History of the National Hockey League ( 1992 - present ) The National Hockey League ( NHL ) has endured a tumultuous period of history in recent years . It has grown from 22 teams in 1992 to 30 today as the league expanded across the United States . Repeated labour conflicts interrupted play in 1992 , 1994 – 95 and 2004 – 05 ; the latter caused the entire 2004 – 05 NHL season to be canceled , the first time in North American history that a sports league has canceled an entire season in a labour dispute . Four franchises have relocated during this time : the Minnesota North Stars became the Dallas Stars ( 1993 ) , the Quebec Nordiques became the Colorado Avalanche ( 1995 ) , the Winnipeg Jets became the Phoenix Coyotes ( 1996 ) , and the Hartford Whalers became the Carolina Hurricanes ( 1997 ) . In 1993 , the Montreal Canadiens celebrated the Stanley Cup ' s 100th anniversary with their 24th championship . They remain the last Canadian team to capture the trophy . The 1994 New York Rangers broke the Curse of 1940 , winning their first title in 54 years . The NHL ' s southern expansion , often maligned by Canadians and fans in the Northeastern United States , has led to championships by the Dallas Stars , Tampa Bay Lightning , Carolina Hurricanes and Anaheim Ducks in the last decade . Manon Rheaume became the first female player in the NHL when she suited up for the Lightning in a 1992 pre - season game . Wayne Gretzky passed Gordie Howe as the NHL ' s all - time leading scorer in 1994 when he scored his 802nd career goal . Mario Lemieux overcame non - Hodgkin lymphoma to finish his NHL career with more than 1 , 700 points and two championships , and now owns the Pittsburgh Penguins . Today ' s NHL is led by arguably its two biggest young stars : Alexander Ovechkin of the Washington Capitals and Sidney Crosby of the Penguins . The Canada Cup gave way to the World Cup of Hockey in 1996 , while NHL players first competed in the 1998 Winter Olympics . To promote itself worldwide , the NHL played regular season games in Japan in 1996 , and throughout Europe since 2007 . The league played its first outdoor regular season games with the Heritage Classic between the Canadiens and the host Edmonton Oilers in 2003 , and the Winter Classic , held on New Year ' s Day from 2008 to 2010 in Buffalo , New York , Chicago , Illinois , and Boston , Massachusetts . Increased use of defence - focused systems contributed to decreased scoring in the late 1990s , leading some to argue that the NHL ' s talent pool had been diluted by the 1990 expansion plan . The league has attempted several times to alter its rules to increase scoring . It began awarding teams a single point for losing in overtime in 1998 , hoping to reduce the number of tie games . In 2005 , ties were eliminated altogether as the penalty shootout was introduced to ensure that all games have a winner . Background . As the 1990s began , players were uneasy with the closeness between National Hockey League Players Association ( NHLPA ) executive director Alan Eagleson and the teams ' owners . As a result , Eagleson stepped down in December 1991 , and was replaced by Bob Goodenow . Four years later , the Federal Bureau of Investigation indicted Eagleson on charges of racketeering , fraud , embezzlement , kickbacks and obstruction of justice over allegations that he stole millions of dollars from the NHLPA . Eagleson pleaded guilty in 1998 in a plea bargain and was fined US $ 1 million and sentenced to 18 months in prison . He subsequently resigned from the Hockey Hall of Fame . Four months after replacing Eagleson , Goodenow and the NHLPA launched the first NHL players ' strike on April 1 , 1992 . It lasted ten days and resulted in the players receiving larger playoff bonuses , increased control over the licensing of their likenesses and improved rights to free agency . It also led the owners to dismiss league president John Ziegler and replace him on an interim basis with Gil Stein . Goodenow called the strike a major moment , stating " I don ' t think the owners took the players seriously and it wasn ' t until the strike that they understood the players were serious . " As part of the deal , the league also agreed to have each team play two games per season for the following two years in neutral site locations , partially to help gauge markets for potential expansion . Desiring a fresh start , the owners replaced Stein with Gary Bettman in February 1993 . Formerly a senior vice president of the National Basketball Association , Bettman replaced the position of president with that of commissioner . He was given the task of selling the game to the American market , ending labor unrest , completing expansion plans , and modernizing the league . Expansion . The Tampa Bay Lightning