National Hockey League#Board of Governors

{{NHLHistory}}

{{main|History of the National Hockey League}}

The National Hockey League (NHL) was established in 1917 as the successor to the National Hockey Association (NHA). Founded in 1909, the NHA began play in 1910 with seven teams in Ontario and Quebec, and was one of the first major leagues in professional ice hockey. However, by its eighth season, a series of disputes with Toronto Blueshirts owner Eddie Livingstone led team owners of the Montreal Canadiens, the Montreal Wanderers, the Ottawa Senators, and the Quebec Bulldogs to hold a meeting to discuss the league's future.{{harvnb|McFarlane|1997|pp=15–16}} Realizing the NHA constitution left them unable to force Livingstone out, the four teams voted instead to suspend the NHA, and, on November 26, 1917, formed the National Hockey League. Frank Calder was chosen as the NHL's first president, serving until his death in 1943.{{Harvnb|Holzman|Nieforth|2002|p=159}}

The Bulldogs were unable to play in the NHL, and the remaining owners founded the Toronto Arenas to compete with the Canadiens, Wanderers and Senators.{{harvnb|McKinley|2006|p=77}} The first games were played on December 19, 1917.{{cite book|last1=Jenish|first1=D'Arcy|title=The NHL : 100 years of on-ice action and boardroom battles|date=2013|publisher=Doubleday Canada|isbn=978-0385671460|page=16}} The Montreal Arena burned down in January 1918, causing the Wanderers to cease operations,{{cite web|title=Early Leagues and the Birth of the NHL |url=http://capitals.nhl.com/team/app?service=page&page=NHLPage&bcid=his_EarlyLeagues |last=McFarlane |first=Brian |website=National Hockey League |access-date=January 17, 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091130110236/http://capitals.nhl.com/team/app/?service=page |archive-date=November 30, 2009 }} and the NHL continued on as a three-team league until the Bulldogs returned in 1919.{{Harvnb|Pincus|2006|p=24}}

File:1930 Stanley Cup.jpg in 1930, several years after it became the de facto championship trophy for the NHL]]

The NHL replaced the NHA as one of the leagues that competed for the Stanley Cup, an interleague competition at the time. Toronto won the first NHL title, and then defeated the Vancouver Millionaires of the Pacific Coast Hockey Association (PCHA) for the 1918 Stanley Cup.{{Harvnb|Holzman|Nieforth|2002|p=197}} The Canadiens won the league title in 1919, but the series in the Stanley Cup Finals against the PCHA's Seattle Metropolitans was abandoned due to the Spanish Flu epidemic.{{Harvnb|Pincus|2006|p=23}} In 1924, Montreal won their first Stanley Cup as a member of the NHL.{{Harvnb|Sandor|2005|p=33}} The Hamilton Tigers won the regular season title in 1924–25, but refused to play in the championship series unless they were given a C$200 bonus.{{Harvnb|Pincus|2006|p=35}} The league refused and declared the Canadiens the league champion after they defeated the Toronto St. Patricks (formerly the Arenas) in the two-game, total-goals NHL championship series. Montreal was then defeated by the Victoria Cougars of the Western Canada Hockey League (WCHL) in 1925. It was the last time a non-NHL team won the trophy,{{Cite journal|url=http://www.legendsofhockey.net:8080/LegendsOfHockey/jsp/SilverwareTrophyWinner.jsp?tro=STC&year=1924-25 |title=Victoria Cougars—1924–25 Stanley Cup |access-date=January 17, 2010 |journal=Legends of Hockey |publisher=Hockey Hall of Fame |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070930080728/http://www.legendsofhockey.net:8080/LegendsOfHockey/jsp/SilverwareTrophyWinner.jsp?tro=STC&year=1924-25 |archive-date=September 30, 2007 }} as the Stanley Cup became the de facto NHL championship in 1926, after the WCHL ceased operation.{{Harvnb|Sandor|2005|p=35}}

The NHL embarked on a rapid expansion in the 1920s, adding the Montreal Maroons and the Boston Bruins in 1924, the latter being the first American team to join the league.{{cite web|title=Boston Bruins History|url=https://www.nhl.com/bruins/team/history|website=Boston Bruins|access-date=July 2, 2022|archive-date=February 1, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210201205300/https://www.nhl.com/bruins/team/history|url-status=live}} The New York Americans began play in 1925 after purchasing the assets of the Hamilton Tigers, and they were joined by the Pittsburgh Pirates.{{Harvnb|Holzman|Nieforth|2002|p=262}} The New York Rangers were added in 1926,{{Harvnb|Pincus|2006|p=33}} and the Chicago Black Hawks (later changed to Blackhawks) and Detroit Cougars (later known as the Red Wings) were added after the league purchased the assets of the defunct WCHL.{{Harvnb|Pincus|2006|p=29}} A group purchased the Toronto St. Patricks in 1927 and renamed them the Toronto Maple Leafs.{{Harvnb|Pincus|2006|p=39}}

In 1926, Native American Taffy Abel became the first non-white player in the NHL and broke the league's colour barrier by playing for the New York Rangers.{{cite web |last1=Kennedy |first1=Ian |title=Taffy Abel's Family Asks NHL to Recognize His Indigeneity As Barrier-Breaking |url=https://thehockeynews.com/news/taffy-abels-family-asks-nhl-to-recognize-his-indigeneity-as-barrier-breaking |website=The Hockey News |access-date=April 5, 2024 |date=October 25, 2022 |archive-date=February 26, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240226085428/https://thehockeynews.com/news/taffy-abels-family-asks-nhl-to-recognize-his-indigeneity-as-barrier-breaking |url-status=live }}

In 1934, the first NHL All-Star Game was held, to benefit Ace Bailey, whose career ended on a vicious hit by Eddie Shore.{{Harvnb|Pincus|2006|p=47}} The second was held in 1937, in support of Howie Morenz's family when he died of a coronary embolism after breaking his leg during a game.{{Harvnb|McKinley|2006|p=120}}

{{main|Original Six}}

The Great Depression and the onset of World War II took a toll on the league. The Pirates became the Philadelphia Quakers in 1930, then folded a year later. The Senators likewise became the St. Louis Eagles in 1934, also lasting only a year.{{Harvnb|McFarlane|1997|p=33}} The Maroons did not survive, as they suspended operations in 1938.{{Harvnb|McFarlane|1997|p=37}} The Americans were suspended in 1942 due to a lack of available players, and they were never reactivated.{{Harvnb|McFarlane|1997|p=43}}

File:There's no action like hockey action by Louis Jaques.jpg and the New York Rangers in 1962|alt=Five men playing hockey in a crowded arena.]]

For the 1942–43 season, the NHL was reduced to six teams: the Boston Bruins, the Chicago Black Hawks, the Detroit Red Wings, the Montreal Canadiens, the New York Rangers, and the Toronto Maple Leafs, a line-up, often referred to as the "Original Six", that would remain constant for the next 25 years. In 1947, the league reached an agreement with the Stanley Cup trustees to take full control of the trophy, allowing it to reject challenges from other leagues that wished to play for the Cup.{{cite book |last=Diamond |first=Dan |author2=Zweig, Eric |author3=Duplacey, James |title=The Ultimate Prize: The Stanley Cup |year=2003 |publisher=Andrews McMeel Publishing |isbn=0-7407-3830-5 |page=[https://archive.org/details/ultimateprizesta0000diam/page/40 40] |url=https://archive.org/details/ultimateprizesta0000diam/page/40 }}

In 1945, Maurice "Rocket" Richard became the first player to score 50 goals, doing so in a 50-game season.{{Cite web |url=http://www.legendsofhockey.net:8080/LegendsOfHockey/jsp/LegendsMember.jsp?mem=p196108&type=Player&page=bio&list=ByName#photo |title=The Legends—Rocket Richard |access-date=January 18, 2010 |publisher=Hockey Hall of Fame |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080307224757/http://www.legendsofhockey.net:8080/LegendsOfHockey/jsp/LegendsMember.jsp?mem=p196108&type=Player&page=bio&list=ByName#photo |archive-date=March 7, 2008 |df=mdy-all }} Richard later led the Canadiens to five consecutive titles between 1956 and 1960, a record no team has matched.{{Harvnb|Pincus|2006|p=100}}

In 1948, Asian Canadian Larry Kwong became the first Asian player in the NHL by playing for the New York Rangers.{{cite web |last1=Ward |first1=Rachel |title=1st NHL player of colour, Larry Kwong, dies at 94 |url=https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/calgary/larry-kwong-calgary-nhl-1.4582793 |work=CBC News |access-date=June 5, 2020 |date=March 19, 2018 |archive-date=June 4, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190604022152/https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/calgary/larry-kwong-calgary-nhl-1.4582793 |url-status=live }}{{cite web |last1=Davis |first1=David |title=A Hockey Pioneer's Moment |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2013/02/20/sports/hockey/larry-kwongs-shift-for-rangers-in-1947-48-broke-a-barrier.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130220205229/http://www.nytimes.com/2013/02/20/sports/hockey/larry-kwongs-shift-for-rangers-in-1947-48-broke-a-barrier.html |archive-date=February 20, 2013 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live |website=The New York Times |access-date=June 5, 2020 |date=February 19, 2013}} In 1958, Willie O'Ree became the first black player in the league's history when he made his debut with the Boston Bruins.{{cite web |title=Willie Eldon O'Ree |website=legendsofhockey.net |access-date=June 5, 2020 |url=http://www.legendsofhockey.net:8080/LegendsOfHockey/jsp/SearchPlayer.jsp?player=13894 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080118092936/http://www.legendsofhockey.net:8080/LegendsOfHockey/jsp/SearchPlayer.jsp?player=13894 |url-status=dead |archive-date=January 18, 2008}}

By the mid-1960s, the desire for a network television contract in the United States, coupled with 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. The league doubled in size to 12 teams for the 1967–68 season, adding the Los Angeles Kings, the Minnesota North Stars, the Philadelphia Flyers, the Pittsburgh Penguins, the California Seals, and the St. Louis Blues. However, Canadian fans were outraged that all six teams were placed in the United States,{{Harvnb|McKinley|2006|pp=194–195}} so the league responded by adding the Vancouver Canucks in 1970, along with the Buffalo Sabres, both located along the Canada–United States border.{{Harvnb |McFarlane |1997 |pp=106–107}} Two years later, the emergence of the newly founded World Hockey Association (WHA) led the league to add the New York Islanders and the Atlanta Flames to keep the rival league out of those markets. In 1974, the Washington Capitals and the Kansas City Scouts were added, bringing the league up to 18 teams.{{Harvnb|McFarlane|1997|p=115}}

