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History of NHL20th Cenutry: Birth of NHL Hockey The early years of 20th century is where the history of NHL begins. Before you look at the history of NHL you have to briefly look at the leagues that existed before the NHL was created. In 1902 and 1904 two professional hockey leagues were formed in the United States, the Western Pennsylvania Hockey League and the International Professional Hockey League. The leagues had mediocre success and folded around 1910.  On December 2, 1909 the National Hockey Association (NHA) was created in Montreal. The NHA implemented new rules such as minor and major penalties and three twenty minute periods. On November 26, 1917 the NHA suspended operations and the National Hockey League (NHL) was created. In 1924, the NHL expanded into the United States into the city of Boston with the creation of the Boston Bruins. The Founding Era: 1917-1942The history of the NHL can be classified into four eras. The first era has been referred to as the "Founding Era from 1917-1942" was an era when the league was find its feet as they say and getting off the ground. During this era the NHL faced competition from the Pacific Coast Hockey League and the Western Canada Hockey League.The competition was not for players only, but for the Stanley Cup. From 1917 to 1942, the League faced its share of problems with two World Wars, the Spanish Influenza Pandemic that canceled the 1919 Stanley Cup Championship, and with teams being created and folding in cities like Seattle, St. Louis and Philadelphia. In the 1942 Stanley Cup Finals, the Toronto Maple Leafs were heavily favored to win the Stanley Cup. Their opponents were the 5th seeded Detroit Red Wings. The Red Wings shocked everyone when they jumped to a 3-0 series lead, needing to win one more game to win the Stanley Cup. However, Toronto came back and won the next four games to capture the Stanley Cup, becoming the first team in NHL history to come back from a 3–0 series deficit. The NHL, MLB, and NBA are the professional sport leagues that have best of 7 playoff formats. This amazing and unbelievable feat has only been repeated two other times in the history of NHL and only once in the history of Major League Baseball. The most recent is 2010 Philadelphia Flyers who came back and beat the Boston Bruins 4-3 in the 2010 Eastern Conference Semifinals. They were down 3-0 in the series and 3-0 in Game 7 at Boston and won the game 4-3 and the series 4-3. The other time was in 1975, when the New York Islanders came back from a 3-0 series deficit and beat the Pittsburgh Penguins in the 1975 NHL Quarterfinals playoff round. Finally the 2004 Boston Red Sox of Major League Baseball became the first team in MLB history to win a series after being down 3-0. They beat the New York Yankees in the 2004 American League Championship series. 
The Original Six Era: 1942-1967The second era of the NHL, known as the "Original Six era" started in 1942 and lasted for 25 year until 1967. For many hockey historians, this era was considered the "Golden Era" of hockey. During this time, the NHL consisted of six teams because other teams folded in previous years. The teams were the Toronto Maple Leafs, Montreal Canadians, Boston Bruins, Chicago Blackhawks, New York Rangers, and the Detroit Red Wings.Also during this time, some of the hockey's greatest players played. Players like Gordie Howe, Ted Lindsay, Terry Sawchuk, Bobby Hull, Maurice "Rocket" Richard, and Jean Beliveau dominated the league. In 1958, Willie O'Ree became the first African American player to play in the NHL when he suited up for the Boston Bruins. In 1947, the NHL took full control of the Stanley Cup and didn't have to worry about competing with other hockey leagues for the trophy. The "Original Six" era created dynasties for teams like the Maple Leafs, Red Wings, and Canadians, but also the league had its share of problems with corrupt owners and coaches.  The Expansion Era: 1967-1992The third era in the history of NHL is known as the "Expansion Era" from 1967-1992. During this era, more teams were added to the NHL and the NHL grew tremendously then it did in any previous years of the leagues history.In 1967, the Los Angeles Kings, Minnesota North Stars, Oakland Seals, St. Louis Blues, Pittsburgh Penguins, and Philadelphia Flyers were added to the NHL. Not everyone was too happy with the expansions, especially some of the owners of the Original Six teams because they thought it would hurt the NHL and they also didn't want to give up players to the expansion teams. By 1974, the NHL had 18 teams and had many star players such as Boston Bruin defensemen Bobby Orr, who many consider the greatest hockey player ever! But the NHL had some competition from a new league, the World Hockey Association (WHA).  The WHA did eventually folded, only operating seven years from 1972 to 1979, but during that time it gave the NHL some competition that it hadn't face since the league was founded almost six decades ago. When the WHA folded, four teams from the WHA, the Edmonton Oilers, Winnipeg Jets, Hartford Whalers, and Quebec Nordiques joined the NHL, giving the NHL 21 teams. The 1980s were dominated by the Edmonton Oilers and New York Islanders. They won a combined total of 9 Stanley Cups from 1980 to 1990. Finally, a new generation of young amazing players entered the league in the 1980s that changed the game and the NHL forever. Players such as Steve Yzerman, Mark Messier, Mario Lemieux, and the "The Great One" Wayne Gretzky dominated the NHL.
