History of the National Hockey League ( 1967 - 1992 ) The expansion era of the National Hockey League ( NHL ) began when six new teams were added for the 1967 – 68 season , ending the Original Six era . The six existing teams were grouped into the newly created East Division , and the expansion teams — the Los Angeles Kings , Minnesota North Stars , Oakland Seals , Philadelphia Flyers , Pittsburgh Penguins and St . Louis Blues — formed the West Division . The NHL added another six teams by 1974 to bring the league to 18 teams . This continued expansion was partially brought about by the creation of the World Hockey Association ( WHA ) , which operated from 1972 until 1979 and sought to compete with the NHL for markets and players . Bobby Hull was the most famous player to defect to the rival league , signing a $ 2 . 75 million contract with the Winnipeg Jets . When the WHA ceased operations in 1979 , the NHL absorbed four of the league ' s teams — the Edmonton Oilers , Hartford Whalers , Quebec Nordiques and Winnipeg Jets . This brought the NHL to 21 teams ( the Cleveland Barons had ceased operations in 1978 ) , a figure that remained constant until the San Jose Sharks joined as an expansion franchise in 1991 . The NHL became involved in international play , starting with the Summit Series in 1972 , which pitted the top Canadian players of the NHL against the top players of the Soviet Union . Canada won the eight - game series four wins to three with one tie . The success of the series led to the creation of the Canada Cup , held five times between 1976 and 1991 . NHL teams also faced Soviet League teams that toured North America between 1975 and 1991 in what was known as the Super Series . The fall of the Iron Curtain in 1989 saw many former Soviet - Bloc players stream into the NHL , joining several players who had defected in the 1980s . This was one of the highest scoring periods in NHL history . It was led in the 1980s by the Edmonton Oilers and Wayne Gretzky , who scored 200 points or more four times , including a current league - record 215 in 1985 – 86 . Gretzky ' s 92 goals in 1981 – 82 also remains a league record . No other player in NHL history has scored 200 points , although Mario Lemieux came close in 1988 – 89 with 199 . Background . Expansion had been a major topic of discussion among NHL owners since 1963 , when William M . Jennings of the New York Rangers proposed adding two new teams on the West Coast to counter fears that the Western Hockey League intended to compete as a major league . After several years of discussion , the NHL announced in February 1966 that it would expand by six teams , doubling the league ' s size . The Los Angeles Kings , Minnesota North Stars , California Seals , Philadelphia Flyers , Pittsburgh Penguins and St . Louis Blues began play in the 1967 – 68 season . They formed the newly created West Division , and the existing teams were grouped into the East Division . The playoff format was constructed so that an established team would face an expansion team in the Stanley Cup Finals . The Clarence S . Campbell Bowl was created in honour of league president Clarence Campbell , and was awarded to the West Division champion . The new teams were stocked by the NHL ' s first expansion draft , as each team selected 20 players from the existing franchises . There was much debate over how many players each existing team could protect : the strongest clubs wished to protect more players , while the weaker clubs hoped that protecting fewer players would help improve the balance of competition . Montreal Canadiens manager Sam Pollock ' s suggestion to allow each team to protect eleven players to start , then add an additional player to their protected list for each player selected in the draft , was ultimately agreed to as a compromise solution . In addition , an " intra - league draft " was held following the 1968 and 1969 seasons to help accelerate the improvement of the expansion teams . Each team protected two goaltenders and fourteen skaters , leaving their remaining players open to be selected by any other team . Some teams created instant farm system s by buying existing minor league franchises . The Kings bought the Springfield Indians of the American Hockey League the night before the expansion draft , leading the Flyers to purchase the Quebec Aces . Expansion also changed how the amateur draft was handled . The old system , in which franchises sponsored junior teams and players , was abandoned by 1969 when all junior - aged players were made eligible for the entry draft . Expansion years . In their inaugural season , the Flyers finished atop the West Division , recording 73 points in 74 games . The California Seals , a pre - season favourite to win the division , changed their name to the Oakland Seals a month