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The '''Asturllionese Ice Hockey League''' ('''LAHX'''; Lliga Asturllionesa de Hoquei Xelu) is a professional [[ice hockey]] [[sports league|league]] in Europe, currently comprising 12 teams. The LAHX is considered one of the major professional sports leagues in Asturies-Llión.
The '''National Hockey League''' ('''NHL'''; {{lang-fr|Ligue nationale de hockey—LNH}}) is a professional [[ice hockey]] [[sports league|league]] in North America, currently comprising 31 teams: 24 in the United States and 7 in Canada. The NHL is considered to be the premier professional ice hockey league in the world,<ref name="premier">{{cite encyclopedia|title=National Hockey League |first=James |last=Marsh|url=http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/national-hockey-league/ <!--Bot repaired link--> |encyclopedia=The Canadian Encyclopedia |year=2006 |accessdate=June 11, 2006}}</ref> and one of the [[major professional sports leagues in the United States and Canada]]. The [[Stanley Cup]], the oldest professional sports trophy in North America,<ref>{{cite news|last=Roarke|first=Shawn P.|title=Stanley Cup has incredible history|url=https://www.nhl.com/news/stanley-cup-has-incredible-125-years-of-history/c-287633638|publisher=NHL Enterprises|website=NHL.com|date=March 12, 2017|access-date=June 12, 2020}}</ref> is awarded annually to the league playoff champion at the end of each season.
The National Hockey League was organized on November 26, 1917, at the [[Windsor Hotel (Montreal)|Windsor Hotel]] in [[Montreal]] after the suspension of operations of its predecessor organization, the [[National Hockey Association]] (NHA), which had been founded in 1909 in [[Renfrew, Ontario]].<ref>''The National Hockey League Official Record Book & Guide 2009'' 77th Edition, p. 9. New York: National Hockey League (2008)</ref> The NHL immediately took the NHA's place as one of the leagues that contested for the Stanley Cup in an annual interleague competition before a series of league mergers and foldings left the NHL as the only league left competing for the Stanley Cup in 1926.
At its inception, the NHL had four teams—all in Canada, thus the adjective "National" in the league's name. The league expanded to the United States in 1924, when the [[Boston Bruins]] joined, and has since consisted of American and Canadian teams. From 1942 to 1967, the league had only six teams, collectively (if not contemporaneously) nicknamed the "[[Original Six]]". The NHL added six new teams to double its size at the [[1967 NHL expansion]]. The league then increased to 18 teams by 1974 and 21 teams in 1979. Between 1991 and 2000, the NHL further expanded to 30 teams. It added its 31st team in 2017 and has approved the addition of a 32nd team in 2021.
The league's headquarters have been in [[New York City]] since 1989 when the head office moved from Montreal.<ref>{{cite news|last1=Todd|first1=Jack|title=Americans and Bettman have stolen Canada's game|url=https://calgaryherald.com/sports/opinion+americans+bettman+have+stolen+canada+game/7251426/story.html|accessdate=January 31, 2018|work=[[Calgary Herald]]|date=September 17, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180127034723/http://www.calgaryherald.com/sports/opinion+americans+bettman+have+stolen+canada+game/7251426/story.html|archive-date=January 27, 2018|url-status=dead}}</ref> There have been four league-wide work stoppages in NHL history, all occurring after 1992.<ref name=JohnCollins>{{Cite news|url=https://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601109&sid=aGY7pu.INAhA| publisher=Bloomberg L.P.| title=NHL Borrows From NFL as It Pursues Bigger TV Contract| first=Curtis| last=Eichelberger| date=May 29, 2009| accessdate=June 29, 2009}}{{dead link|date=September 2020}}</ref> The [[International Ice Hockey Federation]] (IIHF) considers the Stanley Cup to be one of the "most important championships available to the sport".<ref>{{cite web|title=Triple Gold Goalies... not|url=http://www.iihf.com/home-of-hockey/news/news-singleview/?tx_ttnews%5Btt_news%5D=850|website=International Ice Hockey Federation|author=Podnieks, Andrew|date=March 25, 2008|accessdate=June 17, 2017}}</ref> The NHL draws many highly skilled players from all over the world and currently has players from approximately 20 countries.<ref>{{cite web|title=QuantHockey.com |url=http://www.quanthockey.com/nhl/nationality-totals/active-nhl-players-2011-12-stats.html|accessdate=November 19, 2012}}</ref> Canadians have historically constituted the majority of the players in the league, with an increasing percentage of American and European players in recent seasons.
