Thirty-one teams from the USA and Canada want to lift the Stanley Cup in May. During NHL's regular season they are divided according to their geographic location. Each of them is inside a conference and a division. After a long schedule of qualifying games, only the best ones go through to the postseason, which starts in April.
Defunct Teams
- Brooklyn Americans
- Hamilton Tigers
- Montreal Maroons
- Montreal Wanderers
- Philadelphia Quakers
- St. Louis Eagles
Relocated Teams
- Atlanta Flames became the Calgary Flames
- Atlanta Thrashers became the Winnipeg Jets
- California Golden Seals became the Dallas Stars
- Cleveland Barons became the Dallas Stars
- Colorado Rockies became the New Jersey Devils
- Hartford Whalers became the Carolina Hurricanes
- Kansas City Scouts became the Colorado Rockies
- Minnesota North Stars became the Dallas Stars
- Quebec Nordiques became the Colorado Avalanche
- Winnipeg Jets became the Arizona Coyotes
NHL Expansion?
Seattle Kraken was confirmed as the 32nd franchise of the National Hockey League. Its debut is scheduled for the 2021-22 season.
There are rumors of other interesting cities in hosting a team: Quebec, Hamilton, and Greater Toronto Area in Canada; Houston and Kansas City in the USA. In an official statement, the NHL announced it is happy having 32 teams in the league and is not looking at new horizons.
