Established in 1917, the NHL is considered by many to be the premiere level of professional ice hockey.  It started with four teams: Montreal Canadiens, Ottawa Senators, Montreal Wanderers, and a new second team in Montreal to replace the Quebec Bulldogs.

During the 1920s, the league began a rapid expansion with the Montreal Maroons and Boston Bruins being added in 1924, making the Bruins the first American NHL team.  Several others quickly followed and the “Original Six” was formed.  These were the six teams that played in the NHL for the 25 seasons prior to the 1967 expansion.  The Original Six includes:

• Montreal Canadiens (founded 1909)
• Toronto Maple Leafs (founded 1917, renamed 1927)
• Detroit Red Wings (founded 1921 as a team in Victoria)
• Boston Bruins (founded 1924)
• New York Rangers (founded 1925)
• Chicago Blackhawks (founded 1926)

1967 brought on several more teams, including the Los Angeles Kings, Pittsburgh Penguins, St Louis Blues, and New York Islanders.  Overall, the number of teams was brought from six up to 18.  Since, the NHL has gradually expanded and there are currently 30 NHL franchises.  24 of these are based in the United States and six are based in Canada.

These teams are divided up into two conferences - Eastern and Western.  Each conference is divided up into three divisions: Atlantic, Northeast, Southeast, Central, Northwest, and Pacific.  Check out the respective conference pages below to find out more about each of these 30 NHL teams.

Eastern Conference

Western Conference