With a new agreement in place between the TCHA and NAHC to contest the Challenge Cup for the first time, there was some small semblance of peace as the 1913-14 season got underway. The shuffling back and forth of players between the two rival loops had slowed (some). Among the bigger moves (from a fan's standpoint) before games began was former Ottawa LW Frank Rerhard (Victoria), former Valiant Pete Boutet (Vancouver) and ex-Silver Skate Efrem Massicotte (Vancouver). Injuries took a toll on Massicotte (9 g, 5 a in 11 games) and he didn't pay the big dividends George Yeadon was expecting... and neither did Boutet (13g, 2 a in 16 games) but he didn't have an injury excuse. Rerhard, however, did pay off as he finished second in goals (22), assists (12) and points (34) and helped the Capitals to again claim the TCHA Championship.

The TCHA pushed back its start date into early December. This was due to the agreement with the NAHC to contest the Challenge Cup - a sticking point the previous two seasons had been that the TCHA season ended two weeks or more after the Eastern loop's campaign did. Victoria had a stellar season, posting a 13-3 record despite losing Bill Yeadon to a broken arm early in the season (he ultimately played 9 games and had 5 goals and 5 assists). In addition to Rerhard, Victoria had Max Thibodeau whose 26 goals topped the TCHA and whose 30 points were third.

The former Surrey Seals, now playing in Seattle as the Emeralds, copped second place with a 7-9 mark. They were the league's lowest-scoring outfit with just 67 goals as a team and got the vast majority of their goals from the forward combination of Sibby Danielson (20 goals), Ralph Verville (18) and Andrew Burns (13). Last-place Vancouver was a disappointing 4-12, a somewhat misleading record given their goal differential was only -11 as they lost a slew of one-goal contests (Seattle, which posted a 7-9 mark also had a -11 goal differential). Some of that misfortune could be laid at the feet of Pete Boutet who had been brought in at a premium price and scored the fifth-most points for his club. Vancouver did have the league's leading scorer in Al Fleming whose 22 goals and 14 assists gave him 36 points, two more than Frank Rerhard had in Victoria.

In the East, Jack Connolly's money started to pay off for the Toronto Silver Skates. Connolly had, for two years now, had his sights set on the Quebec Champlains a club he had briefly owned before he sold it off in what now looked like a poor decision. Quebec had been the class of the league the past two seasons and weathered the storm of having every player on its roster offered a contract by the TCHA before the peace agreement had been signed - and though they had lost some players (including Al Fleming), the Champlains still had Paddy O'Donoghue and Fletcher Troop. 

Still, the Silver Skates gave the Champs a big challenge in 1913-14. For much of the season, the Silver Skates had the better record than Quebec. But no one could match the offensive firepower of Quebec. With O'Donoghue having a "disappointing" season (he scored "only" 26 goals in 19 games), Troop more than picked up the slack, finding the net 37 times to easily lead the NAHC. Quebec's 113 goals were 20 more than anyone else could muster and though three clubs allowed fewer goals, the Champs posted a +42 goal differential, and that was more than enough for a 16-4 record and another Connolly Cup - and right to defend the Challenge Cup against Victoria.

Connolly's Silver Skates posted a 15-5 mark, just one back of Quebec thanks to a strong, complimentary offense that featured passing more than most clubs of the time did. This led to RW Al McDaniels scoring 22 goals and adding 12 assists and LW Roy Mitchell scoring 19 goals with 15 assists to give the Skates a good one-two punch. In Philippe Boutin (13 goals, 5 assists), the Skates also had a strong two-way defenseman and goaltender Jesse Hart was sharp with a 2.99 GAA and three shutouts.

Once again the Montreal Valiants were "the other team" owned by Connolly. Though Francophone fans in Montreal were glad to have a team they could call their own, some undoubtedly wished Connolly would spend a little more on their team instead of his "pet club" in Toronto. The Valiants lived up to their moniker in 1913-14, finishing third with a 12-8 mark, once again using the top-notch netminding of Al Juneau (his 2.64 GAA topped the league) and the offensive prowess of Gevis Murphy (19 goals, 4 assists) and Al Carson (16 goals, 9 assists) to finish with a +23 goal differential.

Fourth-place went to the Ottawa Athletics at 10-10. The Athletics had RW Simon Kouger (22 goals, 5 assists) and C Joe McMahan (17g, 5a) leading the attack and a pair of respectable goaltenders in William Thibault (6-6, 2.87) and the up-and-coming Davey Vert (4-4-, 3.29) but were a bit punchless outside of their two star forwards. The Wanderers had a lot of punch, but neglected the defensive end with disastrous results. The club went 6-14, scoring 93 goals but allowing an embarrassing 125 opponent goals, going through three goalies (Alfred Gervais, Tom Higby and Albie Dafoe) in the process. Still, the presence of George McIntosh (28 goals, 12 assists), Francis Craft (27g, 11a) and the Vandenburg brothers kept fans interested. Last-place went to the woeful Toronto Wolves. Despite being a generally good guy, Bert Thomas had been unable to replicate any of the success his baseball club (also called the Toronto Wolves) had enjoyed (they'd won pennants in 1904, 1909 and 1911). The hockey Wolves were simply abysmal. The club was a punching bag for the other NAHC squads, going 1-19 with a -59 goal differential. They had one, and only one, star in Nap Bertrand. He scored 23 goals to rank among the league leaders and on a better team might have been able to challenge Troop or O'Donoghue. His 30 points were 18 more than his next-best team mate. As a team the Wolves scored only 51 goals and allowed 110. The status of this "other" Toronto club would become an issue in the not-too-distant future.

In the Maritime loop, the Sydney Greens again won the title, going 16-8 and winning the tiebreaker with the Halifax Gaels thanks to a better goal differential. But the Gaels had a star in the making in RW Nellie Wilson who scored 51 goals, a new record for a professional (they also had players tally 37 and 34 goals - defense was at a bit of a premium in the MHC). Unfortunately for Sydney - and the Maritime Hockey Confederation in general - the offseason agreement between the TCHA and NAHC meant that the Challenge Cup would be out of reach.

The Challenge Cup series between Victoria and Quebec despite a mix-up that nearly cancelled the series. George Yeadon, as TCHA President, was supposed to send a letter to the Cup Trustees to be considered for the Cup. He did not do so, believing NAHC President Percy Hopkins would. When Hopkins did not, the Trustees, feeling "left out" of the decision regarding the TCHA/NAHC agreement, said that the Cup would not be allowed to be awarded to the TCHA champions as they were not legally considered eligible. Eventually it was sorted out and the series took place, with Quebec winning the series, three games to none (all games were played in Quebec) by scores of 5-3, 7-6 (in overtime) and 3-2. 

NAHC TOP GOALIE

Al Juneau, VAL: 12-8, 2.64 GAA

TCHA TOP GOALIE

John Tomlinson, VIC: 13-3, 4.44 GAA