[edit] Origin of players
After a series of disputes in the Canadian National Hockey Association (NHA) between Eddie Livingstone, owner of the Toronto Blueshirts, and other owners, 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 on November 22, 1917.[8] Their discussions eventually led to the creation of the National Hockey League on November 26, 1917.[9] Three former NHA franchises, the Canadiens, Wanderers and Senators were founding members of the NHL, along with Toronto under new management. Because of the dispute, the Toronto franchise was given temporarily to the Toronto Arena Co. to operate, and is often referred to as the Arenas, although they operated without a nickname until 1918.[8][10]
There has been speculation during the past few years that the National Hockey League would expand by adding teams in Las Vegas, Kansas City, Missouri, Norfolk, Virginia and a second team in Toronto. Expansion to Europe has also been rumored. The NHL has been hosting the opening games of the season in Europe for the past 2 years and plans to continue. Nothing further has been announced.[38]
The current league organization divides the teams into two conferences. Each conference has three divisions, and each division has five teams. The current organization has roots in the 1998–99 season where a league realignment added two divisions to bring the total number of divisions to six； the current team alignment began with the 2000–2001 season when the Minnesota Wild and the Columbus Blue Jackets joined the league as expansion teams.
The 2007 Stanley Cup Finals were the lowest rated in the United States in history. As a whole, the television ratings on NBC were down 20% from the 2006 series[54], with Game 3’s coverage on NBC garnering a mere 1.1 rating[55] (approximately 1,205,600 households), making it the lowest rated prime-time broadcast in the network’s history. However, coverage in Canada on CBC pulled in 2,608,000, 2,378,000, and 2,553,000 (for Games 1, 2, and 3 respectively), slightly higher than their numbers for the first three games in 2006. Comparatively, in 1994, when the New York Rangers were involved, Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Finals posted a rating of 6.9.[56]
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 that was competing for the Cup.[11] 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 ten. 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. 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. During this time the Norris family had influence over four of the teams as Detroit and Chicago were operated by members of the family, and Boston and New York had mortgages to the family. The media would nickname the league the "Norris House League." [12]
Players, coaches, officials, and team builders who have had notable careers are eligible to be voted into the Hockey Hall of Fame. Players cannot enter until three years have passed since their last professional game, the shortest such time period of any major sport. One unique consequence has been Hall of Fame members (specifically, Gordie Howe, Guy Lafleur, and Mario Lemieux) coming out of retirement to play once more.[42] In the past, however, if a player was deemed significant enough, the pending period would be waived； only ten individuals have been honoured in this manner.[43] In 1999, Wayne Gretzky became the last player to have the three-year restriction waived,[43] and after Gretzky’s induction, the NHL declared that he would be the last to have the waiting period omitted.
[edit] Teams
Devils Islanders Rangers Flyers Penguins Bruins Sabres Canadiens Senators Maple Leafs Thrashers Hurricanes Panthers Lightning Capitals Blackhawks Blue Jackets Red Wings Predators Blues Flames Avalanche Oilers Wild Canucks Ducks Stars Kings Coyotes Sharks
The first was a strike by the National Hockey League Players Association in April 1992 which lasted for 10 days, but the strike was settled quickly and all affected games were rescheduled.[15] A lockout at the start of the 1994–95 season forced the league to reduce the schedule from 84 games to just 48, with the teams playing only intra-conference games during the reduced season.[15] The resulting collective bargaining agreement was set for renegotiation in 1998 and extended to September 15, 2004.[16] While the National Hockey League follows the general rules of ice hockey, it differs slightly from those used in international games organized by the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) such as the Olympics. Infractions of the rules can lead to either the stoppage of play in the case of offside and icing calls, or a penalty call for more serious infractions. The National Hockey League originated in 1917 with four teams, and through a sequence of team expansions, reductions, and relocations currently consists of 30 teams, 24 of which are based in the United States and six in Canada. The Montreal Canadiens are the most successful franchise with 24 Stanley Cup championships (23 as an NHL team, 1 as an NHA team)； in the four major North American professional sports leagues the Montreal Canadiens are only surpassed in the number of championships by the New York Yankees of Major League Baseball, who have three more. The next most successful franchise is the Toronto Maple Leafs with 13 Stanley Cup championships, but they have not won one since 1967. The Detroit Red Wings, with 11 Stanley Cup championships, are the most successful American franchise. The longest streak of winning the Stanley Cup in consecutive years is five, held by the Montreal Canadiens from 1955–56 to 1959–60； the New York Islanders (1980–1983) and the Montreal Canadiens (1976–1979) have four-year championship streaks.[36] The 1977 edition of the Montreal Canadiens, the second of four straight Stanley Cup champions, was named by ESPN as the second greatest sports team of all-time.[37] The National Hockey League presents a number of trophies each year. The most prestigious team award is the Stanley Cup, which is awarded to the league champion at the end of the Stanley Cup playoffs. The team that has the most points in the regular season is awarded the Presidents’ Trophy. There are also numerous trophies that are awarded to players based on their statistics during the regular season； they include, among others, the Art Ross Trophy for the league scoring champion (goals and assists), the Maurice 'Rocket' Richard Trophy for the goal-scoring leader, and the William M. Jennings Trophy for the goalkeeper(s) for the team with the fewest goals against them. For the 2008–09 season these statistics-based trophies were awarded to Evgeni Malkin of the Pittsburgh Penguins, Alexander Ovechkin of the Washington Capitals, and, dually, Tim Thomas and Manny Fernandez of the Boston Bruins respectively.