File:NHL Logo former.svg

The NHL fought the WHA for players, losing 67 to the new league in its first season of 1972–73,{{Harvnb|McFarlane|1997|p=113}} including the Chicago Black Hawks' Bobby Hull, who signed a 10-year, $2.5 million contract with the Winnipeg Jets, then the largest in hockey history. The league attempted to block the defections in court, but a counter-suit by the WHA led to a Philadelphia judge ruling the NHL's reserve clause to be illegal, thus eliminating the elder league's monopoly over the players.{{Harvnb|McFarlane|1997|p=133}} Wayne Gretzky played one season in the WHA for the Indianapolis Racers (eight games) and the Edmonton Oilers (72 games) before the Oilers joined the NHL for the 1979–80 season.{{Cite web|url=http://www.legendsofhockey.net:8080/LegendsOfHockey/jsp/LegendsMember.jsp?mem=p199901&page=bio&list=#photo|title=The Legends—Wayne Gretzky|access-date=January 18, 2010|publisher=Hockey Hall of Fame|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20051123203450/http://www.legendsofhockey.net:8080/LegendsOfHockey/jsp/LegendsMember.jsp?mem=p199901&page=bio&list=#photo|archive-date=November 23, 2005|df=mdy-all}} Gretzky went on to lead the Oilers to win four Stanley Cup championships in 1984, 1985, 1987 and 1988, and set single-season records for goals (92 in 1981–82), assists (163 in 1985–86) and points (215 in 1985–86), as well as career records for goals (894), assists (1,963) and points (2,857). In 1988, he was traded to the Los Angeles Kings in a deal that dramatically improved the league's popularity in the United States. By the turn of the century, nine more teams were added to the NHL: the San Jose Sharks, the Tampa Bay Lightning, the Ottawa Senators, the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim, the Florida Panthers, the Nashville Predators, the Atlanta Thrashers, and, in 2000, the Minnesota Wild and the Columbus Blue Jackets.{{Cite web|url=http://www.oilersheritage.com/history/dynasty_highlights_gretzkytrade.html|title=Edmonton's Saddest Hockey Day—The Gretzky Trade|access-date=January 18, 2010|publisher=Edmonton Oilers Heritage Foundation|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100201052918/https://www.oilersheritage.com/history/dynasty_highlights_gretzkytrade.html|archive-date=February 1, 2010}} Also, in the mid to late 1990s, the Quebec Nordiques, original Winnipeg Jets, and Hartford Whalers relocated to Denver, Phoenix, and Raleigh, respectively. In 2011, the Atlanta Thrashers relocated to Winnipeg, and the Winnipeg Jets were revived. On July 21, 2015, the NHL confirmed that it had received applications from prospective ownership groups in Quebec City and Las Vegas for possible expansion teams,{{cite press release|title=Update on NHL expansion application process|url=https://www.nhl.com/news/update-on-nhl-expansion-application-process/c-775295|website=NHL.com|date=July 21, 2015|access-date=July 2, 2022|archive-date=July 2, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220702052940/https://www.nhl.com/news/update-on-nhl-expansion-application-process/c-775295|url-status=live}} and on June 22, 2016, NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman announced the addition of a 31st franchise, based in Las Vegas and later named the Vegas Golden Knights, into the NHL for the 2017–18 season.{{cite news|last=Rosen|first=Dan|title=Las Vegas awarded NHL franchise|url=https://www.nhl.com/news/nhl-expands-to-las-vegas/c-281010682?tid=281011650|website=NHL.com|date=June 22, 2016|access-date=December 5, 2018|archive-date=December 2, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201202065746/https://www.nhl.com/news/nhl-expands-to-las-vegas/c-281010682?tid=281011650|url-status=live}} On December 4, 2018, the league announced a 32nd franchise in Seattle, later named the Seattle Kraken, which joined in the 2021–22 season.{{cite news|last=Rosen|first=Dan|title=Seattle NHL expansion approved by Board of Governors|url=https://www.nhl.com/news/seattle-nhl-expansion-approved-to-be-32nd-team-play-in-2021-22/c-302581450|website=NHL.com|date=December 4, 2018|access-date=December 5, 2018|archive-date=December 5, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181205060729/https://www.nhl.com/news/seattle-nhl-expansion-approved-to-be-32nd-team-play-in-2021-22/c-302581450|url-status=live}} On April 18, 2024, the Arizona Coyotes suspended operations and sold their hockey assets, including players and other personnel, to a new team in Salt Lake City, Utah.{{cite web |url=https://www.nhl.com/news/nhl-bog-approves-establishment-of-new-franchise-in-utah |title=NHL BOG approves establishment of new franchise in Utah |website=NHL.com |date=April 18, 2024 |access-date=April 23, 2024 |archive-date=April 19, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240419170756/https://www.nhl.com/news/nhl-bog-approves-establishment-of-new-franchise-in-utah |url-status=live }}{{cite web| url = https://thehockeynews.com/news/nhl-board-approves-new-franchise-in-utah-how-an-arizona-franchise-could-return-in-five-years| title = NHL Board Approves Sale of Coyotes' Hockey Assets to New Franchise in Utah: How an Arizona Franchise Could Return| last1 = Tovell| first1 = Jonathan| last2 = DeRosa| first2 = Michael| last3 = Stoller| first3 = Jacob| date = April 18, 2024| publisher = The Hockey News| access-date = April 23, 2024| archive-date = April 23, 2024| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20240423164939/https://thehockeynews.com/news/nhl-board-approves-new-franchise-in-utah-how-an-arizona-franchise-could-return-in-five-years| url-status = live}} Two months after Utah's foundation, the Coyotes ceased their efforts to re-activate within the five-year window granted to do so, bringing the NHL back to 32 franchises.{{cite web|url=https://www.sportsnet.ca/nhl/bettman-confirms-meruelo-will-not-be-re-activating-coyotes-franchise/ |title=Bettman confirms Meruelo will not be re-activating Coyotes franchise |website=Sportsnet.ca |date=June 25, 2024 |access-date=June 25, 2024}}

There have been four league-wide work stoppages in NHL history, all occurring after 1992. 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.{{Cite news|title=We've been here before |url=http://www.cbc.ca/sports/indepth/cba/features/flashback.html |author=CBC Sports |publisher=Canadian Broadcasting Corporation |date=January 29, 2004 |access-date=June 9, 2006 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050409050550/http://www.cbc.ca/sports/indepth/cba/features/flashback.html |archive-date=April 9, 2005 }}

A lockout at the start of the 1994–95 season forced the league to reduce the schedule from 84 games to 48, with the teams playing only intra-conference games during the reduced season. The resulting collective bargaining agreement (CBA) was set for renegotiation in 1998, and extended to September 15, 2004.{{Cite journal|title=The hockey lockout of 2004–05 |last=audohar |first=Paul D. |journal=Monthly Labor Review |url=http://www.bls.gov/opub/mlr/2005/12/art3full.pdf |date=December 2005 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060111070235/http://www.bls.gov/opub/mlr/2005/12/art3full.pdf |archive-date=January 11, 2006 |url-status=live }}

With no new agreement in hand when the contract expired, league commissioner Gary Bettman announced a lockout of the players union and closed the league's head office for the 2004–05 season. The league vowed to install what it dubbed "cost certainty" for its teams, but the 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. The lockout shut down the league for 310 days, making it the longest in sports history, as the NHL became the first professional sports league to lose an entire season. A new collective bargaining agreement was eventually ratified in July 2005, including a salary cap. The agreement had 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 league to resume as of the 2005–06 season.

On October 5, 2005, the first post-lockout season took to the ice with all 30 teams. The NHL received record attendance in the 2005–06 season, with an average of 16,955 per game.{{Cite news|url=http://www.cbc.ca/sports/indepth/hockey_features/season_review.html |title=A season to remember |publisher=Canadian Broadcasting Corporation |first=John |last=Molinaro |date=April 20, 2006 |access-date=June 9, 2006 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060618174146/http://www.cbc.ca/sports/indepth/hockey_features/season_review.html |archive-date=June 18, 2006 }} However, its television audience was slower to rebound due to American cable broadcaster ESPN's decision to drop its NHL coverage.{{cite web |url=http://www1.ibisworld.com/pressrelease/pressrelease.aspx?prid=107 |title=Super Bowl XLII versus the Economy |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080603025811/http://www.ibisworld.com/pressrelease/pressrelease.aspx?prid=107 |archive-date=June 3, 2008 |access-date=May 11, 2008 }} The league's post-lockout agreement with NBC gave the league a share of revenue from each game's advertising sales, rather than the usual lump sum paid up front for game rights. The league's annual revenues were estimated at $2.27 billion.

On September 16, 2012, the labour pact expired, and the league again locked out the players.{{cite news|title=On ice: NHL locks out its players|url=https://www.cbsnews.com/news/on-ice-nhl-locks-out-its-players/|publisher=CBS News|access-date=September 16, 2012|archive-date=September 17, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120917035447/http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-400_162-57513713/on-ice-nhl-locks-out-its-players/|url-status=live}} The owners proposed reducing the players' share of hockey-related revenues from 57 percent to 47 percent.{{cite web |url=https://www.espn.com/nhl/story/_/id/8382911/nhl-officially-locks-players-cba-expires |title=NHL imposes league-wide lockout |first=Katie |last=Strang |publisher=ESPNNewYork.com |date=September 16, 2012 |access-date=September 16, 2012 |archive-date=March 22, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160322053906/http://espn.go.com/nhl/story/_/id/8382911/nhl-officially-locks-players-cba-expires |url-status=live }} All games were cancelled up to January 14, 2013, along with the 2013 NHL Winter Classic and the 2013 NHL All-Star Weekend.{{cite web|title=NHL announces cancellation of 2012–13 regular-season schedule through January 14|url=https://www.nhl.com/news/nhl-announces-cancellation-of-2012-13-regular-season-schedule-through-january-14/c-648084|website=NHL.com|access-date=December 20, 2012|archive-date=March 7, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160307105107/https://www.nhl.com/news/nhl-announces-cancellation-of-2012-13-regular-season-schedule-through-january-14/c-648084|url-status=live}}{{cite web|title=NHL cancels 2013 Winter Classic|url=http://prohockeytalk.nbcsports.com/2012/11/02/nhl-cancels-2013-winter-classic/related/|publisher=NBC News|access-date=November 2, 2012|date=November 2, 2012|archive-date=May 14, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130514034658/http://prohockeytalk.nbcsports.com/2012/11/02/nhl-cancels-2013-winter-classic/related/|url-status=dead}}{{cite news|title=NHL cancels games through Dec. 14, All-Star game|url=https://www.cbsnews.com/news/nhl-cancels-games-through-dec-14-all-star-game/|publisher=CBS News|access-date=November 23, 2012|archive-date=October 21, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131021195227/http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-400_162-57553761/nhl-cancels-games-through-dec-14-all-star-game/|url-status=live}}{{cite web|agency=The Canadian Press |title=NHL Announces Game Cancellations Through Dec. 30 |publisher=The Sports Network |date=December 10, 2012 |url=https://www.tsn.ca/nhl/story/?id=411343 |access-date=December 10, 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121211112604/http://www.tsn.ca/nhl/story/?id=411343 |archive-date=December 11, 2012 }} On January 6, a tentative agreement was reached on a 10-year deal.{{cite news |title=NHL OWNERS TO VOTE ON CONTRACT WEDNESDAY |url=http://bigstory.ap.org/article/nhl-owners-vote-contract-wednesday |agency=Associated Press |access-date=January 8, 2013 |archive-date=January 14, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130114074221/http://bigstory.ap.org/article/nhl-owners-vote-contract-wednesday |url-status=live }} 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.{{cite web|title=NHL, players finalize agreement, camps can open Sunday|url=http://www.freep.com/usatoday/article/1828151?odyssey=mod%7Cnewswell%7Ctext%7CDetroit%20Red%20Wings%7Cp|work=Detroit Free Press|access-date=January 13, 2013|archive-date=May 22, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130522234048/http://www.freep.com/usatoday/article/1828151?odyssey=mod%7Cnewswell%7Ctext%7CDetroit%20Red%20Wings%7Cp|url-status=live}}

Player safety has become a major issue in the NHL, with concussions resulting from a hard hit to the head being the primary concern. Recent studies have shown how the consequences of concussions can last beyond player retirement.{{cite web |last1=Whyno |first1=Stephen |title=Faces of concussions: NHL's head-on battle with an epidemic |url=https://apnews.com/article/health-north-america-nhl-mo-state-wire-daniel-carcillo-3009fe80b3614dc28620a5e9d3db675e |website=AP NEWS |access-date=November 15, 2021 |date=May 23, 2019 |archive-date=November 15, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211115114747/https://apnews.com/article/health-north-america-nhl-mo-state-wire-daniel-carcillo-3009fe80b3614dc28620a5e9d3db675e |url-status=live }} This has significant effects on the league, as elite players have suffered from the aftereffects of concussions (such as Sidney Crosby being sidelined for approximately ten and a half months), which adversely affects the league's marketability.{{cite news |first=Josh |last=Hargreaves |url=https://www.theglobeandmail.com/sports/hockey/crosby-discusses-lengthy-recovery-road-from-concussions-safety-of-the-game/article14118504/ |title=Crosby discusses lengthy recovery road from concussions, safety of the game |work=The Globe and Mail |date=September 5, 2013 |access-date=March 14, 2014 |location=Toronto |archive-date=March 4, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304234523/http://www.theglobeandmail.com/sports/hockey/crosby-discusses-lengthy-recovery-road-from-concussions-safety-of-the-game/article14118504/ |url-status=live }} In December 2009, Brendan Shanahan was hired to replace Colin Campbell, and was given the role of senior vice-president of player safety. Shanahan began to hand out suspensions on high-profile perpetrators responsible for dangerous hits, such as Raffi Torres receiving 25 games for his hit on Marian Hossa.{{cite web |url=http://chicago.cbslocal.com/2012/04/21/video-brendan-shanahan-explains-raffi-torres-25-game-suspension/ |title=Video: Brendan Shanahan Explains Raffi Torres' 25 Game Suspension |publisher=CBS Chicago |date=April 21, 2012 |access-date=March 14, 2014 |archive-date=December 3, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131203011545/http://chicago.cbslocal.com/2012/04/21/video-brendan-shanahan-explains-raffi-torres-25-game-suspension/ |url-status=live }}

