the national hockey league (nhl; french: ligue nationale de hockey—lnh, french pronunciation: [liɡ nasjɔnal də ɔkɛ]) is a professional ice hockey league in north america comprising 32 teams—25 in the united states and 7 in canada.it is considered to be the top ranked professional ice hockey league in the world, and is one of the four 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 nhl is the fifth-wealthiest professional sport league in the world by revenue, after the national football league (nfl), major league baseball (mlb), the national basketball association (nba), and the english premier league (epl).the national hockey league was organized at the windsor hotel in montreal on november 26, 1917, after the suspension of operations of its predecessor organization, the national hockey association (nha), which had been founded in 1909 in renfrew, ontario.the nhl immediately took the nha's place as one of the leagues that contested for the stanley cup in an annual interleague competition before a series of league mergers and foldings left the nhl as the only league left competing for the stanley cup in 1926.at its inception, the nhl had four teams, all in canada, thus the adjective 'national' in the league's name.the league expanded to the united states in 1924, when the boston bruins joined, and has since consisted of both american and canadian teams.from 1942 to 1967, the league had only six teams, collectively (if not contemporaneously) nicknamed the 'original six'.the nhl added six new teams to double its size at the 1967 nhl expansion.the league then increased to 18 teams by 1974 and 21 teams in 1979.between 1991 and 2000 the nhl further expanded to 30 teams.it added its 31st and 32nd teams in 2017 and 2021, respectively.the league's headquarters have been in midtown manhattan since 1989, when the head office moved from montreal.there have been four league-wide work stoppages in nhl history, all occurring after 1992.the international ice hockey federation (iihf) considers the stanley cup to be one of the 'most important championships available to the sport'.the nhl draws many highly skilled players from all over the world, with players from 18 countries as of the 2022–23 season.canadians have historically constituted the majority of the players in the league, with an increasing percentage of american and european players in recent seasons.the montreal canadiens have the most nhl titles with 24 (including 23 stanley cup championships since entering the league).entering the 2022–23 season, the colorado avalanche, who defeated the tampa bay lightning 4–2 in the 2022 stanley cup finals, are the reigning league champions.founded in 1909, the nha began play in 1910 with seven teams in ontario and quebec, and was one of the first major leagues in professional ice hockey.however, by its eighth season, a series of disputes with toronto blueshirts owner eddie livingstone led team owners of the montreal canadiens, the montreal wanderers, the ottawa senators, and the quebec bulldogs to hold a meeting to discuss the league's future.realizing the nha constitution left them unable to force livingstone out, the four teams voted instead to suspend the nha, and on november 26, 1917, formed the national hockey league.frank calder was chosen as the nhl's first president, serving until his death in 1943.the bulldogs were unable to play in the nhl, and the remaining owners founded the toronto arenas to compete with the canadiens, wanderers and senators.
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