into the season . The team disappointed both on the ice and at the gate , finishing last in the NHL with 14 wins . The Blues defeated the Flyers and North Stars to become the first expansion team to play for the Stanley Cup , where they were defeated in four consecutive games by the Canadiens . The Blues reached the finals again in both 1969 and 1970 , but were similarly swept in both years , losing to the Canadiens and Boston Bruins , respectively . On January 13 , 1968 , North Stars ' rookie Bill Masterton became the first and , to date , only player to die as a result of injuries suffered during an NHL game . Early in a game against the Seals , Masterton was checked hard by two players , Ron Harris and Larry Cahan , causing him to flip over backwards and land on his head . He was rushed to hospital with massive head injuries , and died there two days later . The National Hockey League Writers Association presented the league with the Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy later in the season ; the trophy is awarded annually to the player who best exemplifies the qualities of perseverance , sportsmanship and dedication to hockey . Following Masterton ' s death , players slowly began wearing helmets ; starting in the 1979 – 80 season , the league mandated that all players entering the league wear them . Bobby Orr . In the 1968 – 69 season , second - year defenceman Bobby Orr scored 21 goals , an NHL record for a defenceman , en route to winning his first of eight consecutive Norris Trophies as the league ' s top defenceman . At the same time , Orr ' s teammate , Phil Esposito , became the first player in league history to score 100 points in a season , finishing with 126 points . He was one of three players to break the century mark that year , including Bobby Hull and 41 - year old Gordie Howe . A gifted scorer , Orr revolutionized defencemen ' s impact on the offensive side of the game , as blue - liners began to be judged on how well they created goals in addition to how well they prevented them . Orr scored the Stanley - Cup - winning goal in overtime of the fourth game against the Blues in 1970 , which gave the Bruins their first championship in 29 years . The goal was highlighted by his famous flight through the air after being tripped up following his shot . Orr twice won the Art Ross Trophy as the NHL ' s leading scorer , still the only defenceman in NHL history to do so . His plus / minus of + 124 in 1970 – 71 is a league record . Orr signed a five - year contract that paid him $ 200 , 000 per season in 1971 , the first $ 1 million contract in league history . Chronic knee problems plagued Orr throughout his career . In 1972 , he tore ligaments in his left knee after a hard hit , leading to the first of six knee operations . He played 12 seasons in the NHL before injuries forced his retirement in 1978 . Orr finished with 270 goals and 915 points in 657 games and won the Hart Memorial Trophy as the league ' s Most Valuable Player three times . The customary three - year post - retirement waiting period for entry into the Hockey Hall of Fame was waived as he was enshrined in 1979 . Buffalo and Vancouver . In Canada , there was widespread outrage over the denial of an expansion team to Vancouver in 1967 . Three years later , the NHL added a third Canadian team when the Vancouver Canucks , formerly of the Western Hockey League , were admitted as an expansion team for the 1970 – 71 season , along with the Buffalo Sabres . The Canucks were placed in the East Division , despite being on the west coast , while the Chicago Black Hawks were shifted to the West in an attempt to equalize the divisions ' strength . The league also gave the Sabres and Canucks the first two picks in the 1970 NHL Amateur Draft , offering them a better opportunity to build their rosters than the 1967 expansion teams had . Before the 1971 – 72 season , Gordie Howe and Jean Beliveau announced their retirements . Beliveau finished his 18 - year career with 10 Stanley Cups , 2 Hart Trophies and 1 , 219 career points ; his points total was the second - highest in NHL history . After playing 25 seasons in the NHL , Howe retired as the league ' s all - time leader in games played , goals , assists and points . Howe was a six - time league scoring champion , and also won six Hart Trophies . Both players had the customary three - year waiting period waived for entry into the Hockey Hall of Fame in acknowledgement of their achievements . World Hockey Association . In 1972 , the NHL faced competition from the newly formed World Hockey Association ( WHA ) . The WHA lured many players away from the NHL , including Derek Sanderson , J . C . Tremblay and Ted Green . The WHA ' s biggest coup was to lure Bobby Hull from the Black Hawks to play for the Winnipeg Jets . Hull signed a 10 - year deal : five years as a player for $ 250 , 000 per season , and five more for $ 100 , 000 per season in a front - office position . It also included a $ 1 million signing bonus . The deal totaled $ 2 . 