The NHL is the fifth-wealthiest [[professional sport]] league in the world by [[List of professional sports leagues by revenue|revenue]], after the [[National Football League]] (NFL), [[Major League Baseball]] (MLB), the [[National Basketball Association]] (NBA), and the [[Premier League]].<ref name="urlMajor sports leagues all make a lot of money, heres how they do it:, Major sports leagues all make a lot of money, heres how they do it:">{{cite web |url=https://globalsportmatters.com/business/2019/03/07/tv-is-biggest-driver-in-global-sport-league-revenue/ |title=Major sports leagues all make a lot of money, here's how they do it:, Major sports leagues all make a lot of money, here's how they do it |format= |accessdate=}}</ref>
==History==
|-
| '''[[Osos Bercianos]]'''
| [[Ponferrada]]
| [[Boston|Boston, Massachusetts]]
| [[TD Garden]]
|
|-
| '''[[Lobos Campoo]]'''
| [[Buffalo, New YorkReinosa]]
| [[KeyBank Center]]
|
|-
| '''[[Lliones de Legio]]'''
| [[Llión]]
| [[Detroit|Detroit, Michigan]]
| [[Little Caesars Arena]]
|
|-
| '''[[Calamares Xixón]]'''
| [[Sunrise, FloridaXixón]]
| [[]]
| [[BB&T Center (Sunrise, Florida)|BB&T Center]]
|
|-
| '''[[Universitariu Comillas]]'''
| [[Comillas]]
| [[Montreal|Montreal, Quebec]]
| [[Bell Centre]]
|
|-
| '''[[Rana Salmantina]]'''
| [[Ottawa|Ottawa, OntarioSalamanca]]
| [[Canadian Tire Centre]]
|
|-
| '''[[CDP Galerna de Laredo]]'''
| [[Tampa, FloridaLaredo]]
| [[Amalie Arena]]
|
|-
| '''[[Ciervos del Pisuerga]]'''
| [[Toronto|Toronto,Cervera Ontariode Pisuerga]]
| [[Scotiabank Arena]]
|
|-
| '''[[Linces de Prasencia]]'''
| [[Raleigh, North CarolinaPrasencia]]
| [[PNC Arena]]
|
|-
| '''[[Robezos d'Uviéu]]'''
| [[Columbus, OhioUviéu]]
| [[Nationwide Arena]]
|
|-
| '''[[Cuélebres de Les Arriondes]]'''
| [[Newark,Les New JerseyArriondes]]
| [[Prudential Center]]
|
|-
| '''[[Lehionarios de Méria]]'''
| [[Uniondale, New YorkMéria]]
| [[Nassau Coliseum]]
|-
|}
==See also==
{{portal|Ice hockey}}
* [[List of NHL records (individual)]]
* [[List of NHL records (team)]]
* [[List of professional sports teams in the United States and Canada]]
* [[List of American and Canadian cities by number of major professional sports franchises]]
* [[List of TV markets and major sports teams]]
* [[List of National Hockey League attendance figures]]
* [[List of National Hockey League arenas]]
* [[NHL All-Rookie Team]]
* [[NHL All-Star Team]]
==Footnotes==
{{reflist|group="nb"}}
==References==
=== Bibliography ===
{{Refbegin}}
* {{cite book|title=Trail of the Stanley Cup, vols. 1–3 |last=Coleman |first=Charles |year=1966–1969 |ref=harv |website=National Hockey League|isbn=0-8403-2941-5}}
* {{Cite book|last=Jenish|first=D'Arcy|year=2008|title=The Montreal Canadiens: 100 Years of Glory |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=DFLcnuvieV0C |publisher=Doubleday Canada |isbn= 978-0-385-66324-3|ref=harv}}
* {{Cite book|first1=Morey |last1=Holzman |first2=Joseph |last2=Nieforth |title=Deceptions and Doublecross: How the NHL Conquered Hockey |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=COb82MiKyGQC |year=2002 |location=Toronto |publisher=Dundurn Press |isbn=1-55002-413-2 |ref=harv }}
* {{Cite book|first=Brian |last=McFarlane |title=Brian McFarlane's History of Hockey |year=1997 |location=Champaign, Illinois |publisher=Sports Publishing Inc |isbn= 1-57167-145-5 |ref=harv}}
