The best sports league ever. Founded in 1909 as the National Hockey Association (NHA), the NHL is the second-oldest currently existing North
American professional sports league, second only to the MLB. The NHL's championship trophy, the Stanley Cup, introduced in 1892, is the oldest currently existing championship trophy in North
American professional sports. In 1926, with teams in Montréal, Boston, Ottawa, Pittsburgh, and
Toronto, the NHL expanded to
Chicago, New York City, and
Detroit. The teams
based in Toronto and
Detroit changed their names to the Maple Leafs and the Red Wings, respectively, in the coming years. Having Ottawa and Pittsburgh folded, the New York Americans and Montréal Maroons were the only two teams left other than today's Original 6. Both folded because of World War II. The NHL would not expand again until 1967, with new teams in Los Angeles, St. Louis, Minnesota, Oakland, Philadelphia, and Pittsburgh. Later on, in 1979, the NHL merged with the World Hockey Association (WHA), giving the NHL teams in Winnipeg, Québec City, Hartford, and Edmonton. Winnipeg relocated to Phoenix, AZ, Québec relocated to
Denver, CO, Hartford relocated to Greensboro, NC, and later to Raleigh, NC, and Minnesota relocated to Dallas, TX. In 2000, the NHL's last expansion year, a team was introduced to Columbus, OH, and the NHL was re-introduced to Minnesota. The Atlanta Thrashers relocated to Winnipeg in 2011.