7 million , and lent instant credibility to the new league . After Hull signed , several other players quickly followed suit . Bernie Parent , Gerry Cheevers , Johnny McKenzie and Rick Ley jumped to the WHA as the NHL suddenly found itself in a war for talent . By the time the 1972 – 73 WHA season began , 67 players had switched from the NHL to the WHA . Defections continued following the season , and the WHA scored another major coup when it signed Gordie Howe ' s sons Mark and Marty . The league then convinced Gordie to come out of retirement to play with them on the Houston Aeros . The NHL tried to block several of the defections . The Bruins attempted to restrain Cheevers and Sanderson from joining the WHA , though a United States federal court refused to prohibit the signings . The Black Hawks were successful in having a restraining order filed against Hull and the Jets pending the outcome of legal action the Black Hawks were taking against the WHA . The WHA was eager for the court action , intending to challenge the legality of the reserve clause , which bound a player to their NHL team until that team released him . In November 1972 , a Philadelphia district court placed an injunction against the NHL , preventing it from enforcing the reserve clause and freeing all players who had restraining orders against them , including Hull , to play with their WHA clubs . The decision effectively ended the NHL ' s monopoly on major league professional hockey talent . The NHL also found itself competing with the WHA for markets . Initially , the league had no intention to expand past 14 teams , but the threat the WHA posed changed this . Hoping to keep the WHA out of the newly completed Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum in Uniondale , New York and the Omni Coliseum in Atlanta , Georgia , the league hastily announced the creation of the New York Islanders and Atlanta Flames as 1972 expansion teams . Following the 1972 – 73 season , the NHL announced it was further expanding to 18 - teams for the 1974 – 75 season , adding the Kansas City Scouts and Washington Capitals . In just eight years , the NHL had tripled in size to 18 teams . Summit Series . Internationally , Canada had long been protesting the Soviet Union ' s use of " professional amateurs " at the World Championships and the Olympic Games , which were amateur events . Canada withdrew from international competition in 1969 and boycotted the 1972 Olympic hockey tournament . As an alternative , NHL Players ' Association executive director Alan Eagleson negotiated a deal with Soviet authorities to hold an eight - game series between the Soviet national team and Canada ' s top professionals . The tournament was the NHL ' s response to the defection of players to the WHA . Bobby Hull was barred from playing , as was any other player who signed a contract with the rival league , which was a heavily criticized move . Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau sent a telegram to NHL president Clarence Campbell , expressing his " intense interest which I share with millions of Canadians . . . that Canada should be represented by its best hockey players , including Bobby Hull " . Echoing the feelings of the public , Hull called the decision " crazy " , and stated that " I ' m a Canadian and I want to play for my country . I don ' t know why the NHL has to be so petty over this . I want to do this for Canada . " The NHL did not relent . The series was tied at three wins and a tie apiece entering the eighth and deciding game , with millions of Canadians watching " the game of the century " . With the game tied at five late in the third , the Soviets were met with a concerted Canadian attack in the final seven minutes . With 34 seconds remaining in the game , Esposito took a shot at Vladislav Tretiak from 12 feet out . Paul Henderson scooped up the rebound and put it past the fallen Soviet goalie to score the goal that won the game , 6 – 5 , and the series . Later , Alexander Yakolev , the former Soviet ambassador to Canada , argued that the Summit Series planted the seeds of glasnost and perestroika in the Soviet Union , as it was one of the first times that the Soviet people had seen so many foreigners who had not come to do harm , but to share in the game . Legacy . The series forced the NHL and the Canadian Amateur Hockey Association to reassess all aspects of how the game was played in North America . Journalist Herb Pinder described the NHL to that point in this way : " The Europeans took our game and evolved it , while we stood still or even went backwards . The