Today In NHL History - Good Friday Brawl

On April 20th in 1984, divisional rivals Montreal Canadiens and Quebec Nordiques engaged in a now famous fight known simply by its calendar namesake emanating from the perfect storm of NHL playoffs, politics and provincial pride.

The Good Friday Brawl fisticuffs ensued at the end of the second period of Game 6 of the Adams Division Finals and lasted for ten minutes before teams retreated to their respective dressing rooms. Upon surveying the damage to teammate Jean Hamel from a Louis Sleigher sucker punch, the Canadiens returned to settle the score in the final frame.

Montreal beat Quebec that night to seal the series by a margin of 4-2.

That's today in NHL history.

Today In NHL History - Gary Bettman

On February 1st in 1993, former NBA senior vice-president and general counsel Gary Bettman was appointed Commissioner of the NHL. As clever as he is unpopular, Bettman has brought tremendous change to the game introducing and alienating fans alike.

During his 33 year tenure, Bettman has presided over the:

• elimination of traditionally named divisions (Adams, Patrick, Norris, Smythe) and conferences (Clarence Campbell, Prince of Wales) in favor of vaguely geographically identifiable divisions (Northeast, Atlantic, Central, Pacific) and conferences (Western, Eastern) (1993);
• realignment of teams into unbalanced divisions (Metropolitan, Atlantic, Central, Pacific) and conferences (Western, Eastern) (2013); 
• expansion of six teams - Anaheim Ducks (1993), Florida Panthers (1993), Nashville Predators (1998), Atlanta Thrashers (1999), Minnesota Wild (2000), Columbus Blue Jackets (2000);
• relocation of five teams - Minnesota North Stars to Dallas (1993), Quebec Nordiques to Denver (1995), Winnipeg Jets to Phoenix (1996), Hartford Whalers to Raleigh (1997), Atlanta Thrashers to Winnipeg (2011);
• introduction of NHL players in Winter Olympic Games (1995);
• preventing NHL players from participating in Winter Olympics for 2018 and 2022;
• introduction of regular season games overseas (1997);
• addition of two divisions - Southeast, Northwest (1998);
• massive team realignment extinguishing historic divisional rivalries (1993-2000);
• overhaul of the playoff system mandating that teams play out of their conference rather than their division (1993);
• awarding of each division winner with one of the top three spots in the conference for playoff match-up purposes regardless of where their points would otherwise place them in the standings (1998);
• awarding of one point to teams losing in sudden death overtime thereby extending differing point values to games depending on their duration (2pts for regulation games, 3pts for overtime games)(1999);
• introduction of regular season outdoor games in the form of the Heritage Classic (2003), Winter Classic (2008) and Stadium Series (2014);
• introduction of a salary cap tied to league revenues (2005);
• introduction of a shootout to resolve games tied at the end of overtime guaranteeing 2pts for a regulation game and 3pts for an overtime game (2005);
• banishment of the lion's share of nationally televised games to the Versus network (presently known as the NBC Sports Network) (2005);
• drastic reduction of inter-conference games in favor of 24 divisional games each season (2008);
• explosion of player salaries and ticket prices (1993-present); and
• three work stoppages (104 days during the 1994-1995 season, entire 2004-2005 season, 119 days during the 2012-2013 season).

When not working to improve the game and line owners pockets with increased revenues, he can be found being booed in arenas league-wide.

That's today in NHL history.

Today In NHL History - NHL Is Born

On November 26th in 1917, the NHL was born out of discussions commencing four days prior amongst disgruntled NHA owners at Montreal's Windsor Hotel.

Struggling to survive amidst WWI enlistment and intense ownership disputes, four of the five NHA franchises (Montreal Canadiens, Montreal Wanderers, Ottawa Senators, Quebec Bulldogs) elected to leave behind troublesome Toronto Blueshirts owner Eddie Livingstone and the NHA. Their new league was named the NHL.

Surviving years of expansion, contraction, franchise relocation and renaming in its infancy, the NHL eventually settled into a six team structure in 1942 before ultimately filling out into its current 30 team, four division and two conference structure in 2013.
That's today in NHL history.

