Who Plays in the NHL Today?
Keep up with your favorite NHL teams and players with this blog. Find out who’s playing in the NHL today and get the latest news and scores.
The NHL Today
The NHL today is made up of 30 teams: 23 in the United States and 7 in Canada. The Original Six teams are the Boston Bruins, Chicago Blackhawks, Detroit Red Wings, Montreal Canadiens, New York Rangers, and Toronto Maple Leafs. These are the six teams that made up the NHL from 1942 until the league doubled in size in 1967.
The teams
As of the 2019–20 season, there are 24 teams in the NHL: 23 in the United States and 1 in Canada. Of the 31 teams that used to make up the NHL, six no longer exist: two folded outright (the Quebec Nordiques and the Winnipeg Jets), while four merged with other teams (the Hartford Whalers became part of the Carolina Hurricanes; the Minnesota North Stars combined with the Dallas Stars; the Atlanta Flames became part of the Calgary Flames; and the Cleveland Barons merged with the Oakland Seals to form today’s San Jose Sharks).
The NHL is split into two conferences, each with two divisions.
The Eastern Conference has 16 teams, 8 in each division:
-The Atlantic Division: Boston Bruins, Buffalo Sabres, Detroit Red Wings, Florida Panthers, Montreal Canadiens, Ottawa Senators, Tampa Bay Lightning, Toronto Maple Leafs
-The Metropolitan Division: Carolina Hurricanes, Columbus Blue Jackets, New Jersey Devils, New York Islanders, New York Rangers, Philadelphia Flyers, Pittsburgh Penguins, Washington Capitals
The Western Conference has 14 teams split into 2 divisions:
-The Central Division: Chicago Blackhawks, Colorado Avalanche, Dallas Stars , Detroit Red Wings , Florida Panthers , Nashville Predators , St. Louis Blues , Winnipeg Jets
-The Pacific Division : Anaheim Ducks , Arizona Coyotes , Calgary Flames , Edmonton Oilers , Los Angeles Kings , Minnesota Wild , San Jose Sharks , Vancouver Canucks
The players
The most talented players from all around the world come to play in the National Hockey League. The top players are superstars in their own right, and the league is full of skilled players who have worked hard to get where they are. The NHL is made up of 30 teams, and each team has a 23-man roster. That means there are over 700 players in the NHL at any given time!
The NHL of the Future
The NHL has seen a lot of changes in recent years. With the addition of the Vegas Golden Knights, and the subtraction of the Winnipeg Jets, the NHL looks a little different than it did even just a couple of years ago. But what does the future hold for the NHL?
The teams
At present, the National Hockey League (NHL) is made up of 31 teams, 24 of which are based in the United States and seven in Canada. The most recent expansion team is the Vegas Golden Knights, who began playing in the 2017-18 season.
It is widely speculated that the NHL will expand to 32 teams in the near future, with Seattle being the most likely destination for a new franchise. NHL commissioner Gary Bettman has said that expansion is not currently on the league’s radar, but he has also hinted that it could happen within the next few years.
If and when the NHL does expand to 32 teams, it is unsure how the league’s divisional and conference structure would change. One possibility is that each conference would be split into two eight-team divisions, with the top four teams from each division qualifying for the playoffs. Another possibility is that two additional teams would be added to each conference, resulting in a total of 16 teams in each playoff bracket.
Even if Seattle is not awarded an NHL franchise in the near future, it is still possible that other cities could be added to the league down the road. Montreal Canadiens owner Geoff Molson has said that he would like to see his team play games in Quebec City at some point, while Bettman has also mentioned Kansas City and Houston as potential markets for future expansion.
The players
The future of the NHL is always uncertain, but there are a few things we can be sure of. The league will continue to be made up of the best hockey players in the world, who will compete for the Stanley Cup.
Today, the NHL is made up of 30 teams, with each team having a 23-man roster. The league is split into two conferences, the Eastern Conference and the Western Conference. Each conference has three divisions, and each division has five or six teams.
The players in the NHL come from all over the world. In fact, over half of the players in the league are from outside of Canada. The United States has the second most represented country in the NHL, with almost a quarter of the league’s players coming from there. Other countries with a significant number of players in the NHL include Russia, Sweden, Finland, and Czech Republic.
As for who will be playing in the NHL of the future, we can only speculate. However, we can be sure that it will continue to be made up of talented players from all over the world who are determined to win hockey’s ultimate prize -the Stanley Cup.
