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National Hockey League

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The Stanley Cup trophy as it looked in 1930, a famous award in ice hockey.

The National Hockey League

The National Hockey League (NHL) is a fun ice hockey league in North America. It has 32 teams—25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. People love to watch these teams play, and the biggest prize is the Stanley Cup, a special trophy given to the winner each year.

The NHL started on November 26, 1917, in Montreal. At first, it had only Canadian teams, but later it added teams from the United States. For a long time, from 1942 to 1967, the league only had six teams. Now, it has grown to 32 teams.

Each team plays 82 games during the regular season, from October to April. The top 16 teams then compete in the Stanley Cup playoffs to find the champion. The Montreal Canadiens have won the most NHL titles, with 25 wins!

Hockey games are exciting to watch. Players skate on ice and try to score goals by hitting a puck into the other team’s net. The NHL is one of the biggest sports leagues in North America, and it is very popular in Canada. Special games, like the Winter Classic, happen outside in cold weather and draw big crowds.

The NHL is also famous for its talented players from many countries. Today, teams have players from 18 different countries, with most coming from Canada and the United States. The league works hard to make the game fun and safe for everyone.

Images

A thrilling ice hockey match between the Boston Bruins and the New Jersey Devils in 2008.
A Toronto Maple Leafs player scores a goal against the Detroit Red Wings during the 1942 Stanley Cup Finals.
Diagram showing the different sizes of ice hockey rinks used in IIHF and NHL games.
Nico Hischier at the 2017 NHL Entry Draft in Chicago.
The famous Stanley Cup on display at the Hockey Hall of Fame in Toronto.
Hockey players preparing for a face-off during a game at Scotiabank Arena.
Ice hockey players Alexander Ovechkin and Sergei Fedorov during a game in the 2008-09 Washington Capitals season.
Broadcast booth at the 2019 NHL Entry Draft in Vancouver, where hockey players were selected by teams.
Trophy awarded at the 1979 Challenge Cup ice hockey event.
Hockey heroes in action: Famous players from the Montreal Canadiens and New York Rangers battle on the ice during a classic 1960s game.

Related articles

North America
Ice hockey
United States
Canada
Montreal

This article is a child-friendly adaptation of the Wikipedia article on National Hockey League, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.

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