158 Fun Facts About NHL

Which of these teams joined the NHL after its 'Original Six' era?

Philadelphia Flyers arrived in the expansion that doubled the league, and within seven seasons beat one of the old six, Boston, in the Final to become the first of the newcomers to win the Stanley Cup.

In 2024–25 the NHL had 32 teams, matching which other North American league?

NFL teams have numbered 32 since 2002; the NHL matched it in 2021–22 after adding two clubs, in 2017 and 2021, whose owners paid entry fees of $500 million and $650 million.

Which Connecticut-based NHL team relocated in 1997 to become the Carolina Hurricanes?

Whalers owner Peter Karmanos pulled the team out of Hartford in 1997 after talks on a new arena collapsed; it spent two seasons in Greensboro before its Raleigh rink was ready, as the Carolina Hurricanes.

What are the NHL's two conferences called?

Eastern and Western have been the names only since 1993; before that the conferences were called Wales and Campbell, after a prince's trophy and a league president, and the divisions carried the names of four hockey builders.

Which NHL team plays its home games at Madison Square Garden?

New York Rangers home ice has sat on top of Penn Station since 1968; the outcry over demolishing the old station to build the arena led the city to create its Landmarks Preservation Commission.

Which NHL team began play in 2021 as the league's 32nd team?

Seattle Kraken skate under a roof six decades older than the team: the arena from the city's 1962 World's Fair was dug out and rebuilt beneath its landmark roof, held up on temporary steel columns during the work.

Which province has two NHL teams, the Flames and the Oilers?

Alberta's two clubs contest the 'Battle of Alberta'; one Game 7 between them ended the Oilers' run as two-time champions when Edmonton rookie Steve Smith banked a clearing pass into his own net.

When the NHL doubled to twelve teams in 1967, all six new clubs were placed in which new division?

West Division took all six newcomers, which guaranteed one of them a place in the Stanley Cup Final against the champion of the East, where the six established clubs stayed.

Which division did the Tampa Bay Lightning play in during the 2024-25 season?

Atlantic Division took in Florida's two clubs in the league's last big realignment, adding them to the old Northeast Division, so most of Tampa Bay's division rivals play far to the north, in Canada and the northern United States.

Where do the Toronto Maple Leafs play their home games?

Scotiabank Arena began as a basketball project, built inside the shell of a 1941 postal depot for the Raptors; the Leafs' owners bought the NBA team and its half-built arena in 1998 and moved in the next year.

Which team beat the first-year Vegas Golden Knights in the 2018 Stanley Cup Final for its first title?

Washington Capitals took the series 4–1, giving Alex Ovechkin a first Cup in his 13th season; Vegas had reached the Final with a roster of players other clubs left unprotected in the expansion draft.

Which team did the Quebec Nordiques become after relocating in 1995?

The Quebec Nordiques relocated to Denver and became the Colorado Avalanche in 1995. They won the Stanley Cup in their very first season in Colorado.

The Boston Bruins' logo nods to which nickname for Boston?

The Hub: the wheel around the 'B' arrived in 1948 for the club's 25th anniversary, borrowing a nickname that goes back to Oliver Wendell Holmes calling Boston's State House the hub of the solar system.

What is the name of the annual event where NHL teams select young prospects?

NHL Entry Draft was called the Amateur Draft until 1979, when the name changed because players who had already turned professional became eligible to be picked.

Which team relocated in 2011 to become the Winnipeg Jets?

Atlanta Thrashers were sold in May 2011 to a Winnipeg group, True North, after years of losses and feuding owners in Georgia; when season tickets for the new team went on public sale, they were gone in 17 minutes.

Which league did the NHL replace in 1917?

National Hockey Association owners wanted rid of one of their own, Toronto's Eddie Livingstone, so in 1917 they suspended their league and started a new one without him: the NHL.

Who was named a team captain at 19 in 2007 and two years later became the NHL's youngest Cup-winning captain?

Sidney Crosby got the 'C' at 19 years and 9 months; in 2008 his team lost the Final to Detroit, and a year later it beat the same opponent in Game 7, making him at 21 the youngest NHL captain to lift the Cup.

Connor McDavid was selected 1st overall in the 2015 NHL Draft by which team?

Edmonton Oilers won the lottery from third-last place, jumping two worse teams to pick first overall for the fourth time in six drafts; Buffalo, bottom of the league, settled for Jack Eichel.

Which jersey number did the NHL retire league-wide in 2000?

99 became Wayne Gretzky's number in junior hockey only because the No. 9 he wanted was taken: his coach suggested doubling it. The NHL retired it for every team at the 2000 All-Star Game.

The NHL's salary cap, $39 million in 2005, is recalculated each year from what?