To aid with removing high-speed collisions on icing, which had led to several potential career-ending injuries, such as to Hurricanes' defenceman Joni Pitkanen, the league mandated hybrid no-touch icing for the 2013–14 NHL season.{{cite web |last=Wyshynski |first=Greg |url=https://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/nhl-puck-daddy/nhl-players-approve-hybrid-icing-safety-trumps-subjectivity-231456246--nhl.html |title=NHL players approve hybrid icing, as safety trumps subjectivity | Puck Daddy |work=Yahoo! Sports |date=September 30, 2013 |access-date=March 14, 2014 |archive-date=February 27, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140227023245/http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/nhl-puck-daddy/nhl-players-approve-hybrid-icing-safety-trumps-subjectivity-231456246--nhl.html |url-status=live }}

On November 25, 2013, ten former NHL players (Gary Leeman, Rick Vaive, Brad Aitken, Darren Banks, Curt Bennett, Richie Dunn, Warren Holmes, Bob Manno, Blair Stewart, and Morris Titanic) sued the league for negligence in protecting players from concussions. The suit came three months after the National Football League agreed to pay former players US$765 million due to a player safety lawsuit.{{cite web|url=https://www.tsn.ca/nhl/story/?id=437509 |title=Former NHL players sue league over concussions |publisher=The Sports Network |date=November 25, 2013 |access-date=March 14, 2014 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140131131031/http://www.tsn.ca/nhl/story/?id=437509 |archive-date=January 31, 2014 }}

From 1952 to 1955, Marguerite Norris served as president of the Detroit Red Wings, being the first female NHL executive and the first woman to have her name engraved on the Stanley Cup. In 1992, Manon Rhéaume became the first woman to play a game in any of the major professional North American sports leagues, as a goaltender for the Tampa Bay Lightning in a preseason game against the St. Louis Blues, stopping seven of nine shots.{{cite web|last1=Basu|first1=Arpon|title=Part 1: Manon Rhéaume shatters the gender barrier|url=http://www.nhl.com/ice/news.htm?id=642005|website=NHL.com|date=September 23, 2012|access-date=April 15, 2020|archive-date=December 29, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141229131739/http://www.nhl.com/ice/news.htm?id=642005|url-status=live}}{{cite web |title=Manon Rheaume, Team Canada |url=http://www.whockey.com/profile/canada/rheaume.html |website=whockey.com |access-date=April 15, 2020 |archive-date=May 25, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170525160351/http://www.whockey.com/profile/canada/rheaume.html |url-status=live }} In 2016, Dawn Braid was hired as the Arizona Coyotes' skating coach, making her the first female full-time coach in the NHL.{{cite news |last1=Bieler |first1=Des |title=NHL's first female full-time coach hired by Arizona Coyotes |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/early-lead/wp/2016/08/24/nhls-first-female-full-time-coach-hired-by-arizona-coyotes/ |newspaper=Washington Post |access-date=April 15, 2020 |date=August 24, 2016 |archive-date=October 27, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201027193447/https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/early-lead/wp/2016/08/24/nhls-first-female-full-time-coach-hired-by-arizona-coyotes/ |url-status=live }} The first female referees in the NHL were hired in a test-run during the league's preseason prospect tournaments in September 2019.{{cite web |last1=Roarke |first1=Shawn P. |title=Women officials thrilled by NHL experience |url=https://www.nhl.com/news/women-referees-at-nhl-prospect-tournament/c-309020390 |website=NHL.com |access-date=February 6, 2020 |date=September 10, 2019 |archive-date=March 17, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200317225819/https://www.nhl.com/news/women-referees-at-nhl-prospect-tournament/c-309020390 |url-status=live }}

In 2016, the NHL hosted the 2016 Outdoor Women's Classic, an exhibition game between the Boston Pride of the National Women's Hockey League and Les Canadiennes of the Canadian Women's Hockey League, as part of the 2016 NHL Winter Classic weekend festivities.{{cite web |title=NHL to host first-ever Outdoor Women's Classic presented by Scotiabank |url=http://www.nhl.com/ice/news.htm?id=794629 |website=NHL.com |access-date=April 15, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151229131416/http://www.nhl.com/ice/news.htm?id=794629 |archive-date=December 29, 2015 |date=December 28, 2015}} In 2019, the NHL invited four women from the US and Canadian Olympic teams to demonstrate the events in All-Star skills competition before the All-Star Game. Due to Nathan MacKinnon choosing not to participate following a bruised ankle, Team USA's Kendall Coyne Schofield competed in the Fastest Skater competition in his place, becoming the first woman to officially compete in the NHL's All-Star festivities.{{cite web |last1=Benjamin |first1=Amalie |title=Coyne Schofield shines in fastest skater at All-Star Skills |url=https://www.nhl.com/news/kendall-coyne-schofield-shines-in-fastest-skater-at-all-star-skills/c-304238704 |website=NHL.com |access-date=April 15, 2020 |date=January 25, 2019 |archive-date=June 4, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200604140602/https://www.nhl.com/news/kendall-coyne-schofield-shines-in-fastest-skater-at-all-star-skills/c-304238704 |url-status=live }} The attention led the NHL to include a 3-on-3 women's game before the 2020 All-Star Game.{{cite web |last1=Berkman |first1=Seth |title=Women Get a Spotlight, but No Prize Money, in New N.H.L. All-Star Event |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2020/01/24/sports/hockey/nhl-skills-competition-women.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200124082033/https://www.nytimes.com/2020/01/24/sports/hockey/nhl-skills-competition-women.html |archive-date=January 24, 2020 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live |website=The New York Times |access-date=April 15, 2020 |date=January 24, 2020}} Rheaume returned to perform as a goaltender for the 2022 NHL All-Star Game's Breakaway Challenge.{{cite web |last1=Myers |first1=Tracey |title=Rheaume set for return to ice as goalie in 2022 NHL All-Star Skills |url=https://www.nhl.com/news/manon-rheaume-to-participate-in-2022-nhl-all-star-skills/c-330423200 |website=NHL.com |access-date=April 12, 2022 |date=February 1, 2022 |archive-date=February 4, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220204232101/https://www.nhl.com/news/manon-rheaume-to-participate-in-2022-nhl-all-star-skills/c-330423200 |url-status=live }}

{{see also|National Hockey League all-time results|List of defunct and relocated National Hockey League teams|Potential National Hockey League expansion}}

{{NHL labeled map large|float=right}}

{{anchor|2013 Conference Realignment}}

From the 2017–18 season to the 2019–20 season, the NHL consisted of 31 teams—24 based in the United States and 7 in Canada. The NHL divided the 31 teams into two conferences: the Eastern Conference and the Western Conference. Each conference was split into two divisions: the Eastern Conference contained 16 teams (eight per division), while the Western Conference had 15 teams (seven in the Central and eight in the Pacific). The league temporarily realigned for the 2020–21 season but returned to the previous alignment the following year. With the addition of the Seattle Kraken in 2021–22 to the Pacific Division and the Arizona Coyotes' move from the Pacific to the Central, all four divisions now have eight teams each and both conferences have 16 teams.

The number of NHL teams held constant at 30 teams from the 2000–01 season, when the Minnesota Wild and the Columbus Blue Jackets joined the league as expansion teams, until 2017. That expansion capped a period in the 1990s of rapid expansion and relocation, when the NHL added nine teams to grow from 21 to 30 teams, and relocated four teams mostly from smaller, northern cities to larger, more southern metropolitan areas (Minneapolis–Saint Paul to Dallas, Quebec City to Denver, Winnipeg to Phoenix, and Hartford to Raleigh). The league has not contracted any teams since the Cleveland Barons were merged into the Minnesota North Stars in 1978. The league expanded for the first time in 17 years{{cite news |last1=Heitner |first1=Darren |title=The NHL Leads the Way in Bringing Pro Sports to Las Vegas |url=http://www.inc.com/darren-heitner/nhl-leads-the-way-in-bringing-pro-sports-to-las-vegas.html |magazine=Inc. |date=June 22, 2016 |access-date=June 29, 2016 |archive-date=January 15, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170115212629/http://www.inc.com/darren-heitner/nhl-leads-the-way-in-bringing-pro-sports-to-las-vegas.html |url-status=live }} to 31 teams with the addition of the Vegas Golden Knights in 2017, then to 32 with the addition of the Seattle Kraken in 2021.{{cite news|last=Baker|first=Geoff|title=After years of trying and a cast of characters in between, the NHL will finally put a team in Seattle|url=https://www.seattletimes.com/sports/hockey/after-years-of-trying-and-a-cast-of-characters-in-between-the-nhl-will-finally-put-a-team-in-seattle/|newspaper=The Seattle Times|date=December 3, 2018|access-date=December 5, 2018|archive-date=December 4, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211204035654/https://www.seattletimes.com/sports/hockey/after-years-of-trying-and-a-cast-of-characters-in-between-the-nhl-will-finally-put-a-team-in-seattle/|url-status=live}} In April 2024, a new expansion team in Utah was created, after Alex Meruelo sold the hockey assets of the Arizona Coyotes to Ryan Smith, owner of the Utah Jazz. Meruelo was granted until 2029 to secure an arena in Arizona in order to re-activate the team, bringing the total number of franchises in the NHL up to 33; however, these efforts were abandoned two months later, leaving the NHL at 32 franchises once again.

According to Forbes, in 2023, the top five most valuable teams were four of the "Original Six" teams and the Los Angeles Kings:

1. Toronto Maple Leafs – US$2.8 billion
2. New York Rangers – US$2.65 billion
3. Montreal Canadiens – US$2.3 billion
4. Los Angeles Kings – US$2 billion
5. Boston Bruins – US$1.9 billion

The remaining members of the Original Six, the Chicago Blackhawks and the Detroit Red Wings, respectively ranked sixth at US$1.87 billion and hypothetically 12th at US$1.3 billion. Compared with 2022, the Maple Leafs surpassed the Rangers as the most valuable NHL team, and Los Angeles overtook both Chicago and Boston, making its way into the top five.{{cite web |last1=Ozanian |first1=Mike |last2=Teitelbaum |first2=Justin |title=The Most Valuable NHL Teams 2023 |url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/mikeozanian/2023/12/14/the-most-valuable-nhl-teams-2023/ |website=Forbes |access-date=January 23, 2024 |date=December 14, 2023 |archive-date=January 23, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240123184112/https://www.forbes.com/sites/mikeozanian/2023/12/14/the-most-valuable-nhl-teams-2023/ |url-status=live }}

{{clear}}

Notes:

{{refbegin}}

1. An asterisk (*) denotes a franchise move. See the respective team articles for more information.
2. The Edmonton Oilers, Hartford Whalers (now Carolina Hurricanes), Quebec Nordiques (now Colorado Avalanche), and original Winnipeg Jets (relocated as Arizona Coyotes) all joined the NHL in 1979 as part of the NHL–WHA merger.

{{refend}}

{{main|Timeline of the National Hockey League}}

{{Timeline National Hockey League}}

{{see also|List of current NHL franchise owners}}

The Board of Governors is the ruling and governing body of the National Hockey League. In this context, each team is a member of the league, and each member appoints a Governor (usually the owner of the club), and two alternates to the Board. The current chairman of the Board is Boston Bruins owner Jeremy Jacobs. The Board of Governors exists to establish the policies of the league and to uphold its constitution. Some of the responsibilities of the Board of Governors include:{{Cite news|url=https://www.thestar.com/article/646798 |title=NHL's secret constitution revealed |work=Toronto Star |access-date=March 12, 2011 |location=Toronto |first=Kevin |last=McGran |date=June 6, 2009}}

• review and approve any changes to the league's rules.
• hiring and firing of the commissioner.
• review and approve the purchase, sale or relocation of any member club.
• review and approve the salary caps for member clubs.
• review and approve any changes to the structure of the game schedule.

The Board of Governors meets twice per year, in the months of June and December, with the exact date and place to be fixed by the Commissioner.