NHL League Size And Regular Season Length

With this week's release of the regular season schedule for the NHL's 108th season of operation (107th season of actual play), it's a good time to consider this season's offering in the historical context of the number of participating teams and regular season games played since the league's inception 108 years ago.

Years	Games	Teams		Years	Games	Teams
1917-1918	22	4		1978-1979	80	17
1918-1919	18	3		1979-1991	80	21
1919-1924	24	4		1991-1992	80	22
1924-1925	30	6		1992-1993	84	24
1925-1926	36	7		1993-1994	84	26
1926-1931	44	10		1994-1995	48	26
1931-1932	48	8		1995-1998	82	26
1932-1935	48	9		1998-2000	82	28
1935-1938	48	8		2000-2004	82	30
1938-1942	48	7		2004-2005	0	30
1942-1946	50	6		2005-2012	82	30
1946-1949	60	6		2012-2013	48	30
1949-1967	70	6		2013-2017	82	30
1967-1968	74	12		2017-2020	82	31
1968-1970	76	12		2020-2021	56	31
1970-1972	78	14		2021-2025	82	32
1972-1974	78	16
1974-1978	80	18

Rising from 3 to 32 teams and 18 to 84 games since 1918, the NHL regular season now sits at 32 teams playing a 82 times a piece for a total of 1,312 games. Aside from three work stoppages - abbreviating, canceling and abbreviating the proceedings respectively (1994-1995, 2004-2005, 2012-2013), a fire finishing a team (Montreal Wanderers) part-way through the year (1917-1918), and COVID-19 suspending the 2019-2020 season and abbreviating the 2020-2021 season, most NHL regular season schedules have been played as planned with few, if any, interruptions.

Amidst endless stories of financially troubled clubs, the league has done well to mitigate NHL relocation, embracing NHL expansion in Las Vegas (2017-2018) and Seattle (2021-2022) to achieve a 32 team league with division and conference balance.  

On the heels of 2013's NHL realignment, expect regular season length to remain at 82 games for the foreseeable future in order to preserve their commitment to extended divisional play, every team visiting every rink each year, and the pursuit of the all-mighty dollar which directly influences player salaries.

* See also Fewest And Most Games Needed to Win Stanley Cup.
* See also NHL Stanley Cup Playoff Length By Days And Games.
* See also History of NHL Expansion.
* See also History of NHL Relocation.
* See also History of NHL Contraction.
* See also History of NHL Team Renaming.

History of NHL Relocation

Since the league's inaugural season in 1917, the NHL has presided over the relocation of thirteen teams, four prior to the cementing of the Original Six in 1942 and the remaining seven clubs commencing in the mid-1970s.

The chart below shows each instance of the relocation of a NHL team, sorted by year, old team name and new team name.

Year	Old Team Name	New Team Name
1920	Quebec Bulldogs	Hamilton Tigers
1925	Hamilton Tigers	New York Americans*#
1930	Pittsburgh Pirates	Philadelphia Quakers#
1934	Ottawa Senators	St. Louis Eagles#
1976	California Golden Seals	Cleveland Barons#
1976	Kansas City Scouts	Colorado Rockies
1980	Atlanta Flames	Calgary Flames
1982	Colorado Rockies	New Jersey Devils
1993	Minnesota North Stars	Dallas Stars
1995	Quebec Nordiques	Colorado Avalanche
1996	Winnipeg Jets	Phoenix Coyotes*
1997	Hartford Whalers	Carolina Hurricanes
2011	Atlanta Thrashers	Winnipeg Jets

* Team was victim of NHL Renaming
# Team was victim of NHL Contraction

As indicated by the footnotes above, several teams have endured change in the form of renaming and contraction. The number of NHL teams and regular season games played by year may be found here.

Seven active NHL teams are a product of relocation (Calgary Flames, New Jersey Devils, Dallas Stars, Colorado Avalanche, Phoenix Coyotes, Carolina Hurricanes, Winnipeg Jets).  The current record for the most relocations by a single NHL team is two, held jointly by the Quebec Bulldogs (Hamilton Tigers, New York Americans) and Kansas City Scouts (Colorado Rockies, New Jersey Devils). Only twice has a relocated club carried their team name to the new town (Flames, Stars).

