Ryan Laface, WGSS GNN Sports and News Writer
So most, if not everyone knows about the NHL. Despite it being around for more than a century, it has only recently got a new Seattle team. But, not everything said about the NHL by fans and officials is true. For example, the original 6 NHL teams are not really the first 6 teams. There were teams before them and here are the 3 reasons why.
Before I explain why, 4 of the original 6 teams are American teams, not Canadian. They are the Boston Bruins, Montreal Canadians, New York Rangers, Chicago Blackhawks, Detroit Redwings, and Toronto Maple Leafs. Provided below are the reasons for which these are not actually the original six of the NHL.
- With a bit of research, one can easily find out there were teams before the original 6 (except the Montreal Canadians). The original 6 teams that people speak of were clearly not the first, as the first teams were almost all Canadian. The first American team in the NHL (called the NHA at that time) was actually the Boston Bruins. Among the false list of first NHL teams to have been in the league, the Montreal Canadians were formed in 1917, the Boston Bruins in 1924, the New York Rangers and the Chicago Blackhawks in 1926, the Toronto Maple Leafs in 1927, and the Detroit Red Wings in 1932. With huge gaps like these, it makes sense that some other teams must have had spots in this list before these. And, wouldn’t you know it, one of the teams that should be in the real list of the original 6 should be the Ottawa Senators, formed in 1917.
- While the Ottowa Senators were formed earlier than most of the teams in the false list, people may easily argue that the Ottowa Senators were simply not active enough in the hockey league in order to be considered, probably due to the team being dissolved temporarily before coming back at a later point in time. The Senators and the Canadians were in the NHA, but that didn’t mean the Senators were not an official NHL team. Both were classified as official NHL and NHA teams. So, in retrospect, the Ottawa Senators are part of the original 7 (not 6 in this case).
- NHL released a video titled “Ep. 2; The Original Six”, in which it discusses the true original six teams of the league, contrary to popular belief at the time. In the video, it gives reasons why the original 6 NHL teams are not what they are told to be. The NHA is the NHL and there are teams stated by NHL themselves that were founded about a decade before the original 6 (except the Montreal Canadians).