League revenue sets the cap, because players are guaranteed a fixed share of the money the NHL takes in; as income grew, the ceiling climbed from $39 million to $95.5 million for 2025–26.

To which city did the Minnesota North Stars relocate in 1993?

The North Stars moved to Dallas in 1993 and became the Dallas Stars; Minnesota returned to the NHL with the expansion Wild in 2000.

What is the name of the Montreal Canadiens' home arena?

Bell Centre opened in 1996 as the Molson Centre, named for the brewery that owned the Canadiens; when Molson sold the team it gave up the naming rights, and the telecom company Bell took them over in 2002.

Sidney Crosby was drafted 1st overall in 2005 by which NHL team?

Pittsburgh Penguins won a lottery open to all 30 teams, held because the cancelled 2004–05 season left no standings to rank them; the club had been in bankruptcy court only seven years earlier.

Which team won the 1967 Stanley Cup, the last Final of the six-team era?

Toronto Maple Leafs won it with the oldest line-up ever to lift the Cup, average age 31 with a 42-year-old goalie, against a much younger Montreal side; through 2026 they had not reached another Final.

What trophy is awarded annually to the NHL's most valuable player during the regular season?

The Hart Memorial Trophy is awarded to the player judged most valuable to his team during the regular season, as voted by the Professional Hockey Writers' Association.

The Buffalo Sabres' classic primary logo shows a bison standing above what?

Two crossed sabers illustrate a name chosen in a fan contest: the owners wanted to avoid 'Bisons', and the club's press release praised the sabre as sharp and decisive in attack and a strong parrying weapon in defence.

Which NHL team absorbed the struggling Cleveland Barons in a 1978 merger?

Minnesota North Stars and the Barons were both close to folding, so the league let them combine: the merged club kept Minnesota's name and colours, while Cleveland's owners, the Gund brothers, took charge.

What kind of dispute cancelled the NHL's 2004–05 season?

An owners' lockout lasted 310 days and made the NHL the first major North American league to lose a whole season to a labour dispute; the deal that ended it brought in a $39 million salary cap.

The Conn Smythe Trophy is awarded to the most valuable player during which part of the NHL season?

The Conn Smythe Trophy is awarded to the MVP of the Stanley Cup Playoffs. It is named after Conn Smythe, the former coach and general manager of the Toronto Maple Leafs.

Which Penguins star returned from Hodgkin lymphoma treatment in March 1993?

Mario Lemieux flew to Philadelphia on the day of his final radiation treatment, was cheered by the rival crowd and scored that night; he had missed two months yet still won the scoring title, with 160 points in 60 games.

Which of these came into the NHL in 2005–06, the first season after the cancelled 2004–05 campaign?

The shootout arrived in 2005–06 so that no regular-season game could end level, part of a rules overhaul aimed at more scoring after the lost season; the ban on two-line passes went at the same time.

The 'Original Six' era, when the NHL had just six clubs, covers which span of seasons?

The six-team era ran from 1942, when the Brooklyn Americans folded, to the 1967 expansion; despite the name, the NHL had started in 1917 with other clubs.

What is the AHL's relationship to the NHL?

It is the NHL's primary development league: every NHL club has an AHL affiliate for its prospects, and in 2015 five of those farm teams moved to California so that clubs on the Pacific coast could call players up more easily.

Which NHL coach holds the record for most career wins?

Scotty Bowman won 1,244 regular-season games and Stanley Cups with Montreal, Pittsburgh and Detroit; he took up coaching after a fractured skull in junior hockey ended his hopes of playing in the NHL.

Which club, founded in 1972, was the NHL's first team in the American South?

Atlanta Flames were named for the burning of the city during the Civil War, and the name travelled north with them: after eight seasons in Georgia the club moved to Calgary in 1980 and stayed the Flames.

Which NHL team's players and staff moved to Arizona in 1996 to become the Coyotes?

Winnipeg Jets fans mounted a public campaign to keep them in 1995, but a local group could not raise the money; the city got a team back in 2011, and in 2026 the NHL gave it the original Jets' records.

What name did the Salt Lake City NHL franchise, briefly 'Utah Hockey Club', adopt in 2025?

The club became the Utah Mammoth in May 2025 after one season as Utah Hockey Club; it had been stocked with the Arizona Coyotes' players and picks when that franchise went inactive in 2024.

Which NHL general manager is famous for building the 1980s Edmonton Oilers dynasty?

Glen Sather coached the Oilers to four Stanley Cups in the 1980s and, as general manager, added a fifth in 1990, two seasons after the club's biggest star had been traded away.

What is the practice of deliberately losing games to improve draft position called?

