National Hockey League history

"The Hockey Song" is a song written and originally performed by Canadian folksinger Stompin' Tom Connors. The song first appeared on Connors' 1973 album, Stompin' Tom and the Hockey Song. The song did not reach its tremendous popularity until 1992. It was at this time that the song was played at Ottawa Senators games. Pat Burns, then coach of the Toronto Maple Leafs, insisted it be played in Toronto as well. The song is now played throughout both Canadian and American NHL arenas.

Lawrence Kwong (born Eng Kai Geong (Chinese: 吳啟光) June 17, 1923 – March 15, 2018) was a Canadian professional ice hockey forward who is now widely recognized for being the first non-white and Asian descent player in the National Hockey League (NHL), thus breaking the NHL's colour barrier in 1948.

The Next One is a nickname found in ice hockey attached to a new, up and coming player, who is deemed to have the capacity for being a top, sport dominating, player, akin to Gordie Howe, Wayne Gretzky, Maurice Richard, Mario Lemieux, Connor McDavid.

The French Connection was the nickname of a forward line that played for the Buffalo Sabres of the National Hockey League from 1972 until 1979. The line consisted of Hall of Famer Gilbert Perreault at centre and All-Stars Rick Martin and Rene Robert at left wing and right wing, respectively. All three players were French-Canadians from Quebec: Perreault from Victoriaville; Robert from Trois-Rivières; and Martin from Verdun, Quebec. The name referred both to the origins of the players and to the 1971 movie The French Connection, based upon the book of the same name. The name was registered as a trademark by René Robert with the approval of his linemates.

On the evening of June 15, 2011 in the downtown core of Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, a riot broke out almost immediately after the conclusion of the Boston Bruins' victory over the Vancouver Canucks in game seven of the Finals of the National Hockey League to win the Stanley Cup.

The Original Six (French: six équipes originales) are the teams that composed the National Hockey League (NHL) between 1942 and 1967. The six teams are the Boston Bruins, Chicago Black Hawks, Detroit Red Wings, Montreal Canadiens, New York Rangers, and Toronto Maple Leafs. After serving as the league's only teams for 25 seasons, they were joined by six new franchises in the 1967 NHL expansion.

The Trio Grande was a line of professional ice hockey forwards who played together for the New York Islanders from the late 1970s through the early 1980s. The line consisted of Hall of Famers Bryan Trottier at center, Clark Gillies at left wing and Mike Bossy at right wing.

After the NHL game ended, an estimated 50,000 to 70,000 individuals converged upon Downtown Vancouver. The gathering developed into a riot at Robson and Thurlow Street, after an accident involving a man who fell from telephone pole wires into the crowd below. The police, who were on bicycles, attempted to escort paramedics into the crowd. When members of the crowd attempted to take a bicycle from one constable, police retreated and warned the crowd to disperse. Shortly after the riot squad congregated on Thurlow St. on the West side, police fired tear gas into the crowd, causing people to run in all directions. Windows of many major retailers along Robson were broken, including an Eaton's department store which had more than 50 smashed. The storefronts were eventually guarded by a constable as police regained control of the streets.

The Eric Lindros trade was the culmination of a holdout by Eric Lindros from the Quebec Nordiques of the National Hockey League (NHL). The Nordiques selected Lindros in the 1991 NHL Entry Draft with the first overall selection, but Lindros refused to play for them. After holding out from Quebec for a year, the Nordiques agreed to two trades involving Lindros at the onset of the 1992 NHL Entry Draft, one with the Philadelphia Flyers and one with the New York Rangers. An arbitrator ruled in favour of the Flyers on June 30, 1992.

The 1979 NHL expansion, popularly referred to as the NHL–WHA merger, was the culmination of several years of negotiations between the National Hockey League (NHL) and the World Hockey Association (WHA). The negotiations led to the dissolution of the WHA, with four of its six surviving teams - the Edmonton Oilers, New England Whalers, Quebec Nordiques, and Winnipeg Jets – entering the NHL as expansion teams for the 1979–80 season. The agreement officially took effect on June 22; it ended the seven-year existence of the WHA and re-established the NHL as the sole major league in North American professional ice hockey.