The history of the National Hockey League began with the end of the league of its predecessor, the National Hockey Association (NHA), in 1917. After unsuccessfully trying to resolve the dispute with Eddie Livingstone, owner of Toronto Blueshirts, executives from three other NHA franchises suspended the NHA , and formed the National Hockey League (NHL), replacing the Livingstone team with a temporary team in Toronto, Arenas. The NHL's first centuries saw the league compete against two major leagues of rivals - the Pacific Coast Hockey Association and the Western Canada Hockey League - for players and the Stanley Cup. The NHL was first expanded to the United States in 1924 with the founders of Boston Bruins, and in 1926 consisted of ten teams in Ontario, Quebec, the Great Lakes region, and Northeastern United States. At the same time, the NHL emerged as the only major league and the only competitor for the Stanley Cup; in 1947, the NHL finalized an agreement with the Stanley Cup guardians to gain complete control over the Cup. The NHL trail spread throughout Canada when Foster Hewitt's radio broadcast was heard on the beach-to-coast beginning in 1933.
The Great Depression and World War II reduced the league to six teams, later known as "Original Six", in 1942. Maurice Richard became the first player to score 50 goals in a season in 1944-45, and ten years later, Richard was suspended for attacking the linesman, leading to Richard Riot. Gordie Howe made his debut in 1946, and retired 35 seasons later as the NHL's all-time leader in terms of goals and points. "China Clipper" Larry Kwong became the first non-white player in the league, breaking the NHL color barrier in 1948, when he played for the New York Rangers. Willie O'Ree broke the NHL black barrier when he was fit for the Bruins in 1958. In 1959, Jacques Plante became the first goaltender to regularly use masks for protection.
The Original Six Era ended in 1967 when the NHL doubled its size by adding six new expansion teams. The six existing teams were formed into the newly created Eastern Division, while the expansion team was formed into the Western Division. The NHL continued to grow, adding another six teams, to 18 total in 1974. This ongoing expansion was partly due to the efforts of the NHL to compete with the World Hockey Association, which operated from 1972 to 1979 and sought to compete with NHLs for markets and players. Bobby Hull is the most famous player to defect to a rival league, signing a $ 2.75 million contract with Winnipeg Jets. The NHL became involved in international games in the mid-1970s, starting with the Summit Series in 1972 which pitted top Canadian NHL players against top players in the Soviet Union, won by Canada with four wins, three losses, and a tie. Finally, the Soviet-Bloc player flowed into the NHL with the fall of the Iron Curtain in 1989.
When the WHA ceased operations in 1979, the NHL absorbed four league teams, which brought the NHL to 21 teams, a number that remained constant until San Jose Sharks was added as an expansion franchise in 1991. Since then, the league has grown from 22 teams in 1992 to 31 today when the NHL spread its footprint across the United States. The League has endured major labor conflicts in 1994-95 and 2004-05, the latter seeing the entire 2004-05 NHL season being canceled, the first time in North American history that the league has canceled the entire season in labor disputes. Wayne Gretzky passed Gordie Howe as the NHL's top scorer of the year in 1994 when he scored 802 career goals. Mario Lemieux overcame non-Hodgkin's lymphoma to complete her NHL career with over 1,700 points and two Stanley Cup championships. The increasing use of defense-focused systems helped cause the score to fall in the late 1990s, leading some to argue that the NHL talent pool has been diluted by the expansion of the 1990s. In 1998, the NHL began to give the team a single point to lose in overtime, hoping to reduce the number of matches; after the 2004-05 lockout, it eliminates the tie altogether, introducing the shootout to ensure that every game has a winner.
