History of the National Hockey League (1992–2017)
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The National Hockey League (NHL) endured a tumultuous period of history between 1992 and 2017. It grew from 22 teams at the start of this period to 30 at the end, 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. Nine franchises were added between 1991 and 2000, comprising the San Jose Sharks, Ottawa Senators, Tampa Bay Lightning, Florida Panthers, Mighty Ducks of Anaheim, Nashville Predators, Atlanta Thrashers, Columbus Blue Jackets and the Minnesota Wild. In addition to expansion teams, 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).
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 1997, 1998, 2002 and 2008), Chicago Blackhawks (winners in 2010, 2013 and 2015) and Boston Bruins (winners in 2011) broke lengthy Cup droughts of 42, 47 and 39 seasons, respectively. Meanwhile, the NHL's southern expansion, often maligned by Canadians and fans in the Northeastern United States, led to first–time championships by the Dallas Stars in 1999, and the Tampa Bay Lightning, Carolina Hurricanes and Anaheim Ducks in the 2000s decade, followed by the Los Angeles Kings in the 2010s.
Manon Rhéaume 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. This era saw the emergence of two superstars, with Sidney Crosby and Alexander Ovechkin re-energizing the Capitals-Penguins rivalry.
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.