History of the National Hockey League
Encyclopedia
The history of the National Hockey League begins with the end of its predecessor league, the National Hockey Association
(NHA), in 1917. After unsuccessfully resolving disputes with Eddie Livingstone, owner of the Toronto Blueshirts
, executives of the three other NHA franchises suspended the NHA, and formed the National Hockey League
(NHL), replacing the Livingstone team with a temporary team in Toronto, the Arenas
. The NHL's first quarter-century saw the league compete against two rival major leagues—the Pacific Coast Hockey Association
and Western Canada Hockey League
—for players and the Stanley Cup
. The NHL first expanded into the United States in 1924 with the founding of the Boston Bruins
, and by 1926 consisted of ten teams in Ontario
, Quebec
, the Great Lakes region
, and the Northeastern United States
. At the same time, the NHL emerged as the only major league and the sole competitor for the Stanley Cup; in 1947, the NHL completed a deal with the Stanley Cup trustees to gain full control of the Cup. The NHL's footprint spread across Canada
as Foster Hewitt
's radio broadcasts were heard coast-to-coast starting in 1933.
The Great Depression
and World War II
reduced the league to six teams, later known as the "Original Six
", by 1942. Maurice Richard
became the first player to score 50 goals in a season in 1944–45, and ten years later, Richard was suspended for assaulting a linesman, leading to the Richard Riot
. Gordie Howe
made his debut in 1946, and retired 35 seasons later as the NHL's all-time leader in goals and points. Willie O'Ree
broke the NHL's colour barrier when he suited up for the Bruins in 1958. In 1959, Jacques Plante
became the first goaltender to regularly use a mask for protection.
The Original Six era ended in 1967 when the NHL doubled in size by adding six new expansion teams
. The six existing teams were formed into the newly created East Division
, while the expansion teams were formed into the West Division
. The NHL continued to expand, adding another six teams, to total 18 by 1974. This continued expansion was partially brought about by the NHL's attempts to compete with the World Hockey Association
, which operated from 1972 until 1979 and sought to compete with the NHL for markets and players. Bobby Hull
was the most famous player to defect to the rival league, signing a $2.75 million contract with the Winnipeg Jets. The NHL became involved in international play in the mid-1970s, starting with the Summit Series
in 1972 which pitted the top Canadian players of the NHL against the top players in the Soviet Union
, which was won by Canada with four wins, three losses, and a tie. Eventually, Soviet-Bloc players streamed into the NHL with the fall of the Iron Curtain
in 1989.
When the WHA ceased operations in 1979, the NHL absorbed four of the league's teams, which brought the NHL to 21 teams, a figure that remained constant until the San Jose Sharks
were added as an expansion franchise in 1991. Since then, the league has grown from 22 teams in 1992 to 30 today as the NHL spread its footprint across the United States
. The league has withstood major labour conflicts in 1994–95 and 2004–05, the latter of which saw the entire 2004–05 NHL season canceled, the first time in North American history that a league has canceled an entire season in a labour dispute. Wayne Gretzky
passed Gordie Howe
as the NHL's all-time leading scorer in 1994 when he scored his 802nd career goal. Mario Lemieux
overcame non-Hodgkin lymphoma
to finish his NHL career with over 1,700 points and two Stanley Cup championships. Increased use of defence-focused systems helped cause scoring to fall in the late 1990s, leading some to argue that the NHL's talent pool had been diluted by 1990s expansion. In 1998, the NHL began awarding teams a single point for losing in overtime, hoping to reduce the number of tie games; after the 2004–05 lockout, it eliminated the tie altogether, introducing the shootout
to ensure that each game has a winner.
donated the Stanley Cup
to be symbolic of the Canadian championship and appointed Philip Dansken Ross
and Sheriff John Sweetland as its trustees. It was awarded to the AHAC champion Montreal Hockey Club
and thereafter awarded to the league champions, or to any pre-approved team that won it in a challenge. In 1904, the International Hockey League
(IHL), based around Lake Michigan
, was created as the first fully professional league, which lasted for two seasons. In recruiting players, the IHL caused an "Athletic War" that drained amateur clubs of top players, most noticeably in the Ontario Hockey Association
(OHA). In the 1905–06 season, the Eastern Canada Amateur Hockey Association
(ECAHA) was formed, which mixed paid and amateur players in its rosters, which led to the demise of the IHL. Bidding wars for players led many ECAHA teams to lose money, and it eventually folded on November 25, 1909. As a result of the dissolution of the ECAHA, two leagues were formed—the Canadian Hockey Association (CHA) and the National Hockey Association
(NHA). Since the NHA's owners were notable, wealthy businessmen, the CHA did not complete a season, as the NHA easily recruited the top players, and interest in the CHA teams faded. By 1914, the rival Pacific Coast Hockey Association
(PCHA) league was launched and the NHA champion would play off each season against the PCHA champion for the Stanley Cup, ending the challenge era.
The National Hockey League came into existence with the suspension of the NHA in 1917. After unsuccessfully resolving disputes with Eddie Livingstone, owner of the Toronto Blueshirts
, executives of the three other NHA franchises—the Montreal Canadiens
, Montreal Wanderers
and Ottawa Senators
—suspended the NHA, and formed the National Hockey League
(NHL), replacing Livingstone's team with a temporary team in Toronto, the Arenas
. While new, the NHL was a continuation of the NHA. The NHL adopted the NHA's constitution, its rules, playing with six men to a side rather than the then-traditional seven and the NHA's split-season schedule. The owners originally intended the NHL to only operate for one season. However, the NHA was suspended permanently in 1918 and ceased to be an organisation in 1920. In 1921, the NHA championship trophy O'Brien Cup was adopted as the championship trophy of the NHL.
were forced to permanently withdraw from the league, as a fire left them without an arena. In the 1918–19 season, the Montreal Canadiens
faced the Seattle Metropolitans
of the PCHA for the Stanley Cup amid the Spanish influenza pandemic. The series was called off after five games after numerous players came down ill; one, Joe Hall
of the Canadiens died a few weeks later.
During the early 1920s, the NHL faced competition for players from two other major leagues: the PCHA and the Western Canada Hockey League
(WCHL). As a result, ice hockey players were among the best paid athletes in North America. By the mid-1920s, the NHL emerged as the sole major league in North America; the PCHA and WCHL having merged in 1924, only to disband two years later. The Victoria Cougars
are the last non-NHL team to win and challenge the Stanley Cup, having defeated the Canadiens in 1925, and lost to the Montreal Maroons
in 1926, respectively. The NHL continued to expand, adding the Maroons and its first American team, the Boston Bruins
in 1924, getting up to 10 teams by 1926. Defence dominated the NHL, and in the 1928–29 season, Canadiens goaltender George Hainsworth
set what remains a league record with 22 shutouts in 44 games. In response, the NHL began to allow forward passing in the offensive zone, which caused the offense to increase by approximately 2.5 times; to stem the tide, the NHL introduced the offside rule, which prevents offensive players to enter the opponent's zone without the puck.
Livingstone continued to press claims in court throughout the 1920s, going as far as the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council
in London
, England
. In early 1927, the Toronto franchise was sold to Conn Smythe
, who renamed it to the Maple Leafs
, and successfully promised to win the Stanley Cup in five years. He built the Maple Leaf Gardens
, which included radio broadcaster Foster Hewitt
's famous broadcast booth, affectionately referred to as a "gondola". On December 13, 1933, Eddie Shore
charged Ace Bailey
causing a severe skull fracture, following what Shore thought was a check from Bailey, but was actually made by King Clancy
. Despite the grim prognosis (newspapers printed his obituary), Bailey survived, but never played a game. The Maple Leafs hosted the Ace Bailey All-Star Benefit Game, which raised over $20,000 for Bailey and his family.
While Conn Smythe was able to successfully build a new arena, numerous other teams experienced financial difficulties. With the folding of the Philadelphia Quakers
(originally the Pittsburgh Pirates
) and the St. Louis Eagles
(originally the Ottawa Senators), the NHL was reduced to eight teams starting in the 1935–36 season. The Montreal Canadiens narrowly escaped a move to Cleveland, Ohio
, before a syndicate of Montreal businessmen bought the team. Montreal's financial troubles forced them to sell popular player Howie Morenz
. When Morenz scored against the Canadiens on the last day of the 1935 season, Montreal fans voiced their opinion, giving him a standing ovation. Morenz was eventually re-acquired by Montreal, and on January 28, 1937, Morenz's skate became caught in the ice during a play. He suffered a broken leg in four places, and died on March 8 of a coronary embolism; 50,000 people filed past Morenz's casket at centre ice of the Montreal Forum
to pay their last respects. A benefit game held in November 1937 raised $20,000 for Morenz's family as the NHL All-Stars defeated the Montreal Canadiens 6–5.
In the mid-1930s, Chicago Black Hawks owner and staunch American nationalist Frederic McLaughlin
commanded his general manager to compile a team of only American players; at the time, Taffy Abel was the only American-born player who was a regular player in the league. With eight out of 14 players Americans, the Black Hawks won only 14 of 48 games. In the playoffs, however, the Hawks upset the Canadiens, New York Americans
, and the Maple Leafs to become the only team in NHL history to win the Stanley Cup despite a losing regular-season record. In the 1942 Stanley Cup Finals, the heavily favoured Maple Leafs were facing an upset, having fallen 3–0 in the seven-game series to the fifth-place Detroit Red Wings. Toronto rebounded, and won the next four games to capture the Stanley Cup, becoming first out of three teams in the NHL to come back from a 3–0 series deficit.
Prior to the 1938–39 season, the Montreal Maroons folded due to financial difficulties, while the New York Americans suffered a similar fate prior to the 1942–43 season
. With the league reduced to six teams, the "Original Six" era began. The league was nearly reduced to five teams before the following season, as World War II
had ravaged the rosters of many teams to such an extent that teams battled each other for players. With only five returning players from the previous season, New York Rangers general manager Lester Patrick
suggested suspending his team's play for the duration of the war but was persuaded otherwise.
In February 1943, league President Frank Calder
collapsed during a meeting, dying shortly after. Red Dutton
agreed to take over as president after receiving assurances from the league that the Brooklyn franchise he had operated would resume play after the war. When the other team owners reneged on this promise in 1946, Dutton resigned as league president. With Dutton's recommendation, Clarence Campbell
was named president of the NHL in 1946. He remained in that role until his retirement in 1977. For the first 21 years of his presidency, the same six teams competed for the Stanley Cup and that period has been called the "golden age of hockey". The NHL featured increasingly intense rivalries coupled with rule innovations that opened up the game. The first official All-Star Game
took place at Maple Leaf Gardens
in Toronto on October 13, 1947 to raise money for the newly created NHL Pension Society. The NHL All-Stars defeated the Toronto Maple Leafs 4–3 and raised C$
25,000 for the pension fund.
The 1940s Canadiens were led by the "Punch line
" of Elmer Lach
, Toe Blake
and Maurice "Rocket" Richard
. In 1944–45, Lach, Richard and Blake finished first, second and third in the NHL's scoring race with 80, 73 and 67 points respectively. It was Richard who became the focus of the media and fans as he attempted to score 50 goals in a 50 game season
, a feat no other player had accomplished in league history. Richard scored his 50th goal in Boston at 17:45 of the third period of Montreal's final game of the season. In March 1955, Richard was suspended for the remainder of the season, including the playoffs, after he received a match penalty for slashing Boston's Hal Laycoe
then punching a linesman who attempted to intervene. The suspension touched off a wave of anger towards league president Clarence Campbell, who was warned not to attend a scheduled game in Montreal after receiving numerous death threats, mainly from French-Canadians accusing him of anti-French bias. Campbell dismissed the warnings, and attended the March 17 game as planned. His presence at the game was perceived by many fans as a provocation and he was booed and pelted with eggs and fruit. An hour into the game, a fan lobbed a tear-gas bomb in Campbell's direction, and firefighters decided to clear the building. Fans leaving the game and a growing mob of angry demonstrators rioted outside of the Montreal Forum
, which became known as l'affaire Richard, or the Richard Riot
. Richard became the first player to score 500 career goals on October 19, 1957. He retired in 1960 as an eight-time Stanley Cup champion, as well as the NHL's all-time leading scorer with 544 goals.
In the fall of 1951, Maple Leafs owner Conn Smythe
watched special television feeds of games in an attempt to determine whether it would be a suitable medium for broadcasting hockey games. Television already had its detractors within the NHL, especially in Campbell. In 1952, even though only 10% of Canadians owned a television set, the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation
(CBC) began televising games. On November 1, 1952, Hockey Night in Canada
was first broadcast on television, with Foster Hewitt
calling the action between the Leafs and Bruins at Maple Leaf Gardens
. The broadcasts quickly became the highest-rated show on Canadian television. Campbell feared televised hockey would cause people to stop attending games in person, but Smythe felt the opposite. CBS
first broadcast hockey games in the United States in the 1956–57 season as an experiment. Amazed with the initial popularity of the broadcasts, it inaugurated a 21-game package of games the following year. The NHL itself adapted to be viewer-friendly. In 1949, the league mandated that the ice surface be painted white to make the puck easier to see. On January 18, 1958, Willie O'Ree
joined the Bruins as an injury call-up for a game in Montreal. In doing so he became the first black
player in the NHL.
Clint Benedict
was the first goaltender to wear facial protection, donning it in 1930 to protect a broken nose. He quickly abandoned his mask as its design interfered with his vision. Twenty-nine years later, on November 1, 1959, in a game against New York Rangers Jacques Plante
made the goaltender mask a permanent fixture in hockey. The first players' union was formed February 12, 1957 by Red Wings player Ted Lindsay
who had sat on the board of the NHL's Pension Society since 1952. Lindsay and his fellow players were upset by the league's refusal to let them view the books related to the pension fund. The league claimed that it could not contribute more than it did but the players on the Pension Committee suspected otherwise. The idea quickly gained popularity and when the union's founding was announced publicly, nearly every NHL player had signed up. Led by Alan Eagleson
, the National Hockey League Players' Association (NHLPA) was formed in 1967 and it quickly received acceptance from the owners.
The Original Six era was a period of dynasties. The Toronto Maple Leafs won the Stanley Cup five times between 1944–45 and 1950–51. In the 1951 Stanley Cup Finals
, the Maple Leafs defeated the Canadiens four games to one in the only final in NHL history when all games were decided in overtime. Beginning in 1948–49, the Red Wings won seven consecutive regular season titles, a feat that no other team has accomplished. During that time, the Wings won four Stanley Cups. It was during the 1952 Stanley Cup Finals
that the Legend of the Octopus
was created. Brothers Pete and Jerry Cusimano brought a dead octopus to the Detroit Olympia
for the fourth game of the finals. They hoped that the octopus would inspire Detroit to an eighth game victory. Detroit went on to defeat Montreal 3–0 and the tradition was born. The Red Wings faced the Canadiens in the Stanley Cup Finals in three consecutive seasons between 1954 and 1956. Detroit won the first two match-ups, but Montreal captured the 1956 Stanley Cup, ending one dynasty and starting another. The Canadiens won five consecutive championships between 1956 and 1960, a feat no other team has duplicated. The Original Six era ended with the 1967 Stanley Cup Finals
between the two-time defending champion Canadiens, and the Maple Leafs. The Maple Leafs finished the era by winning the Cup four times between 1962 and 1967, their 1967 championship is the last Maple Leafs title to date. The Chicago Blackhawks
, who won in 1961, are the only other team to win the Stanley Cup during this period.
introduced to his peers the idea of expanding the league to the American West Coast by adding two new teams for the 1964–65 season. While the governors did not agree to the proposal, the topic of expansion came up every time the owners met from then on out. In 1965, it was decided to expand by six teams, doubling the size of the NHL. In February 1966, the governors met and decided to award franchises to Los Angeles
, Minnesota
, Philadelphia
, Pittsburgh
, Oakland and St. Louis. The league rejected bids from Baltimore, Buffalo and Vancouver. In Canada, there was widespread outrage over the denial of an expansion team to Vancouver in 1967; three years later, the NHL awarded a franchise to Vancouver
, which formerly played in the Western Hockey League
, for the 1970–71 season, along with the Buffalo Sabres
.
