In what year was the NHL founded?

The NHL was founded in 1917. The league was organized on November 26, 1917, in Montreal after the National Hockey Association suspended operations following disputes among its club owners.

The founding meeting involved representatives connected with the Montreal Canadiens, Montreal Wanderers, Ottawa Senators, and Quebec Bulldogs. The Toronto Arenas were later admitted, while Quebec did not operate during the NHL’s first season. Frank Calder became the league’s first president and remained one of the central figures in its early development.

The first NHL games were played on December 19, 1917. The Montreal Canadiens defeated the Ottawa Senators 7–4, while the Montreal Wanderers beat the Toronto Arenas 10–9. The new league initially consisted of only a few Canadian clubs and was far smaller than the modern NHL.

The NHL’s early history is sometimes mixed up with the later arrival of American teams. The Boston Bruins became the first U.S.-based NHL team in 1924–25, and the league’s famous Original Six era did not begin until 1942. Those milestones changed the league, but they did not mark its founding.