The National Hockey League did not arrive fully formed. It was pieced together from disparate teams, collapsing hockey associations, and spats between local businessmen.
Its first squads, which formed its backbone, are now affectionately named the ‘Original Six.’ Below, we discuss who these teams are, why they were so vital, and how they are faring in the modern game.
The Boston Bruins
Some sports teams form at the grassroots level, being bands of workers or friends who club together for leisure purposes. Yet some come about purely as a business venture, and the Bruins were one of the latter.
In 1924, the NHL decided to expand to the USA, and one of its licenses was sold to grocery, tobacco, and syrup salesman Charles Adams. As the first US team in the NHL, he set about making solid foundations for his new venture by hiring hockey player and general sports business wizard Art Ross to work alongside him.
Bruin is an old English name for a brown bear. Adams chose it to symbolise the strength and courage of the animal, which he wanted his team to embody. As an astute businessman, he also saw the commercial appeal of having a native New England inhabitant as the team mascot and set about creating a range of merchandise to accompany it.
The team's first season was played at Boston Arena, and despite winning their first game on US soil, it was not a fruitful season. By the next year, they had moved to Boston Garden, where their fortune began to change. They would call this ground home until 1995, when they would move to a revamped Garden close by.
In their tenure, the Bruins have six Stanley Cup wins to their name, with the first arriving in the 1928-29 season. They also have four conference championships and 25 division championships. Plenty of Hall of Fame players have also graced their books, including Bobby Orr, Phil Esposito, and Tiny Thompson.
The Chicago Blackhawks
The Chicago Blackhawks are the only one of the original six to play in the Western Conference. Founded in 1926, they were simply named the Black Hawks.
In 1926, the license for an expansion team in Chicago was acquired by football star Huntington Hardwick. Purchasing a raft of players from the Portland Rosebuds, the squad was soon sold to Chicago coffee magnate Frederic McLaughlin.
It was at this point that the name was acquired, Black Hawk being a Sauk nation figure famous in Illinois, and the name of McLaughlin's battalion during the war.
The striking logo is one of the most recognizable in sport. It was originally designed by McLaughlin's wife, a Broadway dancer. There have been numerous additions and changes since then, but the graphic theme has always remained.
Originally, the team began playing in a building they shared with the Chicago Cardinals. Starting in the 1926- 1927 season, they also started with two other expansion teams, the Detroit Cougars and the New York Rangers.
Since their inception, the team has won six Stanley Cups. They have had four conference championships and 16 division championships. Famous players in their time have included Tony Esposito, Bobby Hull, and Denis Savard.
The Detroit Red Wings
Originally known as the Detroit Cougars, the team was one of five possible squads from the city that could have joined the NHL after the collapse of the Western Hockey League. Purchasing players from one of those leagues' teams, the Victoria Cougars, a lack of grounds meant they played their first games in Ontario.
This took place on November 18, 1926, and they lost 2-0 to the Boston Bruins. It did not get much better, and they ended the season with the worst record in the league. Things gradually started to improve when they moved to Detroit Stadium the next season.
During these early years, the team was skating on thin ice financially. In the 1930-31 season, they changed their name to the Falcons as a promotion with a local newspaper. A millionaire named James Norris Sr then decided to invest in the team to stop them from financial disaster, changing their name to the Red Wings.
Their team in the fifties was renowned. Between 1949 and 1955, the Redwings were all but unstoppable. Forging one of the most powerful dynasties in hockey history, they bagged four Stanley Cups. In 1954, Marguerite Norris, president of the club at the time, became the first woman to lift a Stanley Cup.
Of all the US teams in the NHL, the Red Wings have won the most Stanley Cups at 11. This puts them third overall. Over the years, they have had some outstanding players. The Swedish Nicklas Lidström is one of the few people to make Triple Gold, while people still talk about the era that featured the legendary Gordie Howe.
The Montreal Canadiens
The Montreal Canadiens are a hockey team with a rich history. Originally named Le Club de Hockey Canadien, they were formed in 1909 as part of the National Hockey Association. Their first game was played in January 1910, and they won their first Stanley Cup in 1916. The next year, they left the league to become a founding member of the NHL, and they are now the oldest hockey franchise in the world.
The team's name comes from its French-Canadian history. In Canada at this time, there were competing leagues, and industrialist Ambrose O’Brien was asked to form a team of French Canadians to create a rivalry with the Montreal Wanderers. Newspapers of this time suggest the team was looked down on, with French players assumed to be inferior.
Their first game was played in January 1910 but was wiped from the record as the Canadian Hockey Association collapsed two weeks later. The National Hockey Association then assimilated the remaining teams and started the league again.
When they joined the NHL, circumstances outside their control meant survival was the name of the game. After the collapse of the Wanderers, the league was reduced to three teams. The Spanish Flu epidemic meant that the deciding game of the 1918-19 season was then cancelled. The team even tragically lost defenceman Joe Hall to the flu.