Video History of the National Hockey League
Background and foundation
The first attempt to set up a competitive ice hockey match took place in the late 1880s. Before that, the team competed in tournaments and contests a rare challenge in the world of Canadian sport at the time. In 1887, four clubs from Montreal formed the Canadian Amateur Hockey Association (AHAC) and developed a structured schedule. In 1892, Lord Stanley donated the Stanley Cup to become a symbol of the Canadian championship and appointed Philip Dansken Ross and Sheriff John Sweetland as their trustee. It was awarded to the AHAC champion Montreal Hockey Club and then awarded to the league champions, or to a previously approved team that won it in a challenge. In 1904, the International Hockey League (IHL), based around Lake Michigan, was created as the first professional league, which lasted for two seasons. In recruiting players, IHL caused the "Athletic War" which depleted the top amateur club players, most felt in the Ontario Hockey Association (OHA). In the 1905-06 season, the East Canadian Hockey Amateur Association (ECAHA) was formed, which incorporated paid and amateur players in the roster, causing IHL's death. The bidding war for players caused many ECAHA teams to lose money, and finally folded on 25 November 1909. As a result of the dissolution of ECAHA, two leagues were formed - the Canada Hockey Association (CHA) and the National Hockey Association (NHA). Because the famous NHA owner, wealthy businessman, CHA did not finish the season, because the NHA easily recruited top players, and the interest of the CHA team faded. In 1914, the competing Pacific Coast Hockey Association (PCHA) league was launched and the NHA champions will play every season against the PCHA champions for the Stanley Cup, ending the challenge era.
The National Hockey League emerged with the NHA suspension in 1917. After failing to settle a dispute with Eddie Livingstone, owner of Toronto Blueshirts, executives from three other NHA franchises - Montreal Canadiens, Montreal Wanderers and Ottawa Senators-- suspended the NHA, and formed the NHL, with a temporary team in Toronto, Arenas. While new, NHL is a continuation of the NHA. NHL adopted the NHA Constitution, its rules, playing with six men to the side rather than the normally traditional seven and schedule the NHA split season. The owner originally intended the NHL to operate only for one season. However, the NHA was permanently suspended in 1918 and ceased to be an organization in 1920. In 1921, the champion trophy of the NHA O'Brien Cup was adopted as the NHL championship trophy.
Maps History of the National Hockey League
1917-1942: Founding
Initial years
One of the NHL's first superstars was productive scorer Joe Malone, who scored 44 goals in 20 games in the first season of the NHL, five of which netted on the opening night of the NHL. He also scored a record of most goals in the game that season, with seven goals. Six games into the season, Montreal Wanderers were forced to retreat permanently from the league, as the fire left them without a rink. In the 1918-19 season, Montreal Canadiens faced the Seattle Metropolitans of PCHA for the Stanley Cup in the midst of a Spanish influenza pandemic. The series was canceled after five games when many players fell ill; one, Joe Hall of the Canadiens, died a few weeks later.
During the early 1920s, NHL faced competition for players from two other major leagues: PCHA and Western Canada Hockey League (WCHL). As a result, ice hockey players are among the best paid athletes in North America. In the mid-1920s, NHL emerged as the only major league in North America; PCHA and WCHL had merged in 1924, only to disband two years later. The Victoria Cougars was the last non-NHL team to win and challenge the Stanley Cup, having beaten Canadiens in 1925, and lost to Montreal Maroons in 1926, respectively. The NHL continued to grow, adding Maroon and his first American team, Boston Bruins in 1924, earning up to 10 teams in 1926. The defense dominated the NHL, and in the 1928-29 season, Canadiens George George Hainsworth set what remained the league record with 22 shutouts in 44 matches. In response, the NHL began allowing forward forward in the offensive zone, which led to violations increased by about 2.5 times; to stem the tide, the NHL introduces an offside rule, which prevents the offensive player from entering the opposing zone before the chip crosses the "blue line".
Livingstone continued to press claims in court throughout the 1920s, as far as the Advisory Committee of the Advisory Council in London, England. In early 1927, the Toronto franchise was sold to Conn Smythe, who renamed it Maple Leafs, and managed to promise to win the Stanley Cup in five years. He built Maple Leaf Gardens, which included the famous radio booth Foster Hewitt, known as "gondola". On December 13, 1933, Eddie Shore accused Ace Bailey of causing a severe skull fracture, following what Shore considered a check from Bailey, but actually made by King Clancy. Despite the gloomy prognosis (the newspaper scored obituaries), Bailey survived, but never played the game. The Maple Leafs hosted Ace Bailey's All-Star Benefit Game, which garnered more than $ 20,000 for Bailey and his family.