The most recent NHL team relocation saw Atlanta lose their second team in 31 years (Flames 1980, Thrashers 2011) and Winnipeg land their second club in 32 years (Jets 1979, Jets 2011). The New York Islanders moved a mere 27 miles west from Uniondale to Brooklyn in 2015. The team now splits its home games between Nassau Coliseum and Barclays Center until their new rink in Belmont is ready in 2021.

In 2013, the Glendale counsel voted 4-3 to keep the Coyotes for five more years, narrowly averting a relocation of the club to Seattle or Quebec City. On June 30, 2022, the city of Glendale evicted the Coyotes over to alleged unpaid taxes and rink charges. The team will play the next three seasons at ASU's 5,000 seat Mullett Arena in Tempe. 

While the NHL prefers expansion over relocation owing to the spectacular fees for owners, the continued financial struggles of several Sun Belt squads may yield more relocation in the years to come.

* See also History of NHL Expansion.

* See also History of NHL Contraction.

* See also History of NHL Team Renaming.

2010 NHL Preseason Schedule Heads Overseas

Tonight the puck drops on the NHL's 107 game preseason schedule. In addition to the handful of home games that season's ticketholders love paying for, 18 clubs will skate in 14 non-NHL cities in 9 countries matching up with 7 non-NHL teams en route. Here's a closer look at these out-of-town pairings and places.

Date: Teams --'-------- City
9/22: CHI v. TBL --'''''-- Winnipeg, MB
9/23: PHI v. TOR --''''-- London, ON
9/23: BOS v. FLA ---''''- Rochester, NY
9/28: BUF v. OTT --'''-'- Dundas, ON
9/29: CGY v. NYI --'''''''- Saskatoon, SK
10/2: MTL v. NYI --''''''- Quebec City, QC
10/2: COL v. LAK ---''''- Las Vegas, NV
10/2: SJS v. Adler ---''''- Mannheim, GER
10/2: BOS v. Belfast ---- Belfast, IRL
10/4: CAR v. St. Pete --- St. Petersburg, RUS
10/4: MIN v. Tampere -' Tampere, FIN
10/5: CLB v. Malmo --''- Malmo, SWE
10/5: BOS v. Liberec '--- Liberec, CZE
10/5: PHO v. Riga -''''''-- Riga, LAT

London, Saskatoon, and Las Vegas enjoy a repeat of last year's preseason matchups, with the Lightning and Islanders returning to Quebec City and Winnipeg, respectively. No coincident that the financially troubled twosome are back in leading markets for league expansion and relocation.

Interestingly, the team most likely to move is staying put in Phoenix for the preseason. Perhaps a trip north for the Coyotes might be a bit much for local fans to handle. Sadly, Hamilton was again omitted from the exhibition offering. One can't help but wonder if Bettman has forever banned NHL hockey from this town owing to Balsillie's aggressive bid.

The preseason schedule lasts for 14 days. The games start counting on October 7th when regular season play begins. Game on!

2009 NHL Preseason Schedule Visits New Markets

This year's NHL preseason schedule has half the league facing off in eleven non-NHL North American cities. Of these fifteen traveling teams, one has four such games (NYI), two play thrice (LAK, TBL), three play twice (OTT, EDM, PHO), and nine play once (VAN, FLA, PHI, TOR, SJS, CGY, BOS, MTL, COL). Here's a closer look at the pairings and places.

Date: -Teams ---------- City
9/14: NYI v. VAN ---- Terrace, BC
9/15: FLA v. OTT ---- Halifax, NS
9/17: PHI v. TOR ---- London, ON
9/17: LAK v. SJS ---'- Ontario, CA
9/19: CGY v. NYI ---- Saskatoon, SK
9/20: EDM v. NYI --- Saskatoon, SK
9/20: BOS v. MTL --- Quebec City, QC
9/21: OTT v. TBL ---- Saskatoon, SK
9/22: LAK v. NYI ---- Kansas City, MO
9/22: PHO v. TBL --- Everett, WA
9/23: PHO v. TBL ---' Loveland, CO
9/24: EDM v. TBL --- Winnipeg, MB
9/26: COL v. LAK ---- Las Vegas, NV

Throwing a bone to some undersized markets while test driving a selection of expansion and relocation possibilities, the league has conveniently sent a few financially troubled teams (NYI, TBL, PHO) on a beauty contest to venues that may one day be home.

