Henceforth, the trophies were designated for divisional championships, and the Stanley Cup became the de facto league championship trophy.įurther information: History of the National Hockey League (1942–1967) and Original Six The new Prince of Wales Trophy, donated in 1925, was also given to the league champion until 1927. The O'Brien Cup was revived in November 1921, and served as the league championship trophy until 1927. The new NHL did not have a championship trophy at first. Expansion into other cities followed, lasting until the 1930s, when several teams folded. The same four-team configuration lasted until 1924–25 when the Montreal Maroons and the Boston Bruins joined the league. The same three teams returned for 1918–19 before Quebec 'returned' for 1919–20, moving to Hamilton the following year. Almost immediately after starting the season, the Wanderers folded, leaving three teams to complete the season. The NHL started with three of the six NHA clubs ( Montreal Canadiens, Montreal Wanderers and Ottawa Senators) and a Toronto franchise run by the Toronto Arena Co., which leased the players of the Toronto Blueshirts. Finals from 1917 through 1921 contested between qualifier from first half-season and qualifier from second half-season.įurther information: History of the National Hockey League (1917–1942) Finals in 19 contested between top two teams of regular season. No Finals prior to 1914 Stanley Cup awarded to league winners and defended on a challenge basis. Toronto and Battalion did not participate in the second half. The two teams played off to determine the championship. The league did not use tiebreakers to determine the top record. All champion teams are also Stanley Cup champions unless marked. Toronto Blueshirts, Montreal Canadiens (13–7–0) To symbolize the league championship, the NHA champion was awarded the O'Brien Cup, donated by the O'Brien family, owners of silver mines (being the source of the silver in the trophy), owners of several of the NHA franchises, and original owner of the Montreal Canadiens. The 1916–17 season saw the introduction of the split schedule, an innovation attributed to Toronto NHA owner Eddie Livingstone. The 1911–12 season saw the elimination of the rover position, reducing number of skaters per side to six. Hockey seasons traditionally started in January and ended in March until the 1910–11 season which was the first to start before the new year. After 1927, the NHL playoff champion was awarded the Stanley Cup, while the O'Brien Cup and Prince of Wales Trophy were reused as division championship and playoff runner-up awards.įurther information: List of pre-NHL seasons To win the Stanley Cup, the NHL champion had to play off in a "world's series" with the champion of the Pacific Coast or Western hockey leagues. Until 1927, the NHL champion was awarded the O'Brien Cup, supplemented by the Prince of Wales Trophy, starting in 1925. The NHA champion was awarded the O'Brien Cup. Except for the 1919–20 season, where there was no playoff because Ottawa won both halves of the season, the champion of the NHL has been the playoff champion. The NHL continued the split-season and playoff format upon the winding up of the NHA organization. This changed in 1917 with the invention of the split-season, whereby the champion became the winner of the annual playoff. Like predecessor leagues, the champion of the NHA league since its founding was the team with the best regular season record, with a playoff only used if more than one team had the best win–loss record. 7 All-time top regular season record holders.
The current Ottawa Senators franchise does recognize the history of the original Senators (through retired numbers and a heritage jersey).The list is sub-divided using the same eras as the series of articles on the History of the National Hockey League.
Louis Eagles, the franchise was dissolved by the league. The original Ottawa Senators would continue in the league until 1935, where, after one season in St. The league would move the team to Hamilton in 1920 and dissolve the team in 1925. The Quebec Bulldogs, which suspended after the last NHA season, returned to play in the third NHL season, although they were considered founding members of the NHL. The list also includes the seasons of the National Hockey Association (NHA), the predecessor organization of the NHL, which had several teams that would continue play in the NHL.Only two franchises, Montreal and Toronto, still exist from the founding of the league.
This is a list of seasons of the National Hockey League (NHL), a professional ice hockey league, since its inception in 1917.