The Great Depression
While Conn Smythe manages to build a new arena, many other teams are having financial difficulties. By folding the Philadelphia Quaker (originally the Pittsburgh Pirates) and St. Louis Eagles (originally the Ottawa Senator), the NHL was reduced to eight teams starting in the 1935-36 season. Montreal Canadiens almost moved to Cleveland, Ohio, before the Montreal businessman's syndicate bought the team. The financial problems of Montreal forced them to sell popular players Howie Morenz. When Morenz scored against Canadiens on the last day of the 1935 season, Montreal fans voiced their opinions, giving him a standing ovation. Morenz was eventually re-acquired by Montreal, and on January 28, 1937, skate Morenz became trapped in ice during play. He suffered broken legs in four places, and died on March 8 from a coronary embolism; 50,000 people filed Morenz coffins at the ice center at the Montreal Forum to pay their respects last. The benefit game held in November 1937 garnered $ 20,000 for the Morenz family when the NHL All-Stars defeated the Montreal Canadiens 6-5.
In the mid-1930s, Chicago's Black Hawk owners and a loyal American nationalist Frederic McLaughlin ordered the general manager to compose a team of American players; at the time, Taffy Abel was the only American-born player who was a regular player in the league. With eight of the 14 American players, the Black Hawks won only 14 of 48 games. However, in the playoffs, the Hawks disappointed Canadiens, New York Americans and Maple Leafs to become the only team in NHL history to win the Stanley Cup despite losing their regular season record. In the 1942 Stanley Cup Final, the highly favored Toronto Maple Leafs faced disappointment, having fallen 3-0 in a seven-game series to fifth Detroit Red Wings. Toronto rebounded, and won the next four games to clinch the Stanley Cup, becoming the first of four teams in the NHL to bounce back from a 3-0 series deficit and the only team to reach it in the Stanley Cup Final.
Before the 1938-39 season, Montreal Maroons folded due to financial difficulties, while New Yorkers suffered the same fate before the 1942-43 season. With the league reduced to six teams, the "Six Original" era begins. The league was almost reduced to five teams before the next season, as World War II had destroyed the roster of many teams in such a way that the team fought each other for the players. With only five players returning from the previous season, New York Rangers general manager Lester Patrick advised to postpone his team play during the war but was persuaded otherwise.
1942-1967: Original Six
Postwar period
In February 1943, league president Frank Calder fainted at the meeting, dying shortly after. Red Dutton agreed to take over as president after receiving assurances from the league that the Brooklyn franchise that he operates will continue the game after the war. When other team owners broke this promise in 1946, Dutton resigned as league president. With Dutton's recommendation Clarence Campbell was appointed NHL president in 1946. He remained in that role until his retirement in 1977. During his first 21 years of presidency, the same six teams (located in Boston, Chicago, Detroit, Montreal, New York, and Toronto) competed for the Stanley Cup and that period was called the "golden age of hockey". NHL displays an increasingly intense competition coupled with the innovation rules that open the game. The first official All-Star Game took place at Maple Leaf Gardens in Toronto on October 13, 1947 to raise money for the newly created NHL Pension Society. NHL All-Stars beat Toronto Maple Leafs 4-3 and raised C $ 25,000 for pension funds.
The Canadiens 1940s is led by Elmer Lach's "Punch line", Toe Blake and Maurice "Rocket" Richard. In 1944-45, Lach, Richard and Blake finished first, second and third in the NHL rating race with 80, 73 and 67 points respectively. Richard is the focus of media and fans as he tries to score 50 goals in 50 matches, a feat no other player has ever achieved in league history. Richard scored his 50th goal in Boston at 17:45 for the third time of Montreal's final game of the season. On March 13, 1948, Larry Kwong, "China Clipper", became the first non-white player in the NHL, breaking the color barrier. He is suitable for New York Rangers against Montreal Canadiens at the Montreal Forum. In March 1955, Richard was suspended for the rest of the season, including the playoffs, after he received a match-fixing penalty for Hal Halcoe's cut of Boston then punched a line judge who attempted to intervene. The suspension triggered a wave of anger against league president Clarence Campbell, who was warned not to attend a scheduled match in Montreal after receiving a number of death threats, mainly from the French-Canadians who accused him of anti-French bias. Campbell dismissed the warning, and attended the March 17 match as planned. His presence in the match was felt by many fans as a provocation and he was scorned and pelted with eggs and fruit. An hour into the game, a fan threw a tear gas bomb at Campbell, and firefighters decided to clean the building. Fans who left the game and a crowd of angry demonstrators raged outside the Montreal Forum, known as Richard Affaire Richard, or Richard Riot. Richard became the first player to score 500 career goals on October 19, 1957. He retired in 1960 as the eight-time Stanley Cup champion, as well as the all time NHL's all-time leading scorer with 544 goals.