and Ottawa Senators joined the league in as part of the owners ' 1990 plan to expand the NHL to 28 teams within a decade . The Lightning made NHL history when goaltender Manon Rheaume played a period of an exhibition game for them on September 23 , 1992 . Rheaume became the first woman to play in an NHL game . She also became the first woman to sign a professional hockey contract , doing so with the Lightning ' s farm team , the Atlanta Knights . One year later , the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim and Florida Panthers began play as the NHL ' s 25th and 26th franchises . They were established as part of the NHL ' s attempt to regain a U . S . network television presence by expanding into southern North America . The league expected that bringing in Blockbuster Video ' s Wayne Huizenga to own the Panthers , and The Walt Disney Company to own the Mighty Ducks would raise its profile . The NHL ' s southward push continued in 1993 when the Minnesota North Stars moved to Dallas , Texas to become the Dallas Stars . The NHL celebrated the 100th anniversary of the Stanley Cup in 1993 . That year ' s finals featured Patrick Roy and the Montreal Canadiens against Wayne Gretzky and the Los Angeles Kings . After losing the first game , the Canadiens rallied from a late deficit to win game two in overtime after the Kings ' Marty McSorley was penalized for using an illegal stick . Montreal scored on the power play , sending the game into overtime . Montreal won games three and four in overtime en route to winning the series in five games . The Canadiens won an NHL - record ten consecutive overtime games in the 1993 playoffs . The New York Rangers ended their " Curse of 1940 " after 54 years by winning the 1994 Stanley Cup in seven games over the Vancouver Canucks . The Rangers ' championship was the last hurrah for the great Edmonton Oilers dynasty of the 1980s , as there were seven ex - Oilers on the team , including Mark Messier , who became the first ( and to this date , the only ) player to win Stanley Cups as the captain for two franchises , having captained the Oilers to the last of their five Stanley Cups in . The Rangers ' victory also resulted in the first Russian names to be engraved on the Stanley Cup : Alexei Kovalev , Alexander Karpovtsev , Sergei Nemchinov , and Sergei Zubov . The global audience of 285 million in 120 countries . that watched the Rangers ' victory included a huge European audience , including those watching on the brand - new television screens across the former Soviet Union , because of the first Russian names on the Stanley Cup . 1994 – 95 lockout . Four months later , the players were locked out by the owners due to the lack of a Collective Bargaining Agreement ( CBA ) . The 1994 – 95 NHL lockout lasted 104 days and resulted in the season ' s being shortened from a planned 84 games to 48 . The owners wanted to control salary growth and insisted on a salary cap , changes to free agency and salary arbitration . The union instead proposed a luxury tax system that would penalize teams that spent above a set figure on player salaries . The negotiations were at times bitter , as defenceman Chris Chelios famously issued a veiled threat against Bettman , suggesting that he should be " worried about [ his ] family and [ his ] well - being " , because " some crazed fans , or even a player [ . . . ] might take matters into their own hands and figure they get Bettman out of the way . " The lockout entered its fourth month in January 1995 and approached a deadline that would have canceled the season when the two sides agreed to an 11th - hour deal . The owners failed to achieve a full salary cap , but the union agreed to a cap on rookie contracts , changes to the arbitration system and restrictive rules for free agency that would not grant a player the unrestricted right to choose where he played until age 31 . The deal was initially seen as a victory for the owners . The agreement was not enough to save two teams in Canada ' s smallest NHL markets . The revenue disparity between large and small market teams , exacerbated by the falling value of the Canadian dollar , led the Winnipeg Jets to relocate to Phoenix , Arizona in 1996 , becoming the Coyotes one year after the Quebec Nordiques moved to Denver , Colorado to become the Colorado Avalanche . Hoping to prevent other teams from leaving Canada , and citing the cost of doing business in American dollars while taking revenue in Canadian dollars , the NHL set up a currency assistance plan to support the remaining small market Canadian teams in 1996 . The Hartford Whalers became the third former World Hockey Association team to relocate in 1997 , becoming the Carolina Hurricanes . Dead puck era . Following the 1994 – 95 lockout , the NHL entered a prolonged period of offensive decline . Throughout the 1980s , 7 . 