Founding The annual meeting of the
Amateur Hockey Association of Canada (AHAC) was held in Montreal on December 10, 1898, and was reported as "a cataclysm in the hockey world." At the previous year's meeting, the application of the
Ottawa Capitals to join was declined. In 1898, the Capitals had won the intermediate championship and applied again for AHAC membership. The AHAC executive then voted in favor of admitting the Capitals for league membership. This led to the representatives of the
Quebec,
Montreal Victorias and
Ottawa clubs opting to withdraw from the association. The representative of the
Montreal Hockey Club asked the group to reconsider but was declined, after which point Montreal also withdrew. The new league adopted the existing constitution of the AHAC. The following executive committee was formed: Proposed by the Quebec team, a rope was used to connect the tops of the existing goal posts. Attached to the rope and the posts was netting in a pocket, to catch any pucks that entered the net. Nets had been in use for the goals in
lacrosse and
ice polo. The nets became a permanent part of the CAHL rinks after an exhibition series in 1899.
Final season The league would stay with the same five teams until the 1904 season. During the season, Ottawa withdrew from the league in a dispute with the league. The league continued its schedule with the remaining four teams. The following season, the league admitted the Montreal Le National and Montreal Westmount clubs in place of Ottawa, which joined the
Federal Amateur Hockey League. It would be the final season of the league, as in the off-season the Montreal Wanderers and Ottawa would form the
Eastern Canada Amateur Hockey Association and absorb the teams of the CAHL. ==Teams==