As a reward, Federko was drafted 7th overall by the St. Louis Blues in the 1976 NHL Amateur Draft.

Following the 1926 Stanley Cup playoffs, during which the Western Hockey League was widely reported to be on the verge of folding, the NHL held a meeting on April 17 to consider applications for expansion franchises, at which it was reported that five different groups sought a team for Detroit.

By his second season, Howe was paired with Sid Abel and Ted Lindsay to form what would become one of the great lines in NHL history – the " Production Line ".

He was succeeded as team president by his daughter, Marguerite, the first ( and as of the 2006 – 07 season, only ) woman to head an NHL franchise.

Joseph, despite being one of the highest-paid players in the NHL, spent part of the season in the minor leagues, but after Hasek was sidelined for the season with an injury, Joseph led the team to the top of the Central Division and the league standings.

This was the first time in NHL history a game had been postponed by injury.

The letters of the captain and alternate captains were moved to the player's right shoulder ; Detroit is the only team in the league that made this change ( the change was necessitated by the stitching of the sweater ), although the 2008 NHL All Star jerseys featured this as well, and the Captain and Alternate Captain's letters have switched back to the left shoulder as of the 2011 – 12 NHL Season.

This jersey was also a basis for the uniforms worn by Wayne Gretzky's team of NHLPA All-Stars, nicknamed the " 99ers ", for their exhibition tour in Europe during the 1994 – 95 NHL lockout ; a picture of Gretzky in this jersey was used for the cover art of a video game bearing his name.

Armstrong's home in Yonkers also received designation in both the NHL and the National Register of Historic Places, but both were withdrawn when the house was later demolished.

This was done in two phases to allow for the hosting of the NHL Winter Classic.

The trophy was first awarded at the conclusion of the 1953 – 54 NHL season.

In 1997 Nashville was awarded an NHL expansion team which was subsequently named the Nashville Predators.

In addition to being its greatest scorer, Gretzky was the most gentlemanly superstar in the modern history of the NHL.

In 1978, the World Hockey Association ( WHA ) league was in competition with the established NHL.

Birmingham Bulls owner John F. Bassett wanted to confront the NHL by signing as many young and promising superstars as possible and saw Gretzky as the most promising young prospect, but it was Racers owner Nelson Skalbania who signed 17-year-old Gretzky to a seven-year personal services contract worth $ 1. 75 million US.

Skalbania opted to have Gretzky sign a personal-services contract rather than a standard player contract in part because he knew a deal to take some WHA teams into the NHL was in the works.

Gretzky's success in the WHA carried over into the NHL, despite some critics suggesting he would flounder in what was considered the bigger, tougher, and more talented league.

In his first NHL season, 1979 – 80, Gretzky was awarded the Hart Memorial Trophy as the League's Most Valuable Player ( the first of eight in a row ) and tied for the scoring lead with Marcel Dionne with 137 points.

Gretzky became the youngest player to score 50 goals but was not eligible for the Calder Memorial Trophy, given to the top NHL rookie, because of his previous year of WHA experience.

By the time he finished playing in Edmonton, he held or shared 49 NHL records, which in itself was a record.

The same success was not immediate when they joined the NHL, but within four seasons, the Oilers were competing for the Stanley Cup.

* Bill Guerin ( born 1970 ), a former NHL right winger who played for the New Jersey Devils, won two Stanley Cup championships, and represented the United States in the Olympics in 1998, 2002 and 2006.

Like the year before, players from the First and Second NHL All-Star teams were automatically awarded spots on the All-Star Game rosters ( an exception was Leafs goalie Turk Broda, having won the Cup, played for the Leafs instead ), with the rest of the all-stars being assembled so that each team was represented with at least three players on the All-Stars.

In 1974, he left the NHL for the World Hockey Association, and represented Canada again at the 1974 Summit Series.

He played for the Chicago Blackhawks, Phoenix Coyotes, Philadelphia Flyers, Los Angeles Kings, and San Jose Sharks over the course of his 18 NHL season career and represented Team USA in numerous international tournaments.

In 2004 – 05, he represented Modo Hockey of the Swedish Elitserien during the NHL lockout.

It was the first competition between the Soviet national team and a Canadian team represented by professional players of the National Hockey League ( NHL ), known as Team Canada.

Soon after Forsberg's inevitable departure to the NHL in 1995, identical twin brothers Daniel and Henrik Sedin represented the next wave of young talent coming through the Modo system.

* Mike Barnett, Former NHL player agent ( represented Wayne Gretzky ), Former GM of the Phoenix Coyotes ( 2002 – 2007 ).

During the 1994 – 95 NHL lockout Jari Kurri represented Jokerit, the team for which he played before his NHL career.

Western New York is represented by the Buffalo Bills in the NFL and the Buffalo Sabres in the NHL.

When the startling news broke in 1980 that Czechoslovakia player of the year, Peter Šťastný, and his brother Anton, had defected to Canada to play with the Quebec Nordiques, it represented a watershed moment in professional hockey as one of the first major stars of Eastern bloc hockey to join the NHL.

Before playing in the NHL, Samsonov represented Russia in 1996 and 1997 at the World Junior Hockey Championships.

He again represented the U. S. A. in the World Junior championships, as well as the World Championships and the 1988 Winter Olympics in Calgary, before making his NHL debut in the 1989 playoffs.

The deal was only part of a series of trades involving four teams that represented one of the biggest deals in NHL history.

His son Brian Conacher represented Canada at the 1964 Winter Olympics and played for the Toronto Maple Leafs of the National Hockey League, winning a Stanley Cup with them in 1966 – 67 NHL season.

He bounced between the NHL and the American Hockey League and played part of the 1983 / 1984 season in the Central Hockey League with the Tulsa Oilers before finishing his NHL career under his old Olympic coach Herb Brooks with the New York Rangers in 1984 ( he also represented the Hartford Whalers in 1981-82 ).

During his final year in the NHL, Gary represented the United States at the 2002 Winter Olympics and won a silver medal.

Clients that he represented included superstars Bobby Orr and Darryl Sittler, and he was the first executive director of the NHL Players Association ( NHLPA ), which was initially lauded for improving the bargaining power of National Hockey League ( NHL ) players.

That season he tied a career high in goals ( 26 ) and points ( 78 ) and represented the Sharks in the 1993 NHL All-Star Game in Montreal after Pat Falloon went down with a season-ending shoulder injury.

During the 2004 – 05 NHL lockout Hahl played for HPK, and represented HC Davos in the Swiss NLA during the 2005 – 06 season.