On January 13, 1968, North Stars' rookie Bill Masterton
became the first, and to date, only player to die as a result of injuries suffered during an NHL game. Early in a game against Oakland, Masterton was checked hard by two players causing him to flip over backwards and land on his head. Masterton was rushed to hospital with massive head injuries, and died there two days later. The National Hockey League Writers Association presented the league with the Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy
later in the season. Following Masterton's death, players slowly began wearing helmets, and starting in the 1979–80 season, the league mandated all players entering the league wear them.
In the 1968–69 season, third-year defenceman Bobby Orr
scored 21 goals to set an NHL record for goals by a defenceman en route to winning his first of eight consecutive Norris Trophies
as the league's top defenceman. At the same time, Orr's teammate, Phil Esposito
, became the first player in league history to score 100 points in a season, finishing with 126 points. A gifted scorer, Orr revolutionized defencemen's impact on the offensive part of the game, as blue-liners began to be judged on how well they created goals in addition to how well they prevented them. Orr twice won the Art Ross Trophy
as the NHL's leading scorer, the only defenceman in NHL history to do so. Chronic knee problems plagued Orr throughout his career; he played 12 seasons in the NHL before injuries forced his retirement in 1978. Orr finished with 270 goals and 915 points in 657 games, and he won the Hart Memorial Trophy
as league Most Valuable Player thrice.
The 1970s were associated with aggressive, and often violent play. Known as the "Broad Street Bullies", the Philadelphia Flyers
are the most famous example of this mindset. The Flyers established league records for penalty minutes—Dave "the Hammer" Schultz' total of 472 in 1974–75 remains a league record. They captured the 1974 Stanley Cup, becoming the first expansion team to win the league championship.
In 1972, the NHL faced competition from the newly formed World Hockey Association
(WHA). The WHA lured many players away from the NHL. The WHA's biggest coup was to lure Bobby Hull
from the Black Hawks to play for the Winnipeg Jets. He signed a $2.75 million contact, and lent instant credibility to the new league. After Hull signed, several other players quickly followed suit and the NHL suddenly found itself in a war for talent. By the time the 1972–73 WHA season began, 67 players had switched from the NHL to the WHA. The NHL also found itself competing with the WHA for markets. Initially, the league had no intention to expand past 14 teams, but the threat the WHA represented caused the league to change its plans. The league hastily announced the creation of the New York Islanders
and Atlanta Flames
as 1972 expansion teams
. Following the 1972–73 season, the NHL announced it was further expanding to 18-teams for the 1974–75 season, adding the Kansas City Scouts
and Washington Capitals
. In just eight years, the NHL had tripled in size to 18 teams. By 1976, both leagues were dealing with serious financial problems. Talk of a merger between the NHL and the WHA was growing. In 1976, for the first time in four decades, the NHL approved franchise relocations; the Scouts moved after just two years in Kansas City to Denver
to become the Colorado Rockies
, while the California Golden Seals became the Cleveland Barons
. Two years later, after failed overtures about merging the Barons with Washington and Vancouver, the Barons merged with the Minnesota North Stars, reducing the NHL to 17 teams for 1978–79.
The move towards a merger
picked up in 1977 when John Ziegler succeeded Clarence Campbell as NHL president. The WHA folded following the 1978–79 season, while the Edmonton Oilers
, Hartford Whalers
, Quebec Nordiques
and Winnipeg Jets joined the NHL as expansion teams, which brought the league up to 21 teams, a constant until 1991. The merger brought Gordie Howe back to the NHL for one final season in 1979–80, during which he brought his NHL career total to 801 goals and 1,850 points. It was also the last season for the Atlanta Flames. The team averaged only 9,800 fans in attendance and lost over $2 million. They were sold for a record $16 million, and relocated north to become the Calgary Flames
in 1980–81. Two years later, the Rockies were sold for $30 million, and left Denver to become the New Jersey Devils
for the 1982–83 season.
Although the league expanded from six to 21 teams, dynasties still prevailed in the NHL. The Montreal Canadiens won four consecutive Stanley Cups starting in 1975-76
. In 1980
, the New York Islanders
won their first of four consecutive Stanley Cups, immediately following four straight by the Canadiens. The Islanders dominated both the regular season and the playoffs with the likes of Billy Smith
, Mike Bossy
, Denis Potvin
, and Bryan Trottier
. In 1981, Bossy became the first player to score 50 goals in 50 games
since Maurice Richard
accomplished that feat in 1945.
In 1982–83, the Edmonton Oilers
won the regular season championship. The Oilers were led by Wayne Gretzky, who remained with the Oilers when they joined the NHL in 1979. He scored 137 points in 1979–80 and won the first of nine Hart Trophies
as the NHL's most valuable player. Over the next several seasons, Gretzky established new highs in goals scored in a season, with 92 in the 1981–82 season; in assists, with 163 in the 1985–86; and in total points, with 215 in 1985–86. Gretzky also set the record for scoring 50 goals in the fewest number of games, achieving the mark in 39 games. The Islanders and Oilers met in the Finals as New York swept Edmonton for their last Stanley Cup. The following season, the Oilers and Islanders met again in the playoffs. The Oilers won the rematch in five games, marking the start of another dynasty.
Led by Gretzky and Mark Messier
, the Oilers won five Stanley Cup championships between 1984 and 1990. On August 9, 1988, Oilers owner Peter Pocklington
, in financial trouble, traded Gretzky to the Los Angeles Kings
. Gretzky's trade to the Kings popularized ice hockey in the United States. With the Kings, Gretzky broke Gordie Howe's record for the most career points. Mario Lemieux
led Pittsburgh to Stanley Cups in 1990–91 and 1991–92. A gifted forward, he won six Art Ross Trophies
as the league's leading scorer and he scored 199 points in 1988–89, becoming the second highest single-season point scorer behind Gretzky. Lemieux's career was plagued by health issues, including non-Hodgkin lymphoma
, and he retired in 1997. In 2000 he returned and finished his NHL career in 2006 with more than 1,700 points.
The NHL became first involved in international play in the mid-1970s, starting with the Summit Series
in 1972 which pitted the top Canadian players of the NHL against the top players in the Soviet Union
. With the eight-game series tied at three wins apiece and a tie, Paul Henderson
scooped up a rebound and put it past Soviet goaltender Vladislav Tretiak
with 34 seconds left in the eighth and final game to score the series-winning goal.
While European-born players were a part of the NHL since its founding, it was still rare to see them in the NHL until 1980, although the WHA employed a number of them. Borje Salming
was the first European star in the NHL and Finns Jari Kurri
and Esa Tikkanen
helped lead the Oilers dynasty of the 1980s. The WHA opened the door, and players slowly joined the NHL, but those behind the Iron Curtain
were restricted from following suit. In 1980, Peter Stastny
, his wife, and his brother Anton
secretly fled Czechoslovakia
with the aid of Nordiques owner Marcel Aubut
. The Stastnys' defection made international headlines, and contributed to the first wave of Europeans' entrance into the NHL. Hoping that they would one day be permitted to play in the NHL, teams drafted Soviet players in the 1980s, 27 in all by the 1988 draft; however, defection was the only way such players could play in the NHL. Shortly before the end of the 1988–89 regular season, Flames general manager Cliff Fletcher
announced that he had reached an agreement with Soviet authorities that allowed Sergei Pryakhin
to play in North America. It was the first time a member of the Soviet national team was permitted to leave the Soviet Union. Shortly after, Soviet players began to flood into the NHL. Teams anticipated that there would be an influx of Soviet players in the 1990s, as 18 Soviets were selected in the 1989 NHL Entry Draft
.
The 21-team era ended in 1990, when the league revealed ambitious plans to double league revenues from $400 million within a decade and bring the NHL to 28 franchises during that period. The NHL quickly announced three new teams: The San Jose Sharks
, who began play in the 1991–92 season, and the Ottawa Senators
and Tampa Bay Lightning
, who followed a year later. The Lightning made NHL history when goaltender Manon Rheaume
played a period of an exhibition game, September 23, 1992. In doing so, Rheaume became the first woman to play in an NHL game. One year later, the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim
and Florida Panthers
began play as the NHL's 25th and 26th franchises respectively. The two new franchises were granted as part of the NHL's attempts at regaining a network television presence by expanding throughout the American south. The NHL's southward push continued in 1993 as the Minnesota North Stars
moved to Dallas
, Texas
to become the Dallas Stars
.
In 1994, the players were locked out
by the owners because of a lack of a Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA). The 1994–95 NHL lockout lasted 104 days and resulted in the season's being shortened from a planned 84 games to 48. The owners insisted on a salary cap
, changes to free agency and arbitration in the hopes of limiting escalating salaries, the union instead proposed a luxury tax system. Just as the entire season seemed to be lost, an 11th-hour deal was agreed on. The owners failed to achieve a full salary cap but the deal was initially hailed as a win for the owners. The deal was not enough to save two teams in Canada's smallest NHL markets. The revenue disparity between large and small market teams, exacerbated by the falling value of the Canadian Dollar
, forced the Quebec Nordiques
to move to Denver and become the Colorado Avalanche
in 1995; the Winnipeg Jets relocated to Phoenix, Arizona
, becoming the Coyotes
, the next year. The Hartford Whalers
followed, becoming the Carolina Hurricanes
in 1997. The NHL continued its expansion into cities in the Southern United States. In 1998, the Nashville Predators
joined the league, followed by the Atlanta Thrashers
the following year. To further market their players, the NHL decided to have its players play in the Winter Olympics, starting in 1998, at the Nagano Games
. In 2000, the league added two franchises, boosting the total number to 30. The NHL returned to Minnesota with the Minnesota Wild
and added the Columbus Blue Jackets
in Columbus
, Ohio
.
and senior director Ted Saskin
took charge of negotiations from executive director Bob Goodenow
. By early July, the two sides had agreed to a new collective bargaining agreement
. The deal featured a hard salary cap, linked to a fixed percentage of league revenues and a 24% rollback on salaries.
Hoping to reduce the number of tie games during the regular season, the NHL decided that beginning in the 1999–2000 season, in any game tied after regulation time, both teams would be guaranteed one point, while the team that won in overtime would earn a second point. The Edmonton Oilers
hosted the NHL's first regular season outdoor hockey game, the Heritage Classic on November 22, 2003. The game against the Canadiens was held at Commonwealth Stadium
before a then-record crowd of 57,167 fans who endured temperatures as low as −18 degrees Celsius (0 degrees Fahrenheit). In the 2005–06 season, the NHL eliminated tie games, as the shootout
was introduced to decide all regular season games tied after the five-minute overtime period. The shootout was one of several rule changes made in 2005, as the league attempted to open the game up after the lockout. One of the most controversial changes was the league's zero-tolerance policy on obstruction penalties. The league hoped that the game could be opened up if it cracked down on "clutching and grabbing". The tighter regulations have met with numerous complaints about the legitimacy of some calls, that players are diving to draw penalties, and that officials are not calling enough penalties. The changes initially led to a sharp increase in scoring. Teams combined to score 6.1 goals per game in 2005–06, more than a full goal per game higher than in the 2003–04 season. This represented the highest increase in offence since 1929–30. However, scoring has rapidly declined since, approaching pre-lockout totals in 2007–08.
In the 2005–06 season, rookies Alexander Ovechkin
and Sidney Crosby
began their careers. In their first three seasons, they have each won both the Art Ross
and Hart
trophies; Crosby in 2007, and Ovechkin in 2008. The success of the Heritage Classic led to the scheduling of more outdoor games. The Sabres hosted the 2008 NHL Winter Classic on New Year's Day 2008, losing to the Pittsburgh Penguins in a shootout before a crowd of 71,217 at Ralph Wilson Stadium
. The second Winter Classic was held January 1, 2009 at Wrigley Field
in Chicago
between the Blackhawks and Red Wings. The third NHL Winter Classic was held in Fenway Park on January 1, 2010, between the Boston Bruins and the Philadelphia Flyers. The home team Bruins won.
Two clubs still experienced financial problems, however. The Phoenix Coyotes
eventually filed for bankruptcy in May 2009
. The league then took control over the team later that year in order to stabilize the club's operations, with the hopes of eventually reselling it to a new owner who would be committed to stay in the Phoenix market. The financially struggling Atlanta Thrashers
were eventually sold to True North Sports and Entertainment in 2011, who then relocated the team
to Winnipeg, a stark reversal of the league's Southward expansion more than a decade earlier.
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|- style="background:#BE2F37;"
| style="background:#fff;" | Montreal Canadiens
|| || || || || || || SC || || || || || || SC || SC || || || || || || || || || || || || || SC || || SC || || || || || || || SC || || || SC || SC || SC || SC || SC || || || || || SC || SC ||
|- style="background:#E91B31;"
| style="background:#fff;" | Montreal Wanderers
|| || style="background:#fff;" | XX
|- style="background:#003876;"
| style="background:#fff;" | Toronto Maple Leafs
|| SC || || style="background:green;"| || style="background:green;"| || style="background:green;"| SC || style="background:green;"| || style="background:green;"| || style="background:green;"| || style="background:green;"| || style="background:green;"| || style="background:green;"| || || || || SC || || || || || || || || || || SC || || || SC || || SC || SC || SC || || SC || || || || || || || || || || || SC || SC || SC || || || SC
|- style="background:#E11D3A;"
| style="background:#fff;" | Ottawa Senators
|| || || SC || SC || || SC || || || || SC || || || || || style="background:#fff;" | || ||
|- style="background:#B20907;"
| style="background:#fff;" | St. Louis Eagles
|| colspan="17" style="background:#fff;" | ||
|- style="background:#0070C6;"
| style="background:#fff;" | Quebec Bulldogs
|| colspan="2" style="background:#fff;" | ||
|- style="background:#FCD00C;"
| style="background:#fff;" | Hamilton Tigers || colspan="3" style="background:#fff;" | || || || || ||
|- style="background:#E13A3E;"
| style="background:#fff;" | New York Americans
|| colspan="7" style="background:#fff;" | || style="background:#fff;" | XX || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || ||
|- style="background:#FFB612;"
| style="background:#fff;" | Boston Bruins
|| colspan="7" style="background:#fff;" | || || || || || SC || || || || || || || || || || SC || || SC || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || ||
|- style="background:#87354A;"
| style="background:#fff;" | Montreal Maroons
|| colspan="7" style="background:#fff;" | || || SC || || || || || || || || || SC || || || ||
|- style="background:#FBB72E;"
| style="background:#fff;" | Pittsburgh Pirates
|| colspan="8" style="background:#fff;" | || || || || ||
|- style="background:orange;"
| style="background:#fff;" | Philadelphia Quakers
|| colspan="13" style="background:#fff;" | ||
|- style="background:#C60C30;"
| style="background:#fff;" | Chicago Blackhawks
|| colspan="9" style="background:#fff;" | || || || || || || || || SC || || || || SC || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || SC || || || || || ||
|- style="background:#EC2024;"
| style="background:#fff;" | Detroit Red Wings
|| colspan="9" style="background:#fff;" | || || || || || || || || || || SC || SC || || || || || || SC || || || || || || || SC || || SC || || SC || SC || || || || || || || || || || || ||
|- style="background:#0039A6;"
| style="background:#fff;" | New York Rangers
|| colspan="9" style="background:#fff;" | || || SC || || || || || SC || || || || || || || SC || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || ||
|}
National Hockey Association
The National Hockey Association was a professional ice hockey organization with teams in Ontario and Quebec, Canada. It is the direct predecessor organization to today's National Hockey League...
(NHA), in 1917. After unsuccessfully resolving disputes with Eddie Livingstone, owner of the Toronto Blueshirts
Toronto Blueshirts
The Toronto Hockey Club, known as the Torontos and the Toronto Blue Shirts were a professional National Hockey Association team that played in Toronto, Ontario, Canada...
, executives of the three other NHA franchises suspended the NHA, and formed the National Hockey League
National Hockey League
The National Hockey League is an unincorporated not-for-profit association which operates a major professional ice hockey league of 30 franchised member clubs, of which 7 are currently located in Canada and 23 in the United States...
(NHL), replacing the Livingstone team with a temporary team in Toronto, the Arenas
Toronto Arenas
The Toronto Arenas, Toronto Blueshirts or Torontos was a professional men's ice hockey team that played in the first two seasons of the National Hockey League . It was operated by the owner of the Arena Gardens, the Toronto Arena Company...