The following table shows the origins of every player who played an NHL regular season game in the given year. Outside of North America, NHL games are broadcast across Europe on ESPN America which takes feeds from Versus, FSN, TSN and CBC (including Hockey Night in Canada), and MSG. Games can also be seen in the UK on Five, on Fox Sports in Australia, on SKY Sport in Italy, on Viasat Sport in Russia on Viasat Sport in Norway and on Viasat Hockey in Sweden.[citation needed] In each round the higher-ranked team is said to be the team with the home-ice advantage. Four of the seven games are played at this team’s home venue — the first and second, and, when necessary, the fifth and seventh games — with the other games played at the lower-ranked team’s home venue. In the Stanley Cup Finals, the team with the most points during the regular season is given home-ice advantage, regardless of where each team ranks in their own conference.
With no new agreement in hand when the existing contract expired on September 15, 2004, league commissioner Gary Bettman announced a lockout of the players union and cessation of operations by the NHL head office.[16] The lockout shut down the league for 310 days, the longest in sports history； the NHL was the first professional sports league to lose an entire season.[16] The league vowed to install what it dubbed "cost certainty" for its teams, but the NHL Players Association countered that the move was little more than a euphemism for a salary cap, which the union initially said it would not accept. A new collective bargaining agreement was ratified in July 2005 with a term of six years with an option of extending the collective bargaining agreement for an additional year at the end of the term, allowing the NHL to resume as of the 2005–06 season.[16]
[edit] Notable active players
[edit] Causes
There have been three league-wide work stoppages in NHL history, all happening between 1992 and 2005. 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 three 20-minute periods with an intermission of either 15? or 17 minutes (if nationally televised) between periods.[22] Television timeouts are taken at the first stoppage of play after 6, 10, and 14 minutes of elapsed time unless there is a power play or the first stoppage is the result of a goal. In these cases, the timeout will occur at the first stoppage after the penalty expires or the next stoppage after the goal, respectively. A new rule was introduced for the 2007-08 season that if the first stoppage of play is an icing, the TV timeout does not occur. This is to prevent players from getting a break despite not being allowed to change. At the end of the 60-minute regulation time, the team with the most goals wins the game. If a game is tied after regulation time, overtime ensues. During the regular season, overtime is a five-minute, four-player on four-player sudden-death period, in which the first team to score a goal wins the game. Until the 2005–06 season, if no team was able to score in the five-minute overtime, the game ended in a tie. Semi Pro: NEPHL? LNAH Related article: List of ice hockey leagues v?d?e List of NHL-related topics History National Hockey Association? 1917–42? 1942–67 (Original Six)? 1967 Expansion? 1967–92? 1992–present? Timeline of the National Hockey League? All-time team performance? Seasons? Most frequent playoff series? Stanley Cup champions? Rivalries? Defunct teams? Retired numbers NHL personnel Players? Famous linemates? The Hockey News Top 100 NHL players of all-time? Head coaches? General managers? Notable families? Presidents and Commissioners Records League records?(held by individuals, held by teams)? Franchise records? Statistical leaders?(by country of birth)? Players with 1000 points? Players with 500 goals? Players with 100 point seasons? Players with 50 goal seasons? 50 goals in 50 games? Players with 1000 games played? Players with five or more goals in a game? Players with eight or more points in a game? Goaltenders who have scored? Post-season streaks? Post-season droughts? Wayne Gretzky’s records? Players with 1000 assists Related International competitions? American Hockey League? World Cup of Hockey? All-Star Game? NHL Winter Classic? All-Star Game SuperSkills Competition? YoungStars game? NHL Challenge? NHL All-Star Celebrity Challenge? List of ice hockey leagues Other Arenas? Entry Draft? Awards? All-Rookie Team? Trade deadline? Player salaries? Team payrolls? Violence in ice hockey? Video games? Mascots? Professional sports league attendances v?d?e Current owners of the National Hockey League ? Atlantic Division
