The National Hockey League is a professional ice hockey league in North America composed of 32 teams – 25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. The NHL is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Canada and is considered the premier professional ice hockey league in the world. 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 International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) views the Stanley Cup as one of the "most important championships available to the sport". The NHL is headquartered in Midtown Manhattan.
Gordon Howe was a Canadian professional ice hockey player. From 1946 to 1980, he played 26 seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL) and six seasons in the World Hockey Association (WHA); his first 25 seasons were spent with the Detroit Red Wings. Nicknamed "Mr. Hockey", Howe is often considered the most complete player ever to play the game and one of the greatest of all time. At his retirement, his 801 goals, 1,049 assists, and 1,850 total points were all NHL records that stood until they were broken by Wayne Gretzky, who himself has been a major champion of Howe's legacy. A 23-time NHL All-Star, he shares the NHL record for seasons played with Chris Chelios, and his all-time NHL games played record of 1,767 was only surpassed in 2021 by Patrick Marleau. In 2017, Howe was named one of the "100 Greatest NHL Players".
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 Houston Aeros were a professional ice hockey team in the International Hockey League (IHL) and the American Hockey League (AHL). The team played in Houston, Texas, at The Summit from 1994 until 2003 and the Toyota Center from 2003 to 2013. In the IHL, the team operated as an independent minor league team from 1994 to 2001, though the team occasionally accepted players on loan from various National Hockey League (NHL) clubs for development. Upon joining the AHL for the 2001–02 season, they became the primary affiliate of the one-year-old NHL expansion team, the Minnesota Wild, a partnership they maintained until the franchise's relocation in 2013. While the team's only formal partnership with the Dallas Stars was a partial affiliation agreement during the 2004–05 season, Dallas occasionally sent some of their prospects to the Aeros on individual loans from 1993 to 2005, until the establishment of the Iowa Stars gave Dallas its own primary farm team.
Martin Pierre Brodeur is a Canadian–American former professional ice hockey goaltender and current team executive. He played 22 seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL), 21 of them for the New Jersey Devils, with whom he won three Stanley Cup championships and five Eastern Conference championships in 17 postseason campaigns. He also won two Olympic gold medals with Team Canada in the 2002 and 2010 Winter Olympic Games, as well as several other medals with Team Canada in other international competitions. Brodeur is widely regarded as one of the greatest goaltenders of all time. In 2017, he was named by the league as one of the "100 Greatest NHL Players", and the following year, he was elected to the Hockey Hall of Fame.
Joseph Steven Sakic is a Canadian professional ice hockey executive and former player. He played his entire 21-year National Hockey League (NHL) career, which lasted from 1988 to 2009, with the Quebec Nordiques/Colorado Avalanche franchise. Named captain of the team in 1992, Sakic is regarded as one of the greatest team leaders in league history and was able to consistently motivate his team to play at a winning level. Nicknamed "Burnaby Joe", Sakic was named to play in 13 NHL All-Star Games and selected to the NHL First All-Star Team at centre three times. Sakic led the Avalanche to Stanley Cup titles in 1996 and 2001, earning the most valuable player (MVP) in the 1996 playoffs. In 2001, Sakic earned both the Hart Memorial Trophy and Lester B. Pearson Award as MVP of the NHL. He is one of six players to participate in the first two of the team's Stanley Cup victories and won the Stanley Cup a third time with the Avalanche in 2022 while serving as the team's general manager. Sakic became the third person, after Milt Schmidt and Serge Savard, to win the Stanley Cup with the same franchise as a player and general manager.
The Milwaukee Admirals are a professional ice hockey team in the American Hockey League (AHL). They play in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, United States, at the University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee Panther Arena. They are the highest level affiliate of the National Hockey League (NHL)'s Nashville Predators.
Christopher Ellis Drury is an American professional ice hockey executive and former player. He has served as the president and general manager for the New York Rangers since May 5, 2021. He previously served as the general manager of the Rangers American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate, the Hartford Wolf Pack.
The Central Canada Hockey League (CCHL); French: Ligue de hockey centrale du Canada (LHCC), is a Junior A ice hockey league in Eastern Canada consisting of 12 teams – all around the National Capital Region. The Bogart Cup is awarded annually to the league's playoff champion at the end of each season. The CCHL is one of the nine Junior A ice hockey leagues in Canada, and is headquartered in Ottawa, Ontario.