6 goals were scored per game on average . That figure had dropped below six goals per game by the 1994 – 95 season , and to 5 . 19 by 1998 – 99 . There have been many arguments put forth as to what caused this decline . A common claim is that the drop in offence was due to dilution of talent caused by 1990s expansion , a position former player Brett Hull endorsed . Increased use of the neutral zone trap and similar defensive systems were also blamed . The New Jersey Devils have often been criticized for popularizing the trap , using it to win the Stanley Cup in 1995 , and again in 2000 and 2003 . This period has been called the dead puck era . The Canada Cup gave way to the World Cup of Hockey in 1996 , an NHL - sanctioned eight team international tournament featuring the top professionals in the world . The inaugural tournament saw the United States upset the favoured Canadians in a three - game final . That same year , the Avalanche won their first Stanley Cup in their first season in Denver , sweeping the Florida Panthers . One year later , the Detroit Red Wings ended a 42 - year drought , capturing their first Stanley Cup since 1955 . The team ' s celebration was cut short , as defenceman Vladimir Konstantinov and team masseur Sergei Mnatsakanov were seriously injured when their limousine crashed six days following the victory . The Red Wings dedicated the 1997 – 98 season to the two . Upon repeating as champions in 1998 , they brought Konstantinov , who had suffered severe brain damage in the crash , out in a wheelchair to celebrate with the team on the ice . The NHL continued its expansion into the southern United States . In 1998 , the Nashville Predators joined the league , followed by the Atlanta Thrashers in 1999 . On April 16 , 1999 , Wayne Gretzky played his final NHL game , retiring as the league ' s all - time scoring leader and holding 61 NHL records . His number , 99 , was retired league - wide the following season . The usual three year waiting period between a player ' s retirement and his induction into the Hockey Hall of Fame was waived , and he was inducted in 1999 . In 2000 , the league added its 29th and 30th franchises , the Minnesota Wild and Columbus Blue Jackets . For marketing reasons , the NHL agreed to participate in the Winter Olympics starting in 1998 . NHL players first competed at the Nagano Games . Led by goaltender Dominik Hasek , the tournament was won by the Czech Republic . Hasek , who finished the tournament with a 0 . 97 goals - against average and a . 961 save percentage over six games , was the leading goaltender of the 1990s . His run of consecutive Vezina Trophies from 1994 to 1999 was interrupted only once , in 1996 by Jim Carey of the Washington Capitals . Hasek won another Vezina Trophy in 2001 , and two consecutive Lester B . Pearson and Hart Trophies in 1997 and 1998 . The Panthers ' trip to the Stanley Cup final in 1996 began a trend in which southern - based teams frequently appeared in the championship round . The Dallas Stars won the 1999 Stanley Cup over the Buffalo Sabres in controversial fashion : Brett Hull scored the Cup - winning goal in overtime of game six despite arguments that his foot was in the goal crease , which under the rules at the time would have disallowed the goal . The Stars returned to the finals in 2000 , falling to the New Jersey Devils . The Hurricanes first played in the finals in 2002 , losing to the Red Wings , while the Mighty Ducks reached the final in 2003 , falling to the Devils . In 2004 , the Tampa Bay Lightning defeated the Calgary Flames to win the Cup . . The Lightning win in 2004 was seen as the end to the Devils / Avalanche / Red Wings Stanley Cup era , as all three teams won a combined 8 Stanley Cups between 1995 and 2003 . The Edmonton Oilers hosted the NHL ' s first regular season outdoor hockey game , the Heritage Classic , on November 22 , 2003 . The game against the Canadiens was held at Commonwealth Stadium before a then - record crowd of 57 , 167 fans who endured temperatures as low as - 19C . Mario Lemieux . When they selected him as the first overall draft pick in 1984 , the Pittsburgh Penguins hoped that Mario Lemieux would improve the team ' s fortunes on the ice , and increase interest in the team in the Pittsburgh market . Lemieux , who had scored 133 goals in his final season of junior hockey , recorded his first NHL goal in his first game on his first career shot against the Boston Bruins . On December 31 , 1988 , Lemieux scored five goals , one in each of the five different ways possible : even strength , on the power play , short handed , on a penalty shot and into an empty net , a feat no player in league history has