How do you organize players in hockey?

Answer 1

NHL, as of the past few decades, has expanded to 30 teams overall (6 in Canada, the rest in the US).

Each team is in a different, individual city and is an individual NHL franchise. The 30 teams are organized into two Conferences: East and West. Each Conference has 15 teams.

Within the East and West Conferences are further geographical divisions of the teams. The 15 teams in each Conference are further grouped into 5 teams per divison, with 3 divisons per Conference. (That's 30 teams overall - 15 per conference - 5 per conference division).

The Western Conference has the Central Divison, Northwest Divison, and Pacific Division; the Eastern Conference has the Southeast Division, the Northeast Divison, and the Atlantic Division.

Eastern and Western teams play each other about once a season, while Eastern teams play each other 4 or so times a season. Teams that share a Divison play each other 6 times a season.

Playoffs are determined by Conference with 8 of the 15 teams in each Conference making it. The 1, 2, and 3 positions in each Conference go to the division-leading teams for each of the 3 divisons in the Conference, while 4-8 are determined by points.

In the playoffs, Eastern and Western Conference teams don't face each other until the Stanley Cup Finals (first round: Conference Quarterfinals; 2nd round: Conference Semifinals; 3rd round: Conference Finals; 4th and final round: Stanley Cup Finals)

Answer 2

The league was organized on November 22, 1917 in Montreal during World War I, Canada after the suspension of operations of its predecessor organization, the National Hockey Association (NHA), which had been founded in 1909.[4] It started with four teams and, through a series of expansions, contractions, and relocations, the league is now composed of 30 active franchises. After a "lockout" that led to the cancellation of the entire 2004-05 season, the league resumed play under a new collective bargaining agreement that included a salary cap. In 2009, the NHL enjoyed record highs in terms of sponsorships, crowds and television audiences.