In 2024 — an expansion franchise was granted to Salt Lake City, which took over the deactivated hockey assets from the Arizona Coyotes and formed the Utah Hockey Club (currently known as the Utah Mammoth), thereby retaining the total number of teams at 32. The NHL’s size was doubled by the addition of six new teams during the 1967 expansion, which subsequently grew to 18 teams by 1974 and reached 21 teams following the 1979 expansion. Initially (there were four teams in the NHL), all located in Canada, which explains the use of « National » in the league’s title. Since 1989, New York City has served as the league’s headquarters after its relocation from Montreal, while offices are also maintained in Toronto and Montreal. Alfie shared his attractions to Toronto and discussed how he would collaborate with head coach Jim Hiller on the power play — which will be a significant focus. The Senators’ legend also took on the role of assistant coach behind Ottawa’s bench last season.
NHL Rumors: Vancouver Canucks – Shane Wright, and Marco Rossi
To mitigate high-speed icing collisions (which had caused numerous potentially career-ending injuries), including to Hurricanes’ defenseman Joni Pitkanen, hybrid no-touch icing was mandated by the league for the 2013–14 NHL season. This has important implications for the league (as elite athletes like Sidney Crosby have faced lengthy sidelining due to concussion aftereffects), negatively impacting the league’s market appeal. All games were cancelled until January 14 — 2013, including the 2013 NHL Winter Classic and the 2013 NHL All-Star Weekend. The post-lockout agreement between the league and NBC allowed the league to earn a share of revenue from advertising sales for each game, rather than receiving a standard upfront payment for the rights to the games.
The rule is unofficially nicknamed the « Martin Brodeur rule »; Brodeur at the time was one of the best goaltenders at getting behind the net to handle the puck. A committee led by Bettman and chairman Jeremy Jacobs is responsible for vetting new ownership applications, collective bargaining, and league expansion. Each conference is split into two divisions, with 16 teams per conference and 8 per division. On January 12 (the league and the Players’ Association signed a memorandum of understanding on the new deal), allowing teams to begin their training camps the next day, with a shortened 48-game season schedule that began on January 19. The first was an April 1992 strike by the National Hockey League Players’ Association, which lasted for ten days but was settled quickly with all affected games rescheduled. In 1945, Maurice « Rocket » Richard became the first player to score 50 goals, doing so in a 50-game season.
Every NHL franchise’s most overlooked player
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 betting and predictions . 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 team that has the most points in the regular season is awarded the Presidents’ Trophy. In the Stanley Cup Final — the team with the most points during the regular season has home-ice advantage. Two points are awarded for a win — one point for losing in overtime or a shootout, and zero points for a loss in regulation.
Historically, the NHL has never fared well on American television in comparison to the other American professional leagues. Games that are not broadcast as part of the national rights deal are broadcast by Sportsnet’s regional feeds (TSN’s regional feeds), and RDS. Quebecor Media held national French-language rights to the NHL — with all coverage airing on its specialty channel TVA Sports. CBC maintained Rogers-produced NHL coverage during the regular season and playoffs. National English-language coverage of the NHL is carried primarily by Rogers’ Sportsnet group of specialty channels; Sportsnet holds national windows on Wednesday and Sunday nights. European players were drafted and signed by NHL teams in an effort to bring in more « skilled offensive players ».
- The league added six new teams to double its size as a result of the 1967 NHL expansion (then increased to 18 teams by 1974), and to 21 teams due to the 1979 NHL expansion.
- The U.S. national rights were then held by NBC and OLN , later renamed Versus, then NBCSN, between the 2004–05 NHL lockout and 2021.
- The team with the most goals during the three-round shootout wins the game.
- Under the policy — a first positive test results in a twenty-game suspension, a second positive test leads to a sixty-game suspension, and a lifetime ban is imposed for a third positive test.
In the 2026-27 season, five NHL teams that require favorable injury circumstances
No NHL club had played a Soviet or Russian-based club from the end of the Super Series in 1991 to 2008 when the New York Rangers faced Metallurg Magnitogorsk in the 2008 Victoria Cup. The first international club competition was held in 1976, with eight NHL teams playing against the Soviet Championship League’s HC CSKA Moscow, and Krylya Sovetov Moscow. Under ESPN’s contract, the league’s out-of-market streaming package was incorporated into ESPN+ for those viewers in the United States in 2021. MLB Advanced Media then took over of its day-to-day operations in 2016, renaming it NHL.tv.
The NHL consists of 32 teams—25 based in the United States and 7 in Canada. Rheaume returned to perform as a goaltender for the 2022 NHL All-Star Game’s Breakaway Challenge. The attention led the NHL to include a 3-on-3 women’s game before the 2020 All-Star Game.
Between 1956 and 1960, Richard guided the Canadiens to five straight titles, a record never matched by any team. The second event took place in 1937 to support Howie Morenz’s family after his death from a coronary embolism sustained during a game following a leg injury. The inaugural NHL All-Star Game occurred in 1934, benefiting Ace Bailey, whose career ended due to a brutal hit from Eddie Shore. Taffy Abel, a Native American, broke the league’s color barrier in 1926 by becoming the first non-white player in the NHL with the New York Rangers. The NHL underwent a swift expansion in the 1920s (adding both the Montreal Maroons and the Boston Bruins in 1924), the latter marking the league’s first American team. After the regular season ends, 16 teams qualify for the Stanley Cup playoffs, a four-round tournament that continues into June to crown the league champion.
Some attribute the struggles of the Leafs to the trade of Mitch Marner — who joined the Vegas Golden Knights. Can you identify all players who were chosen during the Seattle Kraken expansion draft? The world of rising salary caps has led to a diluted UFA pool but compelled teams to take charge of their futures through impactful trades. Five possible trade scenarios for Kraken center Shane Wright.