Professional ice hockey Professional ice hockey has existed since the early 1900s . From the first professional ice hockey league based out of Michigan in the United States , it quickly grew into Canada and to many other countries , as diverse as Switzerland , Ukraine , the United Kingdom or Austria . By country . Canada . Professional leagues emerged from amateur leagues . In 1904 , the U . S . - based International Professional Hockey League ( IPHL ) was formed , and had the first Canadian professional team , the Canadian Soo . The league hired many amateur players away from Canada , causing the amateur leagues to convert to all - out professionalism or allow professional players in order to compete for the top players . The first Canadian professional league was the Manitoba Professional Hockey League ( MPHL ) , formed in 1905 from member teams of the amateur Manitoba Hockey Association . The Eastern Canada Amateur Hockey Association ( ECAHA ) , formed from prior amateur hockey leagues , emerged in 1906 . The ECAHA allowed teams to have professional players from the start . In 1907 , the Ontario Professional Hockey League was formed . The competition for players increased salaries , a factor in the demise of the IPHL in 1907 . In 1908 , the ECAHA became fully professional , as the ECAHA ' s amateur teams separated from the league and competed for the new Allan Cup , a new challenge cup instituted for amateur teams . The ECAHA , now fully professional , renamed itself the ECHA . The MPHL folded in 1909 , the OPHL in 1908 , leaving the ECHA as the only ' elite ' professional league in Canada . In northern Ontario , silver mining had made small towns affluent , and mines in the area hired professional players for their ice hockey teams . By 1910 , several teams in the area had hired enough professional players from the ECHA , that the teams , notably the Renfrew Creamery Kings , wanted to join the ECHA and compete for the Stanley Cup . Rebuffed by the ECHA , the mine owners formed the National Hockey Association ( NHA ) in 1910 , splitting the ECHA ' s teams between the Canadian Hockey Association and the NHA . The CHA dissolved after less than a month , with some teams absorbed by the NHA . After one season of extravagant salaries , the NHA team owners imposed a salary cap , causing dissension amongst the players , and closed most of the teams in mining towns . In 1911 , Lester and Frank Patrick , who had played in the NHA , formed the rival Pacific Coast Hockey Association in British Columbia and took the opportunity to sign many of the NHA ' s players , notably Cyclone Taylor . In 1912 , the NHA expanded west to Toronto , becoming a six - team league from Toronto to Quebec City . While the leagues competed for players , competition for the Stanley Cup brought them together for annual playoffs , starting in 1915 . In November 1917 , the NHA itself suspended operations and several NHA owners formed the National Hockey League ( NHL ) following a dispute between NHA team owners . The new league began play in December that year with four Canadian teams . The NHL continued the annual Stanley Cup playoffs with the PCHA . In the west , the Western Canada Hockey League was formed in 1921 from existing teams in Alberta and Saskatchewan . The annual Stanley Cup playoffs now became a three - way championship , alternating in location between the west and the east . The PCHA would merge with the WCHL in 1924 to form the Western Hockey League before the league ceased operations in 1926 . The NHL , having expanded to the U . S . A . and now with ten teams , bought out the players ' contracts of the WHL and took control of the Stanley Cup , forming Canadian and American divisions . The NHL lost Canadian teams in the 1920s and 1930s , leading to a rise in senior - level amateur teams and leagues in cities such as Quebec City and Ottawa , former NHL cities . After World War 2 , several of these teams became professional in the Quebec Hockey League , which included several stars such as Jean Beliveau and Willie O ' Ree . In the 1950s , with the rise of NHL television broadcasts , such as those on Hockey Night in Canada , attendance suffered and the minor professional leagues folded or merged to survive . A new Western Hockey League was formed on the west coast with teams in several cities including Vancouver . The WHL ' s Vancouver Canucks organization would join the NHL in 1970 . Since the demise of the QHL , the American Hockey League ( AHL ) has had Canadian teams , starting with the Quebec Aces . In 1972 , the World Hockey Association was formed with professional teams in Edmonton , Ottawa , Quebec City and Winnipeg . Ottawa relocated to Toronto after one season , but the other teams survived until the WHA merged with the NHL in 1979 . Edmonton , Quebec City and Winnipeg joined the NHL . In 1984 , the Atlanta franchise moved to Calgary . In the 1990s , the Quebec and Winnipeg franchises relocated to the U . S . , while Ottawa rejoined the NHL in 1992 . On 16 February , 2005 , the NHL became the first major professional team sport in North America to cancel an entire season because of a labor dispute . Play resumed again in the fall of 2005 . During the