Tanking could once guarantee the top pick, because the NHL's last-placed team always chose first; since a draft lottery arrived in 1995, finishing bottom has bought only the best odds.

What stopped the 1919 Stanley Cup Final before a winner could be decided?

A flu epidemic, the worldwide 'Spanish flu', put most of the Montreal team in hospital with the series level, so the deciding game was called off; Canadiens defenceman Joe Hall died four days later.

The Edmonton Oilers joined the NHL in 1979 from which rival league?

World Hockey Association clubs could sign teenagers the NHL would not, which is how Edmonton already had an 18-year-old Wayne Gretzky under contract when four WHA teams were taken into the NHL in 1979.

What is the Calder Trophy awarded for in the NHL?

Top rookie honours carry the name of Frank Calder, the NHL's first president, who bought a new trophy for the winner every year; after he died in 1943 the league cast a permanent one in his memory.

Which team selected Jack Hughes first overall in the 2019 NHL Draft?

New Jersey Devils made Jack Hughes the first pick in 2019, then drafted his younger brother Luke fourth overall two years later, so the two became teammates; older brother Quinn had gone seventh in 2018.

The Montreal Canadiens, winners of a record 24 Stanley Cups, go by which nickname?

The Habs is short for 'les Habitants', the settlers who farmed New France; many believe the H in the club's crest stands for it, but it stands for 'hockey', from the name Club de Hockey Canadien.

Which team joined the NHL in 1998 as its 27th team?

Nashville Predators wear a fossil on their chests: the logo is a Smilodon, the Ice Age cat whose bones were found under downtown Nashville in 1971 during work on a bank tower.

Which team set NHL records with 65 wins and 135 points in 2022-23, then lost in round one?

Boston Bruins won 65 of their 82 games, then led their first-round series 3–1 and still went out, beaten in overtime of Game 7 by the last team to qualify in the East.

Connor McDavid's 64 goals led the NHL in 2022–23; who scored 69 a year later?

Auston Matthews scored 69 in 2023–24, passing Alex Ovechkin's 65 for the most in a season since the salary cap came in; he grew up in Arizona and took to hockey watching the Coyotes, who had arrived the year before he was born.

Which 2023 wild card came back from 3-1 down to eliminate the record-setting Presidents' Trophy winner?

The Florida Panthers, the East's second wild card, rallied from 3-1 down to win Game 7 in overtime, then took Toronto in five and swept Carolina with four one-goal wins.

Which goaltender won the 2023 Vezina Trophy after a 40-6-1 season?

Linus Ullmark led the league with a 1.89 goals-against average and .938 save percentage, and that February he shot the puck into Vancouver's empty net, becoming the 13th goalie in NHL history to score.

Who won the 2023 Conn Smythe Trophy, the first undrafted winner since Wayne Gretzky in 1988?

Jonathan Marchessault scored 13 playoff goals for Vegas; passed over in the draft as undersized, he was only available in 2017 because his old club left him exposed to the expansion draft after a 30-goal season.

The 2023 NHL Winter Classic between Boston and Pittsburgh was played at which Massachusetts venue?

Fenway Park became the first venue to host the event twice, 13 years after its first; its owner, Fenway Sports Group, had bought control of the visiting Penguins a year before. Gillette Stadium hosted in 2016.

Which team jumped two spots in the 2023 draft lottery to select Connor Bedard first overall?

Chicago Blackhawks held only an 11.5% chance, the third-best odds; Anaheim, which had the best, slid to the second pick and Columbus to the third, each a place lower than the standings had earned them.

The 2022–23 season opened with two regular-season games in which European city?

The Sharks and Predators opened 2022-23 with two games at Prague's O2 Arena in October; a month later Columbus and Colorado played two more in Tampere, Finland.

From 2022–23, the Coyotes played home games at 5,000-seat Mullett Arena, on the campus of which school?

Mullett Arena sits on Arizona State University's Tempe campus and was meant as a stopgap while a new building was pursued; instead the hockey assets were sold to a Salt Lake City group in 2024.

Alex Ovechkin's 802nd goal in December 2022 moved him past whom into second all-time?

Gordie Howe's 801 fell when Ovechkin scored twice against Winnipeg on December 23, 2022; in April 2025 he also passed Wayne Gretzky's 894, a mark that had stood since 1999.

Whose hat trick in Game 5 of the 2023 Final was the first in a Cup-clinching game since Babe Dye in 1922?

Mark Stone had needed a second back operation in under a year that winter and missed the rest of the regular season; he returned for the playoffs and completed his hat trick into an empty net in the 9–3 clincher.

Which original NHL team folded in 1918 after its arena burned down?

Montreal Wanderers lost their rink to fire on January 2, 1918, four games into the season, defaulted twice and disbanded; the Canadiens, who shared the building, found another rink and carried on.

