NHL (United States) 2026/27

The league admits no newcomers by merit: there is no promotion or relegation, and a club joins only by paying an expansion fee and entering the draft. That closed franchise system, spanning 32 teams — 25 in the United States and seven in Canada — separates the NHL from the leagues below it, chiefly the American Hockey League, which it sits above as the top tier of professional ice hockey in North America.

Teams are split into Eastern and Western Conferences, each holding two divisions, an arrangement settled by the realignment of 2013-14. Each club plays 82 regular-season games, after which 16 qualify for a playoff tournament of best-of-seven series ending in the Stanley Cup. The Florida Panthers are the reigning champions, having won in 2024. The Montreal Canadiens hold the record for titles, with 24.

Spending is bound by a hard salary cap, introduced in 2005-06 — the sharpest point of contrast with the KHL, the league's nearest rival, which uses a soft cap. The two differ further in recruitment, the NHL running a strict entry draft where the KHL allows a more fluid free agency, and in reach: the NHL is concentrated on North America, the KHL international in scope.

Two traditions stand apart from the schedule itself. The Winter Classic takes games outdoors, and the Stanley Cup carries the engraved names of those who win it.

The competition dates to 26 November 1917, when the owners of four Canadian clubs — the Montreal Canadiens, Montreal Wanderers, Ottawa Senators and Quebec Bulldogs — met in Montreal, suspended the National Hockey Association and installed Frank Calder as the first president.