{{see also|NHL Commissioner}}

The chief executive of the league is commissioner Gary Bettman. Some other senior executives include chief legal officer Bill Daly, director of hockey operations Colin Campbell, and senior vice president of player safety George Parros.{{Cite web | url=https://www.nhl.com/news/george-parros-to-head-department-of-player-safety-focus-on-slashing/c-290910754 | title=Parros to head Department of Player Safety, focus on slashing | access-date=October 19, 2018 | archive-date=October 19, 2018 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181019121851/https://www.nhl.com/news/george-parros-to-head-department-of-player-safety-focus-on-slashing/c-290910754 | url-status=live }} A committee led by Bettman and chairman Jeremy Jacobs is responsible for vetting new ownership applications, collective bargaining, and league expansion. Other members include Mark Chipman, N. Murray Edwards, Craig Leipold, Ted Leonsis, Geoff Molson, Henry Samueli, Larry Tanenbaum, Jeff Vinik, and David Blitzer.{{cite web |last1=Nichols |first1=James |title=Report: Devils Owner Joins NHL's Executive Committee |url=https://www.yardbarker.com/nhl/articles/report_devils_owner_joins_nhls_executive_committee/s1_17259_39348648 |website=Yardbarker |date=October 5, 2023 |access-date=October 7, 2023 |archive-date=October 6, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231006052757/https://www.yardbarker.com/nhl/articles/report_devils_owner_joins_nhls_executive_committee/s1_17259_39348648 |url-status=live }}

{{main|National Hockey League rules}}

File:NHL Hockey Rink.svg

File:Rink - IIHF vs NHL.jpg-sanctioned games and an NHL hockey rink]]

The National Hockey League's rules are one of the two standard sets of professional ice hockey rules in the world, the other being the rules of the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF), as used in tournaments such as the Olympics. The IIHF rules are derived from the Canadian amateur ice hockey rules of the early 20th century,{{sfn|Podnieks|Szemberg|2007|p=198}} while the NHL rules evolved directly from the first organized indoor ice hockey game in Montreal in 1875, updated by subsequent leagues up to 1917, when the NHL adopted the existing NHA set of rules. The NHL's rules are the basis for rules governing most professional and major junior ice hockey leagues in North America.

The NHL hockey rink is {{convert|200|x|85|ft|m|sigfig=4}},{{cite web|url=http://www.nhl.com/rules/rule02.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060409150309/http://www.nhl.com/rules/rule02.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=April 9, 2006 |title=Dimensions of Rink |year=2005 |website=National Hockey League |access-date=June 8, 2006 }} approximately the same length but much narrower than IIHF standards. A trapezoidal area appears behind each goal net.{{cite web|url=http://www.nhl.com/rules/rule04.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090606090924/http://www.nhl.com/rules/rule04.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=June 6, 2009 |title=Goal crease |year=2005 |website=National Hockey League |access-date=June 8, 2006 }} The goaltender can play the puck only within the trapezoid or in front of the goal line; if the goaltender plays the puck behind the goal line and outside the trapezoidal area, a two-minute minor penalty for delay of game is assessed.{{cite web|url=http://www.nhl.com/ice/page.htm?id=26355|title=Rule 63 – Delaying the Game|year=2009|website=National Hockey League|access-date=March 14, 2010|archive-date=May 10, 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100510004223/http://www.nhl.com/ice/page.htm?id=26355|url-status=live}} 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.{{cite news|url=https://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=F10616F835550C758DDDA00894DD404482|title=New Rule Will Take a Weapon Away from Brodeur|date=September 16, 2005|work=The New York Times (subscription required)|author=Diamos, Jason.|access-date=March 2, 2007|archive-date=November 6, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121106033050/http://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=F10616F835550C758DDDA00894DD404482|url-status=live}}{{cite web|url=http://www.sptimes.com/2005/09/18/Sports/Brodeur_not_handling_.shtml |title=Brodeur not handling new rule well |date=September 18, 2005 |work=St. Petersburg Times |author=Jones, Tom. |access-date=March 2, 2007 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080206171542/http://www.sptimes.com/2005/09/18/Sports/Brodeur_not_handling_.shtml |archive-date=February 6, 2008 }}{{cite web |url=http://blogs.northjersey.com/blogs/fireice/comments/brodeur_hopes_nhl_banishes_trapezoid/ |title=Brodeur hopes NHL banishes trapezoid |year=2009 |work=Fire&Ice |access-date=November 10, 2009 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091113050802/http://blogs.northjersey.com/blogs/fireice/comments/brodeur_hopes_nhl_banishes_trapezoid |archive-date=November 13, 2009 }}{{cite web|url=http://blogs.northjersey.com/blogs/fireice/nhl_decides_to_keep_trapezoid/|title=NHL decides to keep trapezoid|year=2009|work=Fire&Ice|access-date=November 10, 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110714195405/http://blogs.northjersey.com/blogs/fireice/nhl_decides_to_keep_trapezoid/|archive-date=July 14, 2011|url-status=dead}} Since the 2013–14 season, the league trimmed the goal frames by {{convert|4|in|cm}} on each side and reduced the size of the goalies' leg pads.{{cite web|url=http://www.nhl.com/ice/news.htm?id=684940|title=Hybrid Icying tops list of rules changes for 2013–2014 season|last=Rosen|first=Dan|website=National Hockey League|access-date=December 2, 2013|archive-date=January 11, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160111061200/http://www.nhl.com/ice/news.htm?id=684940|url-status=live}}

File:Bruins at Devils on Apr 2 2008 (85).jpeg goaltender Martin Brodeur (top left) positions himself along the net during a 2008 game against the Boston Bruins. Brodeur's exploits led the NHL in 2005 to delineate the trapezoidal area behind the net to limit where the goaltender can legally play the puck behind the goal line.]]

The league has regularly modified its rules to counter perceived imperfections in the game. The penalty shot was adopted from the Pacific Coast Hockey Association to ensure players were not being blocked from opportunities to score. For the 2005–06 season, the league changed some of the rules regarding being offside. First, the league removed the "offside pass" or "two-line pass" rule, which required a stoppage in play if a pass originating from inside a team's defending zone was completed on the offensive side of the centre line, unless the puck crossed the line before the player.{{Cite news|title=Relaunching the Game |author=CBC Sports |publisher=CBC.ca |date=July 22, 2005 |access-date=June 10, 2006 |url=http://www.cbc.ca/sports/indepth/cba/features/rule_changes.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060516050646/http://www.cbc.ca/sports/indepth/cba/features/rule_changes.html |archive-date=May 16, 2006 }} Furthermore, the league reinstated the "tag-up offside" which allows an attacking player a chance to get back onside by returning to the neutral zone. The changes to the offside rule were among several rule changes intended to increase overall scoring, which had been in decline since the expansion years of the mid-nineties and the increased prevalence of the neutral zone trap. Since 2005, when a team is guilty of icing the puck they are not allowed to make a line change or skater substitution of any sort before the following face-off (except to replace an injured player or re-install a pulled goaltender).{{cite web|url=http://www.nhl.com/rules/rule81.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130514155000/http://www.nhl.com/rules/rule81.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=May 14, 2013 |title=Icing |website=National Hockey League |access-date=March 1, 2013 |year=2005 }} Since 2013, the league has used hybrid icing, where a linesman stops play due to icing if a defending player (other than the goaltender) crosses the imaginary line that connects the two face-off dots in their defensive zone before an attacking player is able to. This was done to counter a trend of player injury in races to the puck.

Fighting in the NHL leads to major penalties while IIHF rules, and most amateur rules, call for the ejection of fighting players.{{cite web|url=http://www.nhl.com/rules/rule27.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060423154838/http://www.nhl.com/rules/rule27.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=April 23, 2006 |title=Major penalties |website=National Hockey League |access-date=June 8, 2006 |year=2005 }}{{Cite news |url=http://www.cbc.ca/olympics/sports/icehockey/essentials/intlvsnhl.shtml |title=Ice Hockey Essentials – International vs. NHL |publisher=Canadian Broadcasting Corporation |access-date=June 26, 2006 |year=2006 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20060221192349/http://www.cbc.ca/olympics/sports/icehockey/essentials/intlvsnhl.shtml |archive-date = February 21, 2006}} Usually, a penalized team cannot replace a player that is penalized on the ice and is thus short-handed for the duration of the penalty, but if the penalties are coincidental, for example when two players fight, both teams remain at full strength. Also, unlike minor penalties, major penalties must be served to their full completion, regardless of number of goals scored during the power play.{{cite web|url=http://www.nhl.com/rules/rule26.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060423154633/http://www.nhl.com/rules/rule26.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=April 23, 2006 |title=Minor penalties |website=National Hockey League |access-date=June 8, 2006 |year=2005 }}

The league also imposes a conduct policy on its players. Players are banned from gambling and criminal activities have led to the suspension of players. The league and the Players' Association agreed to a stringent anti-doping policy in the 2005 collective bargaining agreement. The policy provides for a twenty-game suspension for a first positive test, a sixty-game suspension for a second positive test, and a lifetime suspension for a third positive test.{{cite web |url=http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/20050928/NHL_doping_050928?s_name=&no_ads= |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20051023064426/http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/20050928/NHL_doping_050928?s_name=&no_ads= |url-status=dead |archive-date=October 23, 2005 |title=NHL unveils new drug testing policy |date=September 28, 2005 |access-date=January 2, 2007 |first=Scott |last=Laurie |publisher=CTV }}

At the end of 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, three-on-three sudden-death period, in which whoever scores a goal first wins the game. 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 one point.{{cite web |url=http://proicehockey.about.com/od/rules/a/shootout_debate_2.htm |title=How the NHL Shootout Works |access-date=August 4, 2008 |last=Fitzpatrick |first=Jamie |work=About.com |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080519150726/http://proicehockey.about.com/od/rules/a/shootout_debate_2.htm |archive-date=May 19, 2008 |url-status=dead }} Shootout goals and saves are not tracked in hockey statistics; shootout statistics are tracked separately.

There are no shootouts during the playoffs. Instead, multiple sudden-death, 20-minute five-on-five periods are played until one team scores. Two games have reached six overtime periods, but none have gone beyond six.{{Cite magazine|title=Oh, what a night ... and morning. Stars-Canucks ranks sixth among longest OT games. |magazine=Sports Illustrated |url=http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2007/hockey/nhl/specials/playoffs/2007/04/12/OT.games/ |access-date=April 26, 2007 |date=April 12, 2007 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071103141020/http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2007/hockey/nhl/specials/playoffs/2007/04/12/OT.games/ |archive-date=November 3, 2007 }} During playoff overtime periods, the only break is to clean the loose ice at the first stoppage after the period is halfway finished.{{Cite news |url=http://nbcsports.msnbc.com/id/18470542/ |title=Playoff overtime format needs change |publisher=NBC Sports |last=Clement |first=Bill |author-link=Bill Clement |year=2008 |access-date=May 9, 2008 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090220122859/http://nbcsports.msnbc.com/id/18470542/ |archive-date=February 20, 2009 }}

{{main|Season structure of the NHL}}

{{see also|List of NHL seasons}}

The National Hockey League season is divided into a preseason (September and early October), a regular season (from early October through early to mid-April) and a postseason (the Stanley Cup playoffs).

Teams usually hold a summer showcase for prospects in July and participate in prospect tournaments, full games that do not feature any veterans, in September. Full training camps begin in mid-to-late September, including a preseason consisting of six to eight exhibition games. Split squad games, in which parts of a team's regular season roster play separate games on the same day, are occasionally played during the preseason.

During the regular season, clubs play each other in a predefined schedule. Since 2021, in the regular season, all teams play 82 games: 41 games each of home and road, playing 26 games in their own geographic division—four against five of their seven other divisional opponents, plus three against two others; 24 games against the eight remaining non-divisional intra-conference opponents—three games against every team in the other division of its conference; and 32 against every team in the other conference twice—home and road.{{Cite news|title=NHL ramps up rivalries |url=http://www.cbc.ca/sports/hockey/nhl/the-explainer-new-nhl-playoff-seeding-format-1.1871216 |author=CBC Sports Online |publisher=CBC.ca |date=July 27, 2005 |access-date=June 6, 2006 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130927195147/http://www.cbc.ca/sports/hockey/nhl/the-explainer-new-nhl-playoff-seeding-format-1.1871216/ |archive-date=September 27, 2013}}

The league's regular season standings are based on a point system. Two points are awarded for a win, one point for losing in overtime or a shootout, and zero points for a loss in regulation. At the end of the regular season, the team that finishes with the most points in each division is crowned the division champion, and the league's overall leader is awarded the Presidents' Trophy.

The Stanley Cup playoffs, which go from April to the beginning of June, are an elimination tournament where two teams play against each other to win a best-of-seven series in order to advance to the next round. The final remaining team is crowned the Stanley Cup champion. Eight teams from each conference qualify for the playoffs: the top three teams in each division plus the two conference teams with the next highest number of points.{{cite web|website=National Hockey League |title=Playoff formats |year=2005 |access-date=June 6, 2006 |url=http://www.nhl.com/hockeyu/history/cup/formats.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20010718071657/http://www.nhl.com/hockeyu/history/cup/formats.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=July 18, 2001 }} The two conference champions proceed to the Stanley Cup Finals. In all rounds, the higher-ranked team is awarded home-ice advantage, with four of the seven games played at this team's home venue. In the Stanley Cup Finals, the team with the most points during the regular season has home-ice advantage.