In the fall of 1951, Maple Leafs owner Conn Smythe watched a special television feed from the game in an attempt to determine if it would be a suitable medium for broadcasting hockey matches. Television already has its critics in the NHL, especially in Campbell. In 1952, although only 10% of Canadians had television, the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) began broadcasting the game. On November 1, 1952, Hockey Night in Canada was first broadcast on television, with Foster Hewitt calling an action between the Leafs and the Bruins at Maple Leaf Gardens. Rapid broadcasts became the highest impressions on Canadian television. Campbell worried that television hockey would cause people to stop attending the game in person, but Smythe felt the opposite. CBS first broadcast a hockey match in the United States in the 1956-57 season as an experiment. Amazed by the initial popularity of the broadcast, he inaugurated the next 21-game game package the following year. NHL itself is tailored to be audience-friendly. In 1949, the league mandated that the surface of the ice painted white to make the chips easier to see. On January 18, 1958, Willie O'Ree joined the Bruins as a call for a match in Montreal. Thus he became the first black player in the NHL.
Clint Benedict was the first goaltender to wear a face shield, wearing it in 1930 to protect a broken nose. He immediately left his mask because his design interfere with his vision. Twenty-nine years later, on November 1, 1959, in a match against New York Rangers Jacques Plante made the goal mask as a permanent fixture in hockey. The first player union was formed February 12, 1957 by Red Wings player Ted Lindsay who has sat on the NHL's Pension Society since 1952. Lindsay and his fellow players are disappointed with the league's refusal to let them see books related to pensions. The league claims that it can not contribute beyond that but the players on the Pension Committee suspect otherwise. The idea quickly gained popularity and when the union establishment was publicly announced, almost every NHL player has signed up. Led by Alan Eagleson, the National Hockey League Players Association (NHLPA) was formed in 1967 and quickly received acceptance from the owners.
Dynasty
The Original Six Era is a dynastic period. Toronto Maple Leafs won the Stanley Cup five times between 1944-45 and 1950-51. In the 1951 Stanley Cup Final, Maple Leafs beat Canadiens four games to one in the only final in NHL history when all games were decided in extra time. Beginning in 1948-1949, Red Wings won seven regular season titles in a row, a feat no other team has ever achieved. During that time, Wings won four Stanley Cups. It was during the 1952 Stanley Cup Final that the Legend of Octopus was created. Brothers Pete and Jerry Cusimano took the dead octopus to Detroit Olympia for the fourth final. They hope the octopus will inspire Detroit to win the eighth. Detroit went on to beat Montreal 3-0 and traditions were born. The Red Wings faced Canadiens in the Stanley Cup Final in three consecutive seasons between 1954 and 1956. Detroit won the first two games, but Montreal won the 1956 Stanley Cup, ending a dynasty and starting another. The Canadiens won five consecutive championships between 1956 and 1960, a feat that no other team duplicated. The Original Six Era ended with a 1967 Stanley Cup Final between two-time defending champions Canadiens and Maple Leafs. The Maple Leafs completed the era by winning the Cup four times between 1962 and 1967, their 1967 championship is Leaves Leaves' last title to date. The Chicago Blackhawks, who won in 1961, were the only other team to win the Stanley Cup during this period.
1967-1992: Expansion era
Year of expansion
In 1963, Rangers Governor William Jennings introduced to his colleagues the idea of ​​expanding the league to the West Coast of America by adding two new teams for the 1964-65 season. While the governors did not approve of the proposal, the topic of expansion arose whenever the owner met later. In 1965, it was decided to expand six teams, doubling the size of the NHL. In February 1966, the governors met and decided to give franchises to Los Angeles, Minnesota, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Oakland, and St. Louis. The League rejected offers from Baltimore, Buffalo and Vancouver. In Canada, there was widespread outrage over the expansion team's rejection to Vancouver in 1967; three years later, the NHL awarded a franchise to Vancouver, who previously played in the Western Hockey League, for the 1970-71 season, along with Buffalo Sabers.