No surprise that Hamilton didn't make the cut this year. Perhaps next season they'll have a team of their own.

Making The Coyotes Everyone's Team

The solution to the Coyote Ugly that is the NHL in Phoenix is to share this troubled team with everyone who wants it. How so you say? Send them on the road, forever.

Rather than saddling another Sun Belt settlement with a perennial loser or forgoing lucrative expansion fees by relocating the desert dogs to a hockey rich pasture, the NHL should find an ownership group willing to be bound by a two-year movement clause for the club. That's right, you must agree to move the team every two years.

It's a simple plan. Second tier hockey hungry cities would bid for the right to host the Coyotes for a two season stint. Beauty contests headlined with season ticket deposits would determine the team's next 730 day residency before moving again on a biennial basis.

With a short fuse on each stay fans would embrace the novelty and excitement of a time limited team praying for playoff success during their terse tenure. Hamilton, Winnipeg, Saskatoon, Quebec, Las Vegas, Portland, Seattle, eat your heart out. If you pay, they will come.

Undoubtedly laughable at first blush the concept of the roaming Coyotes deserves a serious look. The ability to test numerous potential markets without a major commitment while turning a tidy profit is invaluable. Moreover the transient nature of the team would yield fans across the continent for the franchise from everywhere and nowhere at once.

Circusesque perhaps, but didn't the league cross that line years ago? How different, after all, is Barnum & Bailey from Bettman & Daly.

We'll run 'til we drop, baby we'll never go back.

NHL's Evolving Position On Phoenix

1/23/09: “There are some issues out there. They are not, I repeat not, on life support." Gary Bettman

2/4/09: "The reports of the franchise's demise are just ridiculous. All of this blanket characterization of 'hockey doesn't work in the Sun Belt' is just hogwash." Gary Bettman

3/26/09: "We're looking for an infusion of capital and thinking about nothing else. We're talking to a number of people, but there's no sense of urgency." Gary Bettman

5/5/09: "We have just become aware of today's Bankruptcy Court filing purportedly made on behalf of the Phoenix Coyotes." Bill Daly

5/6/09: "We fix the problems. We don’t run out on cities.” Gary Bettman

5/7/09: "We don't usually like to pick fights, but we end them." Bill Daly

5/9/09: "People deserve a team in that building and a team in Glendale. I think it's a good market." Bill Daly

5/15/09: "I believe that all of our franchises can be successful where they are currently." Gary Bettman

Bettman recently lengthened the league record at WSJ's Future of Sports.

Florida Flounders - Southeast Sends Two

Thick as thieves in sixth place at the March 4th trade deadline, Florida clung to prized blueliner J. Bo to solidify their Eastern Conference standing. Last night the experiment ended when the Rangers recorded a 2-1 win over the Flyers.

Florida's flub stretched their playoff-less streak to eight seasons. Worse still, it sunk the Southeast's chances of repeating a three team post season. Only six times (1996, 2000, 2001, 2006, 2007, 2009) in the past 15 seasons has the lowly south sent more than one team, managing three teams once (1996) with near misses in 2000 and 2009.

Year: Playoffs
2009: WAS, CAR
2008: WAS
2007: ATL, TBL
2006: CAR, TBL
2004: TBL
2003: TBL
2002: CAR
2001: WAS, CAR
2000: WAS, FLA
1999: CAR
1998: WAS
1997: FLA
1996: FLA, WAS, TBL
1995: WAS
1994: WAS

With Columbus clinching a franchise first playoff berth, Florida has sole possession of the NHL's longest playoff drought. You can't help but wonder if a change of climate might help their cause.

Tough sledding in the sun belt.