{{main|NHL entry draft}}

File:2017 NHL Entry Draft (35513218745).jpg]]

The annual NHL entry draft consists of a seven-round off-season draft held in June on a date of the commissioner's choosing.{{cite book |last=Wong |first=Glenn M. |author-link= |date=August 18, 2010 |title=Essentials of Sports Law |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=zOfEEAAAQBAJ |location= |publisher= ABC-Clio/Bloomsbury Publishing|page=626 |chapter=12.6.4. National Hockey League Draft|isbn=9780313356766}} Early NHL drafts took place at the Queen Elizabeth (currently Fairmont) Hotel in Montreal.{{cite book |last=St. James |first=Helene |author-link= |date=October 4, 2022 |title= On the Clock: Detroit Red Wings — Behind the Scenes with the Detroit Red Wings at the NHL Draft |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=AQDnzgEACAAJ |location= |publisher= Triumph Books|chapter=Chapter 26: Why Not Detroit? |page= |isbn= 9781629379852}} Amateur players from junior, collegiate, or European leagues are eligible to enter the entry draft.{{cite book |last=Gitlin |first=Martin |author-link= |date= 2023|title=The Hockey Book of Why (and Who, What, When, Where, and How) — The Answers to Questions You've Always Wondered about the Fastest Game on Ice |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=5_DNEAAAQBAJ |location= |publisher=Lyons Press |page= 75|isbn= 9781493070930}} The selection order is determined by a combination of the standings at the end of the regular season, playoff results, and a draft lottery. The 16 teams that did not qualify for the playoffs are entered in a weighted lottery to determine the initial draft picks in the first round, with the last place team having the best chance of winning the lottery. Once the lottery determines the initial draft picks, the order for the remaining non-playoff teams is determined by the standings at the end of the regular season. For those teams that did qualify for the playoffs, the draft order is then determined by total regular season points for non-division winners that are eliminated in the first two rounds of the playoffs, then any division winners that failed to reach the Conference Finals. Conference finalists receive the 29th and 30th picks depending on total points, with the Stanley Cup runner-up given the 31st pick and the Stanley Cup champions the final pick.

{{main|List of National Hockey League awards}}

File:Stanly Cup in Hockey Hall of Fame (may 2008) edit1.jpg

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.

The Montreal Canadiens are the most successful franchise in the league. Since the formation of the league in 1917, they have 25 NHL championships (three between 1917 and 1925 when the Stanley Cup was still contested in an interleague competition, twenty-two since 1926 after the Stanley Cup became the NHL's championship trophy). They also lead all teams with 24 Stanley Cup championships (one as an NHA team, twenty-three as an NHL team). Of the four major professional sports leagues in North America, the Montreal Canadiens are surpassed in the number of championships only by the New York Yankees of Major League Baseball, who have three more.

The longest streak of winning the Stanley Cup in consecutive years is five, held by the Montreal Canadiens from 1955–56 to 1959–60.{{cite web |title=Stanley Cup Winners |url=http://proicehockey.about.com/od/stanleycupbunker/a/stanley_cuplist.htm |first=Jamie |last=Fitzpatrick |publisher=about.com |access-date=June 26, 2006 |year=2006 |archive-date=April 24, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130424154149/http://proicehockey.about.com/od/stanleycupbunker/a/stanley_cuplist.htm |url-status=dead }} 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.{{cite web |title=The 10 greatest teams |url=https://www.espn.com/endofcentury/s/other/greatteams.html |publisher=ESPN |date=December 31, 1999 |access-date=June 26, 2006 |archive-date=May 23, 2006 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060523002649/http://espn.go.com/endofcentury/s/other/greatteams.html |url-status=live }}

The next most successful NHL franchise is the Toronto Maple Leafs with 13 Stanley Cup championships, most recently in 1967. The Detroit Red Wings, with 11 Stanley Cup championships, are the most successful American franchise.

The same trophy is reused every year for each of its awards. The Stanley Cup, much like its counterpart in the Canadian Football League (CFL), 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.

Apart from the NHL-sanctioned trophies, which teams often recognize by putting up banners in the rafters of their arenas, many teams also claim titles which are not represented by trophies, often also by putting up banners in their rafters. One example is the division title or division championship.{{cite web | last = Gretz | first = Adam | title = When should your team hang a banner? | website = nbcsports.com | publisher = NBC | date = October 10, 2018 | url = https://www.nbcsports.com/nhl/news/when-should-your-team-hang-a-banner | access-date = November 4, 2023|url-status=live| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20231029193744/https://www.nbcsports.com/nhl/news/when-should-your-team-hang-a-banner | archive-date = October 29, 2023}} The term unambiguously refers to the team that received the most points in its division at the end of the regular season,{{cite web | title = Go Figure: Key Hockey Terms | website = nhl.com | publisher = National Hockey League | url = https://www.nhl.com/de/info/hockey-glossary | access-date = November 5, 2023 | archive-date = November 5, 2023 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20231105172042/https://www.nhl.com/de/info/hockey-glossary | url-status = live }} but in some previous seasons, for example, from 1926–27 to 1927–28 and from 1981–82 to 1992–93, when the playoffs where organized along divisions, the term without qualification could also refer to the team which won the corresponding playoff series.{{cite web | title = All-Time Playoff Formats | website = nhl.com | publisher = National Hockey League | url = https://records.nhl.com/history/playoff-formats | access-date = November 5, 2023 | archive-date = October 31, 2020 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20201031051333/https://records.nhl.com/history/playoff-formats | url-status = live }} The NHL has made clear in the past that it only allows teams to recognize regular season division titles.{{cite web | last = Botta | first = Christopher | title = Islanders' 1993 Division Playoff Banner Lives in a Fan's Attic | website = The New York Times | date = October 27, 2011 | url = https://archive.nytimes.com/slapshot.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/10/27/islanders-1993-division-playoff-banner-lives-in-a-fans-attic/ | access-date = November 4, 2023|url-status=live| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20230517183337/https://archive.nytimes.com/slapshot.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/10/27/islanders-1993-division-playoff-banner-lives-in-a-fans-attic/ | archive-date = 17 May 2023 }}

There are 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 goaltender(s) for the team with the fewest goals against them.

The other player trophies are voted on by the Professional Hockey Writers' Association or the team general managers.{{cite web |url=https://www.nhl.com/info/nhl-awards-trophies |title=NHL trophies |website=National Hockey League |access-date=December 2, 2018 |archive-date=December 5, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181205003645/https://www.nhl.com/info/nhl-awards-trophies |url-status=live }} These individual awards are presented at a formal ceremony held in late June after the playoffs have concluded. The most prestigious individual award is the Hart Memorial Trophy which is awarded annually to the Most Valuable Player; the voting is conducted by members of the Professional Hockey Writers Association to judge the player who is the most valuable to his team during the regular season. The Vezina Trophy is awarded annually to the person deemed the best goaltender as voted on by the general managers of the teams in the NHL. The James Norris Memorial Trophy is awarded annually to the National Hockey League's top defenceman, the Calder Memorial Trophy is awarded annually to the top rookie, and the Lady Byng Memorial Trophy is awarded to the player deemed to combine the highest degree of skill and sportsmanship; all three of these awards are voted on by members of the Professional Hockey Writers Association.

In addition to the regular season awards, the Conn Smythe Trophy is awarded annually to the most valuable player during the NHL's Stanley Cup playoffs. Furthermore, the top coach in the league wins the Jack Adams Award, as selected by a poll of the National Hockey League Broadcasters Association. The National Hockey League publishes the names of the top three vote getters for all awards, and then names the award winner during the NHL Awards Ceremony.

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, currently tied with the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame{{cite press release |url=http://www.hoophall.com/news/naismith-memorial-basketball-hall-of-fame-announces-modifications-to-its-enshrinement-process-beginning-with-the-class-of-2018/ |title=Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame Announces Modifications to its Enshrinement Process Beginning with the Class of 2018 |publisher=Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame |date=December 19, 2017 |access-date=February 17, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180212075506/http://www.hoophall.com/news/naismith-memorial-basketball-hall-of-fame-announces-modifications-to-its-enshrinement-process-beginning-with-the-class-of-2018/ |archive-date=February 12, 2018 |url-status=dead }} for 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.{{cite web|title=Roy on deck for 2006, 'mayhem' in 2007 |publisher=The Sports Network |url=https://www.tsn.ca/classic/news_story.asp?ID=142315&hubName= |agency=The Canadian Press |date=November 7, 2005 |access-date=June 8, 2006 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070516001757/http://www.tsn.ca/classic/news_story.asp?ID=142315&hubName= |archive-date=May 16, 2007 }} If a player was deemed significant enough, the three-year wait would be waived; only ten individuals have been honoured in this manner.{{cite web |title=Wayne Gretzky signs five-year contract as head coach |url=http://www.phoenixcoyotes.com/news/story_details.php?ID=5063 |website=Phoenix Coyotes |date=May 31, 2006 |access-date=June 9, 2006 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060615113421/http://www.phoenixcoyotes.com/news/story_details.php?ID=5063 |archive-date=June 15, 2006 |url-status=dead }} In 1999, Wayne Gretzky joined the Hall and became the last player to have the three-year restriction waived. After his induction, the Hall of Fame announced that Gretzky would be the last to have the waiting period waived.

{{further|List of NHL statistical leaders by country}}

In addition to Canadian- and American-born and trained players, who have historically composed a large majority of NHL rosters, the NHL also draws players from an expanding pool of other nations where organized and professional hockey is played. Since the collapse of the Soviet Bloc, political/ideological restrictions on the movement of hockey players from this region have disappeared, leading to a large influx of players mostly from the Czech Republic, Slovakia, and Russia into the NHL. Swedes, Finns, and Western European players, who were always free to move to North America, came to the league in greater numbers than before.

Many of the league's top players in recent years have come from these European countries including Daniel Alfredsson, Erik Karlsson, Henrik Sedin, Daniel Sedin, Henrik Lundqvist, Jaromir Jagr, Patrik Elias, Nikita Kucherov,Zdeno Chara, Pavel Datsyuk, Evgeni Malkin, Nicklas Lidstrom, and Alexander Ovechkin.{{Cite news |title=New world order: as the Olympics have shown, the influx of players from across the Atlantic brought changes to the NHL game |work=The Sporting News |date=February 25, 2002 |access-date=June 11, 2006 |first=Larry |last=Wigge |url=http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1208/is_8_226/ai_83450464 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060419061539/http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1208/is_8_226/ai_83450464 |archive-date=April 19, 2006 }} European players were drafted and signed by NHL teams in an effort to bring in more "skilled offensive players",{{cite web |title=Canadians left behind as NHL goes for firepower |agency=The Canadian Press |date=June 27, 1999 |access-date=June 11, 2006 |first=Bill |last=Beacon |url=http://slam.canoe.ca/HockeyNHLDraft99/jun27_can.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://archive.today/20070623032604/http://slam.canoe.ca/HockeyNHLDraft99/jun27_can.html |archive-date=June 23, 2007 }} although as of 2008 there has been a decline in European players as more American players enter the league.{{cite web|title=NHL landscape changes |website=IIHF |date=May 10, 2008 |access-date=May 13, 2008 |first=ANDREW |last=PODNIEKS |url=http://www.iihf.com/home-of-hockey/news/news-singleview/browse/2/article/nhl-landscape-changes.html?tx_ttnews%5BbackPid%5D=187&cHash=5abfb28b5e/ |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081206010456/http://www.iihf.com/home-of-hockey/news/news-singleview/browse/2/article/nhl-landscape-changes.html?tx_ttnews%5BbackPid%5D=187&cHash=5abfb28b5e%2F |archive-date=December 6, 2008 }} The addition of European players changed the style of play in the NHL and European style hockey has been integrated into the NHL game.