On January 13, 1968, North Stars star Bill Masterton became the first player, and until recently, only players who died from injuries suffered during the NHL match. At the start of the game against Oakland, Masterton was vigorously checked by two players causing him to reverse and land on his head. Masterton was rushed to the hospital with a massive head injury, and died there two days later. The National Hockey League Writers Association presents the league with the Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy later this season. After Masterton's death, the players slowly started wearing helmets, and starting in the 1979-80 season, the league mandated all players entering the league to wear them.
In the 1968-69 season, third-year defender Bobby Orr scored 21 goals to set a NHL record for a goal by a defenseman on his way to winning his first Norris trophy eight as the league's top defender. At the same time, Orr's teammate, Phil Esposito, became the first player in league history to score 100 points in a single season, finishing with 126 points. The talented scorer, Orr revolutionized the influence of defencemen on the offensive part of the game, as the blue lines began to be judged on how well they created goals in addition to how well they prevented them. Orr twice won the Art Ross Trophy as the NHL's top scorer, the only defenseman in NHL history to do so. Chronic knee problems hit Orr throughout his career; He played 12 seasons in the NHL before his injury forced him to retire in 1978. Orr finished with 270 goals and 915 points in 657 games, and he won the Hart Memorial Trophy as the Most Valuable Player league three times.
The NHL 1970-71 season is the 54th season of the National Hockey League. Two new teams, Buffalo Sabers and Vancouver Canucks made their debut and both were put into the Eastern Division. The Chicago Black Hawks were moved to the Western Division. Montreal Canadiens won the Stanley Cup by beating Black Hawk in seven games in the final.
The 1970s were associated with an aggressive game, and often violent. Known as "Broad Street Bullies", the Philadelphia Flyers is the most famous example of this mindset. The Flyers made league notes for the penalty minute - Dave "the Hammer" Schultz 'total of 472 in 1974-75 remained a league record. They won the 1974 Stanley Cup, becoming the first expansion team to win the league championship.
WHA Competition and merge
In 1972, NHL faced competition from the newly formed Hockey Association (WHA). WHA attracts many players from the NHL. The biggest coup of WHA is to lure Bobby Hull of the Black Hawks to play for the Winnipeg Jets. He signed a $ 2.75 million contract, and lent instant credibility to the new league. After Hull signed, several other players quickly followed suit and the NHL suddenly found himself in a war for talent. By the time the WHA 1972-73 season started, 67 players had switched from NHL to WHA. NHL also finds itself competing with WHA for the market. Initially, the league had no intention of extending past 14 teams, but the threats represented by WHA caused the league to change its plans. The League hastily announced the formation of the New York Islanders and the Atlanta Flames as an expansion team in 1972. Following the 1972-73 season, the NHL announced a further expansion to 18 teams for the 1974-75 season, adding Kansas City Scouts and Washington Capitals. In just eight years, the NHL has tripled to 18 teams.
In 1976, both leagues were faced with serious financial problems. The St. Louis Blues is on the verge of bankruptcy. Talk about the merger between NHL and WHA growing. In 1976, for the first time in four decades, NHL franchise relocation was approved; Scouts moved after just two years in Kansas City to Denver to become Colorado Rockies, while California Gold Seals became Baron Cleveland. Two years later, after failing to offer about the Baron's merger with Washington and Vancouver, Baron joined the Minnesota North Stars, reducing the NHL to 17 teams for 1978-79.
The move toward the merger was taken in 1977 when John Ziegler replaced Clarence Campbell as president of the NHL. The WHA folded following the 1978-79 season, while Edmonton Oilers, Hartford Whalers, Quebec Nordiques and Winnipeg Jets joined the NHL as an expansion team, which brought the league to 21 teams, constant until 1991. The merger brought Gordie Howe back to the NHL for the last season in 1979-80, where he brought his NHL career total to 801 goals and 1,850 points. It was also the last season for the Atlanta Flames. The team averaged only 9,800 fans in attendance and lost more than $ 2 million. They were sold for a record $ 16 million, and moved north to become Calgary Fire in 1980-1981. Two years later, the Rockies sold for $ 30 million, and left Denver to become New Jersey Devils for the 1982-83 season.
