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Saturday 18 November 2017 SPORTS
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National Hockey League had humble beginnings 100 years ago

MONTREAL (AP) — The five debuted with the Bruins in
men who met on Nov. 26, 1966-67, the league finally
1917, to form the National expanded by six teams —
Hockey League could not Pittsburgh, Philadelphia,
have dreamed of the 31- Minnesota North Stars (now
team, multi-billion-dollar Dallas), St. Louis, Los An-
enterprise it is a century geles and Oakland. Then
later. came Buffalo and Van-
That day the owners of the couver in 1970; New York
Montreal Canadiens, Mon- Islanders and Atlanta (now
treal Wanderers, Ottawa Calgary) in 1972; Washing-
Senators and Quebec Bull- ton and Kansas City (now
dogs, along with league New Jersey) in 1974; and
president-to-be Frank four clubs from the defunct
Calder, drew up a docu- World Hockey Associa-
ment at the posh Windsor tion — Edmonton, Quebec
Hotel in Montreal that es- (now Colorado), Winnipeg
tablished the NHL out of the (now Arizona) and Hartford
ruins of the strife-torn Na- (now Carolina) in 1979.
tional Hockey Association, San Jose joined in 1991; Ot-
which had been founded tawa and Tampa Bay in
in 1909. 1992; Florida and Anaheim
World War I was raging and in 1993; Nashville in 1998;
most of the best young From left, Toronto Maple Leafs’ Hall of Fame player Dave Keon, NHL deputy commissioner Bill Daly, Atlanta (now Winnipeg) in
players were serving in Eu- Montreal Canadiens owner Geoff Molson, NHL commissioner Gary Bettman and Canadiens hall 1999; Columbus and Min-
rope. Professional hockey of fame player Yvan Cournoyer pose next to a plaque to commemorate a 100 years of the NHL nesota in 2000; and Las Ve-
had not yet eclipsed the during a ceremony in Montreal, Friday, Nov. 17, 2017. gas in 2017.
amateur game in popu- Associated Press Since 1917, when teams
larity. Top players earned the other clubs. Toronto many ways that season. In New York, promoter Tex were valued in five figures,
about $900 per season. took the Bulldogs’ place There were no forward Rickard was angling for the NHL has become a
The owners had met twice under a more cooperative passes or lines on the ice. a franchise and the local business with an estimated
earlier in the month and owner, Charles Querrie. Minor penalties lasted joke was they would be $4.5 billion in revenues in
announced they would On the new league’s open- three minutes instead of Tex’s Rangers. Rickard liked 2016-17 and three teams
suspend play due to scar- ing night, Dec. 19, 1917, two. Goaltenders served the name and the New — the Rangers, Leafs and
city of top-level players, only 700 fans were on hand their own penalties, leaving York Rangers were born. His Canadiens — worth more
although it turned out the as the Wanderers beat To- skaters to guard the net. coach and general man- than $1 billion.
real plan was to form a ronto 10-9. And the Stanley Cup was ager was Lester Patrick, Where players were once
new league that did not It was to be the only vic- not NHL property. Toronto who brought stars Bill and almost exclusively Cana-
include Eddie Livingstone, tory for the team founded got the O’Brien Cup for tak- Bun Cook from the Pacific dian, now there are nearly
the combative owner of in 1903 out of clubs that ing the first league cham- Coast league. as many Americans and
the Toronto Blueshirts who stretched back to 1884. pionship, then had to win More iconic rinks were many others from Europe.
had repeatedly been in After only four games, the a five-game series against built. The Detroit Olympia And there will likely be at
disputes, even lawsuits, Westmount Arena that the champions of the rival in 1927, Boston Garden in least one more team com-
with other clubs over rights housed the Wanderers and Pacific Coast league, the 1928, Chicago Stadium in ing soon.
to players or arena leases. the Canadiens burned to Vancouver Millionaires, to 1929 and Maple Leaf Gar- As Ottawa boss Tommy
Elmer Ferguson, sports edi- the ground, destroying all claim the Stanley Cup. It dens in 1931. Gorman said on that day
tor of the defunct Montreal their equipment. did not become an exclu- Player salaries shot up. in 1917: “Now we can get
Herald, was the only jour- The Canadiens were able sive NHL trophy until 1926- But the Great Depression down to the business of
nalist at the Windsor that to replace their lost gear 27. was too much for some making money.”q
day. When it ended, he and moved into the 3,200- By then, a rapidly grow- clubs and after 1941-
asked Calder what had seat Jubilee Rink, but the ing NHL had reduced the 42, when the Americans
happened and was told Wanderers folded, leav- Pacific Coast and Western folded, the league was
“nothing much.” ing only three teams. The leagues to insignificance. down to what came to
But Canadiens owner Canadiens had won their While Quebec City had re- be called the Original Six,
George Kennedy told Fer- opener, officially the first joined the league, moved even though the 1930s
guson the new league was NHL game because it start- to Hamilton, and then fold- had brought major rule
“like our old league except ed 15 minutes earlier, on ed, the NHL was booming changes to speed up play
that we haven’t invited Ed- five goals from Joe Malone, in the United States. and boost offence, includ-
die Livingstone to be part who had been picked up Boston joined in 1924, the ing forward passing across
of it.” from the Bulldogs. same year the Forum was lines, icing, penalty shots
Livingstone filed for an in- It took less than a month for built to house the Cana- and flooding the ice be-
junction and tried unsuc- the first rule change, which diens and the new Montre- tween periods.
cessfully to start another allowed goalies to drop al Maroons. The New York Then came an extended
league, but it was hardly to the ice to make saves Americans joined in 1925- period of stability, marked
smooth sailing for the NHL where they previously had 26 along with the Pittsburgh by the rise of powerhouse
in its early days. to remain upright. The new Pirates. teams in Detroit, Montreal,
Before the season started, rule was inspired by Otta- Teams in Chicago and Toronto and then Mon-
Quebec announced it wa’s Clint Benedict, a mas- Detroit soon followed. In treal again. Massive stars
didn’t have the resources ter at “accidentally” losing Toronto, Conn Smythe emerged like Maurice
to begin play until the fol- his footing when shots were bought a team called the “Rocket” Richard, Jean Be-
lowing season, so its players being taken. St. Pats and renamed them liveau and Gordie Howe.
were divided up among The game was different in the Maple Leafs. A year after Bobby Orr