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| pixels = 190px
| sport = Ice hockey
| founded =
| founded = {{Start date and age|1917|11|26|p=yes}},<br />[[Montreal|Montreal, Quebec]], Canada
| inaugural = [[1968–69 LAHX season|1968–69]]
| commissioner = [[]]
==Season structure==
{{Main|Season structure of the NHL}}
{{See also|List of NHL seasons}}
The National Hockey League season is divided into a preseason (September and early October), a regular season (from early October through early to mid April) and a postseason (the [[Stanley Cup playoffs]]).
Teams usually hold a summer showcase for prospects in July and participate in prospect tournaments, full games that do not feature any veterans, in September. Full training camps begin in mid-to-late September, including a preseason consisting of six to eight [[exhibition game]]s. Split squad games, in which parts of a team's regular season roster play separate games on the same day, are occasionally played during the preseason.
During the regular season, clubs play each other in a predefined schedule. In the regular season, each team plays 82 games: 41 games each of home and road. Eastern teams play 28 games in their own geographic division—four against each of their seven other divisional opponents—and 24 games against the eight remaining non-divisional intra-conference opponents—three games against every team in the other division of its conference. Western teams play 26 or 29 games in their own geographic division—four or five against each of their six or seven other divisional opponents—and 21 or 24 games against the six or seven remaining non-divisional intra-conference opponents—three games against every team in the other division of its conference, with one cross-division intra-conference match-up occurring in four games. All teams play every team in the other conference twice—home and road.<ref>{{Cite news|title=NHL ramps up rivalries |url=http://www.cbc.ca/sports/hockey/nhl/the-explainer-new-nhl-playoff-seeding-format-1.1871216 |author=CBC Sports Online |publisher=CBC.com |date=July 27, 2005 |accessdate=June 6, 2006 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20130927195147/http://www.cbc.ca/sports/hockey/nhl/the-explainer-new-nhl-playoff-seeding-format-1.1871216/ |archivedate=September 27, 2013}}</ref>
The league's regular season standings are based on a point system. Two points are awarded for a win, one point for losing in overtime or a shootout, and zero points for a loss in regulation. At the end of the regular season, the team that finishes with the most points in each division is crowned the division champion, and the league's overall leader is awarded the [[Presidents' Trophy]].
The Stanley Cup playoffs, which go from April to the beginning of June, is an elimination tournament where two teams play against each other to win a [[Best-of-seven playoff|best-of-seven]] series in order to advance to the next round. The final remaining team is crowned the Stanley Cup champion. Eight teams from each conference qualify for the playoffs: the top three teams in each division plus the two conference teams with the next highest number of points.<ref name="nhl_playoff_format">{{cite web|website=National Hockey League |title=Playoff formats |year=2005 |accessdate=June 6, 2006 |url=http://www.nhl.com/hockeyu/history/cup/formats.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20010718071657/http://www.nhl.com/hockeyu/history/cup/formats.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=July 18, 2001 }}</ref> The two conference champions proceed to the Stanley Cup Final. In all rounds, the higher-ranked team is awarded home-ice advantage, with four of the seven games played at this team's home venue. In the Stanley Cup Final, the team with the most points during the regular season has home-ice advantage.
==Trophies and awards==
{{Main|List of National Hockey League awards}}
===Teams===
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