. The NHL's first quarter-century saw the league compete against two rival major leagues—the Pacific Coast Hockey Association
Pacific Coast Hockey Association
The Pacific Coast Hockey Association was a professional men's ice hockey league in western Canada and the western United States, which operated from 1911 to 1924 when it then merged with the Western Canada Hockey League...
and Western Canada Hockey League
Western Canada Hockey League
The Western Canada Hockey League , founded in 1921, was a major professional ice hockey league originally based in the prairies of Canada. It was renamed the Western Hockey League in 1925 and disbanded in 1926.-History:...
—for players and the Stanley Cup
Stanley Cup
The Stanley Cup is an ice hockey club trophy, awarded annually to the National Hockey League playoffs champion after the conclusion of the Stanley Cup Finals. It has been referred to as The Cup, Lord Stanley's Cup, The Holy Grail, or facetiously as Lord Stanley's Mug...
. The NHL first expanded into the United States in 1924 with the founding of the Boston Bruins
Boston Bruins
The Boston Bruins are a professional ice hockey team based in Boston, Massachusetts, USA. They are members of the Northeast Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League . The team has been in existence since 1924, and is the league's third-oldest team and its oldest in the...
, and by 1926 consisted of ten teams in Ontario
Ontario
Ontario is a province of Canada, located in east-central Canada. It is Canada's most populous province and second largest in total area. It is home to the nation's most populous city, Toronto, and the nation's capital, Ottawa....
, Quebec
Quebec
Quebec or is a province in east-central Canada. It is the only Canadian province with a predominantly French-speaking population and the only one whose sole official language is French at the provincial level....
, the Great Lakes region
Great Lakes region (North America)
The Great Lakes region of North America, occasionally known as the Third Coast or the Fresh Coast , includes the eight U.S. states of Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin as well as the Canadian province of Ontario...
, and the Northeastern United States
Northeastern United States
The Northeastern United States is a region of the United States as defined by the United States Census Bureau.-Composition:The region comprises nine states: the New England states of Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island and Vermont; and the Mid-Atlantic states of New...
. At the same time, the NHL emerged as the only major league and the sole competitor for the Stanley Cup; in 1947, the NHL completed a deal with the Stanley Cup trustees to gain full control of the Cup. The NHL's footprint spread across Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
as Foster Hewitt
Foster Hewitt
Foster William Hewitt, OC was a Canadian radio broadcaster most famous for his play-by-play calls for Hockey Night in Canada. He was the son of W. A. Hewitt, and the father of Bill Hewitt.-Early life and career:...
's radio broadcasts were heard coast-to-coast starting in 1933.
The Great Depression
Great Depression
The Great Depression was a severe worldwide economic depression in the decade preceding World War II. The timing of the Great Depression varied across nations, but in most countries it started in about 1929 and lasted until the late 1930s or early 1940s...
and World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
reduced the league to six teams, later known as the "Original Six
Original Six
The Original Six is a term for the group of six teams that composed the National Hockey League for the 25 seasons between the 1942–43 season and the 1967 NHL Expansion. These six teams are the Boston Bruins, Chicago Black Hawks, Detroit Red Wings, Montreal Canadiens, New York Rangers, and the...
", by 1942. Maurice Richard
Maurice Richard
Joseph Henri Maurice "the Rocket" Richard, Sr., was a French-Canadian professional ice hockey player who played for the Montreal Canadiens of the National Hockey League from 1942 to 1960. The "Rocket" was the most prolific goal-scorer of his era, the first to achieve the feat of 50 goals in 50...
became the first player to score 50 goals in a season in 1944–45, and ten years later, Richard was suspended for assaulting a linesman, leading to the Richard Riot
Richard Riot
The Richard Riot was a riot on March 17, 1955 in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The riot was named after Maurice Richard, the star ice hockey player for the Montreal Canadiens of the National Hockey League...
. Gordie Howe
Gordie Howe
Gordon "Gordie" Howe, OC is a Canadian retired professional ice hockey player who played for the Detroit Red Wings and Hartford Whalers of the National Hockey League , and the Houston Aeros and New England Whalers in the World Hockey Association . Howe is often referred to as Mr...
made his debut in 1946, and retired 35 seasons later as the NHL's all-time leader in goals and points. Willie O'Ree
Willie O'Ree
Willie Eldon O'Ree, OC, ONB is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player, known best for being the first black player in the National Hockey League. O'Ree played as a winger for the Boston Bruins...
broke the NHL's colour barrier when he suited up for the Bruins in 1958. In 1959, Jacques Plante
Jacques Plante
Joseph Jacques Omer Plante was a Canadian professional ice hockey goaltender. During a career lasting from 1947–1975, he was considered to be one of the most important innovators in hockey...
became the first goaltender to regularly use a mask for protection.
The Original Six era ended in 1967 when the NHL doubled in size by adding six new expansion teams
1967 NHL expansion
The National Hockey League undertook a major expansion for the 1967–68 season, adding six new franchises to double the size of the league. This marked the first change in the composition of the league since 1942, when the Brooklyn Americans folded. Thus, the expansion ended the era of the Original...
. The six existing teams were formed into the newly created East Division
East Division (NHL)
The East Division of the National Hockey League existed from 1967 until 1974 when the league realigned into two conferences of two divisions each....
, while the expansion teams were formed into the West Division
West Division (NHL)
The West Division of the National Hockey League existed from 1967 until 1974 when the league realigned into two conferences of two divisions each....
. The NHL continued to expand, adding another six teams, to total 18 by 1974. This continued expansion was partially brought about by the NHL's attempts to compete with the World Hockey Association
World Hockey Association
The World Hockey Association was a professional ice hockey league that operated in North America from 1972 to 1979. It was the first major competition for the National Hockey League since the collapse of the Western Hockey League in 1926...
, which operated from 1972 until 1979 and sought to compete with the NHL for markets and players. Bobby Hull
Bobby Hull
Robert Marvin "Bobby" Hull, OC is a former Canadian ice hockey player. He is regarded as one of the greatest ice hockey players of all time and perhaps the greatest left winger to ever play the game. Hull was famous for his blonde hair, blinding skating speed, and having the hardest shot, earning...
was the most famous player to defect to the rival league, signing a $2.75 million contract with the Winnipeg Jets. The NHL became involved in international play in the mid-1970s, starting with the Summit Series
Summit Series
The Summit Series was the first competition between the Soviet and an NHL-inclusive Canadian national ice hockey teams, an eight-game series held in September 1972...
in 1972 which pitted the top Canadian players of the NHL against the top players in the Soviet Union
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
, which was won by Canada with four wins, three losses, and a tie. Eventually, Soviet-Bloc players streamed into the NHL with the fall of the Iron Curtain
Iron Curtain
The concept of the Iron Curtain symbolized the ideological fighting and physical boundary dividing Europe into two separate areas from the end of World War II in 1945 until the end of the Cold War in 1989...
in 1989.
When the WHA ceased operations in 1979, the NHL absorbed four of the league's teams, which brought the NHL to 21 teams, a figure that remained constant until the San Jose Sharks
San Jose Sharks
The San Jose Sharks are a professional ice hockey team based in San Jose, California, United States. They are members of the Pacific Division of the Western Conference of the National Hockey League...
were added as an expansion franchise in 1991. Since then, the league has grown from 22 teams in 1992 to 30 today as the NHL spread its footprint across the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. The league has withstood major labour conflicts in 1994–95 and 2004–05, the latter of which saw the entire 2004–05 NHL season canceled, the first time in North American history that a league has canceled an entire season in a labour dispute. Wayne Gretzky
Wayne Gretzky
Wayne Douglas Gretzky, CC is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player and former head coach. Nicknamed "The Great One", he is generally regarded as the best player in the history of the National Hockey League , and has been called "the greatest hockey player ever" by many sportswriters,...
passed Gordie Howe
Gordie Howe
Gordon "Gordie" Howe, OC is a Canadian retired professional ice hockey player who played for the Detroit Red Wings and Hartford Whalers of the National Hockey League , and the Houston Aeros and New England Whalers in the World Hockey Association . Howe is often referred to as Mr...
as the NHL's all-time leading scorer in 1994 when he scored his 802nd career goal. Mario Lemieux
Mario Lemieux
Mario Lemieux, OC, CQ is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player. He is acknowledged to be one of the best players of all time. He played 17 seasons as a forward for the Pittsburgh Penguins of the National Hockey League between 1984 and 2006...
overcame non-Hodgkin lymphoma
Non-Hodgkin lymphoma
The non-Hodgkin lymphomas are a diverse group of blood cancers that include any kind of lymphoma except Hodgkin's lymphomas. Types of NHL vary significantly in their severity, from indolent to very aggressive....
to finish his NHL career with over 1,700 points and two Stanley Cup championships. Increased use of defence-focused systems helped cause scoring to fall in the late 1990s, leading some to argue that the NHL's talent pool had been diluted by 1990s expansion. In 1998, the NHL began awarding teams a single point for losing in overtime, hoping to reduce the number of tie games; after the 2004–05 lockout, it eliminated the tie altogether, introducing the shootout
Penalty shootout
The shootout is a method of determining a winner in sports matches that would have otherwise been drawn or tied. The rules for penalty shootouts vary between sports and even different competitions; however, the usual form is similar to penalty shots in that a single player takes one shot on goal...
to ensure that each game has a winner.
Background and founding
The first attempts to regulate competitive ice hockey matches came in the late 1880s. Before then, teams competed in tournaments and infrequent challenge contests that prevailed in the Canadian sports world at the time. In 1887, four clubs from Montreal formed the Amateur Hockey Association of Canada (AHAC) and developed a structured schedule. In 1892, Lord StanleyFrederick Stanley, 16th Earl of Derby
Frederick Arthur Stanley, 16th Earl of Derby KG, GCB, GCVO, PC , known as Frederick Stanley until 1886 and as Lord Stanley of Preston between 1886 and 1893, was a Conservative Party politician in the United Kingdom who served as Colonial Secretary from 1885 to 1886 and the sixth Governor General...
donated the Stanley Cup
Stanley Cup
The Stanley Cup is an ice hockey club trophy, awarded annually to the National Hockey League playoffs champion after the conclusion of the Stanley Cup Finals. It has been referred to as The Cup, Lord Stanley's Cup, The Holy Grail, or facetiously as Lord Stanley's Mug...
to be symbolic of the Canadian championship and appointed Philip Dansken Ross
Philip Dansken Ross
Philip Dansken Ross was a Canadian journalist, newspaper publisher, sportsman and ice hockey pioneer builder....
and Sheriff John Sweetland as its trustees. It was awarded to the AHAC champion Montreal Hockey Club
Montreal Hockey Club
The Montreal Hockey Club of Montreal, Quebec, Canada was a senior-level men's amateur ice hockey club, organized in 1884. They were affiliated with Montreal Amateur Athletic Association and used the MAAA 'winged wheel' logo. The team is notable for winning the first Stanley Cup in 1893, and in a...
and thereafter awarded to the league champions, or to any pre-approved team that won it in a challenge. In 1904, the International Hockey League
International Professional Hockey League
The International Professional Hockey League was the first fully professional ice hockey league, operating from 1904 to 1907. It was formed by Jack 'Doc' Gibson, a dentist who played hockey throughout Ontario before settling in Houghton, Michigan. The IPHL was a five team circuit which included...
(IHL), based around Lake Michigan
Lake Michigan
Lake Michigan is one of the five Great Lakes of North America and the only one located entirely within the United States. It is the second largest of the Great Lakes by volume and the third largest by surface area, after Lake Superior and Lake Huron...
, was created as the first fully professional league, which lasted for two seasons. In recruiting players, the IHL caused an "Athletic War" that drained amateur clubs of top players, most noticeably in the Ontario Hockey Association
Ontario Hockey Association
The Ontario Hockey Association is the governing body for the majority of Junior and Senior level ice hockey teams in the Province of Ontario. The OHA is sanctioned by the Ontario Hockey Federation along with the Northern Ontario Hockey Association. Other Ontario sanctioning bodies along with the...
(OHA). In the 1905–06 season, the Eastern Canada Amateur Hockey Association
Eastern Canada Amateur Hockey Association
The Eastern Canada Amateur Hockey Association was a men's amateur, later professional ice hockey league in Canada that played four seasons. It was founded on December 11, 1905 with six clubs: four from the Canadian Amateur Hockey League and two from the Federal Amateur Hockey League, to bring...
(ECAHA) was formed, which mixed paid and amateur players in its rosters, which led to the demise of the IHL. Bidding wars for players led many ECAHA teams to lose money, and it eventually folded on November 25, 1909. As a result of the dissolution of the ECAHA, two leagues were formed—the Canadian Hockey Association (CHA) and the National Hockey Association
National Hockey Association
The National Hockey Association was a professional ice hockey organization with teams in Ontario and Quebec, Canada. It is the direct predecessor organization to today's National Hockey League...
(NHA). Since the NHA's owners were notable, wealthy businessmen, the CHA did not complete a season, as the NHA easily recruited the top players, and interest in the CHA teams faded. By 1914, the rival Pacific Coast Hockey Association
Pacific Coast Hockey Association
The Pacific Coast Hockey Association was a professional men's ice hockey league in western Canada and the western United States, which operated from 1911 to 1924 when it then merged with the Western Canada Hockey League...
(PCHA) league was launched and the NHA champion would play off each season against the PCHA champion for the Stanley Cup, ending the challenge era.
The National Hockey League came into existence with the suspension of the NHA in 1917. After unsuccessfully resolving disputes with Eddie Livingstone, owner of the Toronto Blueshirts
Toronto Blueshirts
The Toronto Hockey Club, known as the Torontos and the Toronto Blue Shirts were a professional National Hockey Association team that played in Toronto, Ontario, Canada...
, executives of the three other NHA franchises—the Montreal Canadiens
Montreal Canadiens
The Montreal Canadiens are a professional ice hockey team based in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. They are members of the Northeast Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League . The club is officially known as ...
, Montreal Wanderers
Montreal Wanderers
The Montreal Wanderers were a Canadian amateur, and later becoming a professional men's ice hockey team. The team played in the Federal Amateur Hockey League , the Eastern Canada Amateur Hockey Association , the National Hockey Association and briefly the National Hockey League . The Wanderers are...
and Ottawa Senators
Ottawa Senators (original)
The Ottawa Senators were an amateur, and later, professional, ice hockey team based in Ottawa, Canada which existed from 1883 to 1954. The club was the first hockey club in Ontario, a founding member of the National Hockey League and played in the NHL from 1917 until 1934...
—suspended the NHA, and formed the National Hockey League
National Hockey League
The National Hockey League is an unincorporated not-for-profit association which operates a major professional ice hockey league of 30 franchised member clubs, of which 7 are currently located in Canada and 23 in the United States...
(NHL), replacing Livingstone's team with a temporary team in Toronto, the Arenas
Toronto Arenas
The Toronto Arenas, Toronto Blueshirts or Torontos was a professional men's ice hockey team that played in the first two seasons of the National Hockey League . It was operated by the owner of the Arena Gardens, the Toronto Arena Company...
. While new, the NHL was a continuation of the NHA. The NHL adopted the NHA's constitution, its rules, playing with six men to a side rather than the then-traditional seven and the NHA's split-season schedule. The owners originally intended the NHL to only operate for one season. However, the NHA was suspended permanently in 1918 and ceased to be an organisation in 1920. In 1921, the NHA championship trophy O'Brien Cup was adopted as the championship trophy of the NHL.
Early years
The NHL's first superstar was prolific goal-scorer Joe Malone, who scored 44 goals in 20 games in the NHL's first season, of which five were netted on the NHL's opening night. He also set the record for the most goals in a game that season, with seven. Six games into the season, the Montreal WanderersMontreal Wanderers
The Montreal Wanderers were a Canadian amateur, and later becoming a professional men's ice hockey team. The team played in the Federal Amateur Hockey League , the Eastern Canada Amateur Hockey Association , the National Hockey Association and briefly the National Hockey League . The Wanderers are...
were forced to permanently withdraw from the league, as a fire left them without an arena. In the 1918–19 season, the Montreal Canadiens
Montreal Canadiens
The Montreal Canadiens are a professional ice hockey team based in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. They are members of the Northeast Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League . The club is officially known as ...
faced the Seattle Metropolitans
Seattle Metropolitans
The Seattle Metropolitans were a professional ice hockey team based in Seattle, Washington which played in the Pacific Coast Hockey Association from 1915 to 1924. They won the Stanley Cup in 1917, becoming the first American team to do so...
of the PCHA for the Stanley Cup amid the Spanish influenza pandemic. The series was called off after five games after numerous players came down ill; one, Joe Hall
Joe Hall
Joseph Henry Hall , nicknamed Bad Joe Hall, was a professional ice hockey defenceman who played professionally from 1904 until 1919 when he died as a result of the influenza epidemic...
of the Canadiens died a few weeks later.
