NHL (National Hockey League)

The best league in the world

For ice hockey players, the National Hockey League is what the Champions League is for footballers: whoever makes it there is among the best in the world. The league plays in North America; most teams are from the USA and seven from Canada. The players, however, come from all over the world, especially Canada, the USA, Sweden, Finland, Russia, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Switzerland and Germany.

History: from four teams to 32

The NHL was founded in Montreal in November 1917 as the successor to an older league. In the early years only a few teams played, almost all from Canada. From 1942 to 1967 the league consisted of exactly six clubs, the so-called Original Six: Boston Bruins, Chicago Black Hawks (now Blackhawks), Detroit Red Wings, Montreal Canadiens, New York Rangers and Toronto Maple Leafs. These teams are still regarded as traditional clubs today.

In 1967 the league doubled in one go to twelve teams. In the following decades more and more teams were added, especially in the southern USA, where ice hockey had hardly been known before. Today the league has 32 teams. The newest additions are the Vegas Golden Knights, the Seattle Kraken and the team in Utah.

Structure: conferences and divisions

The 32 teams are split into two conferences, the Eastern and the Western Conference. Each conference consists of two divisions of eight teams each. Teams from the same division meet more often, which fuels rivalries.

Unlike in Europe, there is no promotion or relegation. The teams are franchises owned by an owner who together make up the league. Weak teams aren't relegated but get better chances in the draft, the annual selection of young players.

Season

The regular season usually runs from October to April. Each team plays 82 games, half at home and half away. A win brings two points. A team that only loses in overtime or a shootout still gets one point.

This is followed by the Stanley Cup playoffs with 16 teams, eight from each conference. Four rounds are played in best-of-seven format: the first to win four games advances. A team therefore needs 16 playoff wins for the title. The final usually takes place in June.

The Stanley Cup

The Stanley Cup was donated in 1892 by Lord Stanley, then Governor General of Canada, making it older than the league itself. Since 1926 it has been awarded exclusively to NHL teams. The trophy has several special features:

• The names of the winning team's players, coaches and staff are engraved on it. When there is no more room, an old ring is removed and displayed in the Hockey Hall of Fame.
• By tradition, every member of the winning team may take the trophy home for one day. The Cup has thus already visited many countries, including Germany and Switzerland.
• The record winners are the Montreal Canadiens.

Rule differences from Europe

NHL hockey seems faster and more physical than the European game. One reason is the smaller ice surface: the NHL rink measures 200 by 85 feet, around 61 by 26 metres. Many European arenas have wider surfaces. In a tighter space there are more battles and less time.

Other differences:

• In the regular season, a tie leads to a five-minute overtime with three-on-three skaters, followed by a shootout. There is no shootout in the playoffs: full 20-minute periods are played five-on-five until a goal is scored. More under overtime.
• Goaltenders may only play the puck behind the goal within a marked trapezoid.
• Fighting is punished with a five-minute penalty in the NHL, but does not automatically lead to ejection as in international ice hockey.

Players from Germany, Austria and Switzerland

For Europeans, the route to the NHL usually goes through the draft. Some milestones:

• Uwe Krupp scored the decisive goal in the 1996 final for the Colorado Avalanche, making him one of the first German Stanley Cup winners.
• Leon Draisaitl was named most valuable player of the regular season (Hart Trophy) and top scorer (Art Ross Trophy) in 2020.
• Moritz Seider won the Calder Trophy as best rookie in 2022.
• Switzerland's Roman Josi received the Norris Trophy as best defenceman in 2020, and Nico Hischier became the first Swiss player drafted first overall in 2017.
• From Austria, Thomas Vanek and Michael Raffl, among others, played in the league for many years.

The NHL in Europe

The NHL regularly holds regular-season games in Europe, including in Sweden, Finland, the Czech Republic and Germany. These games now run under the name Global Series. NHL players have also taken part in several Olympic Games, with participation repeatedly negotiated between the league, the players' union and the IIHF.

NHL and DEL compared

Germany's DEL and the NHL differ mainly in structure and size. The DEL has promotion and relegation with the DEL2; the NHL does not. The NHL regular season is considerably longer, and teams travel across great distances and time zones. In the DEL the playoffs also decide the champion, but some series are shorter. Many players move between the leagues during their careers, for example returning to Europe after a few NHL years.