NHL Ice Hockey Tickets
Thirty teams make up the NHL – National Hockey League, which is the world’s premier Ice Hockey League.
At the end of the season, the Stanley Cup, which is the oldest trophy in North American sports, is awarded to the league champions. The National Hockey League was formed in 1917 and was a successor to the National Hockey Association, which itself was only formed in 1909. The league originally had four teams, but as with basketball; as a result of expansion and relocation and the loss of several teams, the league has grown into a popular revenue producing sport.
Players from all over the world play in the NHL, and at present the league boasts twenty nationalities playing. The sport originated in Canada, therefore the league tends to have a higher proportion of Canadian players, and they actually make up over half of the NHL players. Due to the popularity and expansion of the league into the United States, a higher percentage of American and Europeans are being attracted to the game. The League can claim higher standards of play as one of the reasons for the success of the competition, and the league has attracted some of the top quality European players.
The creation of the NHL came about as a result with the former National Hockey Association and four of the original league’s teams left to take part in the new competition. The Quebec Bulldogs, Ottawa Senators, the Montreal Canadians and the Montreal Wanderers held discussions about the future of a new league. All except the Bulldogs joined the new league along with a new team from Toronto. The first decade was a struggle for the National Hockey League, even though the teams themselves were extremely successful.
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Only in 1925 did a team from another league win the Stanley Cup, and by 1926, the NHL was the only league entering for the prestigious cup competition. The league then saw a period of expansion with teams from New York, Pittsburgh, Chicago and Detroit as well as a further team from Canada, the Montreal Maroons, all entering the league. This meant that by the end of the 1926-27, the league numbered ten teams. However, two major events took a toll on the number of teams left playing in the league. The Depression and then the Second World War saw the league reduce to six teams by 1942. These teams, the Chicago Black Hawks, the Boston Bruins, the Montreal Canadians, The Toronto Maple Leafs, the New York Rangers and the Detroit Red Wings became known as the Original Six. For the next twenty five years they were the only members of the National Hockey League. The league’s first black player, Willie O’Ree entered the league in January 1958 for the Boston Bruins.
Further competition arrived in the shape of the World Hockey Association which was formed in 1974. This was the first potential threat to the National Hockey League for many years, and as a result the National Hockey League brought forwards its plans for further expansion. The two leagues continued to compete for fans and players. However, the World Hockey Association folded in 1979, with the agreement that four of the WHA teams would enter the National Hockey League. Due to the expansion, the National Hockey League felt it wise to split the league into two conferences, the West, known as the Clarence Campbell, and the East, which became known as the Prince of Wales. Each conference was then split into a further two divisions. Further change came in 1993 when the league was changed to a geographical structure. At the present time the league is made up of the East Conference which is subdivided into the Northeast, Southeast and Atlantic Divisions and the West which is composed of the Pacific, Central and Northwest Divisions. Several further teams have been added since 1999 and the league now stands at its present number of thirty.
There are three mini seasons in the National Hockey League season, an exhibition season in September, the regular season from October to April and the post season which is when the Stanley Cup is played for. The Stanley Cup is a knock out competition and the two teams play each other in a best of seven series in order to progress to the next round. During the course of a season each team plays a total of eighty four games, forty one at home and forty one away.
Tickets for matches can be bought via the NHL website or via a number of online ticket sellers. It may also be possible to contact the club direct once tickets go on sale.