The 2007–08 NHL season was the 91st season of operation of the National Hockey League (NHL). It began on September 29, 2007, and the regular season ended April 6, 2008. The Stanley Cup playoffs ended on June 4, with the Detroit Red Wings defeating the Pittsburgh Penguins to win the Stanley Cup. The 56th NHL All-Star Game was held in Atlanta, Georgia, as the Atlanta Thrashers hosted the event at Philips Arena on January 27, 2008. The hosting by Atlanta was rescheduled from 2005, when a lockout cancelled the entire 2004–05 season.
Junior ice hockey is amateur-level ice hockey for 16 to 21 year-old players. National Junior teams compete annually for the IIHF World Junior Championship. The United States men's national junior ice hockey team are the defending champions from the 2024 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships.
Sheldon Keefe is a Canadian professional ice hockey coach and former player who is the head coach for the New Jersey Devils of the National Hockey League (NHL). He was selected in the second round, 47th overall, by the Tampa Bay Lightning in the 1999 NHL Entry Draft. He has also served as head coach of the Toronto Maple Leafs, as well as for their American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate, the Toronto Marlies, guiding the latter to their first Calder Cup championship in 2018.
The Cleveland Monsters are a professional ice hockey team based in Cleveland, that play in the American Hockey League (AHL). The team debuted in 2007 as the Lake Erie Monsters and since 2015 has served as the top affiliate of the Columbus Blue Jackets of the National Hockey League (NHL). The Monsters play home games at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse in downtown Cleveland and have one Calder Cup championship, after winning their first title in 2016.
Bruce Allan Boudreau is a Canadian professional ice hockey coach and former player. He previously served as head coach of the Washington Capitals, Anaheim Ducks, Minnesota Wild, and Vancouver Canucks of the National Hockey League (NHL). As a player, Boudreau played professionally for 20 seasons, and was a third round pick of the Toronto Maple Leafs at the 1975 NHL Amateur Draft. He played 141 games in the NHL with the Maple Leafs and Chicago Black Hawks, and 30 games in the World Hockey Association (WHA) with the Minnesota Fighting Saints. Boudreau played most of his career in the American Hockey League (AHL) for various teams where he was known for his goals and point-scoring abilities, recording 316 goals and 483 assists for 799 points in 634 games.
David Quinn is an American professional ice hockey coach and former player. He is an assistant coach for the Pittsburgh Penguins of the NHL and the head coach for the United States men's national team. He was previously the head coach of the New York Rangers and San Jose Sharks of the National Hockey League (NHL) and the Lake Erie Monsters of the American Hockey League (AHL); assistant coach for the Colorado Avalanche of the NHL; and head coach at Boston University. He was formally inducted into the Rhode Island Hockey Hall of Fame in 2021.
The Yale Bulldogs men's ice hockey team represents Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut and is the oldest collegiate ice hockey team in the United States. The Bulldogs compete in the Ivy League and the ECAC Hockey League (ECACHL) and play their home games at Ingalls Rink, also called the Yale Whale. The current head coach is Keith Allain, who led the Bulldogs to an Ivy League championship in his first year as head coach. Allain is assisted by former QU/UND goaltender, Josh Siembida. On April 13, 2013, the Bulldogs shut out Quinnipiac 4–0 to win their first NCAA Division I Championship.
Todd Andrew McLellan is a Canadian professional ice hockey coach and former player who currently serves as head coach of the Detroit Red Wings of the National Hockey League (NHL). He previously served as head coach of the San Jose Sharks, Edmonton Oilers, and Los Angeles Kings, and as an assistant coach with the Red Wings, with whom he won the Stanley Cup in 2008. He was drafted in 1986 by the New York Islanders and played five games with the major league club in the 1987–88 season before retiring in the minors the following season due to recurring injury.
The United States National Team Development Program (NTDP) was started in 1996 by USA Hockey as a way to identify elite ice hockey players under the age of 18, and centralize their training. There are two teams in the program: under-17 and under-18. Both teams are based in Plymouth, Michigan.
The 2013–14 NHL season was the 97th season of operation of the National Hockey League (NHL). This season features a realignment of the league's 30 teams from a six to a four division format. The regular season began October 1, and concluded April 13. The Stanley Cup playoffs began April 16.
The 2014–15 NHL season was the 98th season of operation of the National Hockey League (NHL). The Phoenix Coyotes changed their name to the Arizona Coyotes prior to the season.
