The newest NHL teams in order begin with the Seattle Kraken, founded in 2021. Prior to that, the Vegas Golden Knights joined the league as the 31st club.
Only four clubs have joined the National Hockey League since the beginning of the 2000s. The Columbus Blue Jackets and Minnesota Wild joined the crew together in 2000, making a total of 30 clubs.
The Knights joined in June 2016 and played the 101st season of the NHL's operation, which started in October 2017. After Kraken bonded with the national league, each division of the NHL gets eight clubs.
Seattle joined as a member of the Pacific Division. Thus, the Arizona Coyotes shifted from the division to the Central Division and maintained the balance of eight groups.
List of NHL teams by age is presented in the table below, based on the year they were founded:
NHL Teams
Age
Montreal Canadiens
114 years
Toronto Maple Leafs
106 years
Boston Bruins
98 years
Chicago Blackhawks
97 years
Detroit Red Wings
97 years
New York Rangers
97 years
Vancouver Canucks
78 years
Philadelphia Flyers
56 years
Pittsburgh Penguins
56 years
St. Louis Blues
56 years
Dallas Stars
56 years
Los Angeles Kings
55 years
Buffalo Sabres
53 years
New York Islanders
51 years
Edmonton Oilers
51 years
Carolina Hurricanes
51 years
Calgary Flames
51 years
Arizona Coyotes
51 years
Colorado Avalanche
51 years
Washington Capitals
49 years
New Jersey Devils
49 years
Ottawa Senators
33 years
San Jose Sharks
32 years
Tampa Bay Lightning
31 years
Anaheim Ducks
30 years
Florida Panthers
30 years
Columbus Blue Jackets
25 years
Winnipeg Jets
25 years
Minnesota Wild
25 years
Nashville Predators
25 years
Vegas Golden Knights
6 years
Seattle Kraken
2 years
First NHL Expansion Team to Win Stanley Cup
First NHL expansion team to win Stanley Cup was the Philadelphia Flyers. The Flyers won the Cup in 1974.
Philadelphia joined the enlargement of the National Hockey League in 1967, bringing the total to 12 clubs from 6. After seven years of joining the league, the Philadelphia-based franchise won the 1973–1974 season.
They competed against the Boston Bruins and won the title with a record of 4-2. Moreover, they set a record of back-to-back wins again in the 1974–1975 season.
This time, the champions were on the ice with the Buffalo Sabres as the opposing team. To date, the club hasn't won the trophy afterward.
In the first extension of the league, the Pittsburgh Penguins came in second to win the championship. The team won back-to-back in 1991 and 1992 before the 2000s.
The next team from the extension to win the championship is the Dallas Stars. The Stars defeated the Buffalo Sabres in the championship finals in 1999.
1967 NHL Expansion Teams
1967 NHL expansion teams include the California Seals, Los Angeles Kings, Minnesota North Stars, Philadelphia Flyers, Pittsburgh Penguins, and St. Louis Blues.
The enlargement process began in 1965 after then-president Clarence Campbell announced the proposal to expand the league with more teams.
However, it was Ranger William Jenning's idea to add two clubs during the 1964–1965 season. The enlargement doubled the size of the league from 6 to 12.
Four out of six clubs remain active in the league under their original names. On the other hand, the Minnesota North Stars became the Dallas Stars in 1993.
Likewise, the Seals were first renamed San Francisco-Oakland and are now active as the San Jose Sharks, a member of the Pacific Division.
The Original Six Teams in the NHL
The original six teams in the NHL consist of the Montreal Canadiens, Toronto Maple Leafs, Boston Bruins, Chicago Blackhawks, Detroit Red Wings, and New York Rangers.
North America's professional ice hockey league was founded on November 26, 1917, in Montreal, Quebec. It is ranked as one of the top professional sports leagues in the world, like the NFL, MLB, NBA, and EPL.
At the time of formation, there were four Canadian teams. One of them is Montreal Canadiens. Including the Canadiens, the remaining five clubs embraced the NHL until 1967.
Montreal Canadiens
The longest continuously operating ice hockey club, the Montreal Canadiens, was founded in 1909, before the League. The Canadiens are based in Montreal.
