History
Main article: History of the National Hockey League

Original NHL logo, used from 1917-2005. A version of the logo features it in the likeness of a hockey puck.After a series of disputes in the Canadian National Hockey Association (NHA) between Eddie Livingstone, owner of the Toronto Blueshirts and the owners of other teams, the owners of the Montreal Canadiens, Montreal Wanderers, Ottawa Senators, and Quebec Bulldogs met at the Windsor Hotel in Montreal to talk about the NHA's future.Their discussions eventually led to the creation of the National Hockey League in 1917; the founding teams were the Canadiens, Wanderers, Senators, and the newly-created Toronto Arenas (later known as the St. Patricks and now the Maple Leafs).


Montreal Canadiens in 1942 Even though the league struggled to stay in business during its first decade, the NHL's teams were very successful on the ice; only once, in 1925, did a team from any other league win the Stanley Cup, and by 1926 the NHL was the only league competing for the Cup.The NHL then started a process of expansion: the Boston Bruins (the first U.S.-based NHL franchise) and Montreal Maroons entered the league in 1924–25; the New York Americans and the Pittsburgh Pirates entered in the 1925–26 season; and the New York Rangers, Chicago Black Hawks (now spelled Blackhawks), and Detroit Cougars (now known as the Red Wings) entered in the 1926–27 season, raising the number of teams in the NHL to 10. The Great Depression and the onset of World War II, took a toll on the league, and by 1942 the NHL was reduced to six teams.[5] These six teams (the Montreal Canadiens, Toronto Maple Leafs, Detroit Red Wings, Chicago Black Hawks, Boston Bruins, and New York Rangers) are collectively known as the Original Six, and for the next quarter-century were the only teams in the National Hockey League.

By the mid 1960s, the desire for a network television contract in the U.S., and concerns that the Western Hockey League was planning to declare itself a major league and challenge for the Stanley Cup, spurred the NHL to undertake its first expansion since the 1920s. Six new teams were added to the NHL roster in 1967, and placed in their own newly-created division. The teams were the Philadelphia Flyers, St. Louis Blues, Minnesota North Stars, Los Angeles Kings, Oakland Seals, and Pittsburgh Penguins.Three years later, the NHL added the Vancouver Canucks and Buffalo Sabres.

In 1972, the World Hockey Association (WHA) was formed, and though it never challenged for the Stanley Cup, its status as a potential rival to the NHL did not go unnoticed. In response, the NHL decided to rush its own expansion plans by adding the New York Islanders and Atlanta Flames in 1972 to forestall WHA franchises in newly constructed arenas in those markets, followed by the addition of the Kansas City Scouts and Washington Capitals two years later.[9] The two leagues fought for the rights of players and fans until the WHA folded in 1979 as part of an agreement whereby four of the remaining six WHA teams would enter the NHL as expansion teams: the Hartford Whalers, Québec Nordiques, Edmonton Oilers, and Winnipeg Jets.

After a period of stability in the 1980s, the NHL further expanded with nine new franchises in ten years. The San Jose Sharks entered in 1991; a season later the Ottawa Senators would join the NHL along with the Tampa Bay Lightning.In 1993, the league added two additional teams, the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim and the Florida Panthers.[12] Next came the Nashville Predators in 1998, the Atlanta Thrashers in 1999, and then the Minnesota Wild and the Columbus Blue Jackets in 2000, bringing the total to 30 teams.


Game

Los Angeles Kings' Mike Weaver battling for the puck against Calgary Flames' Daymond Langkow, December 21, 2005Main article: Ice hockey
Each National Hockey League regulation game is an ice hockey game played between two teams and is 60 minutes long. The game is composed of