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The national hockey league or NHL was founded in 1917 and originally pitted the league in games against the pacific coast hockey association and the western canada hockey league. The winning team from either of these leagues was awarded the Stanley cup, also referred to simply as the cup. Eventually, the national hockey league took premier position over the other leagues and took full control of the Stanley Cup with an nhl team always taking it home at the end of the season.  

The original teams in the national hockey league are often referred to as the original six and include the boston bruins, chicago blackhawks, detroit red wings, montreal canadiens, new york rangers and toronto maple leafs. These six started in the nhl season 1942 and made up the league until 1967.  This time period is considered a classic time in hockey history.  One of the things that the league became famous for was the hockey fights.  Unlike other sports, the referees would allow the players to settle their disputes by fist fighting on the rink.

During 1967 the nhl teams expanded from six to twelve. By 1974 the league reached 18 teams. In 1979 nhl hockey absorbed four teams from the rival league, the world hockey association.  Included in this list were the edmonton oilers, hartford whalers, quebec nordiques and the winnipeg jets.

There are several ex nhl players who stand out as all-time greats. The most famous nhl player of all time is debatable.  Many would automatically say Wayne Gretzky who simply goes by the great one.  In addition, maurice richard, jean beliveau and bobby hull are some of the best of all time. The best nhl goalie of all time is also widely debated.  Some think it was ken dryden, others billy smith or glenn hall. For many it is turk broda.  

The current league has 30 teams throughout north america.  Some of most popular are the carolina hurricanes, edmunton oilers and buffalo sabres. The league conducts the nhl draft each year in order to make sure that each of the 30 teams has a fair chance to compete. The draft order is determined by lottery which takes into account the regular season standings, and the playoff finishes. The players selected come from school hockey teams as well as other leagues.  The top producing league is the ontario hockey league.

One of the other most famous points of the NHL are the hockey jerseys worn by the players.  The National Hockey League jerseys were at one time referred to as sweaters.  This was due to the cold weather nature of the sport.  Today they are high technology fabric designed to keep the players safe and allow them to perform at the peak of their abilities.