Talk:National Hockey League

Section:'Rule differences with international hockey' images

I just added the image NHL_Hockey_Rink.svg to this section, as the comparison image with NHL vs. Intl rinks does not reflect the current markings. Ideally that image should be updated so two aren't needed, but as is the text was very confusing when paired with the image with old markings. Walkersam (talk) 20:37, 5 April 2024 (UTC)

Map is wrong

Not sure how to fix it but Utah is not colored and the Utah team is for some reason in Arizona right now can someone fix it Onlygoodvibez (talk) 00:56, 19 April 2024 (UTC)

Colors for the conference labels in the "Teams" table

A user has been adding red and blue colors to the two conference designations in the table of teams in the articles about the NHL, NFL, and MLS (not sure about the NBA because I don’t pay attention to that one). I don’t see the purpose of this, nor do I discern any benefit to a reader. If some sort of color-coding were to be used, it seems to me a more useful scheme would be to match the divisional colors used in the map showing where the teams are located—that way the table and map would correspond. But I can’t see any benebfit to red and blue colors for the conference labels. Those colors don’t even match the NHL all-star sweaters, given the current division-based format for that event. I have not reverted the most recent version of this because I don’t want to edit-war with the other user—I figured it made more sense to raise it here. 1995hoo (talk) 00:55, 17 May 2024 (UTC)

I have reverted the changes, pending further discussion. Also note on the ice hockey WikiProject talk page, a consensus was reached not to use colour backgrounds in table cells, for better accessibility (see this 2020 comment linking to relevant discussion threads). isaacl (talk) 02:42, 17 May 2024 (UTC)

Thanks for telling me about that one. If I interact with the other editor again, I'll link that. 1995hoo (talk) 12:04, 17 May 2024 (UTC)

No objections to the revert. Deadman137 (talk) 03:13, 17 May 2024 (UTC)

Also agree with removal based on MOS:COLORCODING (note the line about unneeded colors and their obscuring of wiki links), which itself is based on the accessibility policy. Frankly, the colors in the articles on the other major leagues, which inspired this, are probably non-compliant and should be removed, too. oknazevad (talk) 07:18, 17 May 2024 (UTC)

Thank you. That information is extremely helpful. The same editor made the same sort of change to the NFL article, so I removed the color-coding there this morning and cited the MOS page you linked. Guess we'll see what happens next. 1995hoo (talk) 13:27, 17 May 2024 (UTC)

I also agree with removal of colors. – sbaio 04:52, 18 May 2024 (UTC)

Hi! Thanks for starting a discussion on the topic. I added them since I found it weird how it was only the NBA and WNBA (and now MLB) which had colours denoting their conferences/leagues. So I thought there would be no objection to adding it to other leagues (such as the NHL and NFL - I didn't add any to the MLS or USMLR since they have no conferences or conference colours if I'm not mistaken - I also added it to the small league called the MASL).

My justification for adding them was for more standardisation between the major US sports league, and I also thought it just looked nicer and was useful to the reader. Red for example is synonymous for the AFC in the NFL, and Western Conference in the NBA. I was also surprised to find out that red is for the Eastern Conference and not in the west, so I thought if I made the conference boxes coloured like the NBA or WNBA page, people would be able to figure out quicker what colours represent which conference in the NHL.

I'm also not saying the whole background has to be coloured like in the NBA's page, perhaps a highlighted font, coloured borders, or something else would convey the conference colours just as good as a fully coloured background (though I'm curious as to why some say its hard to read the font? The conference boxes on the NBA, MLB and WNBA page are perfectly easy to read since the font is bolded and white? I have also seen no objection to the coloured tables on the NBA's (or MLB's and WNBA's) page, only on the NHL and NFL page). Hope we can reach a consensus! ZlatanSweden10 (talk) 14:58, 17 May 2024 (UTC)

@ZlatanSweden10 Did you ever receive consensus for the NBA, MLB and WNBA pages (CFL page uses background colors too)? Per MOS:COLORCODING, which states (in part), "excessive background shading of table entries impedes readability and recognition of Wikilinks. Background color should be used only as a supplementary visual cue and should be subtle (consider using lighter, less-dominant pastel hues) rather than glaring." So, my thoughts are to remove them from the other pages too.