Western Canada Hockey League
The Western Canada Hockey League , founded in 1921, was a major professional ice hockey league originally based in the prairies of Canada. It was renamed the Western Hockey League in 1925 and disbanded in 1926.-History:...
(WCHL). As a result, ice hockey players were among the best paid athletes in North America. By the mid-1920s, the NHL emerged as the sole major league in North America; the PCHA and WCHL having merged in 1924, only to disband two years later. The Victoria Cougars
Victoria Cougars
The Victoria Cougars were a major league professional ice hockey team that played in the Pacific Coast Hockey Association from 1922 to 1924, and in the Western Hockey League from 1924 to 1926...
are the last non-NHL team to win and challenge the Stanley Cup, having defeated the Canadiens in 1925, and lost to the Montreal Maroons
Montreal Maroons
The Montreal Maroons was a professional men's ice hockey team in the National Hockey League . They played in the NHL from 1924 to 1938, winning the Stanley Cup in 1926 and 1935...
in 1926, respectively. The NHL continued to expand, adding the Maroons and its first American team, the Boston Bruins
Boston Bruins
The Boston Bruins are a professional ice hockey team based in Boston, Massachusetts, USA. They are members of the Northeast Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League . The team has been in existence since 1924, and is the league's third-oldest team and its oldest in the...
in 1924, getting up to 10 teams by 1926. Defence dominated the NHL, and in the 1928–29 season, Canadiens goaltender George Hainsworth
George Hainsworth
George Hainsworth was a Canadian professional ice hockey goaltender who played for the Montreal Canadiens and Toronto Maple Leafs in the National Hockey League, and the Saskatoon Crescents in the Western Canada Hockey League....
set what remains a league record with 22 shutouts in 44 games. In response, the NHL began to allow forward passing in the offensive zone, which caused the offense to increase by approximately 2.5 times; to stem the tide, the NHL introduced the offside rule, which prevents offensive players to enter the opponent's zone without the puck.
Livingstone continued to press claims in court throughout the 1920s, going as far as the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council
Judicial Committee of the Privy Council
The Judicial Committee of the Privy Council is one of the highest courts in the United Kingdom. Established by the Judicial Committee Act 1833 to hear appeals formerly heard by the King in Council The Judicial Committee of the Privy Council (JCPC) is one of the highest courts in the United...
in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
. In early 1927, the Toronto franchise was sold to Conn Smythe
Conn Smythe
Constantine Falkland Cary Smythe MC was a Canadian businessman, soldier and sportsman in ice hockey and horse racing. He is best known as the principal owner of the Toronto Maple Leafs of the National Hockey League from 1927 to 1961 and as the builder of Maple Leaf Gardens...
, who renamed it to the Maple Leafs
Toronto Maple Leafs
The Toronto Maple Leafs are a professional ice hockey team based in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. They are members of the Northeast Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League...
, and successfully promised to win the Stanley Cup in five years. He built the Maple Leaf Gardens
Maple Leaf Gardens
Maple Leaf Gardens is an indoor arena that was converted into a Loblawssupermarket and Ryerson University athletic centre in Toronto, on the northwest corner of Carlton Street and Church Street in Toronto's Garden District.One of the temples of hockey, it was home to the Toronto Maple Leafs of the...
, which included radio broadcaster Foster Hewitt
Foster Hewitt
Foster William Hewitt, OC was a Canadian radio broadcaster most famous for his play-by-play calls for Hockey Night in Canada. He was the son of W. A. Hewitt, and the father of Bill Hewitt.-Early life and career:...
's famous broadcast booth, affectionately referred to as a "gondola". On December 13, 1933, Eddie Shore
Eddie Shore
Edward William Shore was a Canadian professional ice hockey defenceman, principally for the Boston Bruins of the National Hockey League, and the longtime owner of the Springfield Indians of the American Hockey League, iconic for his toughness and defensive skill.Shore won the Hart Trophy as the...
charged Ace Bailey
Ace Bailey
Irvine Wallace "Ace" Bailey was an ice hockey player who competed for the Toronto Maple Leafs during eight seasons, from 1926–1933.-Playing career:...
causing a severe skull fracture, following what Shore thought was a check from Bailey, but was actually made by King Clancy
King Clancy
Francis Michael "King" Clancy was a Canadian professional ice hockey player, referee, coach and executive. Clancy played 16 seasons in the National Hockey League for the Ottawa Senators and Toronto Maple Leafs. He was a member of three Stanley Cup championship teams and won All-Star honours...
. Despite the grim prognosis (newspapers printed his obituary), Bailey survived, but never played a game. The Maple Leafs hosted the Ace Bailey All-Star Benefit Game, which raised over $20,000 for Bailey and his family.
Great Depression
Philadelphia Quakers (NHL)
The Philadelphia Quakers were an American professional ice hockey team that played only one full season in the National Hockey League , 1930–31, at the Philadelphia Arena in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania...
(originally the Pittsburgh Pirates
Pittsburgh Pirates (NHL)
The Pittsburgh Pirates were an American professional ice hockey team in the National Hockey League , based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania from 1925–26 to 1929–30. The nickname comes from the baseball team also based in the city...
) and the St. Louis Eagles
St. Louis Eagles
The St. Louis Eagles were a professional ice hockey team and a former member of the National Hockey League based in St. Louis, Missouri. The Eagles existed for only one year, playing in the 1934–35 NHL season....
(originally the Ottawa Senators), the NHL was reduced to eight teams starting in the 1935–36 season. The Montreal Canadiens narrowly escaped a move to Cleveland, Ohio
Ohio
Ohio is a Midwestern state in the United States. The 34th largest state by area in the U.S.,it is the 7th‑most populous with over 11.5 million residents, containing several major American cities and seven metropolitan areas with populations of 500,000 or more.The state's capital is Columbus...
, before a syndicate of Montreal businessmen bought the team. Montreal's financial troubles forced them to sell popular player Howie Morenz
Howie Morenz
Howard William Morenz was a Canadian professional ice hockey player. He played centre for three National Hockey League teams: the Montreal Canadiens , the Chicago Black Hawks, and the New York Rangers...
. When Morenz scored against the Canadiens on the last day of the 1935 season, Montreal fans voiced their opinion, giving him a standing ovation. Morenz was eventually re-acquired by Montreal, and on January 28, 1937, Morenz's skate became caught in the ice during a play. He suffered a broken leg in four places, and died on March 8 of a coronary embolism; 50,000 people filed past Morenz's casket at centre ice of the Montreal Forum
Montreal Forum
The Montreal Forum was an indoor arena located in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Called "the most storied building in hockey history" by Sporting News, it was home of the National Hockey League's Montreal Maroons from 1924 to 1938 and the Montreal Canadiens from 1926 to 1996...
to pay their last respects. A benefit game held in November 1937 raised $20,000 for Morenz's family as the NHL All-Stars defeated the Montreal Canadiens 6–5.
In the mid-1930s, Chicago Black Hawks owner and staunch American nationalist Frederic McLaughlin
Frederic McLaughlin
Frederic McLaughlin was the first owner of the Chicago Black Hawks.Born in Chicago, Illinois, McLaughlin inherited a successful coffee business from his father, who died in 1905. McLaughlin was a graduate of Harvard University and served in the United States Army during World War I...
commanded his general manager to compile a team of only American players; at the time, Taffy Abel was the only American-born player who was a regular player in the league. With eight out of 14 players Americans, the Black Hawks won only 14 of 48 games. In the playoffs, however, the Hawks upset the Canadiens, New York Americans
New York Americans
The New York Americans were a professional ice hockey team based in New York, New York from 1925 to 1942. They were the third expansion team in the history of the National Hockey League and the second to play in the United States. The team never won the Stanley Cup, but reached the semifinals...
, and the Maple Leafs to become the only team in NHL history to win the Stanley Cup despite a losing regular-season record. In the 1942 Stanley Cup Finals, the heavily favoured Maple Leafs were facing an upset, having fallen 3–0 in the seven-game series to the fifth-place Detroit Red Wings. Toronto rebounded, and won the next four games to capture the Stanley Cup, becoming first out of three teams in the NHL to come back from a 3–0 series deficit.
Prior to the 1938–39 season, the Montreal Maroons folded due to financial difficulties, while the New York Americans suffered a similar fate prior to the 1942–43 season
1942–43 NHL season
-NHL awards:-All-Star teams:-Scoring leaders:Note: GP = Games played, G = Goals, A = Assists, PTS = Points, PIM = Penalties in minutes-Leading goaltenders:...
. With the league reduced to six teams, the "Original Six" era began. The league was nearly reduced to five teams before the following season, as World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
had ravaged the rosters of many teams to such an extent that teams battled each other for players. With only five returning players from the previous season, New York Rangers general manager Lester Patrick
Lester Patrick
Curtis Lester "The Silver Fox" Patrick born in Drummondville, Quebec, Canada, was a professional ice hockey player and coach associated with the Victoria Aristocrats/Cougars of the Pacific Coast Hockey Association , and the New York Rangers of the National Hockey League...
suggested suspending his team's play for the duration of the war but was persuaded otherwise.
Post-war period
Frank Calder
-External links:*...
collapsed during a meeting, dying shortly after. Red Dutton
Red Dutton
Norman Alexander "Mervyn" "Red" Dutton was a Canadian professional ice hockey player, coach and executive. He played for the Calgary Tigers of the Western Canada Hockey League and the Montreal Maroons and New York Americans of the National Hockey League...
agreed to take over as president after receiving assurances from the league that the Brooklyn franchise he had operated would resume play after the war. When the other team owners reneged on this promise in 1946, Dutton resigned as league president. With Dutton's recommendation, Clarence Campbell
Clarence Campbell
Clarence Sutherland Campbell OBE, QC was the third president of the National Hockey League from 1946 to 1977.-Early life and career:...
was named president of the NHL in 1946. He remained in that role until his retirement in 1977. For the first 21 years of his presidency, the same six teams competed for the Stanley Cup and that period has been called the "golden age of hockey". The NHL featured increasingly intense rivalries coupled with rule innovations that opened up the game. The first official All-Star Game
National Hockey League All-Star Game
The National Hockey League All-Star Game is an exhibition ice hockey game that is traditionally held at the midway point of the regular season of the National Hockey League , with many of the league's star players playing against each other...
took place at Maple Leaf Gardens
Maple Leaf Gardens
Maple Leaf Gardens is an indoor arena that was converted into a Loblawssupermarket and Ryerson University athletic centre in Toronto, on the northwest corner of Carlton Street and Church Street in Toronto's Garden District.One of the temples of hockey, it was home to the Toronto Maple Leafs of the...
in Toronto on October 13, 1947 to raise money for the newly created NHL Pension Society. The NHL All-Stars defeated the Toronto Maple Leafs 4–3 and raised C$
Canadian dollar
The Canadian dollar is the currency of Canada. As of 2007, the Canadian dollar is the 7th most traded currency in the world. It is abbreviated with the dollar sign $, or C$ to distinguish it from other dollar-denominated currencies...
25,000 for the pension fund.
Punch line (ice hockey)
The Punch line was a famous ice hockey line for the Montreal Canadiens in the 1940s. It consisted of Elmer Lach at center, Toe Blake on left wing, and Maurice Richard on the right side....
" of Elmer Lach
Elmer Lach
Elmer James Lach is a retired Canadian professional ice hockey centre who played 14 seasons for the Montreal Canadiens in the National Hockey League. He was part of the Punch line, along with Maurice Richard and Toe Blake. He led the league in scoring twice, and was awarded the Hart Memorial...
, Toe Blake
Toe Blake
Hector "Toe" Blake, CM was a Canadian ice hockey player and coach in the National Hockey League .-Nickname:His nickname came out of his childhood for his younger sister was unable to pronounce his name...
and Maurice "Rocket" Richard
Maurice Richard
Joseph Henri Maurice "the Rocket" Richard, Sr., was a French-Canadian professional ice hockey player who played for the Montreal Canadiens of the National Hockey League from 1942 to 1960. The "Rocket" was the most prolific goal-scorer of his era, the first to achieve the feat of 50 goals in 50...
. In 1944–45, Lach, Richard and Blake finished first, second and third in the NHL's scoring race with 80, 73 and 67 points respectively. It was Richard who became the focus of the media and fans as he attempted to score 50 goals in a 50 game season
50 goals in 50 games
"50 goals in 50 games" refers to the act of scoring 50 goals in the first 50 games of a National Hockey League season. Scoring fifty goals in fifty games in the NHL is a rare achievement....
, a feat no other player had accomplished in league history. Richard scored his 50th goal in Boston at 17:45 of the third period of Montreal's final game of the season. In March 1955, Richard was suspended for the remainder of the season, including the playoffs, after he received a match penalty for slashing Boston's Hal Laycoe
Hal Laycoe
Harold Richardson Laycoe was a Canadian ice hockey defenceman.Laycoe started his National Hockey League career with the New York Rangers. He would also play with the Montreal Canadiens and Boston Bruins. His playing career lasted from 1945 to 1956...
then punching a linesman who attempted to intervene. The suspension touched off a wave of anger towards league president Clarence Campbell, who was warned not to attend a scheduled game in Montreal after receiving numerous death threats, mainly from French-Canadians accusing him of anti-French bias. Campbell dismissed the warnings, and attended the March 17 game as planned. His presence at the game was perceived by many fans as a provocation and he was booed and pelted with eggs and fruit. An hour into the game, a fan lobbed a tear-gas bomb in Campbell's direction, and firefighters decided to clear the building. Fans leaving the game and a growing mob of angry demonstrators rioted outside of the Montreal Forum
Montreal Forum
The Montreal Forum was an indoor arena located in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Called "the most storied building in hockey history" by Sporting News, it was home of the National Hockey League's Montreal Maroons from 1924 to 1938 and the Montreal Canadiens from 1926 to 1996...
, which became known as l'affaire Richard, or the Richard Riot
Richard Riot
The Richard Riot was a riot on March 17, 1955 in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The riot was named after Maurice Richard, the star ice hockey player for the Montreal Canadiens of the National Hockey League...
. Richard became the first player to score 500 career goals on October 19, 1957. He retired in 1960 as an eight-time Stanley Cup champion, as well as the NHL's all-time leading scorer with 544 goals.
In the fall of 1951, Maple Leafs owner Conn Smythe
Conn Smythe
Constantine Falkland Cary Smythe MC was a Canadian businessman, soldier and sportsman in ice hockey and horse racing. He is best known as the principal owner of the Toronto Maple Leafs of the National Hockey League from 1927 to 1961 and as the builder of Maple Leaf Gardens...
watched special television feeds of games in an attempt to determine whether it would be a suitable medium for broadcasting hockey games. Television already had its detractors within the NHL, especially in Campbell. In 1952, even though only 10% of Canadians owned a television set, the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation
Canadian Broadcasting Corporation
The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, commonly known as CBC and officially as CBC/Radio-Canada, is a Canadian crown corporation that serves as the national public radio and television broadcaster...
(CBC) began televising games. On November 1, 1952, Hockey Night in Canada
Hockey Night in Canada
Hockey Night in Canada is the branding used for CBC Sports' presentations of the National Hockey League...
was first broadcast on television, with Foster Hewitt
Foster Hewitt
Foster William Hewitt, OC was a Canadian radio broadcaster most famous for his play-by-play calls for Hockey Night in Canada. He was the son of W. A. Hewitt, and the father of Bill Hewitt.-Early life and career:...
calling the action between the Leafs and Bruins at Maple Leaf Gardens
Maple Leaf Gardens
Maple Leaf Gardens is an indoor arena that was converted into a Loblawssupermarket and Ryerson University athletic centre in Toronto, on the northwest corner of Carlton Street and Church Street in Toronto's Garden District.One of the temples of hockey, it was home to the Toronto Maple Leafs of the...
