NHL Season

The regular season consists of 82 games, 41 home games and 41 away games. See Seasons-at-a-Glance for the season timeline.

NHL Post-Season (Playoffs and Championship)

At the end of the regular season, the team that finishes with the most points in each division is crowned the division champion. The league’s overall point leader is awarded the Presidents’ Trophy. The three division champions, along with the five other teams in each conference with the next highest number of points, a total of 8 teams in each conference, qualify for the playoffs. The division winners are seeded one through three (even if a non-division winner has a higher point total), and the next five teams with the best records in the conference are seeded four through eight. Each round is a best-of-seven series in order to advance to the next round. In each round the higher-ranked team is said to be the team with the home-ice advantage. In the Stanley Cup Finals, the team with the most points during the regular season is given home-ice advantage.

- The first round of the playoffs is the Conference Quarterfinals and consists of the first seed playing the eighth seed, the second playing the seventh, third playing the sixth, and the fourth playing the fifth.

- In the second round, or Conference Semifinals, the NHL re-seeds the teams, with the top remaining conference seed playing against the lowest remaining seed, and the two remaining conference teams pairing off.

- In the third round, the Conference Finals, the two remaining teams in each conference play each other.

- In the fourth and final round, the Stanley Cup Finals, the conference champions play for the Stanley Cup Trophy.

NHL All-Star Game

The National Hockey League All-Star Game is an exhibition ice hockey game that is traditionally held at the midway point of the regular season of the NHL with many of the league’s star players playing against each other. The starting lineup for the two teams, the Eastern Conference All-Stars and the Western Conference All-Stars, including the starting goaltender, is voted by fans, while the remainder of the teams’ rosters are chosen by the NHL’s Hockey Operations Department in consultation with the teams’ General Managers.

NHL Entry Draft

The NHL Entry Draft is an annual meeting during which every NHL team systematically selects the rights to available amateur ice hockey players who meet draft eligibility requirements. The NHL Entry Draft is held 60-90 days after the conclusion of the season. During the draft, teams select amateur players from junior, collegiate, and European leagues. The selection order in the Entry Draft is determined by a combination of lottery, regular season standing, and playoff results.

NHL Hall of Fame

The Hockey Hall of Fame is located in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Dedicated to the history of ice hockey, it is both a museum and a hall of fame. It holds exhibits about players, teams, NHL records, memorabilia, and NHL trophies, including the Stanley Cup. An 18-person committee of players, coaches and others meets annually in June to select new honorees, who are inducted as players, builders (includes coaches, general managers, commentators, team owners, and others who have helped build the game), or on-ice officials. In 2010, a subcategory was established for female players.

NHL Major Annual Awards

Currently awarded by the NHL and by designated media organizations:

NHL Players Association

The National Hockey League Players’ Association, or NHLPA, is the labor union for the group of professional hockey players who are under Standard Player Contracts to the thirty member clubs in the National Hockey League located in the United States and Canada. The current NHLPA Executive Director is Paul Kelly.

NHL Commissioner

The current NHL Commissioner is Garry Bettman, and his office is in New York City.

NHL Minor Leagues

The teams in the NHL are affiliated with two minor leagues that serve as development leagues for the NHL — the American Hockey League (AHL) with 30 teams in the United States and Canada, headquartered in Springfield, MA, and the ECHL (formerly East Coast Hockey League) with 20 teams in the United States and Canada, headquartered in Princeton, NJ.

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