The National Hockey League (NHL; French: Ligue nationale de hockey—LNH) is a professional ice hockey league in North America comprising 32 teams—25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. It is considered to be the top ranked professional ice hockey league in the world, and is one of the four major professional sports leagues in the United States and Canada. The Stanley Cup, the oldest professional sports trophy in North America, is awarded annually to the league playoff champion at the end of each season. The NHL is the fifth-wealthiest professional sport league in the world by revenue, after the National Football League (NFL), Major League Baseball (MLB), the National Basketball Association (NBA), and the English Premier League (EPL).
The National Hockey League was organized at the Windsor Hotel in Montreal on November 26, 1917, after the suspension of operations of its predecessor organization, the National Hockey Association (NHA), which had been founded in 1909 in Renfrew, Ontario. The NHL immediately took the NHA's place as one of the leagues that contested for the Stanley Cup in an annual interleague competition before a series of league mergers and foldings left the NHL as the only league left competing for the Stanley Cup in 1926.
At its inception, the NHL had four teams, all in Canada, thus the adjective "National" in the league's name. The league expanded to the United States in 1924, when the Boston Bruins joined, and has since consisted of both American and Canadian teams. From 1942 to 1967, the league had only six teams, collectively (if not contemporaneously) nicknamed the "Original Six". The NHL added six new teams to double its size at the 1967 NHL expansion. The league then increased to 18 teams by 1974 and 21 teams in 1979. Between 1991 and 2000 the NHL further expanded to 30 teams. It added its 31st and 32nd teams in 2017 and 2021, respectively.
The league's headquarters have been in Midtown Manhattan since 1989, when the head office moved from Montreal. There have been four league-wide work stoppages in NHL history, all occurring after 1992. The International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) considers the Stanley Cup to be one of the "most important championships available to the sport". The NHL draws many highly skilled players from all over the world and currently has players from approximately 20 countries. Canadians have historically constituted the majority of the players in the league, with an increasing percentage of American and European players in recent seasons.
The Montreal Canadiens have the most NHL titles with 24 (including 23 Stanley Cup championships since entering the league).
Teams and regional broadcasters[]
Eastern Conference[]
| Division | Team | Location | Arena | Flagship TV station | Flagship radio station |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Atlantic Division | Boston Bruins | Boston, Massachusetts | TD Garden | NESN | WBZ-FM, WBOS |
| Buffalo Sabres | Buffalo, New York | KeyBank Center | MSG Western New York | WGR | |
| Detroit Red Wings | Detroit, Michigan | Little Caesars Arena | FanDuel Sports Network Detroit | WXYT-FM | |
| Florida Panthers | Sunrise, Florida | Amerant Bank Arena | Scripps Sports | WQAM/WAXY (English), WMYM (Spanish) | |
| Montreal Canadiens | Montreal, Quebec | Bell Centre | TSN2 (English), RDS (French) | CKGM (English), CHMP-FM (French) | |