duplicated . Injuries and illness plagued Lemieux throughout his career . He played only 26 regular season games in 1990 – 91 after surgery to repair a herniated disc in his back , but returned in time to score 44 points in the playoffs in leading the Penguins to their first Stanley Cup . Lemieux continued to struggle with back trouble the next season , though he still won the scoring title , and his second consecutive playoff MVP award in leading the Penguins to their second championship in 1992 . In 1993 , he was diagnosed with cancer . Lemieux endured 22 radiation treatments in 30 days to treat non - Hodgkin lymphoma . Only 12 hours after his final treatment , Lemieux returned to the Penguins , scoring a goal in his first game back . A second surgery on his back cost Lemieux most of the 1993 – 94 season , and the entire 1994 – 95 campaign . As a result of his injuries , Lemieux retired in 1997 . He was immediately inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame ; the three - year waiting period was waived by the Hall . Inspired by his son Austin ' s desire to see him play , Lemieux returned to the NHL in 2000 – 01 , scoring a goal 33 - seconds into his return . He also became the first player - owner in NHL history ; he had bought the Penguins in the summer of 1999 to save them from bankruptcy . Lemieux finished the season with 35 goals and 76 points in 43 games . Lemieux continued to battle injuries , missing the majority of the first - half of the 2001 – 02 season , however he returned to action in time to captain Team Canada to its first gold medal in 50 - years at the 2002 Winter Olympics . Injuries again forced his retirement , as Lemieux finally ended his career on January 24 , 2006 with 690 goals and 1 , 723 points in 915 games . Despite his injuries , it has been argued that Lemieux was the greatest player in NHL history . Hall of Famer Bobby Orr claimed Lemieux was the most skilled player he had ever seen , while Mike Gartner said that if he had remained healthy , Lemieux would have scored 1 , 000 goals . 2004 – 05 lockout . By 2004 , the owners were claiming that player salaries had grown much faster than revenues , and that the league as a whole lost over US $ 300 million in 2002 – 03 . Upon the expiry of the collective bargaining agreement ( CBA ) , Gary Bettman announced that the players were again locked out to start the 2004 – 05 season . On February 16 , 2005 , he announced the cancellation of the entire season : " It is my sad duty to announce that because a solution has not yet been attained , it is no longer practical to conduct even an abbreviated season . Accordingly , I have no choice but to announce the formal cancellation of play . " The NHL became the first North American league to cancel an entire season because of a labor stoppage . As with the 1994 – 95 lockout , the owners were demanding a salary cap , which the players were unwilling to consider until the season was on the verge of being lost . The season ' s cancellation led union president Trevor Linden and senior director Ted Saskin to take charge of negotiations from executive director Bob Goodenow . By early July , the two sides had agreed to a new CBA . The deal featured a hard salary cap , linked to a fixed percentage of league revenues , a 24 % rollback on salaries , and unrestricted free agency beginning after seven years of service . The loss of the 2004 – 05 season led the NHL to institute a special lottery to determine the order of the 2005 draft , as there were no standings to base a drafting order from . The Pittsburgh Penguins won the lottery , and selected Sidney Crosby , a highly - prized prospect whose arrival to the NHL had been greatly anticipated . Crosby and the Washington Capitals ' Alex Ovechkin , the 2004 first overall pick , were expected to become the faces of the NHL as the league entered a new era . Ovechkin was named the Calder Memorial Trophy winner as rookie of the year in 2005 – 06 , while Crosby ' s presence helped Pittsburgh ' s attendance increase by 33 % , over 4 , 000 fans per game . Post - lockout . In the 2005 – 06 season , Ovechkin and Crosby began their careers . In their first three seasons , they each won both the Art Ross and Hart trophies ; Crosby captured both in 2007 and Ovechkin in 2008 . The 2006 Stanley Cup Finals was the first time that franchises that originally played in the World Hockey Association ( WHA ) met in the Stanley Cup Final , as the Oilers lost a seven - game series to the Hurricanes . The following season , the Senators lost the finals in five games to the Ducks . The three year streak of Canadian teams in the finals was halted in the 2007 – 08 season , when the Red Wings defeated the Penguins for their fourth Stanley Cup in 11 years . The success of the Heritage