 Wayne Gretzky stood out from all the rest, and became the face of hockey. He basically shattered every NHL record on his way to becoming the most dominate and greatest hockey player in history. Gretzky also brought major attention to the NHL, making the league more mainstream and helping the NHL grow in revenue and popularity, especially in new non traditional hockey markets. As the NHL was on its way to closing the history books on the 1980s, the league and hockey world was absolutely shocked when Wayne Gretzky got traded from the Edmonton Oilers to the Los Angeles Kings in August 1988. The event was so big, especially in the hockey world that it simply became known as "The Trade". The Modern Era: 1992-Present The fourth era in history of NHL is known as the "Modern Era", which is from 1992 to the present. During this time, the 1990s to the 2000s, the NHL expanded to 30 teams. New teams were added in cities such as San Jose, Nashville, Phoenix, Tampa Bay, Ottawa, Florida, Anaheim, Atlanta, Columbus, Minnesota, Carolina, and Colorado. There was a first milestone in the history of NHL in 1993, when the NHL got their first commissioner in Gary Bettman. The league became more of a business in the 1990s with sponsorships, more advertisements, and lucrative TV contracts. Also with the end of the Cold War in the early 1990s, more European players joined the NHL and took the league by storm and improved the competition dramatically. In the 1990s, players like Wayne Gretzky, Mario Lemieux, Steve Yzerman, Mark Messier, along with a combination of younger generation of players from North America and Europe such as Jaromir Jagr, Eric Lindros, Martin Brodeur, Peter Forsberg, Sergei Fedorov and Dominik Hasek help the league grow to the point where players were now making multi-million dollar salaries. The league did have two strikes, one in 1994-95 which shortened the season and one in 2004-05 which completely wiped out the entire NHL season, the first time a North American sport league was canceled because of labor problems. When the NHL came back in 2005-06, new rules were implemented to make the game more offensive and to appeal to more sports fan. In the history of NHL, rules have been changed numerous times to improve the game, and the league added new rules such as no more two line passes to increase the offense and the flow of the game. The lockout might of been a good thing for the NHL because unlike any other time in the history of NHL, the league has had great growth in terms of revenues in the billions of dollars as well as record attendance at games. As we have seen throughout the history of NHL, new players enter the league and the new millennium has brought some exciting and amazing players to the NHL who have the skills and talents to add their own chapters to the history of NHL. Players like Sidney Crosby, Alexander Oveckin, Henrik Zetterberg, Pavel Datsyuk, Ryan Miller, Jarome Iginla, and Evgeni Malkin show that the NHL is in great hands as it enters another new decade. The history of NHL is filled with great players, teams, coaches, and great owners. They all have contributed to the league and help make the NHL what it is today. The NHL is now the most lucrative, competitive, and profitable hockey league in the world. The league now has a major global following. With the league more diverse than ever with players from all over the world, the future of the NHL looks very bright as the world's premier and best professional hockey league.
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