The Stanley Cup was commissioned in 1892 under what original name?

Dominion Hockey Challenge Cup was engraved on one side of the bowl and 'From Stanley of Preston' on the other; the official name soon gave way, and it quickly became known simply as the Stanley Cup, after the man who gave it.

Where are the Stanley Cup's oldest name bands retired to?

The Hockey Hall of Fame in Toronto keeps the retired bands in a former bank vault; each band holds 13 champions, so every 13 years the top one comes off and a blank one is added at the bottom.

Wayne Gretzky's 1988 trade sent him to which team?

The Los Angeles Kings acquired Gretzky on August 9, 1988, when Oilers owner Peter Pocklington dealt him for players, draft picks and cash; he retired in 1999 holding 61 NHL records.

How many Hart Trophies as league MVP did Wayne Gretzky win?

Wayne Gretzky won nine Hart Trophies, eight straight from 1980 to 1987 and a ninth in 1989, alongside 10 Art Ross Trophies and two Conn Smythe Trophies.

Which 18-year-old rookie joined the Penguins in 1990 and won the Stanley Cup in his first two seasons?

Jaromír Jágr, the fifth pick of the 1990 draft, won the Cup with Pittsburgh in 1991 and 1992, and was still playing professionally past his 50th birthday.

Which defenceman won a record eight straight Norris Trophies?

Bobby Orr won the Norris every year from 1968 to 1975 before ruined knees ended his career at 30; the Hall of Fame waived its waiting period to induct him at 31.

Who was the first NHL player to score 50 goals in 50 games, in 1944–45?

Maurice Richard scored 50 goals in Montreal's 50-game 1944-45 season; a decade later his suspension by the league set off a riot in the streets of Montreal.

Who was the first NHL player to score more than 50 goals in a single season?

Bobby Hull scored 54 for Chicago in 1965-66, passing the 50-goal mark he had tied himself four years earlier; his curved 'banana blade' led the NHL to limit how far sticks could bend.

Who is the only player to captain two different teams to Stanley Cup championships?

Mark Messier captained Edmonton to the 1990 Cup, then ended the Rangers' 54-year drought in 1994 after publicly guaranteeing a win in a must-win Game 6 and scoring a hat trick.

Who captained the Red Wings for two decades from 1986?

Steve Yzerman was the youngest captain in Red Wings history, and in 1997 he lifted the Stanley Cup to end Detroit's 42-year wait, the first of his three titles.

Jaromír Jágr became the owner of his hometown hockey club in which Czech town?

Kladno is where Jaromír Jágr was born; he became owner of the town's club, Rytíři Kladno, and went on playing for it himself after leaving the NHL in 2018.

Who is the only player to win the Conn Smythe Trophy three times?

Patrick Roy won it in 1986 and 1993 with Montreal and in 2001 with Colorado, where he landed after demanding a trade when his coach left him in for nine goals in an 11-1 loss.

Which goaltender holds the NHL record of 691 regular-season wins?

Martin Brodeur won 691 games, nearly all for New Jersey, and handled the puck so well that the 2005 trapezoid rule limiting where goalies may play it is known as the 'Brodeur rule'.

Who is the only goaltender to win the Hart Trophy more than once?

Dominik Hašek won the Hart in 1997 and 1998 with Buffalo, five years after Chicago traded him away as Ed Belfour's backup.

Which goaltender's record of 103 career shutouts stood from 1970 until 2009?

Terry Sawchuk recorded his 103rd shutout in February 1970 and died that May; the Hall of Fame waived its waiting period and inducted him the following year.

Which Canadiens goaltender later served as a Liberal Member of Parliament from 2004 to 2011?

Ken Dryden won six Stanley Cups with Montreal in the 1970s, sat out the 1973-74 season in a contract dispute to work at a law firm, and later served in Paul Martin's cabinet.

Which goaltender was the first to wear a mask regularly in NHL play?

Jacques Plante was struck in the face by a shot on November 1, 1959, and came back out wearing the mask he had used in practice, refusing to play on without it.

Sidney Crosby led which junior club to the 2005 Memorial Cup final?

Sidney Crosby scored 168 points for the Rimouski Océanic in 2004-05 and carried them to the Memorial Cup final, where they lost 4-0 to the London Knights.

Alexander Ovechkin began his professional career with which Russian club?

Dynamo Moscow gave Alexander Ovechkin his pro debut at 16 in 2001, and he went back to play for the club during the NHL's 2012-13 lockout.

Ovechkin's ninth 50-goal season in 2021-22 matched Gretzky and which other player?

Mike Bossy scored 50 or more in each of his first nine seasons with the Islanders, the only one of the three to do it consecutively, before a back injury ended his career after his tenth.

