The Story of the Original Six

Contrary to what their title suggests, the ‘Original Six’ teams of the NHL were not in fact the first six teams to play in the league which held its inaugural season in 1917-18. These teams instead formed the league between 1942 and 1967.


But just who were these Original Six and why did they come to be such?


The Original Six era was initiated by the disbanding of the Brooklyn Americans in 1942. The ‘Amerks’ were a result of the Hamilton Tigers being purchased and moved to New York. They played their first home game in 1925 but one season later, the Americans ended up sharing the third generation Madison Square Gardens arena with the New York Rangers. The Second World War later depleted the Americans roster, leading to the team being initially suspended for one year but then the decision was made to shut it down indefinitely. This left the NHL with six teams.


The six teams were the Montreal Canadiens, Toronto Maple Leafs, Detroit Red Wings, Boston Bruins, Chicago Blackhawks and New York Rangers.


Montreal Canadiens- The Montreal Canadiens were then the oldest team in the NHL and still play today. They were founded before the NHL began. The Canadiens won 10 Stanley Cups during the Original Six era. During this period, Canadiens fans were treated to watching some of the game’s best- Beliveau, Richard and Plante, to name a few. Plante was a true innovator in the NHL, becoming the first goalie to wear a mask in 1959.


Toronto Maple Leafs- Also one of the oldest teams in the NHL, the Leafs claimed 9 Stanley Cup titles during this era. However, since their Stanley Cup win in 1967, the Leafs have the current longest Stanley Cup drought.


Boston Bruins- The Boston Bruins are the oldest American NHL team. Their team colours, gold and brown, were chosen to match the grocery business of the original owner and founder Charles Adams.


Chicago Blackhawks- Chicago, then the ‘Black Hawks’, joined the league in 1926 and during the Original Six era won one Stanley Cup in 1961.


Detroit Red Wings- Another 1926 addition to the NHL, the Red Wings claimed 5 Stanley Cup titles between 1942/43 and 1966/67. Star players in this era included Gordie Howe and Ted Lindsay, the latter of whom amassed over 700 points for the club.


New York Rangers- Also joining the NHL in 1926, the Rangers took sole hockey possession of MSG after the disbanding of the Americans.


So, what was so special about the Original Six that expansion took so long?


Despite protests that expanding the league would dilute the sport and no longer would six star-studded teams be competing, expansion occurred in the 1967/68 season when the NHL doubled in size. It was comfortable to be a successful sport in established markets. However, as they comfortably filled arenas to near capacity, the growing TV market for sports meant that it was the only way to gain additional revenue and helped pave the way for the NHL expansion. The 1967/68 season brought with it the California Golden Seals, Los Angeles Kings, Minnesota North Stars, Philadelphia Flyers, Pittsburgh Penguins and St Louis Blues. More on this in my next post.