| Ottawa Senators | Ottawa, Ontario | Canadian Tire Centre | TSN5 (English), RDS/RDS2 (French) | CFGO (English), CJFO-FM (French) | |
| Tampa Bay Lightning | Tampa Bay, Florida | Amalie Arena | FanDuel Sports Network Sun | WHPT | |
| Toronto Maple Leafs | Toronto, Ontario | Scotiabank Arena | TSN4, Sportsnet Ontario | CJCL, CHUM-AM | |
| Metropolitan Division | Carolina Hurricanes | Raleigh, North Carolina | Lenovo Center | FanDuel Sports Network South, FanDuel Sports Network Southeast, Capitol Broadcasting Company | WCMC-FM |
| Columbus Blue Jackets | Columbus, Ohio | Nationwide Arena | FanDuel Sports Network Ohio | WBNS-FM | |
| New Jersey Devils | Newark, New Jersey | Prudential Center | MSG Sportsnet, MSG Network | Devils Hockey Radio Network, WFAN-AM | |
| New York Islanders | Elmont, New York | UBS Arena | MSG Sportsnet, MSG 2, MSG Network | WEPN-AM, WRHU | |
| New York Rangers | New York City, New York | Madison Square Garden | MSG Network, MSG Sportsnet, MSG 2 | WHSQ, WEPN-AM | |
| Philadelphia Flyers | Philadelphia, Pennsylvania | Wells Fargo Center | NBC Sports Philadelphia | WPEN, WMMR | |
| Pittsburgh Penguins | Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania | PPG Paints Arena | SportsNet Pittsburgh | WXDX | |
| Washington Capitals | Washington, D.C. | Capital One Arena | Monumental Sports Network | WFED, WJFK-FM |
Western Conference[]
| Division | Team | Location | Arena | Flagship TV station | Flagship radio station |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Central Division | Chicago Blackhawks | Chicago, Illinois | United Center | Chicago Sports Network | WGN-AM (English), WRTO-AM (Spanish) |
| Colorado Avalanche | Denver, Colorado | Ball Arena | Altitude Sports & Entertainment, KTVD/KUSA | KKSE-AM, KKSE-FM | |
| Dallas Stars | Dallas, Texas | American Airlines Center | Victory+ | KTCK | |
| Minnesota Wild | Saint Paul, Minnesota | Xcel Energy Center | FanDuel Sports Network North | KFXN-FM | |
| Nashville Predators | Nashville, Tennessee | Bridgestone Arena | FanDuel Sports Network South | WPRT-FM | |
| St. Louis Blues | St. Louis, Missouri | Enterprise Center | FanDuel Sports Network Midwest, Victory+ | WXOS | |
| Utah Hockey Club | Salt Lake City, Utah | Delta Center | SEG Media | KZNS | |
| Winnipeg Jets | Winnipeg, Manitoba | Canada Life Centre | TSN3 | CJOB, CJKR-FM | |
| Pacific Division | Anaheim Ducks | Anaheim, California | Honda Center | Victory+, KCOP-TV, KTTV | TuneIn (Ducks Stream) |
| Calgary Flames | Calgary, Alberta | Scotiabank Saddledome | Sportsnet West, Sportsnet Flames | CFAC | |
| Edmonton Oilers | Edmonton, Alberta | Rogers Place | Sportsnet West, Sportsnet Oilers | CHED | |
| Los Angeles Kings | Los Angeles, California | Crypto.com Arena | FanDuel Sports Network West, KCAL-TV, FanDuel Sports Network SoCal | KSPN app | |
| San Jose Sharks | San Jose, California | SAP Center | NBC Sports California | Sharks Audio Network | |
| Seattle Kraken | Seattle, Washington | Climate Pledge Arena | Kraken Hockey Network | KJR-FM | |
| Vancouver Canucks | Vancouver, British Columbia | Rogers Arena | Sportsnet Pacific, Sportsnet Canucks | CISL-AM | |
| Vegas Golden Knights | Paradise, Nevada | T-Mobile Arena | Scripps Sports | KKGK (English), KENO (Spanish) |
National broadcasters[]
Canada[]
