NHL Guide

Wed, 11 Feb 2009 02:32

NHL Guide

Guiding you through the national hockey league.

The National Hockey League (NHL) is the main professional ice hockey league in Canada and the United States. Considered as the leading professional ice hockey league around the globe, it is home to the famed Stanley Cup, to several powerful teams and to hundreds of the hottest and most talented ice hockey players the world has ever seen.

The NHL began with four teams in 1917 in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It was an offshoot from its predecessor, the National Hockey Association (NHA), formed in 1909. The NHA was dissolved due to the clashing of Toronto Blueshirts owner Eddie Livingstone and the owners of other teams: the Wanderers, Canadiens, Senators, and Bulldogs.

After decades of relocations, contractions, and expansions, the NHL now has 30 professional hockey teams from various places in the US and in Canada. These teams are divided into two conferences: the Eastern Conference and the Western Conference. These geography-based conference names have been used since 1993. Prior to that, the conferences were called Prince of Wales Conference (Eastern) and Clarence Campbell Conference (Western).

Each conference is composed of three divisions, and each of those divisions house five teams. The following are the NHL’s current team alignment:

EASTERN CONFERENCE
Atlantic Division - New Jersey Devils - New York Islanders - New York Rangers - Philadelphia Flyers - Pittsburgh Penguins	Northeast Division - Boston Bruins - Buffalo Sabres - Montreal Canadiens - Ottawa Senators - Toronto Maple Leafs	Southeast Division - Atlanta Thrashers - Carolina Hurricanes - Florida Panthers - Tampa Bay Lightning - Washington Capitals
WESTERN CONFERENCE
Central Division - Chicago Blackhawks - Columbus Blue Jackets - Detroit Red Wings - Nashville Predators - St. Louis Blues	Northwest Division - Calgary Flames - Colorado Avalanche - Edmonton Oilers - Minnesota Wild - Vancouver Canucks	Pacific Division - Anaheim Ducks - Dallas Stars - Los Angeles Kings - Phoenix Coyotes - San Jose Sharks

 

History	NHL Eastern Conference	NHL Western Conference
NHL History	Atlanta Thrashers	Anaheim Ducks
NHL Eastern Conference	Boston Bruins	Calgary Flames
NHL Western Conference	Buffalo Sabres	Chicago Blackhawks
	Carolina Hurricanes	Colorado Avalanche
	Florida Panthers	Columbus Blue Jackets
	Montreal Canadiens	Dallars Stars
	New Jersey Devils	Detroit Red Wings
	New York Islanders	Edmonton Oilers
	New York Rangers	Los Angeles Kings
	Ottawa Senators	Minnesota Wild
	Philadelphia Flyers	Nashville Predators
	Pittsburgh Penguins	Phoenix Coyotes
	Tampa Bay Lightning	San Jose Sharks
	Toronto Maple Leafs	St Louis Blues
	Washington Capitals	Vancouver Canucks

 

Betting & Facts	The Stanley Cup
NHL Betting
NHL Odds
NHL Spreads

Visit the official site of the NHL with teams, events, standings, stats. schedule and much more.