Sylvio Mantha

Joseph Sylvio Theobald Mantha (April 14, 1902 – August 7, 1974) was a Canadian professional ice hockey player who played fourteen seasons in the National Hockey League for the Montreal Canadiens and Boston Bruins.

Playing career[]

Born in Montreal, Mantha was a three-time Stanley Cup winner - 1924, 1930 (Captain), 1931 (Captain). He played fourteen NHL seasons from 1923–24 to 1936–37, with all but four games as a Montreal Canadiens player. He was the captain of the Montreal Canadiens from 1926–27 to 1931–32 and from 1933–34 to 1935–36.

Mantha started as a right-winger for the in 1918–19 season, before playing for Verdun in the Intermediate Mount Royal Hockey League, Montreal Imperial Tobacco, and Montreal Northern Electric in the Montreal industrial league. He played briefly for the in the Quebec league. After scoring four goals in nine games with the Nationales, he was signed by the Montreal Canadiens. The Canadiens started Mantha as a forward, then moved him to the right defence, because veterans Sprague Cleghorn and Billy Coutu were aging.

When Cleghorn was traded just before the 1925–26 NHL season, Mantha gained a more prominent role. He scored the first-ever goal in Boston Garden on November 20, 1928, leading the Canadiens to a 1–0 win over the Boston Bruins. Mantha was named to the NHL Second All-Star Team in both the 1929–30 and 1930–31 seasons.

In the 1935–36 NHL season, Mantha became the Canadiens' player-coach. After a dismal season, the Canadiens fired him. The Boston Bruins were involved in a contract dispute with Eddie Shore, so they signed Mantha at the start of the 1936–37 NHL season—and gave him Shore's number 2 jersey. Four games into the season, Mantha admitted he could no longer play at a competitive level and retired.

Mantha then worked as a linesman and referee for the AHL and NHL. He then coached the junior league Montreal Concordias, Laval Nationales (1943–1945), Verdun Maple Leafs (1945–1947), and St. Jerome Eagles (1947–1948).

He was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1960, and died in Montreal, in August 1974.

The Georges and Sylvio Mantha Arenas are part of the Complexe Récréatif Gadbois in Montreal and named for him and his brother, Georges Mantha, who also played in the National Hockey League.

Career statistics[]

* Stanley Cup Champion.

NHL coaching record[]

See also[]

• List of members of the Hockey Hall of Fame

External links[]

• Biographical information and career statistics from Hockey-Reference.com, or Legends of Hockey, or The Internet Hockey Database