Classic led the NHL to schedule more outdoor games . The Sabres hosted the 2008 NHL Winter Classic on New Year ' s Day 2008 , losing to the Pittsburgh Penguins in a shootout before a crowd of 71 , 217 at Ralph Wilson Stadium . The second Winter Classic was held January 1 , 2009 at Wrigley Field in Chicago between the Blackhawks and Red Wings . On January 1 , 2010 at Fenway Park in Boston the third Winter Classic was held with the Bruins defeating the Philadelphia Flyers 2 - 1 in overtime . Intending to promote the game world wide , the league sent the San Jose Sharks and Calgary Flames to begin the 1998 – 99 season with two games in Tokyo , Japan . Since 2007 , the NHL has been sending teams to Europe to start each season . The Los Angeles Kings met the Ducks at the O Arena in London , England to start the season the 2007 – 08 season . A year later , four teams were sent to Prague , Czech Republic and Stockholm , Sweden . One of those teams , the Rangers , also participated in the inaugural Victoria Cup , defeating the Kontinental Hockey League ' s Metallurg Magnitogorsk 4 – 3 in a single game . Another four teams opened the 2009 – 10 season in Stockholm and Helsinki , Finland . In 2010 , Vancouver hosted the Winter Olympics , the first time an NHL city has hosted the event since the league began participating . The NHL ' s participation in future games remains in doubt , as it has expressed a desire not to participate in the 2014 games in Sochi , Russia . The players , however , strongly favour continued participation in the Olympics . The third World Cup of Hockey is expected to take place in 2011 , seven years after the 2004 tournament . Due to the 2010 Olympics , the Canucks underwent the longest road trip in NHL history , with 14 games over 6 weeks , from January 27 to March 13 , 2010 , to allow General Motors Place to be used for ice hockey during the Winter Games . It marked the first time that an NHL - sized rink was used during the Winter Olympics . GM Place was " Canada Hockey Place " during the games , as the IOC prohibits advertising , including corporate sponsorship , within Olympic venues . Rules and innovations . Hoping to reduce the number of tie games during the regular season , the NHL decided that beginning in the 1999 – 2000 season , in any game tied after regulation time , both teams would be guaranteed one point , while the team that won in overtime would earn a second point . The theory was that rather than playing conservatively to earn a point for a tie , teams would press for the extra point for the overtime win . In the 2005 – 06 season the NHL eliminated tie games altogether , as the shootout was introduced to decide all regular season games tied after the five - minute overtime period . The shootout has proven controversial ; critics have called it a gimmick , and expressed fierce opposition to any suggestion of using it to decide playoff games , though the league has not pushed for this to happen . It has also been argued that teams are playing it safe , taking no chances in regulation in order to bring the game to overtime , where they are each guaranteed a point . The shootout also has many supporters , among them Phoenix head coach Dave Tippett , who stated that many fans enjoy it . The shootout was one of several rule changes made in 2005 as the league attempted to increase offence following the lockout . The two - line pass rule was eliminated , allowing teams to pass from their defensive zone to anywhere in the neutral zone . Previously , such passes could only be made to their own half of the neutral zone . The rule was intended to encourage long breakout passes and create more breakaways . Teams that commit an icing infraction are no longer allowed to make a line change before a faceoff , and goaltenders are now prohibited from playing the puck in the end - zone corners behind the goal line . They are allowed to play the puck directly behind the net , within the trapezoid marked by diagonal lines from the goal line to the end boards . One of the most controversial changes was the league ' s zero - tolerance policy on obstruction penalties . The league hoped that the game could be opened up if it cracked down on " clutching and grabbing " . The tighter regulations have met with complaints about the legitimacy of some calls , that players are diving to draw penalties , and that officials are not calling enough penalties . The changes initially led to a sharp increase in scoring . Teams combined to score 6 . 1 goals per game in 2005 – 06 , more than a goal per game higher than in the 2003 – 04 season . This represented the highest single - season increase in offence since 1929 – 30 . However , scoring has rapidly declined since , approaching pre - lockout totals in 2007 – 08 .