Russians had a style , and the Czechs ' style was different from that . . . There was this hockey world evolving through international competition , and we ' re back here , " stuck " , just playing ourselves . It was a business monopoly . And like any monopoly , the NHL got stagnant . " Throughout the 1970s and 1980s , Canadian hockey encouraged the adoption of new coaching and training methods used in Europe , and emphasized conditioning and skills development . The NHL took a greater interest in international play . The Canada Cup , a tournament that featured the top professional players in the world , was held first in 1976 , and then four more times until 1991 . It was succeeded by the World Cup of Hockey in 1996 . Beginning in 1975 , Soviet club teams began touring North America , playing NHL clubs in exhibition games that were known as the Super Series . The Calgary Flames and Washington Capitals similarly toured the Soviet Union in 1989 in the first " Friendship Series " . The Soviet national team defeated an NHL all - star team in a 1979 challenge series , two games to one , and split Rendez - vous ' 87 , a two - game series held in Quebec City . 1970s . Broad Street Bullies . The 1970s were associated with aggressive , and often violent , play . Known as the " Broad Street Bullies " , the Philadelphia Flyers are the most famous example of this style . The Flyers established league records for penalty minutes — Dave " the Hammer " Schultz ' s total of 472 in 1974 – 75 remains a league record — and ended up in courtrooms multiple times when players went into the stands to challenge fans who got involved . One such incident occurred in Vancouver in December 1972 , when a fan reached over the glass to pull the hair of Don Saleski , who had a chokehold on Vancouver ' s Barry Wilkins . Bobby Taylor and several Flyers teammates followed the fan into the stands . The next time Philadelphia went to Vancouver , several players were brought before the courts on charges that ranged from use of obscene language to common assault . Six players were fined , and Taylor received a 30 - day suspended sentence . Despite these incidents , the Flyers won : they captured the 1974 Stanley Cup , becoming the first expansion team to win the league championship , and repeated as champions in 1975 . In 1975 , Soviet club teams began to tour North America in the first Super Series . The Canadiens played Central Red Army to a 3 – 3 draw on New Year ' s Eve 1975 , in a game that is considered one of the finest ever played . Red Army lost only one of four games against the NHL in the first tour , a 4 – 1 defeat to Philadelphia , who intimidated them as the Flyers did to their NHL opponents . At one point , Red Army threatened to forfeit the game after Ed Van Impe decked Valeri Kharlamov . Red Army was persuaded to complete the game after Alan Eagleson threatened to withhold their appearance fee if the team did not return to the ice . Super Series games continued until 1991 , when Soviet players were allowed to enter the NHL after the collapse of the Soviet Union . End of the two - league era . On February 7 , 1976 , Maple Leafs star Darryl Sittler set an NHL record , scoring 10 points in one game in an 11 – 4 victory over the Bruins . His six - goal , four - assist effort broke Maurice Richard ' s record of eight points in a game . The game came shortly after the Bruins lured Gerry Cheevers back from the WHA , though Cheevers was given an extra night to rest , and rookie Dave Reece was the victim of all 11 Toronto goals . It was his 14th , and final , NHL game . By 1976 , both leagues were dealing with serious financial problems . Talks of a merger between the NHL and the WHA were growing . Bobby Hull declared that a merger was " inevitable " , though WHA president Bill MacFarland stated that his league had no interest in joining with the NHL . In 1976 , for the first time in four decades , the NHL approved franchise relocations ; the Scouts moved after just two years in Kansas City to Denver to become the Colorado Rockies , while the California Golden Seals became the Cleveland Barons . Two years later , after failed overtures towards merging the Barons with Washington and Vancouver , they merged with the Minnesota North Stars , reducing the NHL to 17 teams for 1978 – 79 . The WHA ' s last triumph was to lure junior prodigy Wayne Gretzky to their league in 1978 – 79 . Nelson Skalbania , owner of the Indianapolis Racers and part owner of the Edmonton Oilers , was convinced to sign Gretzky to play for the Racers . The 17 - year old Gretzky scored 110 points in his first professional season , split between the Racers and the Oilers . The move towards a merger picked up in 1977 when John Ziegler succeeded Campbell as NHL president . After several years of negotiations , WHA