig 44 13 15 28 28Tom Cook 48 12 13 25 36Mush March 48 12 10 22 59Paul Thompson 48 8 14 22 34Vic Ripley 46 12 6 18 47

Goaltending Player GP TOI W L T GA SO GAAChuck Gardiner 48 2989 18 19 11 92 4 1.85Wilf Cude 1 41 0 0 0 9 0 13.17

Playoff stats

Scoring leaders Player GP G A Pts PIMGerry Lowrey 2 1 0 1 2Arthur Coulter 2 1 0 1 0Buck Boucher 2 0 1 1 0

Goaltending Player GP TOI W L T GA SO GAAChuck Gardiner 2 120 1 1 0 6 1 3.00

References

SHRP Sports The Internet Hockey Database National Hockey League Guide & Record Book 2007