List of NHL seasons
Only two franchises, the Montreal Canadiens and Toronto Maple Leafs (formerly the Arenas and St. Patricks), still exist from the founding of the league.
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.
This changed in 1917 with the invention of the split-season, whereby the champion became the winner of the annual playoff.
The NHL continued the split-season and playoff format upon the winding up of the NHA organization.
Until 1927, the NHL champion was awarded the O'Brien Cup, supplemented by the Prince of Wales Trophy, starting in 1925.
To win the Stanley Cup, the NHL champion had to play and win a "world's series" with the champion of the Pacific Coast or Western Canada leagues.
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.
The 1916–17 season saw the introduction of the split schedule, an innovation attributed to Toronto NHA owner Eddie Livingstone.
No Finals prior to 1914; Stanley Cup awarded to league winners and defended on a challenge basis.
The same four-team configuration lasted until 1924–25 when the Montreal Maroons and the Boston Bruins joined the league.
The O'Brien Cup was revived in November 1921, and served as the league championship trophy until 1927.
The Chicago Black Hawks, Detroit Cougars and New York Rangers started play.
The Ottawa Senators and Philadelphia Quakers suspended operations for the season.
During the Original Six era, the NHL played in a single six-team division.
Each season, four of the six teams qualified for the playoffs to determine the Stanley Cup and NHL champion.
In 1985, the Presidents' Trophy was inaugurated to reward the team with the top regular season record, irrespective of division or conference.
The California Seals, Los Angeles Kings, Philadelphia Flyers, Pittsburgh Penguins, Minnesota North Stars and St. Louis Blues started play.
The Kansas City Scouts and Washington Capitals started play.
The Edmonton Oilers, Hartford Whalers, Quebec Nordiques and Winnipeg Jets (1972–96) joined the NHL.
In 1993, coinciding with the naming of Gary Bettman as commissioner, the league re-organized into the Eastern and Western Conferences, with two divisions each, organized along geographical lines.
This era has seen three seasons changed due to labour disputes between the NHL and the players' union.
The Ottawa Senators and Tampa Bay Lightning started play.
The Mighty Ducks of Anaheim and Florida Panthers started play.
The Columbus Blue Jackets and Minnesota Wild started play.
The league began its second century in 2017 and has continued to grow by adding two new expansion franchises.
The 2019–20 season was stopped at 68–71 games due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and resulted in a one-time playoff format change involving 24 teams; the subsequent 2020–21 season was shortened to 56 intradivisional games, with teams temporarily realigned and the playoff format modified.
Due to the uneven schedule, the Boston Bruins were awarded the top record in the regular season by points percentage.
The Arizona Coyotes cease operations, while their assets including their roster continue as the Utah Hockey Club.
From 1938 to 1967 the Prince of Wales Trophy was the award for the team with the best record in the regular season.
Media related to National Hockey League seasons at Wikimedia Commons