owners thought they had an agreement in March 1979 . The motion to merge failed when supporters in the NHL lost by one vote . Word got out that the Montreal Canadiens , owned by Molson Brewery , and the Vancouver Canucks , who served Molson products at their games , had voted against the merger . Fans across Canada quickly organized a boycott of Molson products , while the House of Commons unanimously passed a motion urging the NHL to reconsider . Another vote was held , and both Montreal and Vancouver switched their votes , allowing the motion to pass . The WHA folded following the 1978 – 79 season , and the Edmonton Oilers , New England Whalers , Quebec Nordiques and Winnipeg Jets joined the NHL as expansion teams . Twenty - one teams . The merger brought Gordie Howe back to the NHL for one final season in 1979 – 80 . At age 51 , Howe played all 80 games for the Whalers , scoring 15 goals to bring his NHL career total to 801 . He entered his second retirement as the league ' s all - time scoring leader with 1 , 850 points . Howe ' s final season was also the last for the Atlanta Flames . The team averaged an attendance of only 9 , 800 fans per game and lost over $ 2 million in 1979 – 80 . They were sold for a record $ 16 million , and relocated north to become the Calgary Flames in 1980 – 81 . Two years later , the Rockies were sold for $ 30 million , and left Denver to become the New Jersey Devils for the 1982 – 83 season . The St . Louis Blues nearly relocated to Saskatoon in 1983 , as Bill Hunter , an original investor in the WHA , announced an intention to purchase and relocate the team . Hunter quickly convinced 18 , 000 people to commit to season tickets in a proposed arena for the city . The other team owners rejected the sale and relocation by a 15 – 3 vote , prompting the Blues ' owner , Ralston Purina , to file a $ 60 million anti - trust lawsuit against the league . Both the league as a whole and the individual teams filed $ 78 million counter suits against Purina . As part of the conflict , Purina turned the team over to the NHL at the beginning of June 1983 to " operate , sell or dispose of in whatever manner the league desires " , while the Blues refused to participate in the 1983 NHL Entry Draft , forfeiting all of their draft picks . By the end of July , the league had sold the team to Harry Ornest , who vowed the team would remain in St . Louis . Ralston Purina and the NHL settled their legal issues in 1985 , though terms of the settlements were not released . In 1980 , the New York Islanders won their first of four consecutive Stanley Cups . With the likes of Billy Smith , Mike Bossy , Denis Potvin , and Bryan Trottier , the Islanders dominated both the regular season and the playoffs . In 1981 , Bossy became the first player to score 50 goals in 50 games since Maurice Richard in 1945 . In 1982 – 83 , the Edmonton Oilers won the regular season championship . The Islanders and Oilers met in the Finals and New York swept Edmonton for their last Stanley Cup . They were the second franchise to win four straight championships , after the Canadiens . The 1984 playoffs would be the site of the infamous Good Friday Massacre between the Quebec Nordiques and the Montreal Canadiens . The following season , the Oilers and Islanders met again in the playoffs . The Oilers won the rematch in five games , marking the start of another dynasty . Led by Wayne Gretzky and Mark Messier , the Oilers won five Stanley Cup championships between 1984 and 1990 . The Oilers won two consecutive Cups in the 1983 – 84 and 1984 – 85 seasons , and in the 1986 – 87 and 1987 – 88 seasons . They also won a Cup in the 1989 – 90 season . The Oilers ' Cup streaks were interrupted in the 1985 – 86 and 1988 – 89 seasons by two other Canadian teams . Edmonton ' s hopes for a third consecutive title in 1986 were dashed by their provincial rival , the Calgary Flames , after Oilers ' rookie Steve Smith accidentally bounced the series - winning goal off goaltender Grant Fuhr and into his own net . Smith ' s error remains one of the most legendary blunders in hockey history . The Flames were defeated by the Canadiens in the finals , as rookie goaltender Patrick Roy led Montreal to their 23rd Stanley Cup . The 1989 final was a rematch between the Flames and the Canadiens and was won by Calgary , which captured its only championship in franchise history . The Flames also became the only team to defeat the Montreal Canadiens for the Stanley Cup at the Montreal Forum . The 21 - team era ended in 1990 , when the league revealed ambitious plans to double league revenues from $ 400 million within a decade and bring the NHL to 28 franchises during that period . The NHL quickly announced three new teams : The San Jose Sharks , who began play in the 1991 – 92 season , and the Ottawa Senators