The demise of the Montreal Nationals left the NAHC with seven clubs. That what had been the class of the league just a few short years ago was now gone was a tough pill for many to swallow. That the club had been bought, lock, stock and barrel by the New York Shamrocks' owner Sam Bigsby, then cannibalized to support his club was an even more bitter pill. Still, the league soldiered on, and that phrase would take on a whole new meeting just a few months after the Challenge Cup Finals ended when Canada went to war with the German Reich alongside the rest of the British Commonwealth nations.
On the ice the Boston Bees had now firmly stepped into the role of best team in the league. They put up a 34-13-1 mark and their 69 points were seven ahead of the runner-up Detroit Olympians, who themselves barely edged out third-place Toronto. There was a definite divide thereafter, with the top three firmly and obviously superior to the other four clubs. Of those "second division" squads, the Chicago Packers and New York Shamrocks were respectable while the New York Eagles and Montreal Valiants (surprisingly in the latter's case) were terrible.
Over the years he and his family had been a part of the NAHC, Shamrocks owner Sam Bigsby had never been shy about exercising what he felt was his power in league matters. The year before, Bigsby had been thwarted in his attempt to derail the bailout of the New York Eagles - the Shamrocks' main rival (and tenant) - by Detroit Olympians owner John Connolly Jr. That deal had essentially been a franchise swap, although both Detroit and the Eagles kept their minor league affiliates, every contract held by each club had been swapped in return for Connolly's bailout of the Eagles.
Both clubs appeared to have benefited from the "franchise trade" as many smirkingly termed it. The Eagles actually bounced back with their roster of former Olympians and finished in a tie atop the American Division with the Boston Bees. Though both clubs had 54 points, league rules named the Eagles the division champs because they had 23 wins against 21 for Boston. Meanwhile, the former Eagles took roost in Detroit and promptly finished second in the Canadian Division behind a resurgent Montreal Valiants club, posting a 21-16-11 mark for 53 points.