As of the 2017–18 season, the NHL has players from 17 countries, with 46.0% coming from Canada and 26.0% from the United States, while players from a further 15 countries make up 26.4% of NHL rosters.{{cite web|url=https://www.quanthockey.com/nhl/nationality-totals/nhl-players-2017-18-stats.html|title=NHL Totals by Nationality ‑ 2017‑18 Stats|date=January 12, 2018|access-date=January 12, 2018|archive-date=January 14, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180114020208/http://www.quanthockey.com/nhl/nationality-totals/nhl-players-2017-18-stats.html|url-status=live}}{{cite web |url=http://live82.ihwc.net/english/article/recaps/index.ihwc?artId=2398 |title=NHL still likes Czechs best |publisher=IWHC.net |date=May 16, 2006 |access-date=June 9, 2006 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070714160151/http://live82.ihwc.net/english/article/recaps/index.ihwc?artId=2398 |archive-date=July 14, 2007 }} The following table shows the seven countries that make up the vast majority of NHL players. The table follows the Hockey Hall of Fame convention of classifying players by the currently existing countries in which their birthplaces are located, without regard to their citizenship or where they were trained.

File:NHL faceoff.jpg

The NHL lists its several official corporate partners into three categories: North American Partners, USA Partners and Canada Partners.{{cite web|url=https://www.nhl.com/info/corporate-marketing-partners |title=NHL.com – NHL Corporate Marketing Partners |website=National Hockey League |access-date=January 28, 2017}} Discover Card is the league's official credit card in the United States, while competitor Visa is an official sponsor in Canada.{{cite news|last1=Richard|first1=Sandomir|title=Discover Card Forges Tie to the N.H.L.|url=https://slapshot.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/11/06/discover-card-forges-tie-to-the-n-h-l/?_r=0|newspaper=The New York Times|access-date=January 28, 2017|date=November 6, 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170525155138/https://slapshot.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/11/06/discover-card-forges-tie-to-the-n-h-l/?_r=0|archive-date=May 25, 2017|url-status=dead}} Likewise, Tim Hortons is the league's official coffee and doughnuts chain in Canada, while Dunkin' Donuts is the NHL's sponsor in the United States.{{cite news|last1=Perez|first1=A.J.|title=Dunkin' Donuts announces partnership with the NHL|url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/nhl/2016/12/05/dunkin-donuts-partner-nhl-tim-hortons/94992702/|work=USA Today|access-date=January 28, 2017|date=December 5, 2016|archive-date=March 16, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200316111851/https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/nhl/2016/12/05/dunkin-donuts-partner-nhl-tim-hortons/94992702/|url-status=live}}

Among its North American corporate sponsors, Kraft Heinz sponsors Kraft Hockeyville, an annual competition in which communities compete to demonstrate their commitment to the sport of ice hockey. The winning community gets a cash prize dedicated to upgrading their local home arena, as well as the opportunity to host an NHL pre-season game. Two contests are held, one for communities across Canada and a separate competition for communities in the US.

At least two of the North American corporate sponsors have ties to NHL franchise owners: the Molson family, founders of Molson Brewery, has owned the Montreal Canadiens for years, while SAP was co-founded by Hasso Plattner, the current majority owner of the San Jose Sharks.

Many of these same corporate partners become the title sponsors for the league's All-Star and outdoor games.

Beginning in the 2020–21 NHL season, the league allowed for advertising on its gameday uniforms for the first time, starting with helmet ads. The NHL has had advertising on the front of team jerseys starting from the 2022–23 season.{{cite web |url=https://www.espn.com/nhl/story/_/id/32039451/nhl-team-jersey-fronts-ads-starting-2022-23-season-source-says |title=Source: NHL team jersey fronts can have ads starting in 2022–23 season |website=ESPN |access-date=August 25, 2021 |date=August 17, 2021 |archive-date=August 24, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210824210234/https://www.espn.com/nhl/story/_/id/32039451/nhl-team-jersey-fronts-ads-starting-2022-23-season-source-says |url-status=live }}

On May 14, 2021, NHL and the sports-betting company Betway announced a multi-year partnership in which Betway became the official sports betting partner to the NHL in North America.{{cite news|last1=Fletcher|first1=Gilbert|title=NHL announces Betway as Official Sports Betting Partner|url=https://gamingindustrymedia.com/betway-announces-multiyear-partnership-with-nhl/|work=Gaming Industry Media|access-date=May 14, 2021|date=May 14, 2021|archive-date=June 20, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210620014432/https://gamingindustrymedia.com/betway-announces-multiyear-partnership-with-nhl/|url-status=dead}}

{{main|National Hockey League on television}}

{{see also|List of current National Hockey League broadcasters}}

File:Alexander Ovechkin Sergei Fedorov (3485559648).jpg

Broadcasting rights in Canada have historically included the CBC's Hockey Night in Canada (HNIC), a Canadian tradition dating to 1952,{{Cite news|publisher=Canadian Broadcasting Corporation |url=http://www.cbc.ca/sports/hockey/hnic/seasoninfo.html |title=HNIC in 2005–06 |year=2005 |access-date=June 19, 2006 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060210225017/http://www.cbc.ca/sports/hockey/hnic/seasoninfo.html |archive-date=February 10, 2006 }}{{Cite news|publisher=Canadian Broadcasting Corporation |title=Hockey Night in Canada: A history of excellence |url=http://www.cbc.ca/sports/hockey/hnic/histrad.html |year=2005 |access-date=June 19, 2006 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060210224941/http://www.cbc.ca/sports/hockey/hnic/histrad.html |archive-date=February 10, 2006 }} and even prior to that on radio since the 1920s.

The current national television and digital rightsholder is Rogers Communications, under a 12-year deal valued at C$5.2 billion which began in the 2014–15 season, as the national broadcast and cable television rightsholders. 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. Hockey Night in Canada was maintained and expanded under the deal, airing up to seven games nationally on Saturday nights throughout the regular season. CBC maintains Rogers-produced NHL coverage during the regular season and playoffs.{{cite news|last1=Shoalts|first1=David|title=Hockey Night in Canada: How CBC lost it all|url=https://www.theglobeandmail.com/sports/hockey/hockey-night-in-canada-how-cbc-lost-it-all/article21072643/|website=The Globe and Mail|access-date=October 11, 2014|archive-date=October 13, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141013140723/http://www.theglobeandmail.com/sports/hockey/hockey-night-in-canada-how-cbc-lost-it-all/article21072643/|url-status=live}} Sportsnet's networks also air occasional games involving all-U.S. matchups.{{cite web | url=http://www.sportsnet.ca/hockey/nhl/nearly-500-nhl-games-to-air-under-rogers-deal/ | title=500-plus NHL games to air under Rogers deal | work=Sportsnet | date=February 4, 2014 | access-date=February 5, 2014 | archive-date=March 2, 2014 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140302174135/http://www.sportsnet.ca/hockey/nhl/nearly-500-nhl-games-to-air-under-rogers-deal/ | url-status=live }}{{cite news|title=Rogers reaches 12-year broadcast deal with NHL worth $5.2-billion|url=https://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/rogers-reaches-12-year-broadcast-deal-with-nhl-worth-52-billion/article15600412/|work=The Globe and Mail|access-date=November 26, 2013|location=Toronto|date=November 27, 2013|archive-date=November 26, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131126135920/http://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/rogers-reaches-12-year-broadcast-deal-with-nhl-worth-52-billion/article15600412/|url-status=live}}{{cite news|title=Rogers scores national NHL TV rights for $5.2B|url=http://www.cbc.ca/news/business/rogers-scores-national-nhl-tv-rights-for-5-2b-1.2440645|publisher=CBC News|access-date=November 26, 2013|archive-date=November 27, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131127055949/http://www.cbc.ca/news/business/rogers-scores-national-nhl-tv-rights-for-5-2b-1.2440645|url-status=live}}{{cite news|title=NHL deal with Rogers a huge blow to TSN and CBC: Mudhar|url=https://www.thestar.com/sports/hockey/2013/11/26/nhl_deal_with_rogers_a_huge_blow_to_tsn_and_cbc_mudhar.html|work=Toronto Star|access-date=November 26, 2013|date=November 26, 2013|archive-date=November 29, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131129144226/http://www.thestar.com/sports/hockey/2013/11/26/nhl_deal_with_rogers_a_huge_blow_to_tsn_and_cbc_mudhar.html|url-status=dead}}{{cite news|title=CBC partners with Rogers in landmark NHL rights deal|url=http://www.cbc.ca/sports/hockey/nhl/cbc-partners-with-rogers-in-landmark-nhl-rights-deal-1.2440326|work=CBC Sports|access-date=November 26, 2013|archive-date=November 27, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131127055701/http://www.cbc.ca/sports/hockey/nhl/cbc-partners-with-rogers-in-landmark-nhl-rights-deal-1.2440326|url-status=live}}{{cite news|last1=Bradshaw|first1=James|title=Rogers' Hockey Night in Canada will be a whole new game for viewers|url=https://www.theglobeandmail.com/sports/hockey/canadians-prepare-for-more-game-coverage-storytelling-with-new-nhl-season/article20930976/?page=all|access-date=October 12, 2014|work=The Globe and Mail|archive-date=October 14, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141014013616/http://www.theglobeandmail.com/sports/hockey/canadians-prepare-for-more-game-coverage-storytelling-with-new-nhl-season/article20930976/?page=all|url-status=live}}

Quebecor Media holds national French-language rights to the NHL, with all coverage airing on its specialty channel TVA Sports.{{cite web|title=NHL, TVA Sports launch French-language agreement|url=http://www.nhl.com/ice/news.htm?id=729553|website=National Hockey League|access-date=September 21, 2014|archive-date=October 6, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141006092341/http://www.nhl.com/ice/news.htm?id=729553|url-status=live}}{{cite news|title=NHL signs 12-year TV, Internet deal with Rogers; CBC keeps 'Hockey Night in Canada'|url=https://www.thestar.com/sports/hockey/2013/11/26/nhl_signs_12year_broadcast_deal_with_rogers_cbc_keeps_hockey_night_in_canada.html|work=Toronto Star|access-date=November 26, 2013|date=November 26, 2013|archive-date=November 28, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131128002004/http://www.thestar.com/sports/hockey/2013/11/26/nhl_signs_12year_broadcast_deal_with_rogers_cbc_keeps_hockey_night_in_canada.html|url-status=live}}

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. Regional games are subject to blackout for viewers outside of each team's designated market.{{cite web|url=http://blog.fagstein.com/2014/08/18/nhl-regional-schedule-2014-15/|title=NHL broadcast schedule 2014–15: Who owns rights to what games|first=Steve|last=Faguy|work=Fagstein|date=August 18, 2014|access-date=August 23, 2014|archive-date=August 22, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140822160027/http://blog.fagstein.com/2014/08/18/nhl-regional-schedule-2014-15/|url-status=live}}

{{main|History of the National Hockey League on United States television}}

Historically, the NHL has never fared well on American television in comparison to the other American professional leagues. The league's American broadcast partners had been in flux for decades prior to 1995. Hockey broadcasting on a national scale was particularly spotty prior to 1981; NBC, CBS, and ABC held rights at various times during that period but with limited schedules during the second half of the regular season and the playoffs, along with some (but not all) of the Stanley Cup Finals. The NHL primarily was then only available on cable television after 1981, airing on the USA Network, SportsChannel America, and ESPN at various times. Since 1995, national coverage has been split between broadcast and cable, first with Fox and ESPN from 1995 to 1999, then followed by ABC and ESPN from 1999 to 2004. 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 2021–22 season marks the first year of seven-year agreements with ESPN and TNT (formerly Turner) Sports.{{cite news|title=NHL moving to Turner Sports is $1 billion risk-reward for hockey|work=CNBC|url=https://www.cnbc.com/2021/04/27/turner-sports-nhl-announce-seven-year-deal-for-broadcast-rights.html|date=April 27, 2021|accessdate=April 27, 2021|archive-date=November 4, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221104084621/https://www.cnbc.com/2021/04/27/turner-sports-nhl-announce-seven-year-deal-for-broadcast-rights.html|url-status=live}} ESPN's deal includes 25 regular season games on ABC or ESPN, and 75 exclusive games streamed on ESPN+ and Hulu.{{cite news|title=NHL back on ESPN with 7-year multiplatform deal|work=ESPN|url=https://www.espn.com/nhl/story/_/id/31039351/nhl-back-espn-7-year-multiplatform-deal|date=March 10, 2021|accessdate=April 13, 2021|archive-date=March 11, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210311091548/https://www.espn.com/nhl/story/_/id/31039351/nhl-back-espn-7-year-multiplatform-deal|url-status=live}} Turner Sports' coverage includes up to 72 regular season games on TNT, with early round playoff coverage split between TNT and TBS.{{cite news|title=Turner Sports inks 7-year deal with NHL, will air 3 Stanley Cup finals|work=ESPN|url=https://www.espn.com/nhl/story/_/id/31346196/turner-sports-inks-seven-year-deal-nhl-air-3-stanley-cup-finals|date=April 27, 2021|accessdate=April 27, 2021|archive-date=April 27, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210427171552/https://www.espn.com/nhl/story/_/id/31346196/turner-sports-inks-seven-year-deal-nhl-air-3-stanley-cup-finals|url-status=live}} The playoffs will be split between ESPN and TNT, with ABC televising the Stanley Cup Finals during even years and TNT (simulcast with TBS and TruTV) televising the championship series during odd years.