Jeffrey Vanderbeek (New Jersey Devils)
Charles B. Wang (New York Islanders)
Cablevision/James L. Dolan (New York Rangers)
Comcast Spectacor/Ed Snider (Philadelphia Flyers)
Mario Lemieux and Ron Burkle (Pittsburgh Penguins) Central Division
Rocky Wirtz (Chicago Blackhawks)
John H. McConnell (Columbus Blue Jackets)
Mike Ilitch (Detroit Red Wings)
Predators Holdings LLC. (Nashville Predators)
Dave Checketts (St. Louis Blues) Northeast Division
Jeremy Jacobs (Boston Bruins)
B. Thomas Golisano (Buffalo Sabres)
George N. Gillett Jr. (Montreal Canadiens)
Eugene Melnyk (Ottawa Senators)
Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment (Toronto Maple Leafs) Northwest Division
Harley Hotchkiss (Calgary Flames)
Stan Kroenke (Colorado Avalanche)
Rexall Sports / Daryl Katz (Edmonton Oilers)
Craig Leipold (Minnesota Wild)
Francesco Aquilini (Vancouver Canucks) Southeast Division
Atlanta Spirit, LLC (Atlanta Thrashers)
Peter Karmanos, Jr. (Carolina Hurricanes)
Alan Cohen and Bernie Kosar (Florida Panthers)
Oren Koules and Len Barrie (Tampa Bay Lightning)
Ted Leonsis (Washington Capitals) Pacific Division
Henry Samueli (Anaheim Ducks)
Thomas O. Hicks (Dallas Stars)
Philip Anschutz (Los Angeles Kings)
National Hockey League (Phoenix Coyotes)
San Jose Sports & Entertainment (San Jose Sharks)
[edit] Popularity
[edit] Trophies and awards Hart Memorial Trophy on display at the Hockey Hall of Fame The Hockey Hall of Fame in downtown Toronto Wayne Gretzky in a New York Rangers uniform in 1997.
Main article: National Hockey League awards Beginning in the 2005–06 season, if the game is still tied at the end of overtime, the game enters a shootout. Three players for each team in turn take a penalty shot. The team with the most goals during the three-round shootout wins the game. If the game is still tied after the three shootout rounds, the shootout continues but becomes sudden death. Whichever team ultimately wins the shootout is awarded a goal in the game score and thus awarded two points in the standings. The losing team in overtime or shootout is awarded only one.[23] Shootout goals and saves are not tracked in hockey statistics； shootout statistics are tracked separately.
[edit] United States
The NHL estimates that fully half of its fan base roots for teams in outside markets. Beginning in 2008, under the direction of Chief Operating Officer John Collins, the NHL began a shift toward using digital technology to market to fans to capitalize on this. As a result, in 2009 the NHL drew a record number of sponsors and television viewers.[5] On January 18, 1958, a milestone in the NHL’s history occurred, as the first black Canadian person ever to play in the NHL stepped onto the ice for the Boston Bruins, Fredericton, New Brunswick-born left wing Willie O’Ree. He would play in 45 games for the Bruins, in the 1957-58 and 1960-61 seasons, scoring six goals and ten assists in his NHL career. One interesting aspect for the trophies in the NHL is that the same trophy is reused every year for each of its awards. The Stanley Cup, much like its CFL counterpart, is unique in this aspect, as opposed to the Vince Lombardi Trophy, Larry O’Brien Trophy, and Commissioner’s Trophy, which have new ones made every year for that year’s champion. Despite only one trophy being used, the names of the teams winning and the players are engraved every year on the Stanley Cup. The same can also be said for the other trophies reissued every year. The NHL draws many highly skilled players from all over the world and currently has players from about 20 different countries.[6] 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 East Bloc countries.[7] In the regular season, each team plays 82 games； 41 games at home and 41 on the road