More dynasties
Although the league grew from six to 21 teams, the dynasty still prevails in the NHL. The Montreal Canadiens won four consecutive Stanley Cups from 1975-1976. In 1980, the New York Islanders won four consecutive Stanley Cups. The Islanders dominated the regular season and playoffs with the likes of Billy Smith, Mike Bossy, Denis Potvin, and Bryan Trottier. In 1981, Bossy became the first player to score 50 goals in 50 matches since Maurice Richard achieved that achievement in 1945.
In 1982-1983, the Edmonton Oilers won the regular season championship. Oilers were led by Wayne Gretzky, who remained with Oilers when they joined the NHL in 1979. He scored 137 points in 1979-1980 and won the first of nine Hart Cups as the most valuable NHL player. Over the next few seasons, Gretzky set up new highs in goals scored in one season, with 92 in the 1981-82 season; in assists, with 163 in 1985-86; and in total points, with 215 in 1985-86. Gretzky also set the record for scoring 50 goals in the fewest number of matches, reaching the goal in 39 games. The Islanders and Oilers meet in the Final as New York sweeps Edmonton for their last Stanley Cup. The following season, Oilers and Islanders met again in the playoffs. Oilers won a rematch in five games, marking the start of another dynasty.
Led by Gretzky and Mark Messier, the Oilers won five Stanley Cup championships between 1984 and 1990. On 9 August 1988, Oilers owner Peter Pocklington, in financial trouble, traded Gretzky to the Los Angeles Kings. Gretzky's trade to the Kings popularized ice hockey in the United States. With Kings, Gretzky broke Gordie Howe's record for most career points. Mario Lemieux led Pittsburgh to Stanley Cups in 1990-91 and 1991-92. As a talented forward, he won six Art Ross Trophies titles as top scorer in the league and he scored 199 points in 1988-89, becoming the second highest single point scorer behind Gretzky. Lemieux's career was plagued by health problems, including non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, and he retired in 1997. In 2000, he returned and completed his NHL career in 2006 with over 1,700 points.
1992-present: Modern era
Expansion to the South (1992-2000)
The 21-team era came to an end in 1990, when the league revealed an ambitious plan to double the league's revenues of $ 400 million in a decade and bring the NHL to 28 franchises during that period. The NHL quickly announced three new teams: The San Jose Sharks, which began playing in the 1991-92 season, and the Ottawa Senators and Tampa Bay Lightning, which followed a year later. The Lightning made history of the NHL when the goaltender Manon Rheaume played the exhibition match period, September 23, 1992. In doing so, Rheaume became the first woman to play in an NHL match. A year later, Mighty Ducks of Anaheim and Florida Panthers began playing as franchises 25 and 26 respectively NHL. Two new franchises were awarded as part of the NHL's efforts to regain the presence of television networks by expanding throughout southern America. The southern drive of the NHL continued in 1993 when North Minnesota Star moved to Dallas, Texas to become a Dallas Star.
In 1994, the players were locked by the owners due to the lack of a Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA). The 1994-95 NHL termination lasted 104 days and resulted in the season being shortened from 84 games planned to 48. The owner insisted on a salary cap, changes to free agent and arbitration in the hope of limiting salary increases, the union instead proposed a luxury tax system. Just as the whole season seems to be gone, the 11 o'clock deal has been approved. The owners failed to reach the full salary limit but the deal was originally regarded as a win for the owners. The deal was not enough to save the two teams in Canada's smallest NHL market. The income difference between the large and small market teams, compounded by the decline in the value of the Canadian Dollar, forced Quebec Nordiques to move to Denver and became Colorado Avalanche in 1995; Jets Winnipeg moved to Phoenix, Arizona, became Coyote, the following year. The Whalers of Hartford followed suit, moved to Greensboro, NC and became Carolina Hurricanes in 1997. NHL continued its expansion into cities in the Southern United States. In 1998, Predator Nashville joined the league, followed by Atlanta Thrashers the following year. To market their players even further, the NHL decided to play its players at the Winter Olympics, starting in 1998, at Nagano Games. In 2000, the league added two franchises, increasing the total to 30. NHL returned to Minnesota with Wild and added Blue Jackets in Columbus, Ohio.
