The National Hockey League (NHL) officially started in late 1917, with its first games played on December 19, 1917.

Quick Scoop 🏒

  • The NHL was formally organized on November 26, 1917, in Montreal, Canada, as a successor to the National Hockey Association (NHA).
  • The league’s first regular-season games took place on December 19, 1917, marking the true on-ice beginning of the NHL era.
  • Early teams included the Montreal Canadiens, Montreal Wanderers, Ottawa Senators, and a Toronto club that would evolve into today’s Toronto Maple Leafs.

So if you’re wondering “when did the NHL start,” the short, historically grounded answer is: it began in 1917, with the inaugural games on December 19, 1917.

Information gathered from public forums or data available on the internet and portrayed here.