NHL Hockey History & Wagering

The origins of ice hockey are relatively unknown, but there is evidence of Europeans playing field hockey dating as far back as 500 years adapted their game for the cold winters in France and Britain.

The first North American games are believed to have been played by British soldiers stationed in Halifax, Nova Scotia. The game advanced beyond the frozen ponds and lakes of the Canadian wilderness to ice rinks of Canadian Universities, leading to the formation of the first ever organized Hockey league consisting of four teams in 1885.

The first professional hockey league was formed in 1904, with the International Pro Hockey League in Upper Michigan. After folding, it spawned the creation of the National Hockey Association (NHA) which eventually moved west and became the Pacific Coast League (PCL) until WWI halted hockey altogether. With the end of the war, many former purveyors of professional Hockey organizations got together and formed the National Hockey League (NHL). With five teams, it was considered the top professional Hockey League in North America, and with its 1926 acquisition of the Stanley Cup as its Championship Trophy, it was clearly the premier players league in North America.

The original NHL consisted of five teams but with the mergers, expansion and compression of the League throughout the years there are six original core teams of the NHL.

The original NHL consisted of five teams but with the mergers, expansion and compression of the League throughout the years there are six original core teams of the NHL.

They are located in Toronto, Montreal, Boston, Detroit, New York and Chicago.

The League now has 30 teams, 6 in Canada and 24 in the United States.

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