History of the National Hockey League (1992–2017)

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 1999, Wayne Gretzky retired from hockey.

Internationally, 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.