With last night’s news that the NHL and its players’ union have reached a tentative deal to end the 2012-13 season lockout, hockey fans are back in the game.

This 1905 postcard belonged to my grandfather, who was a fan of the original Ottawa Senators prior to the team’s move to St. Louis, Missouri, in 1934. (The team name was revived when the new Ottawa NHL franchise was awarded for the 1992–93 season.)

In 1904-05, the Senators (called the “Silver Seven” by fans) played in the Canadian Amateur Hockey League (CAHL). Ottawa actually withdrew from the CAHL in mid-season, due to a dispute, defaulting league championship to the Quebec Bulldogs . However, the Stanley Cup trustees decided that the Cup should be awarded to Ottawa anyway, presumably based on their prior unbeaten steak. Quebec refused to make a challenge for the Stanley Cup, arguing that the Cup belonged to the CAHL season winner.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1904_CAHL_season