NHL Forms on November 26, 1917

On November 26, 1917, six franchises formed what would become the National Hockey League. It was on this day that owners of the Montreal Canadians, Montreal Wanderers, Ottawa Senators, Quebec Bulldogs, and Toronto had officially met for four days in Montreal at the Windsor Hotel to discuss the future of the National Hockey Association. The NHL was officially born as a result.

Disputes between the owner of the Toronto Blueshirts and the rest of the owners of the National Hockey Association led to the league's demise and the discussions that led to the NHL being formed. The Toronto franchise was given to the Toronto Arena Company temporarily upon joining the new league.

Like most professional sports franchises, the NHL struggled in its early history. The 1918 Spanish Flu pandemic didn't help matters when the Stanley Cup Finals were canceled due to the outbreak that led to Canadians star Joe Hall dying. Also, the Montreal Wanderers folded the franchise in large part due to a fire that burned down Montreal Arena, their home rink. The Quebec Bulldogs were out of the league by 1925 after relocating to Hamilton, Ontario.

Despite the setbacks, the NHL did win the Stanley Cup every year except 1925. But by 1926, the NHL was the only team competing for the Stanley Cup as well as expanding new teams.

The league added the Boston Bruins and Montreal Maroons in 1924-25, New York Americans and Pittsburgh Pirates in 1925-26, and the New York Rangers, Chicago Blackhawks, and Detroit Cougars in 1926-27. In 1925, ten teams were in the NHL, but economic setbacks loomed.

The Great Depression, and later World War II, had financially crippled the league which reduced the number of teams from ten to six. By 1942, the Montreal Canadians, Toronto Maple Leafs(originally the Blueshirts), Boston Bruins, Chicago Blackhawks, New York Rangers, and Detroit Red Wings(formerly the Cougars) made up what is now known as the "Original Six".

The league continued on with those six teams, but competition from the Western Hockey League in the 1960s forced the NHL to expand again. So by 1967, the NHL added six teams: Minnesota North Stars(now Dallas Stars), Los Angeles Kings, Oakland Seals(relocated to Cleveland before merging with Minnesota), Pittsburgh Penguins, Philadelphia Flyers, and St. Louis Blues. The Vancouver Canucks and Buffalo Sabres would also join the league three seasons later. The league was split into divisions for the first time as a result of the expansion.

The first real threat to the NHL was the World Hockey Association in 1972. The NHL decided to expand once again by adding the New York Islanders and Atlanta Flames(now the Calgary Flames) that year. Two years later, the NHL added the Kansas City Scouts(now the New Jersey Devils) and Washington Capitals. The league had 17 teams, and their plan to block the WHA from expanding into those new markets with stadiums seemed to work. The expansion led to a realignment of two conferences in 1974 with the west being the Campbell Conference and the East being the Wales Conference.

The WHA and NHL competed for signing the game's top players, but the WHA folded in 1979 as an agreement to send four teams to the NHL had taken place: Edmonton Oilers, Hartford Whalers(now Carolina Hurricanes), Quebec Nordiques(now Colorado Avalanche), and Winnipeg Jets(now Phoenix Coyotes). After a very successful 1980s, the league would grow even more.

By 1991, the San Jose Sharks joined the league to be followed by the return of the Ottawa Senators(folded originally in 1934) and the Tampa Bay Lightning a year later. The Anaheim Ducks and Florida Panthers came into the league in 1993. The Nashville Predators joined in 1998, Atlanta Thrashers in 1999, and finally the Minnesota Wild and Columbus Blue Jackets came aboard in 2000. The league currently has 30 franchises. Because of yet another expansion, the league realigned with three divisions in the Eastern and Western Conferences.

Despite the expansions, labor disputes existed. The first major dispute was to start the 1994-95 season which led to the reduction of games from 82 to 48. But the 2004-05 campaign was canceled due to a lockout. This is the first, and to date, the only time in history that a major professional sports league canceled its entire season while returning to play the following year. The new deal was for six years.

The NHL has seen a return to very respectable attendance numbers around the league since the lockout in 2004, but television coverage is another matter. ESPN, who had carried NHL games since the network began in 1979, dropped the sport after the lockout. However, NHL reached an agreement with NBC and the sport now shares its revenue based on each advertising sales of each game.

The NHL has expanded into markets all over the world throughout its history which is one reason it still has enjoyed success. No other star had a hand in the growth of the league than Wayne Gretzky. His iconic career as well as eventual trade from Edmonton to Los Angeles helped to bring more teams to the West Coast in the 1990s. Other stars such as Mario Lemieux, Gordie Howe, Bobby Orr, and Patrick Roy also made their marks on the game.

It was on that November day in 1917 at a hotel in Montreal that the league began. Even though the NHL had been threatened to cease operations because of economic depression, it continued on in spite of competition from other leagues, a flu epidemic, and serious labor disputes that would loom later including losing an entire season. For that, the NHL deserves credit for being able to overcome many obstacles in route to becoming the most successful hockey organization in the world.

Posted in: hockey, National Hockey League, NHL

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