and Tampa Bay Lightning , who followed a year later . Wayne Gretzky . In the latter part of the 1980s , the Oilers won five Stanley Cup titles in seven years , becoming the only team to score 400 or more goals in a season , which they did four times . With future Hall of Famers Grant Fuhr , Paul Coffey , Jari Kurri , Mark Messier , and Glenn Anderson , they established numerous new scoring records . The Oilers were led by Wayne Gretzky , who remained with the Oilers when they joined the NHL in 1979 . At 5 feet 11 inches and 170 lb . , some observers doubted that Gretzky could match his offensive performance from his lone WHA season . " I heard a lot of talk then that I ' d never get 110 points like I did in the WHA , " said Gretzky . He proved his critics wrong , scoring 137 points in 1979 – 80 and winning the first of nine Hart Trophies ( including 8 consecutive awards from 1980 - 1988 ) as the NHL ' s most valuable player . Over the next several seasons , Gretzky established new highs in goals scored in a season , with 92 in the 1981 – 82 season ; in assists , with 163 in the 1985 – 86 ; and in total points , with 215 in 1985 – 86 . He also scored 50 goals in 39 games , the fastest any player had reached the total in a single season . Gretzky scored his 1 , 000th NHL point in his 424th game , breaking Guy Lafleur ' s old record of 720 games . Gretzky ' s teammates set records of their own . Fuhr ' s 14 assists in the 1983 – 84 season set a record for most points by a goaltender in a season . In 1985 – 86 , Coffey set a record for the most goals in a season by a defenceman , with 48 . Adding 90 assists , Coffey wound up a point short of tying Bobby Orr ' s record for most points in a season by a blue - liner . On August 9 , 1988 , Oilers owner Peter Pocklington , in financial trouble , traded Gretzky , along with Marty McSorley and Mike Krushelnyski , to the Los Angeles Kings in exchange for Jimmy Carson , Martin Gelinas , US $ 15 million and three first - round draft picks . Gretzky left Edmonton with a tear - filled news conference , and later said that Edmonton was the only place he ever dreaded playing . Gretzky ' s trade to the Kings popularized ice hockey in the United States , making hockey " cool " in Hollywood , and shocked fans across Canada . The Kings were the most popular Los Angeles sports team , and Gretzky ' s fame rivaled that of his peers with baseball ' s Los Angeles Dodgers and basketball ' s Los Angeles Lakers . With the Kings , Gretzky broke Gordie Howe ' s record for career points . On October 15 , 1989 , against his former Oilers ' teammates , and with Howe in attendance , Gretzky tied the record with a first period assist before notching his 1 , 851st career point with a third period goal . " An award such as this takes a lot of teamwork and help and both teams here today definitely have a part of the 1 , 851 [ points ] . " said Gretzky . Fall of the Iron Curtain . While European - born players were a part of the NHL since its founding , it was still rare to see them in the league until 1980 . The WHA turned to the previously overlooked European market in search for talent , signing players from Finland and Sweden . Anders Hedberg , Lars - Erik Sjoberg and Ulf Nilsson signed with the Jets in 1974 and thrived in North America , both in the WHA and later the NHL . The Jets won three of the six remaining WHA championships after signing European players , and their success sparked similar signings league - wide . Borje Salming was the first European star in the NHL . He signed with the Maple Leafs in 1973 , and played 16 seasons in the NHL , retiring in 1990 . He was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1996 . His fellow Swede , Pelle Lindbergh , was one of the top goaltenders in the world in the early 1980s . He led the Flyers to the 1985 Stanley Cup Finals before dying in a car accident during the 1985 – 86 season . Finns Jari Kurri and Esa Tikkanen helped lead the Oilers dynasty of the 1980s . While the WHA opened the door , and players slowly joined the NHL , those behind the Iron Curtain were restricted from following suit . In 1980 , Peter Stastny , his wife , and his brother Anton secretly fled Czechoslovakia with the aid of Nordiques owner Marcel Aubut . The Stastnys ' defection made international headlines , and contributed to the first wave of Eastern Europeans ' entrance into the NHL . Hoping that they would one day be permitted to play in the NHL , teams drafted Soviet players in the 1980s , 27 in all by the 1988 draft . However , defection was the only way such players could join the teams that drafted them . Michal Pivonka defected from Czechoslovakia in 1986 , while Russian Alexander Mogilny defected following the 1989 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships in Anchorage , Alaska . Czech teenager Petr Nedved walked into a Calgary police station in January 1989 after playing in the Mac ' s AAA midget hockey tournament . Shortly before the end of the 1988 – 89 regular season , Flames general manager Cliff Fletcher announced that he had reached an agreement with Soviet authorities that allowed Sergei Pryakhin to play in North America . It was the first time a member of the Soviet national team was permitted to play for a non - Soviet team . Shortly after , Soviet players began to flood into the NHL . Teams anticipated that there would be an influx of Soviet players in the 1990s , as 18 Soviets were selected in the 1989 NHL Entry Draft . The entire " KLM " line , the Soviet team ' s top line , joined the NHL in 1989 as Vladimir Krutov and Igor Larionov played for the Canucks , while Sergei Makarov went to Calgary . Makarov won the Calder Memorial Trophy as rookie of the year in 1990 , a selection that caused controversy ; he was 32 years old and had played 11 pro seasons in the Soviet League . In the wake of the controversy , the NHL amended its rules : players over the age of 26 were no longer considered for the award . The fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989 and the demise of the Iron Curtain paved the way for more Eastern European players to play in North America . Only six European players were selected at the 1979 NHL Entry Draft . That number increased to 32 in 1989 , while a record 123 Europeans were drafted in 2000 . Europeans made up 25 . 8 % of the NHL in 2007 – 08 , totalling 243 players . Rules and innovations . The early 1980s saw many tie games . The 1982 – 83 North Stars and Capitals both finished with 16 ties in 80 games , while 17 of 21 teams tied 10 or more games . The season before , the North Stars recorded 20 ties . As a result of the frequent ties , the NHL reintroduced overtime for the 1983 – 84 season . The effect was immediate , as only seven teams had ten or more ties . Before its discontinuation during World War II , the NHL played a full 10 - minute overtime period . The modern overtime format was set as a five - minute , sudden death period ; the game ended when either team scored . The NHL changed its divisional alignment and playoff formats numerous times as it grew . The league ' s doubling in 1967 also led to the expansion of the playoffs to eight teams from four the previous year . Expansion to 18 teams in 1974 caused the league to realign into two conferences and four divisions , each named after important figures in league history . The teams were split into the Campbell Conference , consisting of the Patrick and Smythe divisions , and the Prince of Wales Conference , consisting of the Adams and Norris divisions . The playoffs were expanded to 12 teams , and each division winner was granted a bye in the first round of the playoffs . The addition of the four WHA teams in 1979 saw the playoffs expanded to 16 teams . Finally , in 1981 , the league realigned all teams by geography . Eastern teams played in the Adams and Patrick divisions of the Wales Conference , and Western teams played in the Norris and Smythe divisions of the Campbell Conference . In addition , the playoff format was changed to have the top four teams in each division qualify rather than the top 16 teams overall . The first two playoff rounds were played entirely within each division . This format lasted until 1993 . Entry Draft . During the late 1960s , the concept of sponsoring junior players and teams had been dismantled , meaning that for the 1969 NHL Amateur Draft , every player aged 20 or above was eligible to be selected . The Montreal Canadiens , however , exercised a special " cultural option " that allowed them to select two players of French - Canadian heritage , before any other players were selected . These players counted as Montreal ' s first two choices . After the Canadiens took Rejean Houle and Marc Tardif , the rest of the league voted to end the rule in 1970 , just before future star Gilbert Perreault was selected first in the 1970 expansion draft by the Buffalo Sabres . In 1974 , Sabres general manager Punch Imlach decided to play a joke on the league during the draft . He selected Taro Tsujimoto of the " Tokyo Katanas " with his 11th round pick . Other teams were shocked that the Sabres had scouted for players in Japan , and the league made the pick official . Weeks later , Imlach admitted that he made the player up , choosing the name out of a phone book . The league reformatted the Amateur Draft into the NHL Entry Draft in 1979 and simultaneously lowered the draft age to 19 . It was first opened to the public in 1980 , when 2 , 500 fans attended the draft in the Montreal Forum . The public draft has grown such that it is now held annually in NHL arenas and televised internationally .