The club is one of the oldest sports groups in Canada, having first been part of the National Hockey Association in 1917. After the NHA ended, it joined the NHL at the time of its formation.
Montreal tops the list of the highest Stanley Cup championships. It has a record of 24 wins, making the 1992–1993 season the last year a Canadian franchise won the silver cup.
Regarding the players, the franchise has 64 players in the Hockey Hall of Fame. The present head mentor for the team is Martin St. Louis, and Nick Suzuki has been leading the Canadiens since 2022.
Toronto Maple Leafs
The Toronto Maple Leafs was founded in 1917 as the Toronto Arenas, which later became the Toronto St. Patricks in 1919. Later in February 1927, the club was given its current name, the Toronto Maple Leafs, after the national symbol of Canada.
The Leafs joined the franchise in 1919 as a member of the Atlantic Division in the Eastern Conference. The club had Mutual Street Arena as their home arena for 14 annual seasons, which changed to Maple Leaf Gardens in 1931.
At present, Scotiabank Arena is their home, where they play during the Stanley Cup regular season. Mentioning that, the Leafs are the second-highest Silver Cup winner from Canada, keeping the count at 13.
They have a record of winning the championship back-to-back in 2020 and 2021. Sheldon Keefe is the head coach, while John Tavares has been the captain since 2019.
Boston Bruins
The Boston Bruins, founded in 1924, joined the National Hockey League the same year. The third oldest operative franchise is a member of the Atlantic Division in the Eastern Conference.
Six-time Stanley Cup holders have won the conference championship five times and the division championship 27 times. 2010–2011 was the last season they engraved their name in the silver cup.
The franchise has Jim Montogomery as the head coach, while Patrice Bergerson has been the commander since 2021. Not to forget, 51 players from the club are in the Hockey Hall of Fame.
Chicago Blackhawks
The Chicago Blackhawks is one of the "Original Six" that joined in the same year they were formed, which was 1926. In the initial phase, they didn't include Chicago in their name
Since 1986, they have been actively participating in the league as the Chicago Blackhawks.
Regarding their victories, the Blackhawks brought the silver cup home 6 times, winning the President's Trophy twice. In the 2000s, the club won the championship three times, namely in 2010, 2013, and 2015.
Unfortunately, the Chicago-based franchise didn't qualify for the championship this year. However, there are 39 athletes in the Hockey Hall of Fame.
Detroit Red Wings
The same year as the Blackhawks, the Detroit Red Wings was formed under the name Detroit Cougars. It adopted the Detroit Falcons before changing its name to its current name in 1932.
The Wings are the most Stanley Cup-winning club in the United States. It won the championship 11 times, including 19 division championships. Overall, Detroit comes in third on the list of highest-scoring Silver Cup winners.
Steve Yzerman manages the club, with Derek Lalpnde as the head coach. Dylan Larkin is the representative. There are 63 Hockey Hall of Fame players in the franchise.
New York Rangers
Last on the list is the New York Rangers, formed in 1926. It competes as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference.
The Rangers are the first club to win the Silver Cup under the United States franchise. The following year, after joining the league, they brought the trophy to their homeland.
The Rangers have celebrated the victory four times, and all were before 2000 started. Out of seven division championships, the last one was in 2015.
49 athletes from the club have been inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame. Jacob Ryan Trouba is the leader, while the post of head coach is vacant after the franchise fired Gerard Gallant from the position.
How Many Teams Are In The NHL?
There are 32 teams in the NHL from Canada and the United States. Canada has seven clubs, while the latter has the remaining 25.
In the initial phase, the National Hockey League started with four local Canadian hockey clubs. At present, the league is divided into two conferences and four divisions.
Following are the clubs of the National Hockey League, divided based on the division they belong to:
Which is the oldest nhl team without a Stanley Cup?
Vancouver Canucks and the Buffalo Sabres are the oldest NHL teams which has never won a Stanley Cup. Both the team has played 52 season as a NHL franchise.
What is the newest NHL team?
Seattle Kraken is a newest team in NHL (National Hockey League). Kraken was founded On April 30, 2021 as the 32nd NHL Team.