Also, would someone please link this discussion to those other pages too. Assadzadeh (talk) 03:39, 3 December 2024 (UTC)

@Assadzadeh I never reached a consensus so I just left the pages how they are. Some pages wanted them and some didn't. I gave my justification for adding them (some leagues have their eastern conference as blue (e.g. NBA) and some as red (e.g. NHL). And I personally never knew this even as someone who follows both leagues, so I thought it would be helpful). But no one agreed so I just left the pages how they are for the most part.

I'd be happy to join in to the discussion again though if that means a consensus could be reached. If that means removing them completely, adding a small colour strip like political party tables have (such as: here for example), or adding the shades but a lighter tone. I'm open for discussion! ZlatanSweden10 (talk) 15:56, 3 December 2024 (UTC)

Wrong number of current teams

The number of teams is incorrect. There are not 27 US teams. The Arizona Cyotes are no longer a franchise, not just inactive. The team was moved to SLC, Utah in a sale brokered by the NHL. The owner of the Cyotes was allowed to keep the rights to the name of the franchise, even though it has been sold. GREENneonDRIVER (talk) 12:48, 16 June 2024 (UTC)

No, the franchise is suspended. Utah is a separate expansion franchise. Please actually read the sources in the article before insisting on adding errors to the article. Do you really think that details like these would not be meticulously accounted for in such a high profile article? oknazevad (talk) 14:26, 16 June 2024 (UTC)

The article is technically wrong to state in the infobox and the first paragraph that there are 33 teams, as well as saying in the third paragraph that a thirty-third was added in 2024. There are 33 franchises, one being inactive and without a team. The unusual situation has made the distinction between a franchise right and a team relevant. isaacl (talk) 15:33, 16 June 2024 (UTC)

(wonders if this SPA is a sock of the now indeffed CanadianEditor1995) Ravenswing 22:18, 16 June 2024 (UTC)

That account has one edit and was created today. Certainly smells fishy, although this user's comment isn’t loaded up with profanities and abrasive commentary the way CanadianEditor1995's are. With that said, I think isaacl makes a valid point about the difference between a franchise and a team. There are 33 franchises and 32 active teams. 1995hoo (talk) 01:37, 17 June 2024 (UTC)

Agreed. We've been making particular distinctions between franchises and teams for over twenty years now (although generally connected with the minor leagues, and frequent changes of technical franchise). Ravenswing 04:25, 17 June 2024 (UTC)

I updated the text to distinguish between teams and franchises. Any feedback is welcome. isaacl (talk) 23:31, 17 June 2024 (UTC)

Typo

I think I spotted a typo but I don't have permission to fix it. Under "International competitions", subsection "Pemittance of NHL players in international competitions", should instead read "Permittance..." Fibonacci6 (talk) 01:50, 24 August 2024 (UTC)

Fixed, and thanks for the alert. Ravenswing 02:31, 24 August 2024 (UTC)

Canadiens number of NHL championships

If we add the NHL championships of 1918-19 & 1924-25, to the 24 Stanley Cup championships. Won't that add up to 26, in total? GoodDay (talk) 15:39, 18 November 2024 (UTC)

One of their Cups was from before the NHL when they were members of the NHA. The current number of NHL championships is correct at 25, as already explained in the footnote. oknazevad (talk) 17:44, 18 November 2024 (UTC)

That should be clarified better, in the footnote. GoodDay (talk) 00:59, 20 November 2024 (UTC)

I'd say the existing footnote is very thorough as is. oknazevad (talk) 01:43, 20 November 2024 (UTC)

I agree that the footnote is quite clear, but I think there might (and I emphasize "might") be room for clarification in this sentence: "The Canadiens won a Stanley Cup championship in 1916 as a member of the National Hockey Association, and 23 Cups as a member of the NHL." If GoodDay's point is that it might not be clear to a reader that the NHA was a pre-NHL league (which is explained in the article, but to be fair someone scanning the infobox and looking at the footnote may not yet have read the whole thing), then perhaps the sentence could be reworded as follows: "The Canadiens won a Stanley Cup championship in 1916, prior to the NHL's founding, as a member of the National Hockey Association. Since the NHL's founding, they have won 23 more Cups." Then continue with the remainder as-is. 1995hoo (talk) 14:01, 20 November 2024 (UTC)

Gap in the Timeline

I understand that the 2004–05 season was cancelled due to the lockout, but why is there a gap in the timeline for each team? After all, they didn't cease to exist during that time, but the gap makes it seem as if they did. I would propose that the gaps be filled in. Also, the same timeline appears on the History of the National Hockey League and the History of organizational changes in the NHL pages as well. Assadzadeh (talk) 05:24, 28 November 2024 (UTC)