List of NHL seasons
Early years
The NHL started with three of the six NHA clubs (Montreal Canadiens, Montreal Wanderers and Ottawa Senators) and a Toronto franchise run by the Toronto Arena Co., which leased the players of the Toronto Blueshirts.

List of NHL seasons

Section Title: Early years
Table Section Text: The NHL started with three of the six NHA clubs (Montreal Canadiens, Montreal Wanderers and Ottawa Senators) and a Toronto franchise run by the Toronto Arena Co., which leased the players of the Toronto Blueshirts.

No.	Season	Playoffs	Stanley Cup Finals	No. of teams	Reg. season games	Start (reg. season)	Finish (incl. NHL playoffs)	Top record	Champion

1	1917–18	1918	1918	4/3	22	December 19	March 13	Montreal Canadiens (10–4–0) (1st half) Toronto Hockey Club (5–3–0) (2nd half)	Toronto Hockey Club

2	1918–19	1919	1919	3	18	December 19	March 6	Montreal Canadiens (7–3–0) (1st half) Ottawa Senators (7–1–0) (2nd half)	Montreal Canadiens

3	1919–20	1920	1920	4	24	December 23	March 10	Ottawa Senators (9–3–0) (1st half) Ottawa Senators (10–2–0) (2nd half)	Ottawa Senators

4	1920–21	1921	1921	4	24	December 22	March 15	Ottawa Senators (8–2–0) (1st half) Toronto St. Pats (10–4–0) (2nd half)	Ottawa Senators

5	1921–22	1922	1922	4	24	December 17	March 13	Ottawa Senators (14–8–2)	Toronto St. Pats

6	1922–23	1923	1923	4	24	December 16	March 9	Ottawa Senators (14–9–1)	Ottawa Senators

7	1923–24	1924	1924	4	24	December 15	March 11	Ottawa Senators (16–8–0)	Montreal Canadiens

8	1924–25	1925	1925	6	30	November 29	March 13	Hamilton Tigers (19–10–1)	Montreal Canadiens

9	1925–26	1926	1926	7	36	November 28	March 27	Ottawa Senators (24–8–4)	Montreal Maroons

10	1926–27	1927	1927	10	44	November 18	April 13	Ottawa Senators (30–10–4)	Ottawa Senators

11	1927–28	1928	1928	10	44	November 15	April 14	Montreal Canadiens (26–11–7)	New York Rangers

12	1928–29	1929	1929	10	44	November 15	March 29	Montreal Canadiens (22–7–15)	Boston Bruins

13	1929–30	1930	1930	10	44	November 14	April 3	Boston Bruins (38–5–1)	Montreal Canadiens

14	1930–31	1931	1931	10	44	November 11	April 14	Boston Bruins (28–10–6)	Montreal Canadiens

15	1931–32	1932	1932	8	48	November 12	April 9	Montreal Canadiens (25–16–7)	Toronto Maple Leafs

16	1932–33	1933	1933	9	48	November 10	April 13	Boston Bruins (25–15–8)	New York Rangers

17	1933–34	1934	1934	9	48	November 9	April 10	Toronto Maple Leafs (26–13–9)	Chicago Black Hawks

18	1934–35	1935	1935	9	48	November 8	April 9	Toronto Maple Leafs (30–14–4)	Montreal Maroons

19	1935–36	1936	1936	8	48	November 7	April 11	Detroit Red Wings (24–16–8)	Detroit Red Wings

20	1936–37	1937	1937	8	48	November 5	April 15	Detroit Red Wings (25–14–9)	Detroit Red Wings

21	1937–38	1938	1938	8	48	November 4	April 12	Boston Bruins (30–11–7)	Chicago Black Hawks

22	1938–39	1939	1939	7	48	November 3	April 16	Boston Bruins (36–10–2)	Boston Bruins

23	1939–40	1940	1940	7	48	November 2	April 13	Boston Bruins (31–12–5)	New York Rangers

24	1940–41	1941	1941	7	48	November 3	April 12	Boston Bruins (27–8–13)	Boston Bruins

25	1941–42	1942	1942	7	48	November 1	April 18	New York Rangers (29–17–2)	Toronto Maple Leafs

Sentence(s)

The 1939–40 NHL season was the 23rd season for the National Hockey League.

final_sentence: The 1939–40 NHL season was the 23rd season for the National Hockey League.