NHL Saturday is getting closer to the finite end of this retro series, and this season represents the return to normalcy for North American professional hockey after the end of World War II. The Original Six played just a 50-game schedule, so the sabermetric values below reflect that reduction in the regular season. Remember, we’re only going back to the 1942-1943 season with this series, so it’s closing down in August.

1946 Hart: Max Bentley, C, Chicago (original, confirmed)

After posting 70 points in 47 games during the 1942-1943 season, Chicago Black Hawks center Max Bentley missed the next two seasons fighting in the war. He returned to the NHL this season at age 25 to post a league-best 61 points and win the Hart vote. Bentley also posted the highest Point Shares mark (6.7) among forwards in the league, but there are two other contenders to consider in the 6.0-plus PS range.

Toronto Maple Leafs left wing Gaye Stewart topped the league with 37 goals while finishing with 6.6 PS, while Montréal Canadiens LW Toe Blake (6.0) wasn’t too far behind. Stewart was in his age-22 season, and he also missed two seasons due to the war, but Toronto missed the postseason here. Meanwhile, Blake was in his age-33 year and did not serve in the military. The Habs also finished eight points higher than Chicago.

Thus, we’re going to confirm Bentley’s vote win, as he had more value to a lesser team in the standings. He later played for the Maple Leafs, and we gave him our Conn Smythe for the 1951 season as well.

1946 Norris: Bill Quackenbush, Detroit

As the top defenseman in the NHL Point Shares hierarchy with 5.7 PS, and as the top defenseman in the Defensive Point Shares list (4.4 DPS), we nominate Canadiens blueliner Glen Harmon for the Norris. Yet we also give considerable consideration to Detroit Red Wings youngster Bill Quackenbush (5.6 PS, 3.5 DPS), as his team finished fourth with just a five-point cushion. He may have made the difference there.

Also, Montréal fielded the top four DPS guys, so Harmon certainly wasn’t acting alone here. Thus, we give the hardware, in a surprising upset, to Quackenbush. Without him, the Red Wings might have missed the postseason altogether. He finished tenth in overall PS and sixth in DPS for the fourth-place team.

1946 Vezina: Bill Durnan, Montréal (original)

The top two candidates here have won a combined four Vezinas already in our analyses: Montréal’s Bill Durnan (three) and Detroit’s Harry Lumley (one). Durnan topped the NHL in Point Shares (9.2) while winning the award for the first-place Canadiens with their blue-chip blue line, while Lumley wasn’t far behind (9.0) for a fourth-place team. Durnan certainly had the better numbers, but we have some thoughts.

Durnan played in just 40 games, yet he still led the NHL in wins (24), GAA (2.30), and shutouts (four). Lumley played in all 50 games and posted just a 20-20-10 record with a 3.18 GAA and two shutouts. Without Lumley, maybe the Wings don’t make the playoffs, and normally that kind of value-added context would win him our nod. But in the end, Durnan won the Triple Crown here, and we can’t ignore that. Check.

1946 Calder: Edgar Laprade, C, New York (original); George Gee, C, Chicago (revised)

The top two rookies played for very different teams: New York C Edgar Laprade (2.9 PS) and Chicago C George Gee (2.7). The difference in PS value is minimal, and while Laprade won the Calder vote, his team finished dead last in the standings. Meanwhile, Gee played for the third-place Black Hawks, rendering his PS much more valuable to the team, even if Chicago could have made the postseason without him. Oh well.

1946 Conn Smythe: Elmer Lach, C, Montréal

Montréal won the Stanley Cup by sweeping Chicago in the semifinals and then defeating the second-place Boston Bruins over five games in the Finals. With Durnan being relatively human in this postseason (2.06 GAA, zero shutouts), we’re giving the Conn Smythe to C Elmer Lach, who posted 17 points in nine games to lead all skaters in the postseason. His 12 assists were also a league-best effort for the playoffs. Impressive!