dispute , controversy arose over the decision not to award the Stanley Cup ; some considered this decision a violation of the terms of the Stanley Cup ' s handover to the NHL . Following a legal challenge , it was agreed that the Cup ' s trustees could award the Cup to a non - NHL team . The official museum for the NHL is the Hockey Hall of Fame in Toronto , Canada . Ice Hockey is one of Canada ' s two official sports . It is officially the " winter " sport , whereas lacrosse is officially the " summer " sport . Czechoslovakia . In Czechoslovakia , the Czechoslovak Extraliga was the elite ice hockey league in Czechoslovakia from 1930 until 1993 , when the country split into the Czech Republic and Slovakia . In the Czech Republic , the Czech Extraliga is rooted in the Czechoslovak Extraliga . The Czech Extraliga was spun off in 1993 following the administrative break - up of Czechoslovakia . The Czech Extraliga is the highest - level ice hockey league in the Czech Republic . The name of the league is leased a general sponsor and changes frequently . In the 2003 - 04 , 2004 - 05 and 2005 - 06 seasons it was known as the Tipsport Extraliga ; for 2001 - 01 and 2001 - 02 it was called the Český Telecom Extraliga , and in 1999 - 00 the Staropramen Extraliga . During the 2006 - 07 season it was known as the O2 Extraliga . In Slovakia , the Slovak Extraliga is the highest - level ice hockey league in Slovakia . The name of the league is leased to sponsor and changes frequently . From 1993 / 94 to 1997 / 98 season it was called Extraliga , then the name changed to West Extraliga until the end of 2000 / 01 season . In 2001 / 02 its name was Boss Extraliga . Since 2002 / 03 season to 2004 / 05 the name changed to ST Extraliga and in 2005 / 06 to T - Com Extraliga . From January 16th , 2007 the name changed to Slovnaft Extraliga when a general sponsor agreement with Slovnaft was signed . The agreement is valid until the end of 2007 / 08 season . The Slovak Extraliga is also rooted in the Czechoslovak Extraliga . The 1993 / 94 was the first season of Slovak Extraliga as Czechoslovakia split into the Czech Republic and Slovakia on January 1 , 1993 . Finland . In Finland , SM - liiga is the top professional ice hockey league in Finland . It was constituted in 1975 to replace SM - sarja , which was fundamentally an amateur league . SM - liiga has an agreement of cooperation with Finnish ice hockey federation Suomen Jääkiekkoliitto . SM is a common abbreviation for Suomen mestaruus , " Finnish championship " . At the moment , there are 14 teams . SM - liiga was closed in 2000 so that no team can be relegated to or promoted from the lower leagues without approval of the board of SM - liiga . The board have committed themselves to promote the first winner of Mestis ( the second highest competition ) that meets certain standards . Germany . In Germany , the Deutsche Eishockey Liga ( German Hockey League , shortname DEL ) is a German high - calibre ice hockey league , and has the highest number of American and Canadian players overseas . It was formed as a replacement for the Bundesliga . It dates back to 1958 . Soviet Union and successors . The highest league in the Soviet Union was the Soviet Championship League , founded in 1946 . This evolved into an elite league with a talent level comparable to the NHL . However , it was always considered an " amateur " league , rather than professional . This was because all elite athletes in the Soviet Union were conscripted into the Red Army , Red Air Force or other national institutions . Technically they were paid for their military service , and not for their play as athletes . This allowed them compete at the Olympic games without violating the International Olympic Committee ' s amateur - only rules . Throughout the history of the Soviet league , Red Army - affiliated CSKA Moscow dominated , winning 32 of the 46 championship seasons . The Soviet League ' s talent level was severely diminished following the fall of communism when most elite players moved to the NHL in search of higher pay . The league also changed it name to the CIS Championship in 1991 - 1992 , and then to the International Hockey League from 1992 to 1996 . After the communist era ended , the league became explicitly professional . By 1996 , most of former Soviet republics had created their own national leagues : including the Estonian Ice Hockey Association , Kazakhstani Championship , Latvian Hockey League , Lithuanian Hockey League , and Ukrainian Major League . The remnant Russian Federation - based teams created the Russian Super League . The Russian Pro Hockey League ' s " Super League " was the highest level of play in Russia from 1996 to 2008 . During the 2000s the calibre of play and the league economics recovered as the Russian economy did . Before the 2008 - 09 season the RSL was reformed into the Kontinental Hockey League which includes teams from several other former Soviet republics ( Belarus , Kazkhastan , and Latvia ) and plans to expand further . Sweden . In Sweden , Elitserien is the highest - level professional ice hockey league . It is generally regarded as one of the top leagues of Europe , and one of the Swedish major professional