The Rangers team was organized by
Conn Smythe who used his extensive knowledge of available amateur players along with sound selection of players available from the dispersal of the
Western Hockey League (WHL): • The brothers
Bill and
Bun Cook were part of the dispersed players of the WHL, having played for the
Saskatoon Sheiks; •
Frank Boucher was from the
Vancouver Maroons of the WHL; •
Leo Bourgeault was also from Saskatoon of the WHL; •
Murray Murdoch had been a member of the 1923
Memorial Cup-winning
University of Manitoba; •
Paul Thompson was a member of the junior
Calgary Canadians, Memorial Cup winners in 1926; •
Taffy Abel had been a member of the silver medal-winning United States team in the
1924 Olympics; •
Stan Brown had been a member of the
Allan Cup-winning
Toronto Dentals team. Smythe signed several players from the amateur
Minneapolis Millers, including
Taffy Abel,
Billy Boyd and
Ching Johnson. The 1925–26 Millers also provided other players to the NHL in the future, including
Cooney Weiland and
Tiny Thompson, Paul Thompson's brother. Training camp was held in Toronto at the
Ravina Gardens arena near Smythe's home. However, before the season started, Smythe was fired by the club and
Lester Patrick took over from Smythe. Patrick received the job as part of the dispersal agreement of the WHL. His brother Frank received a job at the
Boston Bruins. Smythe would eventually receive a $ severance, a large amount in those days. ==Regular season==