As in Canada, games not broadcast nationally are aired regionally within a team's home market and are subject to blackout outside of them. These broadcasters include regional sports network chains. Certain national telecasts are non-exclusive, and may also air in tandem with telecasts of the game by local broadcasters. However, national telecasts of these games are blacked out in the participating teams' markets to protect the local broadcaster.

{{main|NHL Network (American TV channel)|NHL Network (Canadian TV channel)}}

File:NHL Network at the 2019 NHL Entry Draft.jpg's television panel at the 2019 NHL entry draft at Rogers Arena in Vancouver]]

The league co-owns the NHL Network, a television specialty channel devoted to the NHL. Its signature show is NHL Tonight. The NHL Network also airs live games, but primarily simulcasts of one of the team's regional broadcasters.

NHL Centre Ice in Canada{{cite web |url=http://www.nhl.com/ice/page.htm?id=27197 |title=NHL Centre Ice (Canada) official website |publisher=Nhl.com |access-date=March 14, 2014 |archive-date=March 3, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140303155429/http://www.nhl.com/ice/page.htm?id=27197 |url-status=live }} and NHL Center Ice in the United States{{cite web |url=http://www.nhl.com/ice/page.htm?id=26371 |title=NHL Center Ice United States official website |work=NHL.com |access-date=March 14, 2014 |archive-date=March 23, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140323075601/http://www.nhl.com/ice/page.htm?id=26371 |url-status=live }} are the league's subscription-based, out-of-market sports packages that offer access to out-of-market feeds of games through a cable or satellite television provider.

The league originally launched NHL GameCenter Live in 2008, allowing the streaming of out-of-market games over the internet.{{cite news |url=https://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2008/09/hands-on-nhl-com-2-0-goes-top-shelf-with-streaming-video/ |title=Hands on: NHL.com 2.0 goes top shelf with streaming video |work=Ars Technica |date=September 25, 2008 |access-date=July 10, 2021 |archive-date=July 9, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210709185140/https://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2008/09/hands-on-nhl-com-2-0-goes-top-shelf-with-streaming-video/ |url-status=live }} MLB Advanced Media then took over of its day-to-day operations in 2016, renaming it NHL.tv.{{cite web

| url = https://www.nhl.com/news/nhl-major-league-baseball-advanced-media-form-transformative-digital-rights-partnership/c-776246

| title = NHL, Major League Baseball Advanced Media form transformative digital-rights partnership

| last = Rosen

| first = Dan

| date = August 4, 2015

| publisher = NHL

| access-date = February 21, 2020

| archive-date = December 22, 2019

| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20191222025823/https://www.nhl.com/news/nhl-major-league-baseball-advanced-media-form-transformative-digital-rights-partnership/c-776246

| url-status = live

}} Under its contract, Rogers Communications distributes the service in Canada as NHL Live;{{cite news|title=Rogers will allow you to watch even more NHL games online this season ... just not all of them|url=http://sports.nationalpost.com/2014/09/03/how-rogers-will-allow-you-to-watch-even-more-nhl-games-online-this-season-just-not-all-of-them/|access-date=18 September 2014|work=National Post|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://archive.today/20140918202857/http://sports.nationalpost.com/2014/09/03/how-rogers-will-allow-you-to-watch-even-more-nhl-games-online-this-season-just-not-all-of-them/|archive-date=18 September 2014}} it will be incorporated into Sportsnet Now Premium for the 2022–23 season.{{cite web|title=Canadian NHL fans won't be able to access NHL Live in 2022–23|url=https://theprovince.com/sports/hockey/nhl/canadian-nhl-fans-wont-be-able-to-access-nhl-live-in-2022-2023|website=The Province|date=June 15, 2022|access-date=June 16, 2022|archive-date=June 15, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220615233021/https://theprovince.com/sports/hockey/nhl/canadian-nhl-fans-wont-be-able-to-access-nhl-live-in-2022-2023|url-status=live}} 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.

Outside of Canada and the United States, NHL games are broadcast across Europe, in the Middle East, in Australia,{{cite web |url= http://www.foxtel.com.au/whats-on/channels/fox-sports-1/default.htm |title= Fox Sports 1 [501] |publisher= Foxtel.com.au |access-date= April 9, 2010 |archive-date= April 2, 2010 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20100402052505/http://www.foxtel.com.au/whats-on/channels/fox-sports-1/default.htm |url-status= live }} and in the Americas across Mexico, Central America, Dominican Republic, Caribbean, South America and Brazil, among others.{{Cite web |title=NHL Television Broadcasting |url=http://www.nhl.com/ice/page.htm?id=25288 |access-date=June 27, 2022 |website=www.nhl.com |archive-date=June 27, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220627010846/http://www.nhl.com/ice/page.htm?id=25288 |url-status=live }}

NHL.tv is also available for people in most countries to watch games online, but blackout restrictions may still apply if a game is being televised in the user's country. For those in selected international markets where ESPN also holds the streaming rights, they must instead access games on the ESPN platform used in that particular country: ESPNPlayer, ESPN Play, the ESPN App, or Disney+ (previously Star+). And those in Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Iceland, Latvia, Lithuania, Norway, Poland, Sweden and the United Kingdom must use Viaplay.{{cite web|url=https://www.nhl.com/info/where-to-stream|title=Where to Stream|website=NHL.com|access-date=August 27, 2021|archive-date=August 27, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210827012644/https://www.nhl.com/info/where-to-stream|url-status=live}}

{{further|List of international games played by NHL teams}}

File:Challenge Cup 1979.jpg between NHL All Stars and the Soviet national team]]

NHL teams have occasionally participated in international club competitions. Most of these competitions were arranged by the NHL or NHLPA. 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. Between 1976 and 1991, the NHL, and the Soviet Championship League would hold several exhibition games between the two leagues known as the Super Series.{{cite web|url=https://www.hhof.com/IZone/jsps/GamesSummarySS.jsp|title=Super Series Summary|publisher=Hockey Hall of Fame|website=www.hhof.com|year=2013|access-date=March 4, 2022|archive-date=March 4, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220304215544/https://www.hhof.com/IZone/jsps/GamesSummarySS.jsp|url-status=dead}} 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.{{cite web|url=https://thehockeynews.com/news/victoria-cup-will-be-played-using-blended-iihf-nhl-rulebook|title=Victoria Cup will be played using blended IIHF, NHL rulebook|date=September 26, 2008|access-date=March 4, 2022|publisher=Roustan Media|website=thehockeynews.com|archive-date=March 4, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220304215544/https://thehockeynews.com/news/victoria-cup-will-be-played-using-blended-iihf-nhl-rulebook|url-status=live}}

In addition to the Russian clubs, NHL clubs had participated in several international club exhibitions and competitions with various European-based clubs. The first exhibition game to feature an NHL team against a European-based team (aside from clubs based in the former Soviet Union) was in December 1977, when the New York Rangers faced Poldi Kladno of the Czechoslovak First Ice Hockey League. In the 2000s, the NHL organized four NHL Challenge series between NHL and European clubs.{{cite web|url=http://webarchive.iihf.com/fi/channels0809/victoria-cup/records/index.html|title=Records NHL vs. Europe|publisher=International Ice Hockey Federation|date=October 2, 2008|access-date=March 4, 2022|website=webarchive.iihf.com|archive-date=March 4, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220304215545/http://webarchive.iihf.com/fi/channels0809/victoria-cup/records/index.html|url-status=live}} The NHL continued to organize exhibition games between NHL and European teams before the beginning of the NHL season; those games were known as the NHL Premiere from 2007 to 2011 and as the NHL Global Series since 2017.{{Cite web|url=https://www.nhl.com/news/2022-nhl-global-series-teams-announced/c-333214498|title=Predators-Sharks, Avalanche-Blue Jackets to play in NHL Global Series|date=21 April 2022|access-date=24 August 2022|publisher=NHL Enterprises|website=www.nhl.com|archive-date=April 21, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220421211425/https://www.nhl.com/news/2022-nhl-global-series-teams-announced/c-333214498|url-status=live}} The last exhibition game between an NHL and European club occurred during the 2024 NHL Global Series.{{cite web|url=https://www.nhl.com/news/buffalo-sabres-shut-out-ehc-red-bull-munchen-in-nhl-global-series-challenge-germany|title=Sabres blank EHC Red Bull Munchen in NHL Global Series Challenge Germany|website=NHL.com|date=September 27, 2024|access-date=November 9, 2024|last=Rosen|first=Dan}}

NHL clubs have also participated in IIHF-organized club tournaments. The most recent IIHF-organized event including an NHL club was the 2009 Victoria Cup, between the Swiss National League A's ZSC Lions and the Chicago Blackhawks.

{{further|List of international ice hockey competitions featuring NHL players}}

The NHL has also permitted its players to participate in international competitions among national teams. The annual Ice Hockey World Championships is held every May, at the same time as the Stanley Cup playoffs. Because of its timing, NHL players generally only join their respective country's team in the World Championships if their respective NHL team has been eliminated from Stanley Cup contention.{{cite web|url=https://thehockeynews.com/news/with-fewer-nhl-stars-world-championship-has-been-full-of-upsets|title=With fewer NHL stars, World Championships has been full of upsets|last=Ellis|first=Steven|date=May 24, 2021|access-date=March 4, 2021|website=thehockeynews.com|publisher=Roustan Media|archive-date=March 4, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220304215544/https://thehockeynews.com/news/with-fewer-nhl-stars-world-championship-has-been-full-of-upsets|url-status=live}}

From 1998 to 2014, during the year of the quadrennial Winter Olympics, the NHL suspended its all-star game and expanded the traditional all-star break to allow NHL players to participate in the Olympic ice hockey tournament. In 2018, the NHL did not schedule an Olympic break, resulting in their players not participating in that year's Olympic tournament.{{cite web |last=Rosen |first=Dan |date=3 April 2017 |title=NHL will not participate in 2018 Olympics |url=https://www.nhl.com/news/nhl-will-not-participate-in-2018-winter-olympics/c-288385598 |access-date=March 4, 2022 |website=NHL.com |archive-date=February 10, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180210042758/https://www.nhl.com/news/nhl-will-not-participate-in-2018-winter-olympics/c-288385598 |url-status=live }} An Olympic break was also not scheduled in 2022, with the NHL opting to not permit its players to participate due to a shortened NHL season that year, and concerns about the COVID-19 pandemic.{{Cite web |last=Gulitti |first=Tom |date=22 December 2021 |title=NHL players will not participate in 2022 Beijing Olympics |url=https://www.nhl.com/news/nhl-players-will-not-participate-in-2022-beijing-olympics/c-329206756 |access-date=9 July 2022 |website=NHL.com |archive-date=August 1, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230801092756/https://www.nhl.com/news/nhl-players-will-not-participate-in-2022-beijing-olympics/c-329206756 |url-status=live }} The NHL, NHLPA, and IIHF have agreed to permit NHL players participate in the 2026 and 2030 Winter Olympics.{{cite web|url=https://www.cnn.com/2024/02/02/sport/nhl-hockey-2026-olympics/index.html|website=www.cnn.com|title=NHL players to return to Olympics in 2026 and 2030|publisher=Cable News Network|date=2 February 2024|accessdate=6 January 2025|last=Lev|first=Jacob}} The NHL and the NHLPA also organize the World Cup of Hockey. Unlike the Ice Hockey World Championships and the Olympic tournament, the World Cup of Hockey is played under NHL rules and not those of the IIHF.{{cite web|title=New-look World Cup of hockey back for 2016|url=http://www.sportsnet.ca/hockey/nhl/new-look-world-cup-of-hockey-back-for-2016/|website=Sportsnet.ca|access-date=January 24, 2015|archive-date=January 26, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150126223048/http://www.sportsnet.ca/hockey/nhl/new-look-world-cup-of-hockey-back-for-2016/|url-status=live}}