Which player joined the OHL's Erie Otters at 15 under 'exceptional player' status?

Connor McDavid was only the third player given the status, after John Tavares and Aaron Ekblad; the rule was written in 2005 so that Tavares could be drafted at 14.

Which player did Colorado take first overall in the 2013 NHL Draft?

Nathan MacKinnon went first overall weeks after leading the Halifax Mooseheads to their first Memorial Cup as tournament MVP, and won the Stanley Cup with Colorado in 2022.

Auston Matthews played for which Swiss club before the Maple Leafs drafted him first overall in 2016?

ZSC Lions of Zurich signed Auston Matthews after he missed the 2015 draft's birthday cutoff by two days; he spent the extra year there as a professional and won the Swiss Cup.

Which team's 'Production Line' featured Gordie Howe, Ted Lindsay and Sid Abel?

Detroit Red Wings linemates Lindsay, Abel and Howe finished 1-2-3 in NHL scoring in 1949-50, and in 1952 the team swept through the playoffs without losing a game.

The Toronto Maple Leafs were known by which name from 1919 to 1927?

Toronto St. Patricks was the name from 1919 until February 1927, when Conn Smythe's group bought the club to stop it being sold to Philadelphia and renamed it the Maple Leafs.

Which grocery magnate founded the Boston Bruins, the NHL's first American team, in 1924?

Charles Adams bought the NHL's first American franchise in 1924 and dressed the Bruins in brown and yellow, the colours of his First National grocery stores.

Which Blackhawks captain lifted the Stanley Cup in 2010, 2013 and 2015?

Jonathan Toews was named captain at 20, and two years later his 2010 team ended Chicago's 49-year wait for the Cup, then the longest active drought in the NHL.

Which boxing promoter founded the New York Rangers in 1926?

Tex Rickard, the promoter behind Jack Dempsey's biggest fights, started the team in 1926, and a newspaper's joke about 'Tex's Rangers' gave the club its name.

Which team won a record 19 straight playoff series from 1980 to 1984, including four Stanley Cups?

New York Islanders teams won 19 series in a row and four Cups, sweeping Wayne Gretzky's Oilers in the 1983 Final before those same Oilers finally stopped them in 1984.

Which Flyers goaltender won the Conn Smythe Trophy in both 1974 and 1975?

Bernie Parent backstopped the Flyers to Cups in 1974 and 1975, winning the Conn Smythe and the Vezina both years, and shut out Boston 1-0 in the 1974 clincher.

The New Jersey Devils franchise began life in 1974 as which team?

The franchise entered the NHL in 1974 as the Kansas City Scouts, lasted two seasons, moved to Denver as the Colorado Rockies in 1976 and became the New Jersey Devils in 1982.

Which businessman led the group awarded the Las Vegas NHL expansion franchise in 2016?

Bill Foley, a West Point graduate, wanted to call the team the Black Knights after Army's teams, and settled on Golden Knights when federal officials objected.

The Florida Panthers, the NHL's southernmost team, play home games in which South Florida city?

Sunrise has been the Panthers' home since 1998, when they left Miami Arena, the building where fans began showering the ice with plastic rats during the 1995-96 season.

Which owner was awarded the Los Angeles Kings expansion franchise in 1966?

Jack Kent Cooke paid $2 million for the franchise in 1966 and, because the commission running the city's Sports Arena had backed a rival bid, built his own building, the Forum.

Who won the Conn Smythe Trophy when the Stars took their first Stanley Cup in 1999?

Joe Nieuwendyk scored 11 goals in the 1999 playoffs to take the Conn Smythe, even though Brett Hull scored the disputed 'skate in the crease' triple-overtime Cup-winner in Game 6 against Buffalo.

The St. Louis Blues' 2019 title made them the last team from which group to win a first Stanley Cup?

The 1967 expansion teams that still exist had all won a Cup once St. Louis beat Boston in 2019, a title that came after the Blues sat last in the entire NHL that January.

Which rookie goaltender won the Conn Smythe Trophy when Carolina won the 2006 Stanley Cup?

Rookie Cam Ward took over from Martin Gerber early in the 2006 playoffs and won the Conn Smythe as Carolina beat Edmonton in seven games for its first Cup.

Which Predators captain won the Norris Trophy in 2020, a first for Nashville?

Roman Josi, Nashville's Swiss captain, won the 2020 Norris with a 65-point season, a prize former captain Shea Weber had twice finished second for without ever winning.

The Vancouver Canucks joined the NHL alongside which other expansion team?

Vancouver and the Buffalo Sabres both entered the NHL for 1970-71, taking the league to 14 teams; the spin of a numbered wheel gave Buffalo the first draft pick, used on Gilbert Perreault.

