The following is a timeline describing the history of the National Hockey League's teams and their histories. Non-NHL histories are also included here. This timeline starts with the first team created, the Montreal Canadiens, and it ends with the most recent one, the Columbus Blue Jackets. Grey portions in the timeline denote periods where a team was inactive for the season.
The period between the two grey bars denotes the "Original Six" era.
- Team disbanded mid-season
- Team inactive 1918–19
- Team inactive 1931–32
- Team merged with Minnesota North Stars
All teams were inactive 2004–05
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