The National Hockey League which is referred to as the NHL in short is considered as the premier professional ice hockey league in the entire world and a major professional sports in Canada and the the US. The NHL league is constituted of 31 teams, 7 from Canada and the remaining 24 coming from the US. During its inception the NHL had four teams which were all from Canada that’s the reason there’s the name “National” on its name. The success of the league can be attributed to the efforts made by all industry players in ensuring that the league becomes one of the most sought after professional sports league in US and Canada.
NHL Teams
As stated earlier the NHL consists of 31 teams with the US having 24 slots while Canada fills the other 7 slots. The league is then divided into two; the Eastern Conference and the Western Conferences. Each conference is further divided into two leagues or divisions with the Eastern Conference having 16 teams, 8 teams in the Atlantic and Metropolitan divisions each, and the Western Conference consisting of 15 teams, 8 teams in the Pacific division and 7 teams in the Central division. It’s important to note that this is the current formation of the league and it was incorporated in the 2017-18 season.
Trophies and Awards
The Stanley Cup is the most prestigious trophy in the NHL league and it’s awarded to the league winners and normally awarded after the Stanley Cup playoffs final game. The President’s trophy is the next award in terms of prestige and is awarded to the team that gets most points at the end of a season.
The most coveted franchise in the league is the Montreal Canadians having won 25 NHL championships and 24 Stanley Cups since the inception of the league. However, many other teams are coming up making the league more competitive.