National Hockey League is the most famous organization, which players from all over the world strive to get into. NHL clubs have their own logos, traditions and history. Some of those who were part of this league in the past century have already become legends; instead, new applicants for joining this hockey league have appeared.
The beginning of the story
The history of the emergence of the most prestigious league uniting hockey clubs from America and Canada dates back to 1917. After disputes and disagreements arose in the National Hockey Association on a number of key issues, the NHL replaced it. NHL hockey clubs that took part in the first season of 1917/1918 represented just 4 cities. They were Montreal, Quebec, Toronto and Ottawa.
The owner of the Toronto team, which made it necessary to reorganize, until the last did not believe that the members of the organizing committee decided to exclude him and the Blueshirts team from the association. After lengthy negotiations, Edward Livingstone nevertheless agreed not to kick the team out of the hockey league, though he promised to sell the club within 5 days.
This was followed by the resignation of the NXA President Charles Robinson, and the association ceased to exist. The same team from Toronto became the owner of the first Stanley Cup , however, it was renamed and given to the care of the local stadium. Later, Livingston did not lose hope of regaining the club and filed lawsuits against the hockey league, which failed to win.
The first difficult years
In the first decade of its existence, the league simply fought for its survival in this business. Despite this precarious position of the new organization, the teams that joined the national league won the Stanley Cup 7 times in 9 years. Later, players were able to raise salaries to a level that the Pacific Coast Hockey Association could not even dream of. NHL clubs, since 1925, only increased, and by 1930 there were already 10 of them.
True, World War II made adjustments to the Stanley Cup, then only 6 teams remained in the NHL. Yes, and the Great Depression forced some owners to simply disband their clubs.
Overseas League Expansion
Since the mid-60s, more and more new teams from the lower divisions began to join the National Hockey League, who were able to compete with the clubs that were from the very beginning in the NHL. Another VHA hockey association that arose in those years could compete with the NHL, and therefore a decision was made to expand the league further.
NHL clubs were in a better financial position, and at the end of the 70s, the All-Union Artists Union ceased to exist, having lost more than half of its teams.
The final composition of the NHL was fully formed by 2001, it included 30 teams from Canada and the United States.
NHL Newbies
Due to the fact that in recent years, the popularity of hockey has declined and baseball and basketball came to the fore, the NHL leadership decided to accept a few more newcomers to their ranks. Of the teams that applied to the NHL, so far only one club has been decided. In the 2017/2018 season, the National Hockey League will join the team from Las Vegas. The application from Quebec has been postponed, and a decision on this club will probably be made by the end of 2017.
Every year, NHL clubs are becoming increasingly desirable for hockey players from other countries, since the salaries that an NHL player receives are many times higher than in other leagues.
NHL clubs: list of the most titled
Among the NHL clubs representing Canadian cities, the most titled is the “Montreal Canadiens”, they have 24 Stanley Cups in the history of the club. Among the teams playing in the United States, the closest pursuer of the Montreal club is almost half behind. The Detroit Red Wings has 11 Stanley Cups.