NHL Background & Foundation
NHL Background & Foundation
The first attempts to stage competitive ice hockey games came in the late 1880s. Prior to that, teams competed in rare tournaments and challenge competitions that prevailed in the Canadian sports world at the time. In 1887, four clubs from Montreal formed the Amateur Hockey Association of Canada (AHAC) and developed a structured schedule. In 1892, Lord Stanley donated the Stanley Cup as a symbol of the Canadian Championship and was appointed by Philip Danskin Ross and Sheriff John Sweetland as its guardians. It was awarded to the AHAC champion of the Montreal Hockey Club and thereafter to the champions of the league, or to any pre-certified team that won it in the challenge. In 1904, the International Hockey League (IHL), based on Lake Michigan, was created as the first fully professional league, which ran for two seasons. In recruiting players, international humanitarian law caused a “sports war” that drained amateur clubs of top players, especially in the Ontario Hockey Association (oh). In the 1905-06 season, he was the Hockey Association of Eastern Canada (ECAHA), which brought amateur players together and wages on its rosters, leading to the demise of international humanitarian law. Bidding offers for players led to several ECAHA teams losing money, eventually ending up on November 25, 1909. As a result of the dissolution of ECAHA, two federations were formed – the Canadian Hockey Association (CHA) and the National Hockey Association (NHA). [4] Because NHA owners were prominent and wealthy businessmen, CHA did not complete a season, with the NHA recruiting the best players easily, and interest in CHA teams faded. By 1914, the rival Pacific Coast Hockey League was launched (PCHA) The NHA Champion would play every season against the PCHA Champion for the Stanley Cup, ending the era of challenge.
The NHL appeared with the NHA suspension in 1917. After resolving disputes with Eddie Livingstone, owner of Toronto Blosherts, and executives of the other three NHA franchises – Montreal Canadiens, Montreal Wanderers and Ottawa Senators – the NHA suspended and formed the NHL, to resolve The NHL adopted the NHA Constitution, its rules, playing with six men alongside instead of the traditional seven at the time and the split schedule in the NHA. The owners originally intended the NHL to work for only one season. However, the NHA was permanently suspended in 1918 and ceased to be an organization in 1920. in 1921, the NHA Championship Cup O’Brien Cup was adopted as the NHL Championship Cup.
1917-1942: NHL Establishment
One of the first NHL stars was prolific scorer Joe Malone National Hockey League “, which has scored 44 goals in 20 games in the NHL season, Five of them were scored on the opening night of the NHL. It also set the record for the most goals in a game that season with seven goals. Six games of the season And the Montreal Wanderers had to withdraw permanently from the league, As the fire left them without a yard. In the 1918-1919 season, the Montreal Canadiens faced the Seattle Metropolitan of PCHA for the Stanley Cup amid the Spanish flu pandemic. The series was canceled after five games when several players fell ill; One Joe Hall Canadians, died a few weeks later.
During the early 1920s, the NHL faced competition for players from two other major leagues: the PCHA and the Western Canadian Hockey League (WCHL). As a result, ice hockey players were among the best-paid athletes in North America. By the mid-1920s, the NHL emerged as the only major league in North America. PCHA and WCHL were merged in 1924, to be dissolved two years later. The Victoria Cougars are the last team from outside the NHL to win the Stanley Cup, having defeated the Canadians in 1925, and lost to the Montreal Maroons in 1926, respectively. The NHL continued to expand, adding the Maroons and their first American team, The Bruins Boston in 1924, the number of teams reached 10 by 1926. The defense dominated the NHL, In the 1928-29 season Canadian goalkeeper George Hensworth set what remains a league record with 22 closures in 44 games. In response the NHL began to allow forward passage in the attack zone, resulting in an increase in crime of about 2.5 times; To stop the tide, the NHL introduced an offside base, which prevents attacking players from entering the opposition zone before the disc crosses the “blue line.”
Livingstone continued to file proceedings in court throughout the 1920s, until he reached the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council in London. England. In early 1927, the Toronto franchise was sold to Con Smith, who renamed it maple leaves, promised to successfully win the Stanley Cup in five years. built Maple Leaf Gardens, which included the famous broadcaster Foster Hewitczk, affectionately referred to as “Gondola.” On 13 December 1933, Eddie Shore accused Ace Bailey caused a severe fracture of the skull, after what Shore thought was an examination of Billy, but was actually performed King Clancy. Despite grim speculation The Maple Leafs hosted the Ace Bailey All-Star Benefit, which raised more than $20,000 for Billy and his family.