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The National Hockey League (NHL) has endured a tumultuous period of history in recent years. It has grown from 22 teams in 1992 to 30 today as the league expanded across the United States. Repeated labour conflicts interrupted play in 1992, 1994–95, 2004–05 and 2012–13; the second lockout caused the entire 2004–05 NHL season to be canceled, the first time in North American history that a sports league has canceled an entire season in a labour dispute. Five franchises have relocated during this time: the Minnesota North Stars became the Dallas Stars (1993), the Quebec Nordiques became the Colorado Avalanche (1995), the Winnipeg Jets became the Phoenix Coyotes (1996), the Hartford Whalers became the Carolina Hurricanes (1997), and the Atlanta Thrashers became the second franchise known as the Winnipeg Jets (2011). The Coyotes would later rebrand themselves as the Arizona Coyotes following the 2013–14 season. In 1993, the Montreal Canadiens celebrated the Stanley Cup's 100th anniversary with their 24th championship. They remain the last Canadian team to capture the trophy. The 1994 New York Rangers broke the Curse of 1940, winning their first title in 54 years. The renaissance of the Original Six would continue as the Detroit Red Wings (Stanley Cup winners in , , and ), Chicago Blackhawks (winners in , and ) and Boston Bruins (winners in ) broke lengthy Cup droughts of 42, 49 and 39 seasons, respectively. Meanwhile, the NHL's southern expansion, often maligned by Canadians and fans in the Northeastern United States, has led to championships by the Dallas Stars, Tampa Bay Lightning, Carolina Hurricanes and Anaheim Ducks in the last decade, with the Los Angeles Kings following suit. Manon Rheaume became the first female player in the NHL when she suited up for the Lightning in a 1992 pre-season game. Wayne Gretzky passed Gordie Howe as the NHL's all-time leading scorer in 1994 when he scored his 802nd career goal. Mario Lemieux overcame Hodgkin's lymphoma to finish his NHL career with more than 1,700 points and two championships, and now owns the Pittsburgh Penguins. Today's NHL is led by arguably its two biggest young stars: Sidney Crosby of the Pittsburgh Penguins and Alexander Ovechkin of the Washington Capitals. The Canada Cup gave way to the World Cup of Hockey in 1996, while NHL players first competed in the 1998 Winter Olympics. To promote itself worldwide, the NHL played regular season games in Japan in 1996, and throughout Europe since 2007. The league played its first outdoor regular season game between the Canadiens and the host Edmonton Oilers in 2003 and which led to the creation of three series of outdoor games: the Heritage Classic, Winter Classic and Stadium Series. Increased use of defence-focused systems contributed to decreased scoring in the late 1990s, leading some to argue that the NHL's talent pool had been diluted by the 1990 expansion plan. The league has attempted several times to alter its rules to increase scoring. It began awarding teams a single point for losing in overtime in 1999, hoping to reduce the number of tie games. In 2005, ties were eliminated altogether as the penalty shootout was introduced to ensure that all games have a winner. ==Background== As the 1990s began, players were uneasy with the closeness between National Hockey League Players Association (NHLPA) executive director Alan Eagleson and the teams' owners. As a result, Eagleson stepped down in December 1991, and was replaced by Bob Goodenow. Four years later, the Federal Bureau of Investigation indicted Eagleson on charges of racketeering, fraud, embezzlement, kickbacks and obstruction of justice over allegations that he stole millions of dollars from the NHLPA. Eagleson pleaded guilty in 1998 in a plea bargain and was fined US$1 million and sentenced to 18 months in prison. He subsequently resigned from the Hockey Hall of Fame.〔 Four months after replacing Eagleson, Goodenow and the NHLPA launched the first NHL strike on April 1, 1992. It lasted ten days and resulted in the players receiving larger playoff bonuses, increased control over the licensing of their likenesses and improved rights to free agency. It also led the owners to dismiss league president John Ziegler and replace him on an interim basis with Gil Stein. Goodenow called the strike a major moment, stating "I don't think the owners took the players seriously and it wasn't until the strike that they understood the players were serious." As part of the deal, the league also agreed to have each team play two games per season for the following two years in neutral site locations, partially to help gauge markets for potential expansion. Desiring a fresh start, the owners replaced Stein with Gary Bettman in February 1993. Formerly a senior vice president of the National Basketball Association, Bettman replaced the position of president with that of commissioner.〔 He was given the task of selling the game to the American market, ending labor unrest, completing expansion plans, and modernizing the league. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「History of the National Hockey League (1992–present)」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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