sports league . Elitserien , or the Swedish Elite League , which it is often unofficially called in English , is composed of 12 teams . The first season under the name Elitserien was played in 1975 - 76 . The Swedish ice hockey championships has been played in various forms since 1922 . Switzerland . In Switzerland , the Nationalliga A ( German ) , or Ligue Nationale A ( French ) is the top tier of the Nationalliga or Ligue Nationale , the main professional ice hockey league in Switzerland . It is the oldest league remaining today , dating to 1916 . United Kingdom . Between the wars , British ice hockey grew rapidly with new ice rinks and an influx of Canadian players . A European competition was instituted , and in the 1936 Winter Olympics at Garmisch , Germany , Great Britain won the gold medal , imposing the first ever Olympic defeat on the Canadians . However , because of the disruption of World War II and a lack of suitable venues afterwards the sport faded rapidly . United States . The first professional hockey league in the world was the International Professional Hockey League . It was founded in 1904 by a dentist in Houghton , Michigan , Jack Gibson . While this league had folded by 1907 , it was the starting of professional hockey . The United States would continue to see professional hockey with teams from the PCHL based in Seattle and Portland . When the Boston Bruins joined the NHL in 1924 , the United States was finally represented in the league . It would continue to grow in the NHL until the present day where 24 of the 30 teams are based in the US . There are several other pro leagues in the US as well , notably the AHL , ECHL , CHL , and IHL . International . There is no single global championship for professional ice hockey . The most elite North American teams compete for the Stanley Cup as their championship . Created in 1892 , the Stanley Cup was originally an amateur trophy . Starting in 1907 , professionals were allowed to compete for it . Teams from several leagues played for the Stanley Cup before 1926 , since which time it has been controlled solely by the National Hockey League ( NHL ) . The most elite European clubs have competed in the Europa Cup from 1965 to 1997 , the European Hockey League from 1996 to 2000 , the IIHF European Champions Cup 2005 to 2008 and the Champions Hockey League in 2008 . There has not been a European ice hockey championship played since the Champions Hockey League played its only season . The most successful North American team is the Montreal Canadiens who have won 24 Stanley Cups , the most successful European club is HC CSKA Moscow which has won 20 European Cups . Teams from North American and Europe do not regularly compete against each other in " friendlies " as do soccer clubs . The opportunities for fans and media to compare levels of play between the continents were especially limited during the Cold War since many of Europe ’ s best clubs were behind the Iron Curtain . After the success of the Summit Series which featured the Canadian and Soviet national teams , there was a demand for more international hockey at the club level . It has also proved that Soviet hockey was at a comparable level to the NHL . This led to the Super Series which from 1975 to 1991 featured an annual tour of North America by a Soviet hockey club . The first Super Series featured CSKA Moscow against the Montreal Canadiens on New Year ’ s Eve 1975 , in what was described in the press as a " de facto " world championship . The game ended as a 3 - 3 draw but was hailed as one the greatest games ever played . The following week CSKA played and lost to the two - time defending Stanley Cup champion Philadelphia Flyers in a game infamous for it roughness . Subsequent Super Series produced more close results , but generally favoured the Soviet sides . However , following the fall of communism , many elite players from the Soviet Union and Eastern Bloc countries went to the NHL for higher pay . The NHL became " de facto " the world ’ s most elite league as the quality of play in European leagues suffered . Between 2000 and 2003 several NHL teams travelled outside North America to play exhibition games against some Swedish and one Finnish ice hockey teams . This series was known as the NHL Challenge . In 2008 the former Russian Super League was refounded as the Kontinental Hockey League , expanded into Belarus , Latvia , and Kazakhstan , and encouraged its clubs to aggressively seek talented players ( sometimes at the expense of the NHL ) , prompting the media to speculate about eventual KHL challenge to the NHL dominance of international hockey . Also in 2008 the new Champions Hockey League was created to provide an elite tournament for the best teams in Europe . The winner of the Champions Hockey League will face an NHL challenger each year in the Victoria Cup providing a regular contest between NHL and European teams since the end of the Super Series in 1991 . The Champions League was suspended for the 2009 - 10 season due to withdrawal of sponsors such as Gazprom . In 2009 , KHL and Gazprom executive Alexander Medvedev proposed merging the KHL into a new pan - European league called United Hockey Europe .