Cecil Mordecai Hart (November 28, 1883 – July 16, 1940) was a

head coach A head coach, senior coach, or manager is a professional responsible for training and developing athletes within a sports team. This role often has a higher public profile and salary than other coaching positions. In some sports, such as associat ...

and general manager of the

Montreal Canadiens The Montreal Canadiens (), officially ' ( Canadian Hockey Club) and colloquially known as the Habs, are a professional ice hockey team based in Montreal. The Canadiens compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic D ...

in the

National Hockey League The National Hockey League (NHL; , ''LNH'') is a professional ice hockey league in North America composed of 32 teams25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. The NHL is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Cana ...

Biography

Cecil Hart was

Jewish Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...

, a direct descendant of Aaron Hart who was Canada's first Jewish settler, and was born in Bedford, Quebec. During the early 1910s Hart was a player and manager with the Montreal Stars of the Montreal City Hockey League, where he was a teammate of future NHL referee Cooper Smeaton. Hart helped lead the

to two

Stanley Cup The Stanley Cup () is the championship trophy awarded annually to the National Hockey League (NHL) playoff champion. It is the oldest existing trophy to be awarded to a professional sports franchise in North America, and the International Ic ...

s, in 1930 and 1931. He was fired after a dispute with Canadiens' owner Léo Dandurand after leading the Canadiens to first place in the 1931–32 season, but after Dandurand and Joseph Cattarinich sold the Canadiens to Ernest Savard and Maurice Forget of the Canadian Arena Company, the Canadiens hit bottom in 1935–36. To rebuild the team, they rehired Hart in 1936–37, but Hart would only come back if Howie Morenz did. A deal was arranged and with Morenz back, and despite the death of Morenz during the season, Hart managed to lead the Canadiens to first place. After that, the team eroded as age caught up with some key players. When the Canadiens were reclining near the cellar in 1938–39, Cecil resigned as coach and manager. Only eighteen other people have won multiple Stanley Cups besides Hart as a head coach, although he is not currently inducted into the

Hockey Hall of Fame The Hockey Hall of Fame () is a museum and hall of fame located in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Dedicated to the history of ice hockey, it holds exhibits about players, teams, National Hockey League (NHL) records, memorabilia and National Hockey Le ...

despite being eligible. Hart later became vice president and treasurer of the Quebec, Ontario and Vermont Baseball League also before his untimely death. Hart died after a lengthy illness in July 1940. Hart's father, David Hart, donated the Hart Memorial Trophy in 1923. Hart was inducted into the International Jewish Sports Hall of Fame in 1992.

NHL coaching record

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Hart, Cecil 1883 births 1940 deaths Canadian ice hockey coaches Canadian people of German-Jewish descent Jewish Canadian sportspeople Montreal Canadiens coaches Montreal Canadiens executives People from Montérégie Stanley Cup champions Stanley Cup championship–winning head coaches Cecil Hart