2004-05 lockout
In 2004, owners claimed that player salaries had grown much faster than income, and that the league as a whole lost more than US $ 300 million in 2002-03. As a result, on September 15, 2004 Gary Bettman announced that the owners again locked the players before the start of the 2004-05 season. On February 16, 2005, Bettman announced the cancellation of the entire season. Like the closure of 1994-95, the owners again demanded a salary cap, which the players would not consider until the season was on the brink of collapse. The cancellation of that season led to a rebellion within the union. NHLPA President Trevor Linden and senior director Ted Saskin took over the negotiations from executive director Bob Goodenow. In early July, the two sides have agreed to a new collective bargaining agreement. The deal featured a hard salary cap, linked to a fixed percentage of league revenue and 24% payroll.
21st century
Hoping to reduce the number of tie matches during the regular season, the NHL decided that starting the 1999-2000 season, in every game tied after regulation time, both teams will be guaranteed one point, while the team that wins in overtime will earn a second point. Edmonton Oilers hosted the NHL's first regular outdoor hockey game, the Heritage Classic on November 22, 2003. The match against Canadiens was held at Commonwealth Stadium before a crowd of 57,167 fans experienced temperatures as low as -18 degrees Celsius (0 degrees Fahrenheit). In the 2005-06 season, the NHL eliminated tie matches, as firefights were introduced to break all regular-season matches tied after a five-minute overtime period. Penalty shootout was one of several rule changes made in 2005, when the league attempted to open the game after the lockout. One of the most controversial changes is the zero tolerance policy of the league on the punishment of obstruction. The league hopes that the game can be opened if it is cracked on "grasping and grabbing". Tighter regulations have met with many complaints about the legitimacy of several calls, that players dive to withdraw fines, and that officials do not call in sufficient punishment. The initial change led to a sharp increase in scores. The combined team scored 6.1 goals per game in 2005-06, more than one full goal per game higher than in the 2003-04 season. This is the highest increase in violations since 1929-30. However, the assessment has declined rapidly since then, approaching the pre-locking number in 2007-08.
In the 2005-06 season, rookies Alexander Ovechkin and Sidney Crosby started their careers. In the first three seasons, they each won Art Ross and Hart; Crosby in 2007, and Ovechkin in 2008. The success of Heritage Classic led to more game scheduling outdoors. The Sabers hosted the 2008 NHL Winter Classic on New Year's Day 2008, losing to the Pittsburgh Penguins in a shootout in front of a 71,217 crowd at Ralph Wilson Stadium. The second Winter Classic was held January 1, 2009 at Wrigley Field in Chicago between Blackhawks and Red Wings. The third NHL Winter Classic was held at Fenway Park on January 1, 2010, between Boston Bruins and Philadelphia Flyers. The Bruins hosts win.
However, the two clubs are still experiencing financial problems. The Phoenix Coyotes finally filed for bankruptcy in May 2009. The league then took over the team later that year to stabilize the club's operations, in the hope of eventually selling them back to the new owners who would commit to stay in the Phoenix market. The League did not find a satisfactory buyer for the Coyote until 2013. The Atlanta Thrashers battle financially eventually sold to True North Sports and Entertainment in 2011, which then relocated the team to Winnipeg, a striking reversal of the league's Southern expansion over a decade earlier.
NHL re-entered the lockout in 2012, canceled the first 526 games, approximately 43% of the season, until at least December 30, 2012. Right after 5 am on January 6, 2013, after about 16 hours of ongoing negotiations, the NHL and the player union reached a tentative agreement about a new collective bargaining agreement to end the lockout. The first match of the season was held on 19 January.
Timeline
See also
- List of NHL seasons
Note
References
Further reading
External links
- NHL.com - History
- Hockey: A People's History by Canadian Broadcasting Corporation
Source of the article : Wikipedia
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