National Hockey League: Difference between revisions

The '''National Hockey League''' ('''NHL'''; {{lang-fr|Ligue nationale de hockey}} {{IPA|fr|liɡ nɑsjɔnal də ɔkɛ|}}, ''LNH'') is a professional [[ice hockey]] [[sports league|league]] in [[North America]] comprising 32 teams<ref group="nb" name="Teams"> In April 2024, the NHL announced that the [[Arizona Coyotes]] franchise would be deactivated with all players and hockey-related assets sold to an expansion franchise based in [[Salt Lake City]]. The current owner of the Arizona franchise, Alex Meruelo, has until 2029 to secure a suitable NHL arena in Arizona in order to reactivate the team. Thus as of 2024, of the NHL's 33 franchises, only 32 are part of the playing schedule.</ref>{{snd}}25 in the United States (plus an inactive franchise in Arizona) and 7<!--Per MOS:NUM, comparable quantities should all be in the same format, so the numeral 7 is correct here. Please do not change it to "seven".--> in 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|website=NHL.com|date=March 12, 2017|access-date=June 12, 2020|archive-date=May 26, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200526114504/https://www.nhl.com/news/stanley-cup-has-incredible-125-years-of-history/c-287633638|url-status=live}}</ref> is awarded annually to the [[Stanley Cup playoffs|league playoff champion]] at the end of each season. The NHL is one of the [[major professional sports leagues in the United States and Canada]] and is considered to be the top -ranked 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/ |encyclopedia=The Canadian Encyclopedia |year=2006 |access-date=June 11, 2006 |archive-date=October 20, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141020011613/http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/national-hockey-league/ |url-status=live }}</ref> with players from 17 countries {{As of|alt=as of the {{NHL Year|2023|app=season}}|2023|10}}.<ref name="2324playernationalities">{{cite web |title=Active NHL Players Totals by Nationality ‑ 2023‑2024 Stats |website=QuantHockey.com |url=https://www.quanthockey.com/nhl/nationality-totals/active-nhl-players-2022-23-stats.html |access-date=November 5, 2023 |archive-date=April 18, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240418081144/https://www.quanthockey.com/nhl/nationality-totals/active-nhl-players-2022-23-stats.html |url-status=live }}</ref> The [[International Ice Hockey Federation]] (IIHF) also views the Stanley Cup as 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|access-date=June 17, 2017|archive-date=August 25, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170825225356/http://www.iihf.com/home-of-hockey/news/news-singleview/?tx_ttnews%5Btt_news%5D=850|url-status=live}}</ref> The NHL is headquartered in [[Midtown Manhattan]].