Which team beat Montreal in the 1989 Final to win its only Stanley Cup?

Calgary Flames co-captain Lanny McDonald scored in the clinching Game 6, the last goal of his career, avenging a 1986 Final loss to Montreal; it was still Calgary's only Cup as of 2025.

Which club won 11 Stanley Cups between 1903 and 1927?

Ottawa Senators teams, first famous as the 'Silver Seven', are credited with 11 Cups, but the club ran out of money and lasted just one season as the St. Louis Eagles.

The Vezina Trophy winner is chosen each year by a vote of whom?

Since 1981-82 the Vezina Trophy has gone to the goaltender voted best by the NHL general managers; before that it went to the goalies of the team allowing the fewest goals.

Who was the first winner of the Conn Smythe Trophy, in 1965?

Jean Béliveau was so prized that Montreal bought his entire Quebec senior league and turned it professional to make him sign in 1953; in 1965 his 16 playoff points won the first Conn Smythe.

Which trophy did Rangers star Frank Boucher win seven times in eight years, so the donor let him keep the original?

Lady Byng Trophy winner seven times between 1928 and 1935, Boucher was handed the original to keep by Lady Byng herself, who then donated a second one to the league.

Who won the Selke Trophy for best defensive forward in each of its first four years?

Bob Gainey won the first four Selke Trophies, from 1978 to 1981, yet the defensive specialist was also playoff MVP in 1979, scoring 16 points in 16 games.

Which coach has won the Jack Adams Award a record three times?

Pat Burns, a former police officer, won it with Montreal in 1989, Toronto in 1993 and Boston in 1998, yet his only Stanley Cup came with a fourth team, New Jersey, in 2003.

Which team donated the Maurice 'Rocket' Richard Trophy to the NHL in 1998–99?

The Montreal Canadiens donated the Maurice 'Rocket' Richard Trophy in 1998-99 in honour of their former star; it goes to the regular season's top goal scorer, and Teemu Selänne won the first with 47 goals.

The Hockey Hall of Fame was founded in 1943 in which Ontario city before moving to Toronto?

Kingston lost the Hall in 1958 when the NHL, unhappy with funding problems, withdrew support for the project and moved it to Toronto.

Which skating star ordered an early Zamboni for her touring ice show?

Sonja Henie and her troupe came to practise at Frank Zamboni's rink in Paramount, California, saw his first resurfacer at work and asked him to build her one.

A 'Gordie Howe hat trick' consists of a goal, an assist and what?

A Gordie Howe hat trick is a goal, an assist and a fight in one game; Howe himself recorded one only twice, in October 1953 and March 1954.

How thick is a standard ice hockey puck?

1 inch thick and 3 inches across, a puck is made of vulcanized rubber, and NHL pucks are frozen before games so that they bounce less on the ice.

Which stadium hosted the first NHL Winter Classic on New Year's Day 2008?

Ralph Wilson Stadium, home of football's Buffalo Bills, drew a then-record 71,217 fans in falling snow, and the game's success made the Winter Classic an annual fixture.

Who scored Canada's winning goal in Game 8 of the 1972 Summit Series?

Paul Henderson scored with 34 seconds left in Game 8 in Moscow on September 28, 1972, giving Canada a 6-5 win and the series 4-3-1; he also scored the winners in Games 6 and 7.

Lord Stanley, who donated the Stanley Cup in 1892, held which office in Canada?

Governor General from 1888 to 1893, Stanley was prompted to donate the trophy by his sons' love of hockey, yet he went home to England without ever seeing a Cup game.

Broadcaster Foster Hewitt called games from a specially designed 'gondola' at which arena?

Maple Leaf Gardens gave Foster Hewitt his 'gondola' when it opened in 1931; in 1979 owner Harold Ballard had the famous booth torn out and burned to make room for private boxes.

Don Cherry co-hosted 'Coach's Corner' on Hockey Night in Canada for over 30 years with whom?

Ron MacLean sat beside Cherry for more than three decades, until Cherry was fired in November 2019 over on-air remarks about immigrants and Remembrance Day poppies.

A rival league's raids led a 1972 court to bar the NHL from enforcing which clause?

The reserve clause bound a player to his club even after his contract ran out; a Philadelphia federal judge barred the NHL from enforcing it in November 1972, freeing the players it had tied up in court to join their new clubs.

Which US cable network gave up its NHL rights in 2005 and did not return until 2021?

ESPN declined to match a rival bid in 2005, so NHL games moved to the Outdoor Life Network, best known for the Tour de France; ESPN returned only with a seven-year deal in 2021-22.

What did NHL regular-season overtime switch to in 2015-16?