* {{Cite book|last=McKinley |first=Michael |year=2006|title=Hockey: A People's History|publisher=McClelland & Stewart|isbn= 0-7710-5769-5|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=fCAL2ysKFWoC |ref=harv}}
* {{cite web|website=National Hockey League |title=2005–06 NHL Official Rules |url=http://www.nhl.com/rules/index.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050925113900/http://www.nhl.com/rules/index.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=September 25, 2005 |year=2005 |accessdate=June 10, 2006 |ref=harv }}
* {{Cite book|last=Pincus|first=Arthur|year=2006|title=The Official Illustrated NHL History|publisher=Reader's Digest|isbn= 0-88850-800-X|ref=harv}}
* {{cite book |last1=Podnieks |first1=Andrew |last2=Szemberg |first2=Szymon |title=World of hockey: celebrating a century of the IIHF |year= 2007 |publisher=Fenn Publishing |isbn=9781551683072 |ref=harv}}
* {{Cite book|last=Ross|first=J. Andrew|year=2015|title=Joining the Clubs: The Business of the National Hockey League to 1945|publisher=Syracuse University Press|isbn=978-0-8156-3383-9}}
* {{Cite book|last=Sandor|first=Steven|year=2005|title=The Battle of Alberta: A Century of Hockey's Greatest Rivalry |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=WpI_rzHaT8oC |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151016020327/https://books.google.com/books?id=WpI_rzHaT8oC|url-status=dead|archive-date=October 16, 2015|publisher=Heritage House |isbn= 1-894974-01-8|ref=harv}}
* {{Cite book|title=Lords of the Rinks |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=8uKWKUOl5LkC |publisher= University of Toronto Press|last=Wong |first=John Chi-Kit |year=2005 |isbn=0-8020-8520-2 |ref=harv }}
{{Refend}}
=== Notes ===
{{Reflist|22em}}
==Further reading==
{{Refbegin}}
* {{cite book |last =Bass |first =Alan |year = 2011|title =The Great Expansion: The Ultimate Risk That Changed the NHL Forever |url =https://books.google.com/books?id=JgLqzbebH4gC&q=The%20NHL&pg=PP1 |publisher=Iuniverse Inc |isbn= 978-1-4502-8605-3 |ref=harv}}
* {{cite book |last =Fischler |first =Stan & Shirley |year =2003 |title =Who's Who in Hockey |url = https://books.google.com/books?id=wpbLnSHBNHgC&pg=PA1 |publisher= Andrews McMeel Pub|isbn=0-7407-1904-1 |ref=harv}}
* {{cite book |last1 =Holzman|first1 = Morey |first2=Joseph |last2=Nieforth |year =2002 |title =Deceptions and doublecross : how the NHL conquered hockey |url =https://books.google.com/books?id=COb82MiKyGQC&pg=PP1 |publisher= Dundurn Press|isbn=1-55002-413-2 |ref=harv}}
* {{Cite book |last =Weekes |first =Don |year =2005 |title =The Big Book of Hockey Trivia |url =https://books.google.com/books?id=31znPJH56zAC&pg=PP1 |publisher= Greystone Books|isbn=1-55365-119-7 |accessdate = }}
* {{cite book |last =Wright |first =Marshall D |year = 2010|title = The National Hockey League, 1917–1967: A Year-by-Year Statistical History |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=5BwMfrkN1SQC&pg=PP1 |publisher= McFarland & Co |isbn=978-0-7864-4444-1 |ref=harv}}
{{Refend}}
==External links==
{{sisterlinks|d=Q1215892|c=category:National Hockey League|n=Category:National Hockey League|voy=Ice hockey in North America|v=no|s=no|wikt=no|b=no|m=no|mw=no|species=no|q=no}}
* {{Official website}}
* [http://www.nhlpa.com/ NHL Player's Association (NHLPA)]
* [http://www.nhlofficials.com/ NHL Officials Association website]
{{NHL}}
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