In 2007, the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) formalized the "Triple Gold Club", the group of players and coaches who have won an Olympic gold medal, a World Championship gold medal and the Stanley Cup.{{Cite web|title=Winner of three-team tourney to get Victoria Cup|url=https://www.espn.com/nhl/news/story?id=2863711|date=May 8, 2007|access-date=February 9, 2009|publisher=ESPN|agency=Associated Press|archive-date=February 18, 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090218160509/http://sports.espn.go.com/nhl/news/story?id=2863711|url-status=live}}{{cite web|title=Triple Gold Club expands to 22 |url=http://www.iihf.com/home-of-hockey/news/news-singleview/article/triple-gold-club-expands-to-22/ |website=International Ice Hockey Federation |date=June 5, 2008 |access-date=February 8, 2009 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090218074948/http://www.iihf.com/home-of-hockey/news/news-singleview/article/triple-gold-club-expands-to-22/ |archive-date=February 18, 2009}}{{cite web|title=PR & Media Activities|url=http://www.iihf.com/100-years/100-years-of-ice-hockey/pr-media-activities.html|website=International Ice Hockey Federation|access-date=February 8, 2009|archive-date=July 17, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180717012859/http://www.iihf.com/100-years/100-years-of-ice-hockey/pr-media-activities.html|url-status=live}} The term had first entered popular use following the 2002 Winter Olympics, which saw the addition of the first Canadian members.{{Cite news|title=Welcome to the Triple Gold Club: Blake, Sakic, Shanahan: New members to elite club: Olympics, worlds, Stanley Cup|work=National Post|author=Barnes, Don|date=February 25, 2002}}{{Cite news|title=Triple Gold Club awaits Canadian trio|author=Scanlan, Wayne|work=Edmonton Journal|date=February 24, 2002}}{{Cite news|title=Skating a fine line|url=http://slam.canoe.ca/2002GamesColumnistsPreGames/buffery_dec26-sun.html|archive-url=https://archive.today/20120718071422/http://slam.canoe.ca/2002GamesColumnistsPreGames/buffery_dec26-sun.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=July 18, 2012|last=Buffery|first=Steve|newspaper=Toronto Sun|date=December 26, 2001|access-date=February 9, 2009}}

{{see also|NHL attendance}}

The NHL is considered one of the four major professional sports leagues in North America, along with Major League Baseball, the National Football League, and the National Basketball Association. The league is very prominent in Canada, where it is the most popular of these four leagues.{{Cite web |last=Renfrew |first=Matthew |date=2023-06-11 |title=The most popular professional sports leagues in Canada |url=https://cultmtl.com/2023/06/the-most-popular-professional-sports-leagues-in-canada-national-hockey-league-nhl-national-football-league-nfl-major-league-baseball-mlb-canadian-cfl-nba-basketball-soccer-mls/ |access-date=2024-09-15 |website=Cult MTL |language=en-US}} Overall, hockey has the smallest total fan base of the four leagues and receives the smallest annual revenue; the league earns the least from the television rights sale and has the lowest sponsorship.{{cite web |url=http://www.gsb.stanford.edu/news/bmag/sbsm0408/feature_sports.shtml |title=Champions of the Turnstiles |date=August 2004 |last=Markus |first=David |work=gsb.stanford.edu |access-date=June 24, 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110102214551/http://www.gsb.stanford.edu/news/bmag/sbsm0408/feature_sports.shtml |archive-date=January 2, 2011 }}

The NHL had been the sport holding the most affluent fan base of the top four, but it slid behind the MLB and leveled off with the NFL in recent years.{{cite web |title=Show Me the Money: Affluent Fans & the Economics of Sports |url=https://www.ipsos.com/en-us/knowledge/media-brand-communication/Show-Me-the-Money-Affluent-Fans-the-Economics-of-Sports-recording |publisher=Ipsos |access-date=11 July 2023 |date=14 April 2022 |archive-date=July 11, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230711105632/https://www.ipsos.com/en-us/knowledge/media-brand-communication/Show-Me-the-Money-Affluent-Fans-the-Economics-of-Sports-recording |url-status=live }} A study done by the Stanford Graduate School of Business in 2004, found that NHL fans in the United States were the most educated of the four major leagues. Further, it noted that season-ticket sales were more prominent in the NHL than the other three because of the financial ability of the NHL fan to purchase them. The NHL has the most white-based audience among the four. According to Reuters, in 2010, the largest demographic of NHL fans was males aged 18–34.{{cite news |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE6974VM20101008 |title=NHL pushes for growth on TV, online |date=October 8, 2010 |last=Klayman |first=Ben |work=Reuters |access-date=May 23, 2011 |archive-date=October 18, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101018183408/http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE6974VM20101008 |url-status=live }}

The NHL estimates that half of its fan base roots for teams in outside markets. So, beginning in 2008, the NHL started to shift toward using digital technology to market to fans to capitalize on this.

The debut of the Winter Classic, an outdoor regular season NHL game held on New Year's Day in 2008, was a significant success for the league. The game has since become an annual staple of the NHL schedule. Coverage of "Hockey Day in America", later rebranded as Hockey Weekend Across America with TNT, allowed for multiple games to be broadcast in the United States on the national rights holder.{{cite web|url=https://www.nhl.com/ice/news.htm?id=552854|title=NBC Sports to air nine hours of NHL coverage this Sunday with "Hockey Day in America" on NBC & "Heritage Classic" on Versus|publisher=NHL Enterprises, L. P.|date=February 15, 2011|website=NHL.com|accessdate=June 1, 2024|archive-date=June 1, 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240601203412/https://www.nhl.com/ice/news.htm?id=552854|url-status=live}} These improvements led NBC and the cable channel Versus to sign a 10-year broadcast deal, paying US$200 million per year for both American cable and broadcast rights; the deal will lead to further increases in television coverage on the NBC channels.

This television contract has boosted viewership metrics for the NHL. The 2010 Stanley Cup playoffs saw the largest audience in the sport's history "after a regular season that saw record-breaking business success, propelled largely by the NHL's strategy of engaging fans through big events and robust digital offerings.""[http://www.nhl.com/ice/news.htm?id=531630 Stanley Cup Playoffs attract largest audience ever] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101203164219/http://www.nhl.com/ice/news.htm?id=531630 |date=December 3, 2010 }}", "NHL.com", June 14, 2010 This success has resulted in a 66 percent rise in NHL advertising and sponsorship revenue. Merchandise sales were up 22 percent, and the number of unique visitors on the NHL.com website was up 17 percent during the playoffs after rising 29 percent in the regular season.Klayman, Ben. "[http://ca.news.finance.yahoo.com/s/14062010/6/finance-interview-nhl-ad-sponsorship-revenue-66-pct-year.html NHL ad, sponsorship revenue up 66 pct this year]", "Yahoo! News", June 14, 2010 {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100619232943/http://ca.news.finance.yahoo.com/s/14062010/6/finance-interview-nhl-ad-sponsorship-revenue-66-pct-year.html |date=June 19, 2010 }}

{{portal bar|Ice hockey|Canada|United States}}

• List of NHL records (individual)
• List of NHL records (team)
• List of NHL players with the most games played by franchise
• List of professional sports teams in the United States and Canada
• List of American and Canadian cities by number of major professional sports franchises
• List of TV markets and major sports teams
• List of National Hockey League attendance figures
• List of National Hockey League arenas
• NHL All-Rookie team
• NHL All-Star team

{{reflist|group="nb"}}

{{reflist}}

{{Refbegin}}

• {{cite book |title=Trail of the Stanley Cup, vols. 1–3 |last=Coleman |first=Charles |year=1966–1969 |publisher=National Hockey League |isbn=0-8403-2941-5}}
• {{Cite book |last=Jenish |first=D'Arcy |year=2008 |title=The Montreal Canadiens: 100 Years of Glory |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=DFLcnuvieV0C |publisher=Doubleday Canada |isbn=978-0-385-66324-3 }}
• {{Cite book |first1=Morey |last1=Holzman |first2=Joseph |last2=Nieforth |title=Deceptions and Doublecross: How the NHL Conquered Hockey |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=COb82MiKyGQC |year=2002 |location=Toronto |publisher=Dundurn Press |isbn=1-55002-413-2 }}
• {{Cite book |first=Brian |last=McFarlane |title=Brian McFarlane's History of Hockey |year=1997 |location=Champaign, Illinois |publisher=Sports Publishing Inc |isbn=1-57167-145-5}}
• {{Cite book |last=McKinley |first=Michael |year=2006 |title=Hockey: A People's History |publisher=McClelland & Stewart |isbn=0-7710-5769-5 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=fCAL2ysKFWoC |access-date=October 11, 2015 |archive-date=January 23, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230123144119/https://books.google.com/books?id=fCAL2ysKFWoC |url-status=live }}
• {{cite web |website=National Hockey League |title=2005–06 NHL Official Rules |url=http://www.nhl.com/rules/index.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050925113900/http://www.nhl.com/rules/index.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=September 25, 2005 |year=2005 |access-date=June 10, 2006 }}
• {{Cite book |last=Pincus |first=Arthur |year=2006 |title=The Official Illustrated NHL History |publisher=Reader's Digest |isbn=0-88850-800-X |url=https://archive.org/details/officialillustra0000pinc }}
• {{cite book |last1=Podnieks |first1=Andrew |last2=Szemberg |first2=Szymon |title=World of hockey: celebrating a century of the IIHF |year=2007 |publisher=Fenn Publishing |isbn=9781551683072 |url=https://archive.org/details/worldofhockeycel0000unse }}
• {{Cite book |last=Ross |first=J. Andrew |year=2015 |title=Joining the Clubs: The Business of the National Hockey League to 1945 |publisher=Syracuse University Press |isbn=978-0-8156-3383-9}}
• {{Cite book |last=Sandor |first=Steven |year=2005 |title=The Battle of Alberta: A Century of Hockey's Greatest Rivalry |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=WpI_rzHaT8oC |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151016020327/https://books.google.com/books?id=WpI_rzHaT8oC |url-status=dead |archive-date=October 16, 2015 |publisher=Heritage House |isbn=1-894974-01-8 }}
• {{Cite book |title=Lords of the Rinks |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=8uKWKUOl5LkC |publisher=University of Toronto Press |last=Wong |first=John Chi-Kit |year=2005 |isbn=0-8020-8520-2 }}

{{Refend}}

{{Refbegin}}

• {{cite book |last =Bass |first =Alan |year =2011 |title =The Great Expansion: The Ultimate Risk That Changed the NHL Forever |url =https://books.google.com/books?id=JgLqzbebH4gC&q=The%20NHL&pg=PP1 |publisher =Iuniverse Inc |isbn =978-1-4502-8605-3 |ref =none }}
• {{cite book |last =Fischler |first =Stan & Shirley |year =2003 |title =Who's Who in Hockey |url =https://books.google.com/books?id=wpbLnSHBNHgC&pg=PA1 |publisher =Andrews McMeel Pub |isbn =0-7407-1904-1 |ref =none }}
• {{cite book |last1=Holzman |first1=Morey |first2=Joseph |last2=Nieforth |year=2002 |title=Deceptions and doublecross : how the NHL conquered hockey |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=COb82MiKyGQC&pg=PP1 |publisher=Dundurn Press |isbn=1-55002-413-2 |ref=none }}
• {{cite book | last=Ross | first=J. Andrew | title=Joining the Clubs: The Business of the National Hockey League to 1945 | year=2015 | publisher=Syracuse University Press| location=Syracuse, New York| isbn=978-0-8156-3383-9 }}
• {{Cite book |last =Weekes |first =Don |year =2005 |title =The Big Book of Hockey Trivia |url =https://books.google.com/books?id=31znPJH56zAC&pg=PP1 |publisher =Greystone Books |isbn =1-55365-119-7 |ref =none |access-date =February 24, 2020 |archive-date =January 23, 2023 |archive-url =https://web.archive.org/web/20230123144508/https://books.google.com/books?id=31znPJH56zAC&pg=PP1 |url-status =live }}
• {{cite book |last=Wright |first=Marshall D |year=2010 |title=The National Hockey League, 1917–1967: A Year-by-Year Statistical History |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=5BwMfrkN1SQC&pg=PP1 |publisher=McFarland & Co |isbn=978-0-7864-4444-1 |ref=none }}

{{Refend}}

{{sister project links|d=Q1215892|c=category:National Hockey League|n=Category:National Hockey League|voy=Ice hockey in North America|v=no|s=no|wikt=no|b=no|m=no|mw=no|species=no|q=no}}

• {{Official website}}
• [https://www.nhlpa.com/ NHL Players' Association (NHLPA)] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200513201856/https://www.nhlpa.com/ |date=May 13, 2020 }}
• [https://nhlofficials.com/ NHL Officials Association] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220406221106/https://nhlofficials.com/ |date=April 6, 2022 }}

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