History of organizational changes in the NHL facts for kids

The National Hockey League (NHL) began playing games in 1917. When it first started, there were only three teams. Today, the NHL has thirty-one teams! Over the years, the league has added new teams and some teams have left. This article tells the story of how the NHL has grown and changed over time.

Early Days of the NHL

The very first four NHL teams were the Montreal Canadiens, Montreal Wanderers, the original Ottawa Senators, and the Toronto Arenas. But after only four games, the Wanderers' arena burned down. This sad event caused them to leave the league.

In the 1919-20 NHL season, the NHL welcomed its first new team, the Quebec Bulldogs. Also, the Toronto Arenas changed their name to the St. Patricks. For the 1920-21 NHL season, the Quebec Bulldogs moved to Hamilton and became the Tigers.

Two more teams joined the league in the 1924-25 NHL season: the Boston Bruins and the Montreal Maroons.

The next season, the NHL added another new team, the Pittsburgh Pirates. Also, the Hamilton Tigers moved to New York City and became the New York Americans.

The NHL kept growing in the next season. They added the Chicago Black Hawks, the Detroit Cougars, and the New York Rangers. This meant the league started with three teams in 1917, but had more than three times that number by the end of its first ten years! During this season, the Toronto St. Patricks also changed their name to the Maple Leafs.

In the 1930-31 NHL season, the Pirates moved to Philadelphia and became the Quakers. The Detroit Cougars changed their name to the Falcons.

The NHL finally lost teams for the first time in fourteen seasons. The Philadelphia Quakers and Ottawa Senators did not play in the 1931-32 NHL season.

For the 1932-33 NHL season, the Ottawa Senators rejoined the league. The Detroit Falcons were renamed the Red Wings. In the 1934-35 NHL season, the Ottawa Senators moved to St. Louis and became the Eagles.

The NHL lost the Eagles after they played just one season in St. Louis. The league then had eight teams for three seasons.

The Montreal Maroons left the league in the 1938-39 NHL season. This brought the number of teams down to seven, the same number as 12 years before. There were seven teams for four seasons, ending with the 1941-42 season. That year, the New York Americans moved to Brooklyn and then left the league the next season.

The Original Six Era

When the league lost the Brooklyn Americans in 1943, a new time began. It was called the Original Six era. For the next 25 years, the NHL stayed the same. There were no changes to the teams.

NHL Expands Again

The 1966-67 NHL season was the last year of the Original Six era. In the 1967-68 NHL season, the NHL doubled in size! There were suddenly 12 teams, twice as many as before. The six new teams were the California Seals, the Los Angeles Kings, the Minnesota North Stars, the Philadelphia Flyers, the Pittsburgh Penguins, and the St. Louis Blues. During this season, the California Seals were renamed the Oakland Seals.

The Oakland Seals were then renamed the California Golden Seals for the 1970-71 NHL season. In the same year, the league added two more new teams: the Buffalo Sabres and the Vancouver Canucks.

Two years later, two more teams joined the NHL: the New York Islanders and the Atlanta Flames.

Again, after two years, two more teams joined the NHL: the Washington Capitals and the Kansas City Scouts. Two years later, the California Golden Seals moved to Cleveland and became the Barons. The Kansas City Scouts also moved to Denver and became the Colorado Rockies.

In the 1978-79 NHL season, the Cleveland Barons team joined with the Minnesota North Stars. This was the first time since 1942 that the league lost a team.

In 1979, another hockey league called the World Hockey Association (WHA) closed down. Four teams from the WHA then joined the NHL. These teams were the Edmonton Oilers, the New England Whalers (who became the Hartford Whalers), the Quebec Nordiques, and the Winnipeg Jets. Before this, the NHL had three Canadian teams. With three new Canadian teams joining from the WHA, the number of Canadian teams doubled!

Twenty-one Teams and More Changes

In the 1980-81 NHL season, the Atlanta Flames moved to Calgary and became the Calgary Flames. Then, in the 1982-83 NHL season, the Colorado Rockies moved to Newark and became the New Jersey Devils. In the 1986-87 NHL season, the Chicago Black Hawks changed the spelling of their name to Blackhawks.

More Teams Join the League

In 1991, the NHL started adding many new teams again. That year, the San Jose Sharks joined the league.

Two new teams joined the league the next season: the Ottawa Senators and the Tampa Bay Lightning.

The next season, two more teams joined: the Florida Panthers and the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim. Also, the Minnesota North Stars moved to Dallas and became the Dallas Stars, dropping the word "north" from their name.

In the 1995-96 NHL season, the Quebec Nordiques moved to Denver and became the Colorado Avalanche. The next season, the Winnipeg Jets also moved to Phoenix and became the Coyotes. The season after that, the Hartford Whalers moved to Raleigh and became the Carolina Hurricanes.

The Nashville Predators joined the league for the 1998-99 NHL season.

For the next season, another team joined the league: the Atlanta Thrashers.

Reaching Thirty Teams

The NHL added the Columbus Blue Jackets and the Minnesota Wild for the 2000-01 NHL season. This brought the total number of teams to thirty. The league stayed at thirty teams for 17 seasons.

The Mighty Ducks of Anaheim changed their name to the Anaheim Ducks in the 2006-07 NHL season. Then, the Atlanta Thrashers moved to Winnipeg to become the Jets in the 2011-12 NHL season. Finally, the Phoenix Coyotes changed their name to the Arizona Coyotes in the 2014-15 NHL season.

Modern Expansion

In the 2017-18 NHL season, the Vegas Golden Knights joined the league. The Seattle Kraken will join the league in the 2021–22 season.