Three-on-three play replaced four-on-four for the five-minute overtime, opening up the ice so that fewer games go to a tie-breaker; playoff overtime stayed five-on-five.

Which coach won the Stanley Cup with Montreal in each of his first five seasons?

Toe Blake, a former Canadiens captain, took over in 1955 and won five straight Cups, a record run, before Chicago knocked Montreal out in the 1961 semifinal.

Which European country supplied the most NHL players in 2024-25?

Sweden provided about one NHL player in ten in 2024-25, the most from outside North America, in a league where more than nine players in ten were Canadian as recently as 1971-72.

Which NHL team was founded by the Walt Disney Company and named after one of its 1992 films?

The Anaheim Ducks began in 1993 as the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim and dropped the 'Mighty' only after Disney sold the club in 2005.

Which animal have Detroit Red Wings fans thrown onto the ice at home playoff games since 1952?

The octopus has eight arms, one for each win a team needed to lift the Stanley Cup in 1952. Two brothers with a shop in Detroit's Eastern Market threw the first.

Which Zamboni driver won a 2020 NHL game as Carolina's emergency goalie, beating his own employer?

David Ayres let in the first two shots he faced, then stopped the next eight to seal a 6–3 win over Toronto, where he worked as a building operator.

What do superstitious NHL players grow each spring, as the 1980 New York Islanders first did?

Beards stay unshaved from the first playoff game until a team is knocked out or lifts the Stanley Cup. Björn Borg's unshaven Wimbledon runs may have given the Islanders' Swedes the idea.

What is the term for an NHL team's numerical advantage while an opponent sits in the penalty box?

A power play ends early if the team with the extra skater scores during a minor penalty, but a five-minute major runs its full length whatever the score.

Which protective gear did the NHL make mandatory in 1979, but only for players new to the league?

Helmets were already worn by about 70% of NHL players in 1979, and veterans who signed a waiver could keep playing bareheaded for the rest of their careers.

Which tiebreaker has settled NHL regular-season games still level after overtime since 2005–06?

The shootout gives each team three attempts before sudden death, and it is used only in the regular season: playoff games go on until somebody scores.

Which lawyer, the NHL's first commissioner, was regularly booed as he presented the Stanley Cup?

Gary Bettman came from the NBA, where he had been general counsel, and says the jeers do not bother him because they show that fans care.

What do opposing NHL players traditionally line up to do on the ice once a playoff series is over?

Players shake hands with every opponent even after the most bitter series, a ritual commentators have called one of the great traditions in sports.

Which Japanese city hosted the 1998 Winter Olympics, the first for which the NHL paused its season?

Nagano saw the NHL shut down for 17 days, and its stars lived in the Olympic Village rather than a hotel, unlike basketball's 1992 Dream Team.

Which NHL infraction for shooting the puck down the whole rink is waved off for a shorthanded team?

Icing became an NHL rule in 1937 to stop teams protecting a lead by firing the puck away. Today the race for the puck is judged at the face-off dots, not the end boards.

What did Florida Panthers fans toss on the ice after goals en route to the 1996 Stanley Cup Final?

Rubber rats rained down after Scott Mellanby killed a real rat in the locker room with his stick, then scored twice that night: a 'rat trick'.

Which city's NHL team fires a replica 1857 Napoleon cannon in its arena whenever it scores at home?

Columbus brought the hand-made cannon into Nationwide Arena in 2007, a nod to the Civil War soldiers who give the Blue Jackets their name.

Which NHL team retired the number 1 in 2000 to honour its fans, before any player had worn it?

The Minnesota Wild made the gesture before their first home game, telling a state that had lost the North Stars seven years earlier that its fans were the true number one.

Which Ice Age animal on the Nashville Predators' logo recalls bones found under the city in 1971?

A saber-toothed cat skeleton turned up when builders dug the foundations of a Nashville bank tower, 26 years before the team unveiled its logo.

Which shape painted behind NHL nets since 2005 limits where goaltenders may handle the puck?

The trapezoid is nicknamed the 'Brodeur rule' after goalie Martin Brodeur, whose habit of playing the puck in the corners is believed to have inspired it.

Which NHL award, first won by Elmer Lach in 1948, goes to the league's leading points scorer?

The Art Ross Trophy goes to the player with more goals when points are level, a tiebreaker that settled the 1962, 1980 and 1995 scoring races.

Which Eastern Conference champions' prize do superstitious NHL captains often refuse to touch?

The Prince of Wales Trophy jinx has a famous exception: Pittsburgh went on to win the Stanley Cup five times after touching it.

Which enforcer did a fan campaign vote into the 2016 NHL All-Star Game, where he was named MVP?

