The National Hockey League (NHL); French: Ligue nationale de hockey (LNH), 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 to be the top-ranked professional ice hockey league in the world, with players from 17 countries as of the 2023–24 season. 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.
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".
Jay Daniel Bouwmeester is a Canadian former professional ice hockey defenceman. He played seventeen seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the Florida Panthers, Calgary Flames and St. Louis Blues. He was a first round selection, third overall, of the Panthers at the 2002 NHL Entry Draft. He was named to the NHL All-Rookie Team in 2003 and played seven seasons in the Panthers organization before being traded to the Calgary Flames in 2009, with which he played four seasons. Bouwmeester was then traded to the Blues in 2013. He held one of the longest iron man streaks in NHL history as he appeared in 737 consecutive regular season games between 2004 and 2014.
Martin Gélinas is a Canadian former professional ice hockey forward who played 1,273 games in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the Edmonton Oilers, Quebec Nordiques, Vancouver Canucks, Carolina Hurricanes, Calgary Flames, Florida Panthers and Nashville Predators. A first round selection of the Los Angeles Kings at the 1988 NHL Entry Draft, Gélinas was sent to the Oilers as part of the 1988 Wayne Gretzky trade before ever playing a game for the Kings.
Kerry Fraser is a hockey analyst, broadcaster and former senior referee in the National Hockey League. During his career, he called 1,904 regular season games, 12 Stanley Cup Finals, and over 261 Stanley Cup playoff games.
Don Koharski is a retired professional ice hockey referee in the National Hockey League. He resides in Tampa, Florida, with his wife, with whom he has two sons. Starting with the 1994–95 NHL season, he wore uniform number 12, and, since the 1987–88 NHL season, he wore a helmet while refereeing NHL games.
Stephen Walkom currently serves as vice president and director of officiating for the National Hockey League (NHL). This is his second stint in that position, having previously served from 2005 to 2009. From 1990 to 2004, and from 2009 to 2013, he worked as an on-ice referee for the league.
Bruce Melvin Hood was a Canadian author, businessman, politician, and a professional ice hockey referee in the National Hockey League (NHL).
The Stanley Cup Finals in ice hockey is the annual championship series of the National Hockey League (NHL). The winner is awarded the Stanley Cup, North America's oldest professional sports trophy, and one of the "most important championships available to the sport [of ice hockey]" according to the International Ice Hockey Federation.
Darryl Marion Sydor is a Canadian-American former professional ice hockey defenseman. He won two Stanley Cups during his career: with the Dallas Stars in 1999, and with the Tampa Bay Lightning in 2004. He also reached the Stanley Cup Finals in 1993 as a member of the Los Angeles Kings, in 2000 as a member of the Dallas Stars and in 2008 as a member of the Pittsburgh Penguins. As a junior, Sydor won a Memorial Cup with the Kamloops Blazers and also represented Canada at the World Junior Championships.
Dan O'Rourke is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player and current National Hockey League referee. He made his debut during the 1999–2000 NHL season, and has officiated 1,329 regular season games as of the start of the 2024–25 season. O’Rourke has also appeared in 202 playoff games, including seven Stanley Cup Finals. He wears uniform number nine.
Dan O'Halloran is a National Hockey League referee, who wears uniform number 13. He was one of the selected referees who officiated the 2007, 2008, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, and the 2017 Stanley Cup Finals.
The Montreal Canadiens ice hockey club, formally Le Club de Hockey Canadien, was founded on December 4, 1909. The Canadiens are the oldest professional hockey franchise in the world. Created as a founding member of the National Hockey Association (NHA) with the aim of appealing to Montreal's francophone population, the Canadiens played their first game on January 5, 1910, and captured their first Stanley Cup in 1916. The team left the NHA and helped found the National Hockey League (NHL) in 1917. They returned to the Stanley Cup Finals in 1919, but their series against the Seattle Metropolitans was cancelled without a winner due to the Spanish flu pandemic that killed defenceman Joe Hall. The Canadiens have won the Stanley Cup 24 times: once while part of the National Hockey Association (NHA), and 23 times as members of the NHL. With 24 NHL titles overall, they are the most successful team in league history.
Kevin Pollock is a retired Canadian ice hockey official. He worked in the National Hockey League from the 1999–2000 NHL season until the 2023–24 NHL season, and officiated in ice hockey at the 2014 Winter Olympics – Men's tournament.
Karl Johan Marcus Vinnerborg is a Swedish professional ice hockey referee, currently working in the Swedish Hockey League—Sweden's premier ice hockey league—and with the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF). Vinnerborg has won Guldpipan three times, awarded to the premier official in Elitserien as voted by the players. Vinnerborg has officiated at seven IIHF sanctioned events, among them four consecutive World Championships between 2006—2009, and at the 2010 Olympics. He has officiated the World Championship gold medal game twice, 2007 in Moscow and 2008 in Québec. In 2010, Vinnerborg made history when he became the first European referee to officiate in the National Hockey League (NHL).
Bill Friday was a Canadian ice hockey referee. He refereed 1,425 major league hockey games, and is the only referee to work both the Avco Cup Finals in the World Hockey Association (WHA) and the Stanley Cup Finals in the National Hockey League (NHL).
Steve Kozari is a Canadian National Hockey League referee, who wears uniform number 40. He made his debut during the 2005–06 NHL season, and has officiated 1,218 regular season games as of the start of the 2024–25 season. He has also worked 153 playoff games, including five Stanley Cup Finals appearances. Prior to starting his professional career, he refereed a Memorial Cup and was the recipient of the Allen Paradice Memorial Trophy as the Western Hockey League’s top on-ice official during the 2002–03 season.
François St-Laurent is a Canadian ice hockey referee, currently working in the National Hockey League. In the summer of 1999, during a camp held by Ron Fournier, he told Réseau des Sports that his goal was to make it to the NHL. Said to have "an exceptional talent", he became a Level VI referee in the Hockey Canada Officiating Program during a seminar in November 2001, held in Halifax, Nova Scotia.
Frederick L'Ecuyer is a Canadian ice hockey referee, employed by the National Hockey League. He has worn the number 17 since the start of the 2010–11 NHL season. As of the start of the 2024–25 season, he has officiated 1,033 regular season games and 44 Stanley Cup playoff games.