. The broadcasts quickly became the highest-rated show on Canadian television. Campbell feared televised hockey would cause people to stop attending games in person, but Smythe felt the opposite. CBS
CBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of...
first broadcast hockey games in the United States in the 1956–57 season as an experiment. Amazed with the initial popularity of the broadcasts, it inaugurated a 21-game package of games the following year. The NHL itself adapted to be viewer-friendly. In 1949, the league mandated that the ice surface be painted white to make the puck easier to see. On January 18, 1958, Willie O'Ree
Willie O'Ree
Willie Eldon O'Ree, OC, ONB is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player, known best for being the first black player in the National Hockey League. O'Ree played as a winger for the Boston Bruins...
joined the Bruins as an injury call-up for a game in Montreal. In doing so he became the first black
Black Canadian
'Black Canadians is a designation used for people of Black African descent, who are citizens or permanent residents of Canada. The term specifically refers to Canadians with Sub-Saharan African ancestry. The majority of Black Canadians are of Caribbean origin...
player in the NHL.
Clint Benedict
Clint Benedict
Clinton Stevenson "Praying Bennie" Benedict was a Canadian professional ice hockey goaltender who played for the Ottawa Senators and the Montreal Maroons. He played on four Stanley Cup-winning squads. He was the first goaltender in the National Hockey League to wear a face mask...
was the first goaltender to wear facial protection, donning it in 1930 to protect a broken nose. He quickly abandoned his mask as its design interfered with his vision. Twenty-nine years later, on November 1, 1959, in a game against New York Rangers Jacques Plante
Jacques Plante
Joseph Jacques Omer Plante was a Canadian professional ice hockey goaltender. During a career lasting from 1947–1975, he was considered to be one of the most important innovators in hockey...
made the goaltender mask a permanent fixture in hockey. The first players' union was formed February 12, 1957 by Red Wings player Ted Lindsay
Ted Lindsay
Robert Blake Theodore Lindsay is a former professional ice hockey player, a forward for the Detroit Red Wings and Chicago Black Hawks of the National Hockey League . He scored over 800 points in his Hockey Hall of Fame career, won the Art Ross Trophy in 1950, and won the Stanley Cup four times...
who had sat on the board of the NHL's Pension Society since 1952. Lindsay and his fellow players were upset by the league's refusal to let them view the books related to the pension fund. The league claimed that it could not contribute more than it did but the players on the Pension Committee suspected otherwise. The idea quickly gained popularity and when the union's founding was announced publicly, nearly every NHL player had signed up. Led by Alan Eagleson
Alan Eagleson
Robert Alan Eagleson is a disbarred Canadian lawyer, convicted felon in two countries, former politician, hockey agent and promoter...
, the National Hockey League Players' Association (NHLPA) was formed in 1967 and it quickly received acceptance from the owners.
Dynasties
1951 Stanley Cup Finals
The 1951 Stanley Cup Final NHL championship series was contested by the Toronto Maple Leafs and the Montreal Canadiens. The Maple Leafs would win the series 4–1. It was the Toronto franchise's ninth Stanley Cup win and the last in a series of six wins starting in 1942...
, the Maple Leafs defeated the Canadiens four games to one in the only final in NHL history when all games were decided in overtime. Beginning in 1948–49, the Red Wings won seven consecutive regular season titles, a feat that no other team has accomplished. During that time, the Wings won four Stanley Cups. It was during the 1952 Stanley Cup Finals
1952 Stanley Cup Finals
The 1952 Stanley Cup Final NHL championship series was contested by the Detroit Red Wings and the Montreal Canadiens in the first of the four Detroit-Montreal Final series of the 1950s. The Canadiens were appearing in their second straight Finals series, while Detroit was returning after winning...
that the Legend of the Octopus
Legend of the Octopus
The Legend of the Octopus is a sports tradition during Detroit Red Wings home playoff games where octopuses are thrown onto the ice surface. The origins of the activity go back to the 1952 playoffs, when a National Hockey League team played two best-of-seven series to capture the Stanley Cup...
was created. Brothers Pete and Jerry Cusimano brought a dead octopus to the Detroit Olympia
Detroit Olympia
Olympia Stadium, better known as the Detroit Olympia and nicknamed The Old Red Barn, stood at 5920 Grand River Avenue in Detroit, Michigan from 1927 until 1987. It was best known as the home of the Detroit Red Wings hockey team of the National Hockey League from its opening until...
for the fourth game of the finals. They hoped that the octopus would inspire Detroit to an eighth game victory. Detroit went on to defeat Montreal 3–0 and the tradition was born. The Red Wings faced the Canadiens in the Stanley Cup Finals in three consecutive seasons between 1954 and 1956. Detroit won the first two match-ups, but Montreal captured the 1956 Stanley Cup, ending one dynasty and starting another. The Canadiens won five consecutive championships between 1956 and 1960, a feat no other team has duplicated. The Original Six era ended with the 1967 Stanley Cup Finals
1967 Stanley Cup Finals
The 1967 Stanley Cup Final was a best-of-seven series played between the Montreal Canadiens and the Toronto Maple Leafs. The Maple Leafs would win the series four games to two to win their thirteenth Stanley Cup...
between the two-time defending champion Canadiens, and the Maple Leafs. The Maple Leafs finished the era by winning the Cup four times between 1962 and 1967, their 1967 championship is the last Maple Leafs title to date. The Chicago Blackhawks
Chicago Blackhawks
The Chicago Blackhawks are a professional ice hockey team based in Chicago, Illinois. They are members of the Central Division of the Western Conference of the National Hockey League . They have won four Stanley Cup championships since their founding in 1926, most recently coming in 2009-10...
, who won in 1961, are the only other team to win the Stanley Cup during this period.
Expansion years
In 1963, Rangers governor William JenningsWilliam M. Jennings
William M. Jennings was an executive in the National Hockey League.Born in New York, New York, Jennings graduated from Princeton University and then earned a law degree from Yale University...
introduced to his peers the idea of expanding the league to the American West Coast by adding two new teams for the 1964–65 season. While the governors did not agree to the proposal, the topic of expansion came up every time the owners met from then on out. In 1965, it was decided to expand by six teams, doubling the size of the NHL. In February 1966, the governors met and decided to award franchises to Los Angeles
Los Angeles Kings
The Los Angeles Kings are a professional ice hockey team based in Los Angeles, California. They are members of the Pacific Division of the Western Conference of the National Hockey League...
, Minnesota
Minnesota North Stars
The Minnesota North Stars were a professional ice hockey team in the National Hockey League for 26 seasons, from 1967 to 1993. The North Stars played their home games at the Met Center in Bloomington, and the team's colors for most of its history were green, yellow, gold and white...
, Philadelphia
Philadelphia Flyers
The Philadelphia Flyers are a professional ice hockey team based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. They are members of the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League...
, Pittsburgh
Pittsburgh Penguins
The Pittsburgh Penguins are a professional ice hockey team based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. They are members of the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League . The franchise was founded in 1967 as one of the first expansion teams during the league's original...
, Oakland and St. Louis. The league rejected bids from Baltimore, Buffalo and Vancouver. In Canada, there was widespread outrage over the denial of an expansion team to Vancouver in 1967; three years later, the NHL awarded a franchise to Vancouver
Vancouver Canucks
The Vancouver Canucks are a professional ice hockey team based in Vancouver, :British Columbia, Canada. They are members of the Northwest Division of the Western Conference of the National Hockey League . The Canucks play their home games at Rogers Arena, formerly known as General Motors Place,...
, which formerly played in the Western Hockey League
Western Hockey League (minor pro)
The Western Hockey League was a minor pro ice hockey league that operated from 1952 to 1974. Managed for most of its history by Hockey Hall of Fame member Al Leader, it was created out of the merger of the Pacific Coast Hockey League and the Western Canada Senior Hockey League...
, for the 1970–71 season, along with the Buffalo Sabres
Buffalo Sabres
The Buffalo Sabres are a professional ice hockey team based in Buffalo, New York. They are members of the Northeast Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League .-Founding and early success: 1970-71—1980-81:...
.
On January 13, 1968, North Stars' rookie Bill Masterton
Bill Masterton
William J. Masterton was a Canadian-American professional ice hockey centre who played one season in the National Hockey League for the Minnesota North Stars before succumbing to an injury he suffered during a game against the Oakland Seals in 1968...
became the first, and to date, only player to die as a result of injuries suffered during an NHL game. Early in a game against Oakland, Masterton was checked hard by two players causing him to flip over backwards and land on his head. Masterton was rushed to hospital with massive head injuries, and died there two days later. The National Hockey League Writers Association presented the league with the Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy
Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy
The Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy is awarded annually to the National Hockey League player who best exemplifies the qualities of perseverance, sportsmanship, and dedication to ice hockey. The winner is selected by a poll of the Professional Hockey Writers' Association after each team nominates one...
later in the season. Following Masterton's death, players slowly began wearing helmets, and starting in the 1979–80 season, the league mandated all players entering the league wear them.
In the 1968–69 season, third-year defenceman Bobby Orr
Bobby Orr
Robert Gordon "Bobby" Orr, OC is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player. Orr played in the National Hockey League for his entire career, the first ten seasons with the Boston Bruins, joining the Chicago Black Hawks for two more. Orr is widely acknowledged to be one of the greatest...
scored 21 goals to set an NHL record for goals by a defenceman en route to winning his first of eight consecutive Norris Trophies
James Norris Memorial Trophy
The James Norris Memorial Trophy is awarded annually to the National Hockey League's top "defense player who demonstrates throughout the season the greatest all-round ability in the position". The James Norris Memorial Trophy has been awarded 55 times to 23 different players since its beginnings in...
as the league's top defenceman. At the same time, Orr's teammate, Phil Esposito
Phil Esposito
Philip Anthony Esposito, OC is a former Canadian professional ice hockey centre who played 18 seasons in the National Hockey League for the Chicago Black Hawks, Boston Bruins and New York Rangers. He is an Honoured Member of the Hockey Hall of Fame and is considered to be one of the best to have...
, became the first player in league history to score 100 points in a season, finishing with 126 points. A gifted scorer, Orr revolutionized defencemen's impact on the offensive part of the game, as blue-liners began to be judged on how well they created goals in addition to how well they prevented them. Orr twice won the Art Ross Trophy
Art Ross Trophy
The Art Ross Trophy is awarded to the National Hockey League player who leads the league in scoring points at the end of the regular season. It was presented to the NHL by former player, general manager, and head coach Art Ross. The trophy has been awarded 61 times to 25 players since its inception...
as the NHL's leading scorer, the only defenceman in NHL history to do so. Chronic knee problems plagued Orr throughout his career; he played 12 seasons in the NHL before injuries forced his retirement in 1978. Orr finished with 270 goals and 915 points in 657 games, and he won the Hart Memorial Trophy
Hart Memorial Trophy
The Hart Memorial Trophy, originally known as the Hart Trophy, the "oldest and most prestigious individual award in hockey", is awarded annually to the "player adjudged most valuable to his team" in the National Hockey League . The Hart Memorial Trophy has been awarded 86 times to 53 different...
as league Most Valuable Player thrice.
The 1970s were associated with aggressive, and often violent play. Known as the "Broad Street Bullies", the Philadelphia Flyers
Philadelphia Flyers
The Philadelphia Flyers are a professional ice hockey team based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. They are members of the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League...
are the most famous example of this mindset. The Flyers established league records for penalty minutes—Dave "the Hammer" Schultz' total of 472 in 1974–75 remains a league record. They captured the 1974 Stanley Cup, becoming the first expansion team to win the league championship.
World Hockey Association
World Hockey Association
The World Hockey Association was a professional ice hockey league that operated in North America from 1972 to 1979. It was the first major competition for the National Hockey League since the collapse of the Western Hockey League in 1926...
(WHA). The WHA lured many players away from the NHL. The WHA's biggest coup was to lure Bobby Hull
Bobby Hull
Robert Marvin "Bobby" Hull, OC is a former Canadian ice hockey player. He is regarded as one of the greatest ice hockey players of all time and perhaps the greatest left winger to ever play the game. Hull was famous for his blonde hair, blinding skating speed, and having the hardest shot, earning...
from the Black Hawks to play for the Winnipeg Jets. He signed a $2.75 million contact, and lent instant credibility to the new league. After Hull signed, several other players quickly followed suit and the NHL suddenly found itself in a war for talent. By the time the 1972–73 WHA season began, 67 players had switched from the NHL to the WHA. The NHL also found itself competing with the WHA for markets. Initially, the league had no intention to expand past 14 teams, but the threat the WHA represented caused the league to change its plans. The league hastily announced the creation of the New York Islanders
New York Islanders
The New York Islanders are a professional ice hockey team based in Uniondale, New York. They are members of the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League...
and Atlanta Flames
Atlanta Flames
The Atlanta Flames were a professional ice hockey team based in Atlanta, Georgia, USA from 1972 to 1980. The team, a member of the National Hockey League , was relocated to Calgary, Alberta, Canada for the start of the 1980–81 NHL season and were re-named the Calgary Flames. The NHL returned to the...
as 1972 expansion teams
1972 NHL Expansion Draft
The 1972 NHL Expansion Draft was held on June 6, 1972. The draft took place to fill the rosters of the league's two then-new expansion teams for the 1972–73 season, the New York Islanders and the Atlanta Flames.-Draft results:-See also:...
. Following the 1972–73 season, the NHL announced it was further expanding to 18-teams for the 1974–75 season, adding the Kansas City Scouts
Kansas City Scouts
The Kansas City Scouts was a professional ice hockey team in the National Hockey League from 1974–76. In 1976, the franchise relocated to Denver, Colorado and became the Colorado Rockies...
and Washington Capitals
Washington Capitals
The Washington Capitals are a professional ice hockey team based in Washington, D.C. They are members of the Southeast Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League . Since their founding in 1974, "The Caps" have won one conference championship to reach the 1998 Stanley Cup...
. In just eight years, the NHL had tripled in size to 18 teams. By 1976, both leagues were dealing with serious financial problems. Talk of a merger between the NHL and the WHA was growing. In 1976, for the first time in four decades, the NHL approved franchise relocations; the Scouts moved after just two years in Kansas City to Denver
Denver, Colorado
The City and County of Denver is the capital and the most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Denver is a consolidated city-county, located in the South Platte River Valley on the western edge of the High Plains just east of the Front Range of the Rocky Mountains...
to become the Colorado Rockies
Colorado Rockies (NHL)
The Colorado Rockies were an American professional ice hockey team in the National Hockey League that played in Denver, Colorado, from 1976 to 1982. They were a relocation of the Kansas City Scouts, a 1974 expansion team. The franchise moved to East Rutherford, New Jersey, in 1982 and was...
, while the California Golden Seals became the Cleveland Barons
Cleveland Barons (NHL)
The Cleveland Barons were a professional ice hockey team in the National Hockey League from 1976–78. They were a relocation of the California Golden Seals franchise, which had played in Oakland since 1967...
. Two years later, after failed overtures about merging the Barons with Washington and Vancouver, the Barons merged with the Minnesota North Stars, reducing the NHL to 17 teams for 1978–79.
The move towards a merger
NHL–WHA merger
The 1979 merger of the NHL and WHA was the culmination of several years of negotiations between the National Hockey League and the World Hockey Association that resulted in four WHA franchises joining the NHL as expansion franchises for the 1979–80 season...
picked up in 1977 when John Ziegler succeeded Clarence Campbell as NHL president. The WHA folded following the 1978–79 season, while the Edmonton Oilers
Edmonton Oilers
The Edmonton Oilers are a professional ice hockey team based in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. They are members of the Northwest Division in the Western Conference of the National Hockey League ....
, Hartford Whalers
Hartford Whalers
The Hartford Whalers were a professional ice hockey team based for most of its existence in Hartford, Connecticut, U.S.A.. The club played in the World Hockey Association from 1972–79 and in the National Hockey League from 1979–97...
, Quebec Nordiques
Quebec Nordiques
The Quebec Nordiques were a professional ice hockey team based in Quebec City, Quebec, Canada. The Nordiques played in the World Hockey Association and the National Hockey League...
and Winnipeg Jets joined the NHL as expansion teams, which brought the league up to 21 teams, a constant until 1991. The merger brought Gordie Howe back to the NHL for one final season in 1979–80, during which he brought his NHL career total to 801 goals and 1,850 points. It was also the last season for the Atlanta Flames. The team averaged only 9,800 fans in attendance and lost over $2 million. They were sold for a record $16 million, and relocated north to become the Calgary Flames
Calgary Flames
The Calgary Flames are a professional ice hockey team based in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. They are members of the Northwest Division of the Western Conference of the National Hockey League . The club is the third major-professional ice hockey team to represent the city of Calgary, following the...
in 1980–81. Two years later, the Rockies were sold for $30 million, and left Denver to become the New Jersey Devils
New Jersey Devils
The New Jersey Devils are a professional ice hockey team based in Newark, New Jersey, United States. They are members of the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League...
for the 1982–83 season.
