Wayne Douglas Gretzky is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player and former head coach. He played 20 seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL) for four teams from 1979 to 1999,retiring at the age of 38. Nicknamed "the Great One",he has been called the greatest ice hockey player ever by the NHL based on extensive surveys of hockey writers,ex-players,general managers and coaches. Gretzky is the leading career goal scorer,assist producer and point scorer in NHL history,and has more career assists than any other player has total points. He is the only NHL player to total over 200 points in one season,a feat he accomplished four times. In addition,Gretzky tallied over 100 points in 15 professional seasons,13 of them consecutively. At the time of his retirement in 1999,he held 61 NHL records:40 regular season records,15 playoff records,and 6 All-Star records.
The Art Ross Trophy is awarded to the National Hockey League (NHL) player who leads the league in points at the end of the regular season. It was presented to the league by former player,general manager,and head coach Art Ross. The trophy has been awarded 70 times to 29 players since its introduction in the 1947–48 NHL season. Ross is also known for his design of the official NHL puck,with slightly bevelled edges for better control.
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 World Hockey Association was a professional ice hockey major league that operated in North America from 1972 to 1979. It was the first major league to compete with the National Hockey League (NHL) since the collapse of the Western Hockey League in 1926. Although the WHA was not the first league since that time to attempt to challenge the NHL's supremacy,it was by far the most successful in the modern era.
Jacques Martin is a Canadian professional ice hockey coach. In the National Hockey League (NHL),he has served as head coach of the St. Louis Blues,Ottawa Senators,Montreal Canadiens and Florida Panthers. Martin also served as the general manager of the Panthers and has served as an assistant coach with the Canadian men's national ice hockey team. Martin is a Franco-Ontarian,and a two-time Stanley Cup champion.
Guy Damien Lafleur,nicknamed "the Flower" and "Le Démon Blond",was a Canadian professional ice hockey player. He was the first player in National Hockey League (NHL) history to score 50 goals in six consecutive seasons as well as 50 goals and 100 points in six consecutive seasons. Between 1971 and 1991,Lafleur played right wing for the Montreal Canadiens,New York Rangers,and Quebec Nordiques in an NHL career spanning 17 seasons,and five Stanley Cup championships in 1973,1976,1977,1978,and 1979. Lafleur was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1988,named one of the 100 Greatest NHL Players in history in 2017,and was named to the Order of Hockey in Canada in 2022.
In ice hockey,the captain is the player designated by a team as the only person authorized to speak with the game officials regarding rule interpretations when the captain is on the ice. At most levels of play each team must designate one captain and a number of alternate captains who speak to the officials when the captain is on the bench. Captains wear a "C" on their sweaters,while alternate captains wear an "A".
Robert Michael Gainey is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player who played for the Montreal Canadiens from 1973 until 1989. After retiring from active play,he became a hockey coach and later an executive with the Minnesota North Stars/Dallas Stars organization before returning to Montreal as general manager from 2003 to 2010. Currently,Gainey serves as a team consultant for the St. Louis Blues as well as a volunteer senior advisor for the Peterborough Petes of the Ontario Hockey League. He was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1992. In 2017 Gainey was named one of the '100 Greatest NHL Players' in history.
The Indianapolis Racers were a major league ice hockey team that played in the World Hockey Association (WHA) from 1974 to 1978. They competed in four full seasons before folding 25 games into the 1978–79 season. They played at Market Square Arena. They were the first professional team to secure Wayne Gretzky and Mark Messier.
The 1992–93 NHL season was the 76th regular season of the National Hockey League. Each player wore a patch on their jersey throughout the season to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the Stanley Cup. The league expanded to 24 teams with the addition of the Ottawa Senators and the Tampa Bay Lightning. Under the new labour agreement signed following the 1992 NHL strike,each team began playing 84 games per season,including two games at neutral sites.
The 1993 Stanley Cup Finals was the championship series of the National Hockey League's (NHL) 1992–93 season,and the culmination of the 1993 Stanley Cup playoffs. It was contested between the Los Angeles Kings and the Montreal Canadians. It was the first appearance in the Final for the Kings and the first appearance since the 1920 Stanley Cup Finals for a team based on the west coast of the United States. It was also the 34th appearance for Montreal,their first since the 1989 Stanley Cup Finals. The Canadians defeated the Kings in five games to win the team's 24th Stanley Cup. The year 1993 was the 100th anniversary of the first awarding of the Stanley Cup in 1893,and the first Finals to start in the month of June. To date,the 1993 Canadians are the last Stanley Cup championship team to be composed solely of North American-born players,and the last Canadian team to win the Stanley Cup.
The 1988–89 NHL season was the 72nd season of the National Hockey League. The Calgary Flames won an all-Canadian Stanley Cup Finals against the Montreal Canadiens four games to two. This remains the last time two Canadian teams faced each other for the Stanley Cup.
The 1983–84 NHL season was the 67th season of the National Hockey League. The Edmonton Oilers de-throned the four-time defending Stanley Cup champion New York Islanders four games to one in the Cup finals.
The 1979–80 NHL season was the 63rd season of the National Hockey League. This season saw the addition of four teams from the disbanded World Hockey Association as expansion franchises. The Edmonton Oilers,Winnipeg Jets,New England Whalers,and Quebec Nordiques joined the NHL,bringing the total to 21 teams. The other two WHA teams were paid to fold.
Cameron Duncan Connor is a Canadian former professional ice hockey forward and a Stanley Cup winner.
Marty Gordon Howe is a Canadian-American former professional ice hockey defenseman. Howe was drafted in the third round,51st overall in the 1974 NHL Entry Draft by the Montreal Canadiens. From 2001 to 2006,he was an assistant coach for the Chicago Wolves of the AHL. He is the son of Colleen and Gordie Howe,older brother of Mark Howe,and nephew of Vic Howe. Howe now lives with his wife Mary in Glastonbury,Connecticut.
The 1992–93 Montreal Canadiens season was the team's 76th season in the National Hockey League (NHL) and their 84th overall. Coming off of a disappointing second round playoff exit against the Boston Bruins during the 1991–92 season,the third-straight season Boston had defeated Montreal in the playoffs,the Canadiens were champions for the 1992–93 season.
The 1979 NHL expansion,popularly referred to as the NHL–WHA merger,was the culmination of several years of negotiations between the National Hockey League (NHL) and the World Hockey Association (WHA). The result of the negotiations was that the WHA folded,and four of its six surviving teams - the Edmonton Oilers,New England Whalers,Quebec Nordiques,and Winnipeg Jets –entered the NHL as expansion teams who commenced play in the NHL in the 1979–80 season. The agreement officially took effect on June 22;it ended the seven-year existence of the WHA and re-established the NHL as the sole major league in North American professional ice hockey.
Bernie Saunders is a Canadian former professional ice hockey right winger who played 10 games in the National Hockey League for the Quebec Nordiques during the 1979–80 and 1980–81 seasons.