The team has won the Stanley Cup a startling 24 times, though one of these was before the formation of the NHL. No other team has beaten this record. They have had a host of star players who have entered the Hall of Fame, such as Jean Béliveau, Guy Lafleur, and Maurice Richard.
The New York Rangers
In the 1925-26 season, the New York Americans joined the NHL, playing games at Madison Square Garden. They were so successful and popular that Tex Rickard, a boxing promoter, sought his own license for a team to play there. His franchise was granted, and he began to assemble the New York Rangers.
Success followed almost immediately, and they soon won the Stanley Cup in the 1927-28 season. It was during this period that they gained their ‘Broadway Blueshirts’ nickname.
The origin of the Rangers' name itself came from New York Herald Tribune writer George Haley. He nicknamed the team “Tex’s Rangers,” and at first, it was thought that this would be reflected in the team's logo. A design featuring a horse and cowboy holding a hockey stick was discussed. In the end, the famous shield motif was settled on.
A division title came in the 1931-32 season, but this was followed by a painful dry spell. The team failed to win anything of note from the forties onwards. It would not be until a Stanley Cup win in the 1993-94 season that the curse would be broken.
In total, the team has won four Stanley Cups, along with seven division championships and two conference championships. When it comes to Hall of Fame players, the team has had many in its time, including Eric Lindros, Mark Messier, and Bryan Hextall. The great Wayne Gretzky also played his final three seasons with the team.
The Toronto Maple Leafs
When the NHL formed, it was decided that it would contain four teams. These included the Montreal Canadiens, Ottawa, the Montreal Maroons, and a team that would either be from Quebec or Toronto. There were worries about the Quebec Bulldogs' finances, so the license went to Toronto, and the team was formed.
In these early days, there were a few name changes. The Toronto Arenas were one, and this team won the 1916 Stanley Cup. The team was sold and then became the Toronto St Patricks, who also won a Stanley Cup before being sold again. When the construction of Maple Leaf Gardens, their new home, began, the name we know today was solidified.
During the 1960s, the Toronto Maple Leafs were a dominant force, fielding arguably the best squad in hockey history. Since the 1951 Stanley Cup win, they had achieved extraordinarily little. The arrival of Punch Imlach saw a turnaround in the team. Fresh faces from youth teams combined with experienced veterans led the squad to four Stanley Cups, three of which came in succession.
Over the years, the team has won 13 Stanley Cups and seven division championships. Many different Hall of Fame players have graced their roster, including Dave Keon, Darryl Sittler, and Börje Salming.
How Do Things Look for the Original Six in the Modern Day?
Collectively, the original six have won 64 Stanley Cups. That is over half of the total that have been played since the league began. Added to that statistic is that of the teams that have won the Stanley Cup the most times; the original six hold positions 1 to 6. But with age on their side, has this success equated to the modern era of the game?
The Blackhawks have been the most successful of the original six over the past few years. Yet, they have not done great, only managing to make the playoffs in 2020. Last year, the four original American teams all missed the playoffs for the first time in NHL history.
Canadian teams have struggled too. Both Montreal and Toronto have won a lone Stanley Cup between them since 1993, and neither has appeared in the finals since.
However, in terms of business and fanbase, the original six are doing fantastically. The Canadiens, for example, sell out every game at the Bell Centre. The New York Rangers have a similar record, and much of this is down to teams looking to build connections with younger fans.
How the NHL Looks Now
The NHL ran for 25 seasons before expanding from the original six. A further six teams were added, doubling the size of the league in what was the biggest expansion in sports history. This would continue throughout the seventies, when an average of two teams were added every two years. This curtailed in the eighties, then picked up again in the early nineties.
Further expansion resumed in 1999, with the addition of the Atlanta Thrashers, though by 2011, they had left the city and been rechristened the Winnipeg Jets.
The team had not made a significant impact, and many questioned the reasoning for their inclusion. This meant that many expected the Vegas Knights to follow a similar path when they joined the NHL in 2017-18. The league's 31st team came out fighting, making the Stanley Cup final. Seattle joined in 2019, taking the league's number to 32.
Many different rule changes have also taken place over time. These include the blue line added in 1918 to bring in an offside rule, and the red line added in 1943 to alleviate congestion. Both improved the game. Many others came about as a concern for player safety, such as compulsory helmet wearing for goalkeepers. Rule 48 was a defining player safety rule, which meant players could no longer intentionally target the head of a player.
A lot of its changes have come about due to societal and socioeconomic shifts. The advent of commercial internet and improvements in connections have made the game more global, with people now tuning in from around the world to the world championships. This has brought more money to the game, evident in how well the original six franchises are doing business-wise, despite not performing on the ice.
It seems unlikely the league will expand any further, with schedules pushed as far as they can go. Yet this does not mean it won't change again in other ways. Either through rules or teams, the NHL will always evolve. All that is for sure is that the original six will be there, a living anchor to the past that few other sports leagues can boast.