More dynasties
1975-76 NHL season
-NHL awards:-All-Star teams:-Scoring leaders:Note: GP = Games played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points-Leading goaltenders:Note: GP = Games played; Min - Minutes Played; GA = Goals Against; GAA = Goals Against Average; W = Wins; L = Losses; T = Ties; SO = Shutouts-Debuts:The following is a list...
. In 1980
1980 Stanley Cup Finals
-See also:* List of Stanley Cup champions* 1979–80 NHL season* 1980 NBA Finals* 1980 World Series* Super Bowl XV-Notes:...
, the New York Islanders
New York Islanders
The New York Islanders are a professional ice hockey team based in Uniondale, New York. They are members of the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League...
won their first of four consecutive Stanley Cups, immediately following four straight by the Canadiens. The Islanders dominated both the regular season and the playoffs with the likes of Billy Smith
Billy Smith (ice hockey)
William John Smith, better known as Billy Smith, is a retired professional ice hockey goaltender and is best known for winning four Stanley Cups with the New York Islanders and being the first goalie to be credited with a goal....
, Mike Bossy
Mike Bossy
Michael Dean Bossy is a former Canadian ice hockey player who played for the New York Islanders for his entire career and was part of their four-year reign as Stanley Cup champions in the early 1980s...
, Denis Potvin
Denis Potvin
Denis Charles Potvin is a former defenseman and team captain for the New York Islanders in the National Hockey League and cornerstone for the Islanders' four Stanley Cup championship teams in the early 1980s. His brother, Jean Potvin, was also an NHL defenseman and the brothers were teammates for...
, and Bryan Trottier
Bryan Trottier
Bryan John Trottier is a retired Canadian-American professional ice hockey centre who played 18 seasons in the National Hockey League for the New York Islanders and Pittsburgh Penguins. He won four Stanley Cups with the Islanders, two with the Penguins and one as an assistant coach with the...
. In 1981, Bossy became the first player to score 50 goals in 50 games
50 goals in 50 games
"50 goals in 50 games" refers to the act of scoring 50 goals in the first 50 games of a National Hockey League season. Scoring fifty goals in fifty games in the NHL is a rare achievement....
since Maurice Richard
Maurice Richard
Joseph Henri Maurice "the Rocket" Richard, Sr., was a French-Canadian professional ice hockey player who played for the Montreal Canadiens of the National Hockey League from 1942 to 1960. The "Rocket" was the most prolific goal-scorer of his era, the first to achieve the feat of 50 goals in 50...
accomplished that feat in 1945.
In 1982–83, the Edmonton Oilers
Edmonton Oilers
The Edmonton Oilers are a professional ice hockey team based in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. They are members of the Northwest Division in the Western Conference of the National Hockey League ....
won the regular season championship. The Oilers were led by Wayne Gretzky, who remained with the Oilers when they joined the NHL in 1979. He scored 137 points in 1979–80 and won the first of nine Hart Trophies
Hart Memorial Trophy
The Hart Memorial Trophy, originally known as the Hart Trophy, the "oldest and most prestigious individual award in hockey", is awarded annually to the "player adjudged most valuable to his team" in the National Hockey League . The Hart Memorial Trophy has been awarded 86 times to 53 different...
as the NHL's most valuable player. Over the next several seasons, Gretzky established new highs in goals scored in a season, with 92 in the 1981–82 season; in assists, with 163 in the 1985–86; and in total points, with 215 in 1985–86. Gretzky also set the record for scoring 50 goals in the fewest number of games, achieving the mark in 39 games. The Islanders and Oilers met in the Finals as New York swept Edmonton for their last Stanley Cup. The following season, the Oilers and Islanders met again in the playoffs. The Oilers won the rematch in five games, marking the start of another dynasty.
Led by Gretzky and Mark Messier
Mark Messier
Mark Douglas Messier is a former Canadian professional ice hockey centre of the National Hockey League and current special assistant to the president and general manager of the New York Rangers. He spent a quarter of a century in the NHL with the Edmonton Oilers, New York Rangers, and Vancouver...
, the Oilers won five Stanley Cup championships between 1984 and 1990. On August 9, 1988, Oilers owner Peter Pocklington
Peter Pocklington
Peter Hugh Pocklington is a Canadian entrepreneur.He made his initial fortune as the owner of one of the largest auto dealerships in Canada, and later took over a meat packing company involved in a high-profile labour strike....
, in financial trouble, traded Gretzky to the Los Angeles Kings
Los Angeles Kings
The Los Angeles Kings are a professional ice hockey team based in Los Angeles, California. They are members of the Pacific Division of the Western Conference of the National Hockey League...
. Gretzky's trade to the Kings popularized ice hockey in the United States. With the Kings, Gretzky broke Gordie Howe's record for the most career points. Mario Lemieux
Mario Lemieux
Mario Lemieux, OC, CQ is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player. He is acknowledged to be one of the best players of all time. He played 17 seasons as a forward for the Pittsburgh Penguins of the National Hockey League between 1984 and 2006...
led Pittsburgh to Stanley Cups in 1990–91 and 1991–92. A gifted forward, he won six Art Ross Trophies
Art Ross Trophy
The Art Ross Trophy is awarded to the National Hockey League player who leads the league in scoring points at the end of the regular season. It was presented to the NHL by former player, general manager, and head coach Art Ross. The trophy has been awarded 61 times to 25 players since its inception...
as the league's leading scorer and he scored 199 points in 1988–89, becoming the second highest single-season point scorer behind Gretzky. Lemieux's career was plagued by health issues, including non-Hodgkin lymphoma
Non-Hodgkin lymphoma
The non-Hodgkin lymphomas are a diverse group of blood cancers that include any kind of lymphoma except Hodgkin's lymphomas. Types of NHL vary significantly in their severity, from indolent to very aggressive....
, and he retired in 1997. In 2000 he returned and finished his NHL career in 2006 with more than 1,700 points.
Fall of the Iron Curtain
Summit Series
The Summit Series was the first competition between the Soviet and an NHL-inclusive Canadian national ice hockey teams, an eight-game series held in September 1972...
in 1972 which pitted the top Canadian players of the NHL against the top players in the Soviet Union
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
. With the eight-game series tied at three wins apiece and a tie, Paul Henderson
Paul Henderson
Paul Henderson is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player. A left winger, Henderson played 13 seasons in the National Hockey League for the Detroit Red Wings, Toronto Maple Leafs and Atlanta Flames...
scooped up a rebound and put it past Soviet goaltender Vladislav Tretiak
Vladislav Tretiak
Vladislav Aleksandrovich Tretiak, MSM is a former goaltender for the Soviet Union's national ice hockey team. Considered to be one of the greatest goaltenders in the history of the sport, he was voted one of six players to the International Ice Hockey Federation's Centennial All-Star Team in a...
with 34 seconds left in the eighth and final game to score the series-winning goal.
While European-born players were a part of the NHL since its founding, it was still rare to see them in the NHL until 1980, although the WHA employed a number of them. Borje Salming
Börje Salming
Anders Börje Salming , nicknamed "The King", is a retired Swedish professional ice hockey defenceman. He played for Kiruna AIF, Brynäs IF, the Toronto Maple Leafs, the Detroit Red Wings, and AIK. Salming was one of the first European players to make an impact in the National Hockey League , paving...
was the first European star in the NHL and Finns Jari Kurri
Jari Kurri
Jari Pekka Kurri is a retired Finnish professional ice hockey right winger and a five-time Stanley Cup champion. He was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 2001. He is currently the general manager of Team Finland....
and Esa Tikkanen
Esa Tikkanen
Esa Tikkanen is a retired Finnish professional ice hockey forward. He played for the Edmonton Oilers, New York Rangers, St...
helped lead the Oilers dynasty of the 1980s. The WHA opened the door, and players slowly joined the NHL, but those behind the Iron Curtain
Iron Curtain
The concept of the Iron Curtain symbolized the ideological fighting and physical boundary dividing Europe into two separate areas from the end of World War II in 1945 until the end of the Cold War in 1989...
were restricted from following suit. In 1980, Peter Stastny
Peter Stastny
Peter Šťastný , also known colloquially as "Peter the Great" and "Stosh", is a retired Slovak professional ice hockey player who played in the National Hockey League from 1980 to 1995. During his time with the Quebec Nordiques, Stastny became a Canadian citizen. Since 2004, he has also served as a...
, his wife, and his brother Anton
Anton Stastny
Anton Šťastný is a former Slovak professional ice hockey left winger who played nine seasons with the Quebec Nordiques of the National Hockey League from 1980 until 1989. He was the first player born and trained in Slovakia to be drafted by an NHL team...
secretly fled Czechoslovakia
Czechoslovakia
Czechoslovakia or Czecho-Slovakia was a sovereign state in Central Europe which existed from October 1918, when it declared its independence from the Austro-Hungarian Empire, until 1992...
with the aid of Nordiques owner Marcel Aubut
Marcel Aubut
Marcel Aubut, is a Canadian lawyer, president of the Canadian Olympic Committee and former president and Chief Executive Officer of the Quebec Nordiques of the National Hockey League .-Personal life:...
. The Stastnys' defection made international headlines, and contributed to the first wave of Europeans' entrance into the NHL. Hoping that they would one day be permitted to play in the NHL, teams drafted Soviet players in the 1980s, 27 in all by the 1988 draft; however, defection was the only way such players could play in the NHL. Shortly before the end of the 1988–89 regular season, Flames general manager Cliff Fletcher
Cliff Fletcher
George Clifford Fletcher is a National Hockey League executive and is a former general manager of the Atlanta Flames/Calgary Flames, Toronto Maple Leafs, and Phoenix Coyotes . He is currently a Senior Advisor to the Toronto Maple Leafs...
announced that he had reached an agreement with Soviet authorities that allowed Sergei Pryakhin
Sergei Pryakhin
Sergei Vasilievich Pryakhin is a retired Russian ice hockey forward.Sergei was the first Soviet member of their national hockey team that the Soviet government allowed to play in the National Hockey League. Other players had either defected or had not been member of the national team before him...
to play in North America. It was the first time a member of the Soviet national team was permitted to leave the Soviet Union. Shortly after, Soviet players began to flood into the NHL. Teams anticipated that there would be an influx of Soviet players in the 1990s, as 18 Soviets were selected in the 1989 NHL Entry Draft
1989 NHL Entry Draft
The 1989 NHL Entry Draft was held on June 17 at the Met Center in Bloomington, Minnesota. Some believe that the Detroit Red Wings' 1989 draft was the most successful ever, with 5,721 total NHL games played by the players selected.-Selections by round:...
.
Southward expansion (1992-2000)
San Jose Sharks
The San Jose Sharks are a professional ice hockey team based in San Jose, California, United States. They are members of the Pacific Division of the Western Conference of the National Hockey League...
, who began play in the 1991–92 season, and the Ottawa Senators
Ottawa Senators
The Ottawa Senators are a professional ice hockey team based in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. They are members of the Northeast Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League...
and Tampa Bay Lightning
Tampa Bay Lightning
The Tampa Bay Lightning are a professional ice hockey team based in Tampa, Florida. They are members of the Southeast Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League . They have one Stanley Cup championship in their history, in 2003–04. They are often referred to as the...
, who followed a year later. The Lightning made NHL history when goaltender Manon Rheaume
Manon Rhéaume
Manon Rhéaume is a Canadian ice hockey goaltender. An Olympic silver medalist, she achieved a number of historic firsts during her career, including becoming the first and only woman ever to play in a National Hockey League exhibition game.In 1992 Rhéaume signed a contract with the Tampa Bay...
played a period of an exhibition game, September 23, 1992. In doing so, Rheaume became the first woman to play in an NHL game. One year later, the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim
Anaheim Ducks
The Anaheim Ducks are a professional ice hockey team based in Anaheim, California, USA. They are members of the Pacific Division of the Western Conference of the National Hockey League...
and Florida Panthers
Florida Panthers
The Florida Panthers are a professional ice hockey team based in Sunrise, Florida, in the Miami metropolitan area. They are members of the Southeast Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League . They play their games at the BankAtlantic Center in Sunrise and are the...
began play as the NHL's 25th and 26th franchises respectively. The two new franchises were granted as part of the NHL's attempts at regaining a network television presence by expanding throughout the American south. The NHL's southward push continued in 1993 as the Minnesota North Stars
Minnesota North Stars
The Minnesota North Stars were a professional ice hockey team in the National Hockey League for 26 seasons, from 1967 to 1993. The North Stars played their home games at the Met Center in Bloomington, and the team's colors for most of its history were green, yellow, gold and white...
moved to Dallas
Dallas, Texas
Dallas is the third-largest city in Texas and the ninth-largest in the United States. The Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex is the largest metropolitan area in the South and fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States...
, Texas
Texas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
to become the Dallas Stars
Dallas Stars
The Dallas Stars are a professional ice hockey team based in Dallas, Texas. They are members of the Pacific Division of the Western Conference of the National Hockey League . The team was founded during the 1967 NHL expansion as the Minnesota North Stars, based in Bloomington, Minnesota. The...
.
In 1994, the players were locked out
Lockout (industry)
A lockout is a work stoppage in which an employer prevents employees from working. This is different from a strike, in which employees refuse to work.- Causes :...
by the owners because of a lack of a Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA). The 1994–95 NHL lockout lasted 104 days and resulted in the season's being shortened from a planned 84 games to 48. The owners insisted on a salary cap
Salary cap
In professional sports, a salary cap is a cartel agreement between teams that places a limit on the amount of money that can be spent on player salaries. The limit exists as a per-player limit or a total limit for the team's roster, or both...
, changes to free agency and arbitration in the hopes of limiting escalating salaries, the union instead proposed a luxury tax system. Just as the entire season seemed to be lost, an 11th-hour deal was agreed on. The owners failed to achieve a full salary cap but the deal was initially hailed as a win for the owners. The deal was not enough to save two teams in Canada's smallest NHL markets. The revenue disparity between large and small market teams, exacerbated by the falling value of the Canadian Dollar
Canadian dollar
The Canadian dollar is the currency of Canada. As of 2007, the Canadian dollar is the 7th most traded currency in the world. It is abbreviated with the dollar sign $, or C$ to distinguish it from other dollar-denominated currencies...
, forced the Quebec Nordiques
Quebec Nordiques
The Quebec Nordiques were a professional ice hockey team based in Quebec City, Quebec, Canada. The Nordiques played in the World Hockey Association and the National Hockey League...
to move to Denver and become the Colorado Avalanche
Colorado Avalanche
The Colorado Avalanche are a professional ice hockey team based in Denver, Colorado, United States. They are members of the Northwest Division of the Western Conference of the National Hockey League . The Avalanche have won the Stanley Cup twice, in 1995–96 and 2000–01. The franchise...
in 1995; the Winnipeg Jets relocated to Phoenix, Arizona
Phoenix, Arizona
Phoenix is the capital, and largest city, of the U.S. state of Arizona, as well as the sixth most populated city in the United States. Phoenix is home to 1,445,632 people according to the official 2010 U.S. Census Bureau data...
, becoming the Coyotes
Phoenix Coyotes
The Phoenix Coyotes are a professional ice hockey team based in Glendale, Arizona. They are members of the Pacific Division of the Western Conference of the National Hockey League . They play their home games at Jobing.com Arena....
, the next year. The Hartford Whalers
Hartford Whalers
The Hartford Whalers were a professional ice hockey team based for most of its existence in Hartford, Connecticut, U.S.A.. The club played in the World Hockey Association from 1972–79 and in the National Hockey League from 1979–97...
followed, becoming the Carolina Hurricanes
Carolina Hurricanes
The Carolina Hurricanes are a professional ice hockey team based in Raleigh, North Carolina, USA. They are members of the Southeast Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League , and play their home games at the 18,680-seat RBC Center...
in 1997. The NHL continued its expansion into cities in the Southern United States. In 1998, the Nashville Predators
Nashville Predators
The Nashville Predators are a professional ice hockey team based in Nashville, Tennessee. They are members of the Central Division of the Western Conference of the National Hockey League...
joined the league, followed by the Atlanta Thrashers
Atlanta Thrashers
The Atlanta Thrashers were a professional ice hockey team based in Atlanta, Georgia, United States. Atlanta was granted a franchise in the National Hockey League on June 25, 1997, and became the league's 28th franchise when it began play in the 1999–2000 NHL season...
the following year. To further market their players, the NHL decided to have its players play in the Winter Olympics, starting in 1998, at the Nagano Games
1998 Winter Olympics
The 1998 Winter Olympics, officially the XVIII Olympic Winter Games, was a winter multi-sport event celebrated from 7 to 22 February 1998 in Nagano, Japan. Seventy-two nations and 2,176 participans contested in seven sports and 72 events at 15 venues. The games saw the introduction of Women's ice...
