Salt Lake City was awarded an expansion franchise in 2024; it acquired the hockey assets betting guide for Australians of the Arizona Coyotes, which were deactivated, and established the Utah Hockey Club , now the Utah Mammoth,, thus maintaining the total number of teams at 32. The league added six new teams to double its size as a result of the 1967 NHL expansion, then increased to 18 teams by 1974, and to 21 teams due to the 1979 NHL expansion. At its inception, the NHL had four teams, all in Canada, thus the adjective “National” in the league’s name. The league’s headquarters have been in New York City since 1989, when it moved from Montreal; the league also has offices in Toronto and Montreal. Alfie detailed what appealed to him with Toronto, and explained how the power play will be a big part that he will work with alongside head coach Jim Hiller. Last season, the Senators legend spent time behind Ottawa’s bench as an assistant coach as well.
Rumors from the NHL: Vancouver Canucks – Shane Wright and Marco Rossi
In an effort to eliminate high-speed collisions on icing that resulted in numerous potentially career-ending injuries (including one to Hurricanes defenceman Joni Pitkanen), hybrid no-touch icing was mandated by the league for the 2013–14 NHL season. The league experiences significant repercussions since elite athletes (including Sidney Crosby who missed around ten and a half months due to concussions’ aftermath), are impacted, which negatively influences the league’s marketability. All games were cancelled until January 14, 2013, which included the 2013 NHL Winter Classic and the 2013 NHL All-Star Weekend. Unlike the typical upfront payment for game rights — the post-lockout agreement between the league and NBC provided the league with a share of revenue from the advertising sales of each game.
Unofficially referred to as the “Martin Brodeur rule,” this regulation highlights Brodeur’s status at that time as one of the top goaltenders for handling the puck behind the net. Responsible for evaluating new ownership applications (collective bargaining), and league expansion, a committee is chaired by Bettman and Jeremy Jacobs. Each conference is divided into two divisions — comprising 16 teams in total per conference and 8 teams within each division. On January 12, a memorandum of understanding regarding the new deal was signed by the league and the Players’ Association, enabling teams to start their training camps the following day, along with a condensed 48-game season schedule commencing on January 19. The first strike, led by the National Hockey League Players’ Association in April 1992, lasted ten days but was quickly resolved with all impacted games rescheduled. In 1945, Maurice “Rocket” Richard was the inaugural player to achieve 50 goals in a season of 50 games.

Every NHL franchise’s most overlooked player
The 1977 edition of the Montreal Canadiens, the second of four straight Stanley Cup champions, was named by ESPN as the second greatest sports team of all time. The longest streak of winning the Stanley Cup in consecutive years is five — held by the Montreal Canadiens from 1955–56 to 1959–60. The team that has the most points in the regular season is awarded the Presidents’ Trophy. In the Stanley Cup Final, the team with the most points during the regular season has home-ice advantage. Two points are awarded for a win, one point for losing in overtime or a shootout, and zero points for a loss in regulation.
Traditionally, the NHL has struggled to perform well on American television compared to other professional leagues in the United States. Regional feeds of Sportsnet, TSN, and RDS broadcast games that are not included in the national rights agreement. Quebecor Media held the national French-language rights to the NHL, with all coverage being aired on its specialized channel TVA Sports. During the regular season and playoffs, CBC continued to provide NHL coverage produced by Rogers. The primary national English-language coverage of the NHL is provided by Rogers’ Sportsnet specialty channels — which has national slots on Wednesday and Sunday evenings. To recruit more “skilled offensive players,” NHL teams drafted and signed European players.
- The league added six new teams to double its size as a result of the 1967 NHL expansion — then increased to 18 teams by 1974, and to 21 teams due to the 1979 NHL expansion.
- The U.S. national rights were then held by NBC and OLN , later renamed Versus, then NBCSN, between the 2004–05 NHL lockout and 2021.
- The game is won by the team that scores the most goals in the three-round shootout.
- 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.
In the 2026-27 season, five NHL teams that require a stroke of luck with injuries
No NHL club had played a Soviet or Russian-based club from the end of the Super Series in 1991 to 2008 when the New York Rangers faced Metallurg Magnitogorsk in the 2008 Victoria Cup. The first international club competition was held in 1976 — with eight NHL teams playing against the Soviet Championship League’s HC CSKA Moscow, and Krylya Sovetov Moscow. Under ESPN’s contract — the league’s out-of-market streaming package was incorporated into ESPN+ for those viewers in the United States in 2021. MLB Advanced Media then took over of its day-to-day operations in 2016, renaming it NHL.tv.

The NHL consists of 32 teams—25 based in the United States and 7 in Canada. Rheaume returned to perform as a goaltender for the 2022 NHL All-Star Game’s Breakaway Challenge. The attention led the NHL to include a 3-on-3 women’s game before the 2020 All-Star Game.
Richard later led the Canadiens to five consecutive titles between 1956 and 1960, a record no team has matched. 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. In 1934 (the first NHL All-Star Game was held), to benefit Ace Bailey, whose career ended on a vicious hit by Eddie Shore. 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. 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. Following the conclusion of the regular season (16 teams advance to the Stanley Cup playoffs), a four-round tournament that runs into June to determine the league champion.
Some have attributed the Leafs’ struggles to the loss of Mitch Marner — who was traded to the Vegas Golden Knights. Can you name every player who was selected in the Seattle Kraken expansion draft? The rising-salary-cap world has diluted the UFA pool but forced teams to control their destinies with foundation-shaking trades. Five potential trade destinations for Kraken center Shane Wright
