The creation of the National Hockey League began as the result of a dispute. The owner of the Toronto Blueshirts didn't get along with the owners who owned the league called the National Hockey Association. All the teams in this league were Canadian. The NHA met in the Windsor Hotel in Montreal to see how they could their dispute. Their solution was to dissolve the NHA and create the National Hockey League. The teams that were part of this league were the Montreal Canadians, the Montreal Wanderers, the Ottawa Senators, the Quebec Bulldogs and the Toronto Arenas.
After seven years of its existence, the NHL started to expand. The Hamilton Tigers joined in 1920. The Boston Bruins and Montreal Maroons became part of the league in 1924. The New York Americans and the Pittsburgh Pirates joined in 1925. The New York Rangers, Chicago Blackhawks and the Detroit Cougars (later renamed to become the Red Wings) became part of the league in 1926. By 1930, the NHL had a total of 10 teams. The Great Depression and World War II were not a great help to the league. By 1942, the NHL was only made up of 6 teams. These 1942 teams (Montreal Canadians, Toronto Maple Leafs, Detroit Red Wings, Chicago Blackhawks, Boston Bruins and New York Rangers) were known as the Original Six. For next 25 years, they were the only members of the National Hockey League.
The NHL had to expand 25 years later since it was facing the competition from the Western Hockey League and the World Hockey Association. It added the Philadelphia Flyers, St. Louis Blues, Minnesota North Stars, Los Angles Kings, Oakland Seals, Pittsburgh Penguins, Vancouver Canucks and Buffalo Sabres to beat its competition. Throughout the 1970s, the WHA and the NHL competed for fans and players with the NHL winning. The WHA teams called the Hartford Whalers, Quebec Nordiques, Edmonton Oilers and Winnipeg Jets joined the NHL after WHA folded in 1979.
In the early 1990s, the NHL expanded ever further. The San Jose Sharks became part of the league in 1991. Ottawa Senators and the Tampa Bay Lightning entered the league in 1992. In 1993, the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim and the Florida Panthers joined the league. By the new millennium, four more teams called the Nashville Predators, Atlanta Thrashers, Minnesota Wild and the Columbus Blue Jackets joined the league and brought the grand total of teams in the league to 30.
Written By: Dana Bradley