| Program | Host(s)/reporter(s) | Play-by-play announcers | Colour commentators | Network |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| NHL on Sportsnet | Kyle Bukauskas, Scott Oake, Shawn McKenzie, Gene Principe, Ryan Leslie, Dan Murphy | Jim Hughson, R.J. Broadhead, Chris Cuthbert, Harnarayan Singh, John Bartlett, Rick Ball, Jack Michaels, John Shorthouse, Leah Hextall, Rob Faulds, Mike Luck | Craig Simpson, Louie DeBrusk, Garry Galley, Greg Millen, Cassie Campbell-Pascall, John Garrett, Sam Consentino | Sportsnet |
| Hockey Night in Canada | CBC Television Citytv FX Omni Television (English) | |||
| Amrit Gill | Mantar Bhandal | Harpreet Pandher | Omni Television (Punjabi) | |
| La super soirée LNH | Elizabeth Rancourt, Michel Godbout | Felix Seguin, Sebastien Goulet, Denis Casavant | Patrick Lalime, Alain Chaney, Yvon Pedneault, Renaud Lavoie (rinkside for Montreal Canadiens games) | TVA Sports |
United States[]
| Program | Studio presenters | Play-by-play announcers | Colour commentators | Network |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| NHL on ESPN | Hosts: Steve Levy, John Buccigross, Arda Ocal, Linda Cohn
Analysts: Barry Melrose, Mark Messier, Chris Chelios, John Tortorella, Rick DiPietro, Kevin Weekes, Ryan Callahan, Dominic Moore, Hilary Knight, Brian Boucher, A. J. Mleczko, P. K. Subban |
Sean McDonough, Bob Wischusen, Steve Levy, John Buccigross, Leah Hextall, Mike Monaco, Roxy Bernstein, Gord Miller | Ray Ferraro, Brian Boucher, A. J. Mleczko, Ryan Callahan, Cassie Campbell-Pascall, Dominic Moore, Kevin Weekes, Mark Messier, Chris Chelios, Hilary Knight | ESPN ABC ESPN2 ESPN+ Hulu ESPNU (overflow) ESPNews (overflow) |
| NHL on TNT | Liam McHugh, Nabil Karim, Anson Carter, Paul Bissonnette, Rick Tocchet, Wayne Gretzy, Henrik Lundqvist, Keith Jones, Darren Pang, Jennifer Botterill, Colby Armstrong, Keith Yandle | Kenny Albert, Brendan Burke, John Forslund, Dave Randorf, Randy Hahn, Dave Goucher, Jim Jackson, Alex Faust | Eddie Olczyk, Keith Jones, Darren Pang, Jennifer Botterill, Bret Hedican, Shane Hnidy, Drew Remenda, Butch Goring, Jody Shelley | TNT TBS HBO Max truTV (overflow) HLN (overflow) |
| NHL Network Showcase | N/A | E. J. Hradek, Stephen Nelson | Rotating analysts | NHL Network |
| N/A | John Ahlers, Pat Foley, Judd Sirott | Joe Micheletti, Nick Olczyk, Brian Hayward | Sports USA |
International broadcasters[]
| Country | Networks |
|---|---|
| Africa | |
| Sub-Saharan Africa | ESPN |
| Asia | |
| Central Asia | Setanta Sports |
| China | CCTV |
| Hong Kong | Now TV |
| Indonesia Malaysia Singapore Timor-Leste |
Mola |
| Israel | Sport 5 |
| South Korea | Coupang |
| Tajikistan | TV Varzish |
| Europe | |
| Andorra | Movistar+ |
| Armenia Azerbaijan Belarus Georgia Ukraine |
Setanta Sports |
| Austria | Sky Sport, Puls 4 |
| Belgium Cyprus Greece Malta Romania |
ESPN Player |
| Bosnia and Herzegovina Croatia Montenegro North Macedonia Serbia Slovenia |
Arena Sport |
| Bulgaria | Max Sport |
| Czech Republic Slovakia |
Nova Sport |
| Denmark Estonia Latvia Lithuania Iceland Norway Poland Sweden United Kingdom |
Viaplay |
| Finland | Viaplay, MTV3 |
| France | Canal+ |
| Germany | Sky Sport, ProSieben Maxx |
| Hungary | Arena4, ESPN Player |
| Ireland | Premier Sports |
| Italy San Marino |
ESPN Player, Sky Sport |
| Liechtenstein | MySports, Sky Sport |
| Luxembourg | Sky Sport |
| Netherlands | ESPN |
| Portugal | Sport TV |
| Spain | Movistar+ |
| Switzerland | MySports |
| Turkey | S Sport |
| Latin America | |
| Latin America Caribbean Brazil |
ESPN |
| Oceania | |
| Australia New Zealand Pacific Islands Papua New Guinea |
ESPN |