. In 2000, the league added two franchises, boosting the total number to 30. The NHL returned to Minnesota with the Minnesota Wild
Minnesota Wild
The Minnesota Wild are a professional ice hockey team based in St. Paul, Minnesota, United States. They are members of the Northwest Division of the Western Conference of the National Hockey League ....
and added the Columbus Blue Jackets
Columbus Blue Jackets
The Columbus Blue Jackets are a professional ice hockey team based in Columbus, Ohio, United States. They are members of the Central Division of the Western Conference of the National Hockey League...
in Columbus
Columbus, Ohio
Columbus is the capital of and the largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio. The broader metropolitan area encompasses several counties and is the third largest in Ohio behind those of Cleveland and Cincinnati. Columbus is the third largest city in the American Midwest, and the fifteenth largest city...
, Ohio
Ohio
Ohio is a Midwestern state in the United States. The 34th largest state by area in the U.S.,it is the 7th‑most populous with over 11.5 million residents, containing several major American cities and seven metropolitan areas with populations of 500,000 or more.The state's capital is Columbus...
.
2004–05 lockout
By 2004, the owners were claiming that player salaries had grown far faster than revenues, and that the league as a whole lost over US$300 million in 2002–03. As a result, on September 15, 2004 Gary Bettman announced that the owners again locked the players out before the start of the 2004–05 season. On February 16, 2005, Bettman announced the cancellation of the entire season. As with the 1994–95 lockout, the owners were again demanding a salary cap, which the players were unwilling to consider until the season was on the verge of being lost. The season's cancellation led to a revolt within the union. NHLPA president Trevor LindenTrevor Linden
Trevor John Linden, C.M., O.B.C. is a retired Canadian professional ice hockey player. He played centre and right wing with four different teams: the Vancouver Canucks , New York Islanders, Montreal Canadiens, and Washington Capitals...
and senior director Ted Saskin
Ted Saskin
Ted Saskin is the former NHL Players Association executive director. He assumed the title after Bob Goodenow resigned on July 28, 2005, but was unanimously fired by the NHLPA on May 10, 2007, after a union-commissioned report concluded Saskin had quarterbacked a campaign to hack into player email...
took charge of negotiations from executive director Bob Goodenow
Bob Goodenow
Robert W. "Bob" Goodenow is an American manager, who became the Executive Director of the National Hockey League Players Association in 1992, succeeding Alan Eagleson...
. By early July, the two sides had agreed to a new collective bargaining agreement
NHL Collective Bargaining Agreement
The NHL collective bargaining agreement is the basic contract between the National Hockey League team owners and the NHL Players Association , designed to be arrived at through the typical labor-management negotiations of collective bargaining...
. The deal featured a hard salary cap, linked to a fixed percentage of league revenues and a 24% rollback on salaries.
21st century
Edmonton Oilers
The Edmonton Oilers are a professional ice hockey team based in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. They are members of the Northwest Division in the Western Conference of the National Hockey League ....
hosted the NHL's first regular season outdoor hockey game, the Heritage Classic on November 22, 2003. The game against the Canadiens was held at Commonwealth Stadium
Commonwealth Stadium (Edmonton)
Commonwealth Stadium is a sports stadium located in the Norwood Area of Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, primarily used by the Edmonton Eskimos of the Canadian Football League. The stadium is owned and operated by the City of Edmonton.- History :...
before a then-record crowd of 57,167 fans who endured temperatures as low as −18 degrees Celsius (0 degrees Fahrenheit). In the 2005–06 season, the NHL eliminated tie games, as the shootout
Penalty shootout
The shootout is a method of determining a winner in sports matches that would have otherwise been drawn or tied. The rules for penalty shootouts vary between sports and even different competitions; however, the usual form is similar to penalty shots in that a single player takes one shot on goal...
was introduced to decide all regular season games tied after the five-minute overtime period. The shootout was one of several rule changes made in 2005, as the league attempted to open the game up after the lockout. One of the most controversial changes was the league's zero-tolerance policy on obstruction penalties. The league hoped that the game could be opened up if it cracked down on "clutching and grabbing". The tighter regulations have met with numerous complaints about the legitimacy of some calls, that players are diving to draw penalties, and that officials are not calling enough penalties. The changes initially led to a sharp increase in scoring. Teams combined to score 6.1 goals per game in 2005–06, more than a full goal per game higher than in the 2003–04 season. This represented the highest increase in offence since 1929–30. However, scoring has rapidly declined since, approaching pre-lockout totals in 2007–08.
In the 2005–06 season, rookies Alexander Ovechkin
Alexander Ovechkin
Alexander Mikhaylovich Ovechkin is a Russian professional ice hockey left winger and captain of the Washington Capitals of the National Hockey League...
and Sidney Crosby
Sidney Crosby
Sidney Patrick Crosby ONS is a Canadian professional ice hockey player and captain of the Pittsburgh Penguins of the National Hockey League . Crosby was drafted first overall by the Penguins out of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League...
began their careers. In their first three seasons, they have each won both the Art Ross
Art Ross Trophy
The Art Ross Trophy is awarded to the National Hockey League player who leads the league in scoring points at the end of the regular season. It was presented to the NHL by former player, general manager, and head coach Art Ross. The trophy has been awarded 61 times to 25 players since its inception...
and Hart
Hart Memorial Trophy
The Hart Memorial Trophy, originally known as the Hart Trophy, the "oldest and most prestigious individual award in hockey", is awarded annually to the "player adjudged most valuable to his team" in the National Hockey League . The Hart Memorial Trophy has been awarded 86 times to 53 different...
trophies; Crosby in 2007, and Ovechkin in 2008. The success of the Heritage Classic led to the scheduling of more outdoor games. The Sabres hosted the 2008 NHL Winter Classic on New Year's Day 2008, losing to the Pittsburgh Penguins in a shootout before a crowd of 71,217 at Ralph Wilson Stadium
Ralph Wilson Stadium
Ralph Wilson Stadium is a football stadium, located in the town of Orchard Park, a suburb of Buffalo, New York. It is the home for the Buffalo Bills, of the NFL...
. The second Winter Classic was held January 1, 2009 at Wrigley Field
Wrigley Field
Wrigley Field is a baseball stadium in Chicago, Illinois, United States that has served as the home ballpark of the Chicago Cubs since 1916. It was built in 1914 as Weeghman Park for the Chicago Federal League baseball team, the Chicago Whales...
in Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
between the Blackhawks and Red Wings. The third NHL Winter Classic was held in Fenway Park on January 1, 2010, between the Boston Bruins and the Philadelphia Flyers. The home team Bruins won.
Two clubs still experienced financial problems, however. The Phoenix Coyotes
Phoenix Coyotes
The Phoenix Coyotes are a professional ice hockey team based in Glendale, Arizona. They are members of the Pacific Division of the Western Conference of the National Hockey League . They play their home games at Jobing.com Arena....
eventually filed for bankruptcy in May 2009
Phoenix Coyotes bankruptcy
In addition to the bankruptcy of the Phoenix Coyotes, this article discusses the NHL's efforts to sell the club since purchasing it out of bankruptcy.----...
. The league then took control over the team later that year in order to stabilize the club's operations, with the hopes of eventually reselling it to a new owner who would be committed to stay in the Phoenix market. The financially struggling Atlanta Thrashers
Atlanta Thrashers
The Atlanta Thrashers were a professional ice hockey team based in Atlanta, Georgia, United States. Atlanta was granted a franchise in the National Hockey League on June 25, 1997, and became the league's 28th franchise when it began play in the 1999–2000 NHL season...
were eventually sold to True North Sports and Entertainment in 2011, who then relocated the team
Winnipeg Jets
The Winnipeg Jets were a professional ice hockey team based in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. They began play in the World Hockey Association in 1972, moving to the National Hockey League in 1979 following the collapse of the WHA...
to Winnipeg, a stark reversal of the league's Southward expansion more than a decade earlier.
1917-1967
18 !! !! 1920 !! !! !! !! !! 19
25 !! !! !! !! !! 19
30 !! !! !! !! !! 19
35 !! !! !! !! !! 19
40 !! !! !! !! !! 19
45 !! !! !! !! !! 19
50 !! !! !! !! !! 19
55 !! !! !! !! !! 19
60 !! !! !! !! !! 19
65 !! !! 19
67
|- style="background:#BE2F37;"
| style="background:#fff;" | Montreal Canadiens
Montreal Canadiens
The Montreal Canadiens are a professional ice hockey team based in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. They are members of the Northeast Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League . The club is officially known as ...
|| || || || || || || SC || || || || || || SC || SC || || || || || || || || || || || || || SC || || SC || || || || || || || SC || || || SC || SC || SC || SC || SC || || || || || SC || SC ||
|- style="background:#E91B31;"
| style="background:#fff;" | Montreal Wanderers
Montreal Wanderers
The Montreal Wanderers were a Canadian amateur, and later becoming a professional men's ice hockey team. The team played in the Federal Amateur Hockey League , the Eastern Canada Amateur Hockey Association , the National Hockey Association and briefly the National Hockey League . The Wanderers are...
|| || style="background:#fff;" | XX
|- style="background:#003876;"
| style="background:#fff;" | Toronto Maple Leafs
Toronto Maple Leafs
The Toronto Maple Leafs are a professional ice hockey team based in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. They are members of the Northeast Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League...
|| SC || || style="background:green;"| || style="background:green;"| || style="background:green;"| SC || style="background:green;"| || style="background:green;"| || style="background:green;"| || style="background:green;"| || style="background:green;"| || style="background:green;"| || || || || SC || || || || || || || || || || SC || || || SC || || SC || SC || SC || || SC || || || || || || || || || || || SC || SC || SC || || || SC
|- style="background:#E11D3A;"
| style="background:#fff;" | Ottawa Senators
Ottawa Senators (original)
The Ottawa Senators were an amateur, and later, professional, ice hockey team based in Ottawa, Canada which existed from 1883 to 1954. The club was the first hockey club in Ontario, a founding member of the National Hockey League and played in the NHL from 1917 until 1934...
|| || || SC || SC || || SC || || || || SC || || || || || style="background:#fff;" | || ||
|- style="background:#B20907;"
| style="background:#fff;" | St. Louis Eagles
St. Louis Eagles
The St. Louis Eagles were a professional ice hockey team and a former member of the National Hockey League based in St. Louis, Missouri. The Eagles existed for only one year, playing in the 1934–35 NHL season....
|| colspan="17" style="background:#fff;" | ||
|- style="background:#0070C6;"
| style="background:#fff;" | Quebec Bulldogs
Quebec Bulldogs
The Quebec Bulldogs were a men's senior-level ice hockey team officially known as the Quebec Hockey Club, later as the Quebec Athletic Club. Their recorded play goes back as far as the Amateur Hockey Association of Canada in 1889, although the Quebec Hockey Club is known to have played since 1880...
|| colspan="2" style="background:#fff;" | ||
|- style="background:#FCD00C;"
| style="background:#fff;" | Hamilton Tigers || colspan="3" style="background:#fff;" | || || || || ||
|- style="background:#E13A3E;"
| style="background:#fff;" | New York Americans
New York Americans
The New York Americans were a professional ice hockey team based in New York, New York from 1925 to 1942. They were the third expansion team in the history of the National Hockey League and the second to play in the United States. The team never won the Stanley Cup, but reached the semifinals...
|| colspan="7" style="background:#fff;" | || style="background:#fff;" | XX || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || ||
|- style="background:#FFB612;"
| style="background:#fff;" | Boston Bruins
Boston Bruins
The Boston Bruins are a professional ice hockey team based in Boston, Massachusetts, USA. They are members of the Northeast Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League . The team has been in existence since 1924, and is the league's third-oldest team and its oldest in the...
|| colspan="7" style="background:#fff;" | || || || || || SC || || || || || || || || || || SC || || SC || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || ||
|- style="background:#87354A;"
| style="background:#fff;" | Montreal Maroons
Montreal Maroons
The Montreal Maroons was a professional men's ice hockey team in the National Hockey League . They played in the NHL from 1924 to 1938, winning the Stanley Cup in 1926 and 1935...
|| colspan="7" style="background:#fff;" | || || SC || || || || || || || || || SC || || || ||
|- style="background:#FBB72E;"
| style="background:#fff;" | Pittsburgh Pirates
Pittsburgh Pirates (NHL)
The Pittsburgh Pirates were an American professional ice hockey team in the National Hockey League , based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania from 1925–26 to 1929–30. The nickname comes from the baseball team also based in the city...
|| colspan="8" style="background:#fff;" | || || || || ||
|- style="background:orange;"
| style="background:#fff;" | Philadelphia Quakers
Philadelphia Quakers (NHL)
The Philadelphia Quakers were an American professional ice hockey team that played only one full season in the National Hockey League , 1930–31, at the Philadelphia Arena in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania...
|| colspan="13" style="background:#fff;" | ||
|- style="background:#C60C30;"
| style="background:#fff;" | Chicago Blackhawks
Chicago Blackhawks
The Chicago Blackhawks are a professional ice hockey team based in Chicago, Illinois. They are members of the Central Division of the Western Conference of the National Hockey League . They have won four Stanley Cup championships since their founding in 1926, most recently coming in 2009-10...
|| colspan="9" style="background:#fff;" | || || || || || || || || SC || || || || SC || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || SC || || || || || ||
|- style="background:#EC2024;"
| style="background:#fff;" | Detroit Red Wings
Detroit Red Wings
The Detroit Red Wings are a professional ice hockey team based in Detroit, Michigan. They are members of the Central Division of the Western Conference of the National Hockey League , and are one of the Original Six teams of the NHL, along with the Toronto Maple Leafs, Montreal Canadiens, New York...
|| colspan="9" style="background:#fff;" | || || || || || || || || || || SC || SC || || || || || || SC || || || || || || || SC || || SC || || SC || SC || || || || || || || || || || || ||
|- style="background:#0039A6;"
| style="background:#fff;" | New York Rangers
New York Rangers
The New York Rangers are a professional ice hockey team based in the borough of Manhattan in New York, New York, USA. They are members of the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League . Playing their home games at Madison Square Garden, the Rangers are one of the...
|| colspan="9" style="background:#fff;" | || || SC || || || || || SC || || || || || || || SC || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || ||
|}
1967-Present
68 !! !! 1970 !! !! !! !! !! 19
75 !! !! !! !! !! 19
80 !! !! !! !! !! 19
85 !! !! !! !! !! 19
90 !! !! !! !! !! 19
95 !! !! !! !! !! 20
00 !! !! !! !! !! 20
05 !! !! !! !! !! 20
10 !! !! 20
12
|- style="background:#BE2F37;"
| style="background:#fff;" | Montreal Canadiens
Montreal Canadiens
The Montreal Canadiens are a professional ice hockey team based in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. They are members of the Northeast Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League . The club is officially known as ...
|| SC || SC || || SC || || SC || || || SC || SC || SC || SC || || || || || || || SC || || || || || || || SC || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || ||
|- style="background:#003876;"
| style="background:#fff;" | Toronto Maple Leafs
Toronto Maple Leafs
The Toronto Maple Leafs are a professional ice hockey team based in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. They are members of the Northeast Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League...
|| || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || ||
|- style="background:#FFB612;"
| style="background:#fff;" | Boston Bruins
Boston Bruins
The Boston Bruins are a professional ice hockey team based in Boston, Massachusetts, USA. They are members of the Northeast Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League . The team has been in existence since 1924, and is the league's third-oldest team and its oldest in the...
