National Hockey League
Current season, competition or edition: 2016–17 NHL season
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| Sport | Ice hockey |
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| Founded | November 26, 1917 , Montreal, Quebec, Canada |
| Inaugural season | 1917–18 |
| Commissioner | Gary Bettman |
| No. of teams | 30 (31 in 2017) |
| Countries | Canada (7 teams) United States (23 teams; 24 in 2017) |
| Headquarters | New York City, New York, U.S. |
| Continent | North America |
| Most recent champion(s) |
Pittsburgh Penguins (4th title) |
| Most titles | Montreal Canadiens (25) |
| TV partner(s) |
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| Official website | www |
The National Hockey League (NHL; French: Ligue nationale de hockey—LNH) is a professional ice hockey league currently composed of 30 member clubs – 23 in the United States and 7 in Canada. Headquartered in New York City, the NHL is considered to be the premier professional ice hockey league in the world, and one of the 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 National Hockey League was organized on November 26, 1917, in Montreal, Quebec 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 folds 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 American and Canadian teams. After a labour-management dispute that led to the cancellation of the entire 2004–05 season, the league resumed play under a new collective agreement that included a salary cap. In 2009, the NHL enjoyed record highs in terms of sponsorships, attendance, and television audiences.
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