John Scott had scored only five goals in his NHL career, then scored twice in the All-Star tournament as captain of the Pacific Division.

Which Edmonton Oilers owner angered much of Canada by trading Wayne Gretzky to Los Angeles in 1988?

Peter Pocklington never repented: his 2009 biography is titled 'I'd Trade Him Again'.

Which Toronto defenceman and four-time Stanley Cup winner opened his first doughnut shop in 1964?

Tim Horton opened the shop in Hamilton, Ontario, and was still playing in the NHL at 44 when he died in a 1974 car crash.

Which goaltender became the first woman to play for an NHL team, in a 1992 Tampa Bay preseason game?

Manon Rhéaume was the first woman to appear in an exhibition game in any major North American pro league, and later won an Olympic silver medal with Canada.

Which winger became the NHL's first Black player in 1958 while hiding that he was blind in one eye?

Willie O'Ree had lost the sight in his right eye to a puck two years earlier, and kept it secret because it would have barred him from the NHL.

Which 6-foot-9 Slovak, the tallest player in NHL history, captained Boston to the 2011 Stanley Cup?

Zdeno Chára, nicknamed 'Big Z', was Boston's captain for all 14 of his seasons there and led the team to two more finals, in 2013 and 2019.

Which identical twins did Vancouver select with the second and third picks of the 1999 NHL Draft?

The Sedins, Daniel and Henrik, landed together because general manager Brian Burke, who already held the third pick, dealt his way to the second as well.

Which family from Viking, Alberta, sent six brothers to the NHL in the late 1970s and early 1980s?

The Sutters had at least one brother in the NHL every season from 1976–77 to 2000–01, and a seventh, Gary, is said by the others to have been the best player of them all.

To which veteran defenceman did Colorado captain Joe Sakic hand the Stanley Cup first in 2001?

Ray Bourque had played 21 seasons in Boston without a title, so Sakic broke with tradition and let him skate with the Stanley Cup before anyone else.

Which Chicago winger became the first American-born player to win the NHL scoring title, in 2015–16?

Patrick Kane was also the first American-born player voted the league's MVP that season, which he lit up with a 26-game point streak.

Which Finnish winger set an NHL rookie record by scoring 76 goals for Winnipeg in 1992–93?

Teemu Selänne, the 'Finnish Flash', shattered the old rookie mark of 53 and retired in 2014 as the highest-scoring Finn the NHL had seen.

Which Swede lifted the 2008 Stanley Cup for Detroit, the first European-trained captain to win it?

Nicklas Lidström also won the Norris Trophy as the NHL's best defenceman seven times in his 20 seasons, every one of them spent in Detroit.

Which Edmonton star became the first German to be named the NHL's most valuable player, in 2020?

Leon Draisaitl also won that season's scoring title and the players' own vote for most outstanding player.

Which Boston centre was the first NHL player to score 100 points in a season, with 126 in 1968–69?

Phil Esposito had arrived from Chicago in a 1967 blockbuster trade, and by 1971 he had pushed the season records to 76 goals and 152 points.

Which Montreal winger was the first NHL player to score 50 goals in six consecutive seasons?

Guy Lafleur topped 100 points in each of those seasons too, and later came out of retirement after entering the Hall of Fame to play three more years.

Which captain led Philadelphia's 'Broad Street Bullies' to two Stanley Cups despite type 1 diabetes?

Bobby Clarke fell to the second round of the 1969 draft because teams feared a diabetic could not last in the NHL, then won three league MVP awards.

Which New York Rangers star of the 1994 Stanley Cup win was the first American-born playoff MVP?

Brian Leetch was the first non-Canadian to win the award at all, and no other American managed it until Boston goalie Tim Thomas in 2011.

Which centre was named NHL MVP in 2006 despite being traded from Boston to San Jose in mid-season?

Joe Thornton also won that season's scoring title, the first player to take either award in a year split between two teams.

Which Soviet star defected in 1989 to join Buffalo, where he wore number 89 to mark the year?

Alexander Mogilny slipped away after winning gold at the 1989 world championship, the first Soviet player to defect to North America; 89 was also his draft position.

Which Toronto captain had six goals and four assists in one 1976 game, a record ten-point night?

Darryl Sittler broke a record of eight points that had stood since 1944, every one of them scored on rookie goalie Dave Reece in an 11–4 win.

Which Toronto defenceman won the 1951 Stanley Cup in overtime, months before dying in a plane crash?

Bill Barilko's remains were not found until 1962, a story The Tragically Hip retold in their 1993 single 'Fifty Mission Cap'.

Which Montreal star, the 'Stratford Streak', was given a funeral inside the Montreal Forum in 1937?

Howie Morenz died of complications from a leg broken during a game, and the city of Montreal mourned him for months.