|| || || SC || || SC || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || SC ||
|- style="background:#C60C30;"
| style="background:#fff;" | Chicago Blackhawks
Chicago Blackhawks
The Chicago Blackhawks are a professional ice hockey team based in Chicago, Illinois. They are members of the Central Division of the Western Conference of the National Hockey League . They have won four Stanley Cup championships since their founding in 1926, most recently coming in 2009-10...
|| || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || SC || ||
|- style="background:#EC2024;"
| style="background:#fff;" | Detroit Red Wings
Detroit Red Wings
The Detroit Red Wings are a professional ice hockey team based in Detroit, Michigan. They are members of the Central Division of the Western Conference of the National Hockey League , and are one of the Original Six teams of the NHL, along with the Toronto Maple Leafs, Montreal Canadiens, New York...
|| || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || SC || SC || || || || SC || || || || || || SC || || || ||
|- style="background:#0039A6;"
| style="background:#fff;" | New York Rangers
New York Rangers
The New York Rangers are a professional ice hockey team based in the borough of Manhattan in New York, New York, USA. They are members of the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League . Playing their home games at Madison Square Garden, the Rangers are one of the...
|| || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || SC || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || ||
|- style="text-align:center;color:#000;"
! !! 19
68 !! !! 19
70 !! !! !! !! !! 19
75 !! !! !! !! !! 19
80 !! !! !! !! !! 19
85 !! !! !! !! !! 19
90 !! !! !! !! !! 19
95 !! !! !! !! !! 20
00 !! !! !! !! !! 20
05 !! !! !! !! !! 20
10 !! !! 20
12
|- style="background:#FDB827;"
| style="background:#fff;" | California Golden Seals
California Golden Seals
The California Golden Seals were a team in the National Hockey League from 1967–76. Initially named California Seals, the team was renamed Oakland Seals part-way through the 1967–68 season, and then to California Golden Seals in 1970. The Seals were one of six teams added to the league as part of...
|| || || || || || || || ||
|- style="background:#9E2532;"
| style="background:#fff;" | Cleveland Barons
Cleveland Barons (NHL)
The Cleveland Barons were a professional ice hockey team in the National Hockey League from 1976–78. They were a relocation of the California Golden Seals franchise, which had played in Oakland since 1967...
|| colspan="9" style="background:#fff;" | || ||
|- style="background:#472289;"
| style="background:#fff;" | Los Angeles Kings
Los Angeles Kings
The Los Angeles Kings are a professional ice hockey team based in Los Angeles, California. They are members of the Pacific Division of the Western Conference of the National Hockey League...
|| || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || ||
|- style="background:#16996A;"
| style="background:#fff;" | Minnesota North Stars
Minnesota North Stars
The Minnesota North Stars were a professional ice hockey team in the National Hockey League for 26 seasons, from 1967 to 1993. The North Stars played their home games at the Met Center in Bloomington, and the team's colors for most of its history were green, yellow, gold and white...
|| || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || ||
|- style="background:#005837;"
| style="background:#fff;" | Dallas Stars
Dallas Stars
The Dallas Stars are a professional ice hockey team based in Dallas, Texas. They are members of the Pacific Division of the Western Conference of the National Hockey League . The team was founded during the 1967 NHL expansion as the Minnesota North Stars, based in Bloomington, Minnesota. The...
|| colspan="26" style="background:#fff;" | || || || || || || SC || || || || || || || || || || || || ||
|- style="background:#FF4D00;"
| style="background:#fff;" | Philadelphia Flyers
Philadelphia Flyers
The Philadelphia Flyers are a professional ice hockey team based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. They are members of the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League...
|| || || || || || || SC || SC || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || ||
|- style="background:#CDB87C;"
| style="background:#fff;" | Pittsburgh Penguins
Pittsburgh Penguins
The Pittsburgh Penguins are a professional ice hockey team based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. They are members of the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League . The franchise was founded in 1967 as one of the first expansion teams during the league's original...
|| || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || SC || SC || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || SC || || ||
|- style="background:#00529B;"
| style="background:#fff;" | St. Louis Blues || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || ||
|- style="background:#002147;"
| style="background:#fff;" | Buffalo Sabres
Buffalo Sabres
The Buffalo Sabres are a professional ice hockey team based in Buffalo, New York. They are members of the Northeast Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League .-Founding and early success: 1970-71—1980-81:...
|| colspan="3" style="background:#fff;" | || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || ||
|- style="background:#003E7E;"
| style="background:#fff;" | Vancouver Canucks
Vancouver Canucks
The Vancouver Canucks are a professional ice hockey team based in Vancouver, :British Columbia, Canada. They are members of the Northwest Division of the Western Conference of the National Hockey League . The Canucks play their home games at Rogers Arena, formerly known as General Motors Place,...
|| colspan="3" style="background:#fff;" | || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || ||
|- style="background:#E13A3E;"
| style="background:#fff;" | Atlanta Flames
Atlanta Flames
The Atlanta Flames were a professional ice hockey team based in Atlanta, Georgia, USA from 1972 to 1980. The team, a member of the National Hockey League , was relocated to Calgary, Alberta, Canada for the start of the 1980–81 NHL season and were re-named the Calgary Flames. The NHL returned to the...
|| colspan="5" style="background:#fff;" | || || || || || || || ||
|- style="background:#E13A3E;"
| style="background:#fff;" | Calgary Flames
Calgary Flames
The Calgary Flames are a professional ice hockey team based in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. They are members of the Northwest Division of the Western Conference of the National Hockey League . The club is the third major-professional ice hockey team to represent the city of Calgary, following the...
|| colspan="13" style="background:#fff;" | || || || || || || || || || SC || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || ||
|- style="background:#F47936;"
| style="background:#fff;" | New York Islanders
New York Islanders
The New York Islanders are a professional ice hockey team based in Uniondale, New York. They are members of the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League...
|| colspan="5" style="background:#fff;" | || || || || || || || || SC || SC || SC || SC || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || ||
|- style="background:#002147;"
| style="background:#fff;" | Kansas City Scouts
Kansas City Scouts
The Kansas City Scouts was a professional ice hockey team in the National Hockey League from 1974–76. In 1976, the franchise relocated to Denver, Colorado and became the Colorado Rockies...
|| colspan="7" style="background:#fff;" | || ||
|- style="background:#0064A6;"
| style="background:#fff;" | Colorado Rockies
Colorado Rockies (NHL)
The Colorado Rockies were an American professional ice hockey team in the National Hockey League that played in Denver, Colorado, from 1976 to 1982. They were a relocation of the Kansas City Scouts, a 1974 expansion team. The franchise moved to East Rutherford, New Jersey, in 1982 and was...
|| colspan="9" style="background:#fff;" | || || || || || ||
|- style="background:#E13A3E;"
| style="background:#fff;" | New Jersey Devils
New Jersey Devils
The New Jersey Devils are a professional ice hockey team based in Newark, New Jersey, United States. They are members of the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League...
|| colspan="15" style="background:#fff;" | || || || || || || || || || || || || || SC || || || || || SC || || || SC || || || || || || || || ||
|- style="background:#CF142B;"
| style="background:#fff;" | Washington Capitals
Washington Capitals
The Washington Capitals are a professional ice hockey team based in Washington, D.C. They are members of the Southeast Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League . Since their founding in 1974, "The Caps" have won one conference championship to reach the 1998 Stanley Cup...
|| colspan="7" style="background:#fff;" | || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || ||
|- style="text-align:center;color:#000;"
! !! !! !! !! !! !! !! !! !! !! !! !! !! 19
80 !! !! !! !! !! 19
85 !! !! !! !! !! 19
90 !! !! !! !! !! 19
95 !! !! !! !! !! 20
00 !! !! !! !! !! 20
05 !! !! !! !! !! 20
10 !! !! 20
12
|- style="background:#0E2752;"
| style="background:#fff;" colspan="13" | Edmonton Oilers
Edmonton Oilers
The Edmonton Oilers are a professional ice hockey team based in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. They are members of the Northwest Division in the Western Conference of the National Hockey League ....
|| || || || || SC || SC || || SC || SC || || SC || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || ||
|- style="background:#0B7C3F;"
| style="background:#fff;" colspan="13" | Hartford Whalers
Hartford Whalers
The Hartford Whalers were a professional ice hockey team based for most of its existence in Hartford, Connecticut, U.S.A.. The club played in the World Hockey Association from 1972–79 and in the National Hockey League from 1979–97...
|| || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || | || colspan="7" style="background:#fff;" | || style="background:#fff;" | XX
|- style="background:#E13A3E;"
| style="background:#fff;" colspan="13" | Carolina Hurricanes
Carolina Hurricanes
The Carolina Hurricanes are a professional ice hockey team based in Raleigh, North Carolina, USA. They are members of the Southeast Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League , and play their home games at the 18,680-seat RBC Center...
|| colspan="18" style="background:#fff;" | || || || || || || || || || SC || || || || || ||
|- style="background:#007BB9;"
| style="background:#fff;" colspan="13" | Quebec Nordiques
Quebec Nordiques
The Quebec Nordiques were a professional ice hockey team based in Quebec City, Quebec, Canada. The Nordiques played in the World Hockey Association and the National Hockey League...
|| || || || || || || || || || || || || || || ||
|- style="background:#8B2942;"
| style="background:#fff;" colspan="13" | Colorado Avalanche
Colorado Avalanche
The Colorado Avalanche are a professional ice hockey team based in Denver, Colorado, United States. They are members of the Northwest Division of the Western Conference of the National Hockey League . The Avalanche have won the Stanley Cup twice, in 1995–96 and 2000–01. The franchise...
|| colspan="16" style="background:#fff;" | || SC || || || || || SC || || || || || || || || |||| ||
|- style="background:#003876;"
| style="background:#fff;" colspan="13" | Winnipeg Jets || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || ||
|- style="background:#8E0028;"
| style="background:#fff;" colspan="13" | Phoenix Coyotes
Phoenix Coyotes
The Phoenix Coyotes are a professional ice hockey team based in Glendale, Arizona. They are members of the Pacific Division of the Western Conference of the National Hockey League . They play their home games at Jobing.com Arena....
|| colspan="17" style="background:#fff;" | || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || ||
|- style="text-align:center;color:#000;"
! !! !! !! !! !! !! !! !! !! !! !! !! !! !! !! !! !! !! !! !! !! !! !! !! !! 19
92 !! !! !! 19
95 !! !! !! !! !! 20
00 !! !! !! !! !! 20
05 !! !! !! !! !! 20
10 !! !! 20
12
|- style="background:#05535D;"
| style="background:#fff;" colspan="25" | San Jose Sharks
San Jose Sharks
The San Jose Sharks are a professional ice hockey team based in San Jose, California, United States. They are members of the Pacific Division of the Western Conference of the National Hockey League...
|| || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || ||
|- style="background:#E4173E;"
| style="background:#fff;" colspan="25" | Ottawa Senators
Ottawa Senators
The Ottawa Senators are a professional ice hockey team based in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. They are members of the Northeast Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League...
|| style="background:#fff;" | || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || ||
|- style="background:#003E7E;"
| style="background:#fff;" colspan="25" | Tampa Bay Lightning
Tampa Bay Lightning
The Tampa Bay Lightning are a professional ice hockey team based in Tampa, Florida. They are members of the Southeast Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League . They have one Stanley Cup championship in their history, in 2003–04. They are often referred to as the...
|| style="background:#fff;" | || || || || || || || || || || || || SC || || || || || || || ||
|- style="background:#B79461;"
| style="background:#fff;" colspan="25" | Anaheim Ducks
Anaheim Ducks
The Anaheim Ducks are a professional ice hockey team based in Anaheim, California, USA. They are members of the Pacific Division of the Western Conference of the National Hockey League...
|| colspan="2" style="background:#fff;" | || style="background:#006A65;" | || style="background:#006A65;" | || style="background:#006A65;" | || style="background:#006A65;" | || style="background:#006A65;" | || style="background:#006A65;" | || style="background:#006A65;" | || style="background:#006A65;" | || style="background:#006A65;" | || style="background:#006A65;" | || style="background:#006A65;" | || style="background:#006A65;" | || style="background:#006A65;" | || SC || || || || ||
|- style="background:#C60C30;"
| style="background:#fff;" colspan="25" | Florida Panthers
Florida Panthers
The Florida Panthers are a professional ice hockey team based in Sunrise, Florida, in the Miami metropolitan area. They are members of the Southeast Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League . They play their games at the BankAtlantic Center in Sunrise and are the...
|| colspan="2" style="background:#fff;" | || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || ||
|- style="background:#01285D;"
| style="background:#fff;" colspan="25" | Nashville Predators
Nashville Predators
The Nashville Predators are a professional ice hockey team based in Nashville, Tennessee. They are members of the Central Division of the Western Conference of the National Hockey League...
|| colspan="7" style="background:#fff;" | || || || || || || || || || || || || || ||
|- style="background:#CE7328;"
| style="background:#fff;" colspan="25" | Atlanta Thrashers
Atlanta Thrashers
The Atlanta Thrashers were a professional ice hockey team based in Atlanta, Georgia, United States. Atlanta was granted a franchise in the National Hockey League on June 25, 1997, and became the league's 28th franchise when it began play in the 1999–2000 NHL season...
|| colspan="8" style="background:#fff;" | || || || || || || || || || || || ||
|- style="background:#002E62;"
| style="background:#fff;" colspan="25" | Winnipeg Jets
Winnipeg Jets
The Winnipeg Jets were a professional ice hockey team based in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. They began play in the World Hockey Association in 1972, moving to the National Hockey League in 1979 following the collapse of the WHA...
|| colspan="20" style="background:#fff;" | ||
|- style="background:#00285D;"
| style="background:#fff;" colspan="25" | Columbus Blue Jackets
Columbus Blue Jackets
The Columbus Blue Jackets are a professional ice hockey team based in Columbus, Ohio, United States. They are members of the Central Division of the Western Conference of the National Hockey League...
|| colspan="9" style="background:#fff;" | || || || || || || || || || || || ||
|- style="background:#015836;"
| style="background:#fff;" colspan="25" | Minnesota Wild
Minnesota Wild
The Minnesota Wild are a professional ice hockey team based in St. Paul, Minnesota, United States. They are members of the Northwest Division of the Western Conference of the National Hockey League ....
|| colspan="9" style="background:#fff;" | || || || || || || || || || || || ||
|}
Timeline notes
- The year in the heading indicates the year the season ended (e.g. 1960 is the 1959-1960 season)
- The Toronto Maple LeafsToronto Maple LeafsThe Toronto Maple Leafs are a professional ice hockey team based in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. They are members of the Northeast Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League...
were named Toronto ArenasToronto ArenasThe Toronto Arenas, Toronto Blueshirts or Torontos was a professional men's ice hockey team that played in the first two seasons of the National Hockey League . It was operated by the owner of the Arena Gardens, the Toronto Arena Company...
(1917–1919) and Toronto St. PatricksToronto St. PatricksThe Toronto St. Patricks professional men's ice hockey team started as an amateur ice hockey organization. In 1919, the club purchased the Toronto National Hockey League franchise from the NHL. The club renamed the franchise the Toronto St. Patricks club and operated the franchise until 1927, when...
(1919–1927) - The California Golden SealsCalifornia Golden SealsThe California Golden Seals were a team in the National Hockey League from 1967–76. Initially named California Seals, the team was renamed Oakland Seals part-way through the 1967–68 season, and then to California Golden Seals in 1970. The Seals were one of six teams added to the league as part of...
were named California Seals briefly at the start of the 1967-68 season, and then Oakland Seals through the 1969-70 season. - The Anaheim DucksAnaheim DucksThe Anaheim Ducks are a professional ice hockey team based in Anaheim, California, USA. They are members of the Pacific Division of the Western Conference of the National Hockey League...
were named Mighty Ducks of Anaheim between 1993–2006. - "SC" denotes that that team won the Stanley CupStanley CupThe Stanley Cup is an ice hockey club trophy, awarded annually to the National Hockey League playoffs champion after the conclusion of the Stanley Cup Finals. It has been referred to as The Cup, Lord Stanley's Cup, The Holy Grail, or facetiously as Lord Stanley's Mug...
.
External links
- NHL.com—History
- Hockey: A People's History by the Canadian Broadcasting CorporationCanadian Broadcasting CorporationThe Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, commonly known as CBC and officially as CBC/Radio-Canada, is a Canadian crown corporation that serves as the national public radio and television broadcaster...