The National Hockey League, often abbreviated to the NHL, is an unincorporated not-for-profit association which operates a major professional ice hockey league of 30 franchised member clubs, of which six are located in Canada and twenty-four in the United States. Headquartered in New York City, the NHL is widely considered to be the premier professional ice hockey league in the world, and one of the major professional sports leagues of the United States and Canada. The Stanley Cup, the oldest professional sports trophy in North America, is awarded annually to the league playoff champion at the end of each season. The league was organized in 1917 in Montreal, Quebec, Canada after the suspension of operations of its predecessor organization, the National Hockey Association (NHA), which had been founded in 1909. It started with four teams and, through a series of expansions, contractions, and relocations, the league is now composed of 30 active franchises. After a "lockout" that led to the cancellation of the entire 2004–05 season, the league resumed play under a new collective bargaining agreement that included a salary cap. In 2009, the NHL enjoyed record highs in terms of sponsorships, crowds and television audiences.
The NHL draws many highly skilled players from all over the world and currently has players from about 20 different countries. Although Canadians have historically constituted the majority of the players in the NHL, over the past four plus decades the percentages of American and European trained players have increased both because of the NHL's continued expansion from six to thirty clubs since 1967, and the increased availability of highly skilled European players, especially from former Eastern Bloc countries.
Official National Hockey League Website: http://www.nhl.com/
Current Teams[]
Division | Team | City/Area | Arena | Founded | Joined | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Eastern Conference | |||||||
Atlantic Division | New Jersey Devils | Newark, New Jersey | Prudential Center | 1974* | |||
New York Islanders | Uniondale, New York | Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum | 1972 | ||||
New York Rangers | New York City, New York | Madison Square Garden | 1926 | ||||
Philadelphia Flyers | Philadelphia, Pennsylvania | Wells Fargo Center | 1967 | ||||
Pittsburgh Penguins | Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania | Consol Energy Center | 1967 | ||||
Northeast | Boston Bruins | Boston, Massachusetts | TD Garden | 1924 | |||
Buffalo Sabres | Buffalo, New York | First Niagara Center | 1970 | ||||
Montreal Canadiens | Montreal, Quebec | Bell Centre | 1909 | 1917 | |||
Ottawa Senators | Ottawa, Ontario | Scotiabank Place | 1992 | ||||
Toronto Maple Leafs | Toronto, Ontario | Air Canada Centre | 1917 | ||||
Southeast | Carolina Hurricanes | Raleigh, North Carolina | RBC Center | 1972 | 1979* | ||
Florida Panthers | Sunrise, Florida | BankAtlantic Center | 1993 | ||||
Tampa Bay Lightning | Tampa, Florida | St. Pete Times Forum | 1992 | ||||
Washington Capitals | Washington, D.C. | Verizon Center | 1974 | ||||
Winnipeg Jets | Winnipeg, Manitoba | MTS Centre | 1999* | ||||
Western Conference | |||||||
Central Division | Chicago Blackhawks | Chicago, Illinois | United Center | 1926 | |||
Columbus Blue Jackets | Columbus, Ohio | Nationwide Arena | 2000 | ||||
Detroit Red Wings | Detroit, Michigan | Joe Louis Arena | 1926 | ||||
Nashville Predators | Nashville, Tennessee | Bridgestone Arena | 1998 | ||||
St. Louis Blues | St. Louis, Missouri | Scottrade Center | 1967 | ||||
Northwest Division | Calgary Flames | Calgary, Alberta | Scotiabank Saddledome | 1972* | |||
Colorado Avalanche | Denver, Colorado | Pepsi Center | 1972 | 1979* | |||
Edmonton Oilers | Edmonton, Alberta | Rexall Place | 1972 | 1979 | |||
Minnesota Wild | St. Paul, Minnesota | Xcel Energy Center | 2000 | ||||
Vancouver Canucks | Vancouver, British Columbia | Rogers Arena | 1970 | ||||
Pacific Division | Anaheim Ducks | Anaheim, California | Honda Center | 1993 | |||
Dallas Stars | Dallas, Texas | American Airlines Center | 1967* | ||||
Los Angeles Kings | Los Angeles, California | Staples Center | 1967 | ||||
Phoenix Coyotes | Glendale, Arizona | Jobing.com Arena | 1972 | 1979* | |||
San Jose Sharks | San Jose, California | HP Pavilion at San Jose | 1991 |
Since this is not a Wiki about the NHL, go to its Wikipedia page for more detailed information about defunct NHL teams and its trophies: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Hockey_League