The National Hockey League is a professional ice hockey league in North America comprising 32 teams—25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. The NHL is considered to be the premier professional ice hockey league in the world, and is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Canada. The Stanley Cup, the oldest professional sports trophy in North America, is awarded annually to the league playoff champion at the end of each season.
The Stanley Cup is the championship trophy awarded annually to the National Hockey League (NHL) playoff champion. It is the oldest existing trophy to be awarded to a professional sports franchise in North America, and the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) considers it to be one of the "most important championships available to the sport". The trophy was commissioned in 1892 as the Dominion Hockey Challenge Cup and is named after Lord Stanley of Preston, the Governor General of Canada, who donated it as an award to Canada's top-ranking amateur ice hockey club. The entire Stanley family supported the sport, the sons and daughters all playing and promoting the game. The first Cup was awarded in 1893 to Montreal Hockey Club, and winners from 1893 to 1914 were determined by challenge games and league play. Professional teams first became eligible to challenge for the Stanley Cup in 1906. In 1915, the National Hockey Association (NHA) and the Pacific Coast Hockey Association (PCHA), the two main professional ice hockey organizations, reached a gentlemen's agreement in which their respective champions would face each other annually for the Stanley Cup. It was established as the de facto championship trophy of the NHL in 1926 and then the de jure NHL championship prize in 1947.
Stephen Gregory Yzerman is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player currently serving as executive vice president and general manager of the Detroit Red Wings, with whom he spent all 22 seasons of his NHL playing career. Widely regarded as one of the greatest players of all time, he is a Detroit sports icon and a member of the Hockey Hall of Fame. After his retirement as a player, he served in the front office of the Red Wings, and then as general manager of the Tampa Bay Lightning, while also being executive director for Team Canada in two Olympics.
The Canadian Hockey League is an umbrella organization that represents the three Canada-based major junior ice hockey leagues. The CHL was founded in 1975 as the Canadian Major Junior Hockey League, and is composed of its three member leagues, the Western Hockey League, Ontario Hockey League, and Quebec Major Junior Hockey League. For the 2021–22 season, its three leagues and 60 teams represent nine Canadian provinces as well as four American states.
José Nicolas Théodore is a Canadian former professional ice hockey goaltender. He played in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the Montreal Canadiens, Colorado Avalanche, Washington Capitals, Minnesota Wild, and Florida Panthers.
The following is a chronicle of events during the year 1980 in ice hockey.
The Oshawa Generals are a junior ice hockey team in the Ontario Hockey League. They are based in Oshawa, Ontario, Canada. The team is named for General Motors, an early sponsor which has its Canadian headquarters in Oshawa. In November 2016, the General Motors Centre changed its name to Tribute Communities Centre. Its 184 graduates to the National Hockey League are second in the OHL. The Generals have won the Memorial Cup five times, as well as a record thirteen Ontario Hockey League Championships, the J. Ross Robertson Cup.
The Detroit Junior Red Wings were a junior ice hockey team in the Ontario Hockey League for three seasons from 1992 to 1995. The Jr. Red Wings were based in Detroit, Michigan.
Derek Leonard Roy is a Canadian former professional ice hockey centre who played in the National Hockey League (NHL) with the Buffalo Sabres, Dallas Stars, Vancouver Canucks, St. Louis Blues, Nashville Predators and the Edmonton Oilers. He was originally drafted in the second round, 32nd overall, by the Buffalo Sabres in the 2001 NHL Entry Draft.
Shea Michael Weber is a Canadian professional ice hockey defenceman and captain of the Montreal Canadiens of the National Hockey League (NHL). He is an NHL All-Star and a two-time Olympic gold medallist. He is known to have one of the hardest shots in hockey history.
The following is a chronicle of events during the year 2006 in ice hockey.
The 1983 Memorial Cup was held May 7–14 at the Memorial Coliseum in Portland, Oregon. It was the 65th annual Memorial Cup competition and determined the major junior ice hockey champion of the Canadian Hockey League (CHL). Participating teams were the host team Portland Winter Hawks along with the Oshawa Generals, Verdun Juniors and Lethbridge Broncos who had won the Ontario Hockey League (OHL), Quebec Major Junior Hockey League (QMJHL) and Western Hockey League (WHL) championships respectively. Portland won their first Memorial Cup, defeating Oshawa in the final game.
The 1982 Memorial Cup was held May 8–15, 1982, at the Robert Guertin Arena in Hull, Quebec. It was the 64th annual Memorial Cup competition and determined the major junior ice hockey champion of the Canadian Hockey League (CHL). The champions of the Ontario Hockey League (OHL), Quebec Major Junior Hockey League (QMJHL) and Western Hockey League (WHL) – the Kitchener Rangers, Sherbrooke Castors and Portland Winter Hawks respectively – competed for the championship in a double round-robin tournament. The Winter Hawks became the first American-based team to compete for the trophy, while the Rangers defeated the Castors in the final to capture their first Memorial Cup championship. Sherbrooke's Sean McKenna was named tournament most valuable player.
The following is a chronicle of events during the year 2007 in ice hockey.
Leon Tim Draisaitl is a German professional ice hockey forward and alternate captain for the Edmonton Oilers of the National Hockey League (NHL). Draisaitl grew up playing hockey in Germany until he was selected second overall in the 2012 CHL Import Draft by the Prince Albert Raiders. After two seasons with the Raiders, he was drafted third overall by the Edmonton Oilers in the 2014 NHL Entry Draft in the 2014 season. In 2020, Draisaitl became the first German player to win the Art Ross Trophy as the leading point scorer in the NHL, the Hart Memorial Trophy as regular season MVP, and the Ted Lindsay Award for most outstanding player.
The following is a chronicle of events during the year 1982 in ice hockey.
The following is a chronicle of events during the year 2002 in ice hockey.
The following is a chronicle of events during the year 1992 in ice hockey.
The following is a chronicle of events during the year 1975 in ice hockey.
