Prior to the first season of the

National Hockey League The National Hockey League (NHL; french: Ligue nationale de hockey—LNH, ) is a professional ice hockey league in North America comprising 32 teams—25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. It is considered to be the top ranked professional ...

(NHL), which commenced on December 19, 1917, there had been many seasons of

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an ice skating rink with lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. In ice hockey, two opposing teams use ice hock ...

played by various amateur and professional leagues, often held contemporaneously, going back to the 1880s, to which the NHL can trace its roots. Below is a list of pre-NHL seasons by

leagues that are precursors of the National Hockey League.

Amateur and professional leagues

;Notes *The

Montreal Winter Carnival ice hockey tournaments The Montreal Winter Carnival Ice Hockey Tournaments were a series of annual ice hockey tournaments held in the 1880s in conjunction with the Montreal Winter Carnival, in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. First held in 1883, these tournaments are consider ...

(MWCT) were a series of annual tournaments held in the 1880s in conjunction with the Montreal Winter Carnival, in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. First held in 1883, these tournaments are considered to be the first championship ice hockey tournaments and the predecessor to the first championship ice hockey league, the Amateur Hockey Association of Canada. *The Amateur Hockey Association of Canada (AHAC) existed from 1886 to 1898. Season series play started in 1893. * The

Manitoba Hockey Association The Manitoba Hockey Association (MHA) was an early men's senior ice hockey league playing around 1900 in Manitoba, Canada. The league started as an elite amateur league in 1892, became professional in 1905, had a professional and an amateur leagu ...

existed from 1892 to 1923. The association organized the Manitoba Professional Hockey League in 1906. *The

Canadian Amateur Hockey League The Canadian Amateur Hockey League (CAHL) was an early men's amateur hockey league founded in 1898, replacing the organization that was formerly the Amateur Hockey Association of Canada (AHAC) before the 1898–99 season. The league existed for ...

(CAHL) existed from 1899 to 1905. *The

Federal Amateur Hockey League The Federal Amateur Hockey League (FAHL) was a Canadian men's senior-level ice hockey league that played six seasons, from 1904 to 1909. The league was formed initially to provide a league for teams not accepted by the rival Canadian Amateur Hock ...

(FAHL/FHL) existed from 1904 to 1909. The league was professional from 1908 onwards. *The

Eastern Canada Amateur Hockey Association The Eastern Canada Amateur Hockey Association (ECAHA) was a men's amateur – later professional – ice hockey league in Canada that played four seasons. It was founded on December 11, 1905 with the top clubs from two other leagues: four ...

(ECAHA) existed from 1906 to 1909. The league allowed professional players from 1907 onwards, becoming fully professional in the 1909 season. *The

Western Pennsylvania Hockey League The Western Pennsylvania Hockey League (WPHL) was an originally amateur and later professional ice hockey league founded in 1896 and existing through 1909. Based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, the league became the pre-eminent ice hockey league in ...

(WPHL) existed from 1896 to 1909. It was the first league to officially allow professional players. *The

International Professional Hockey League The International Professional Hockey League (IPHL) was the first fully professional ice hockey, professional ice hockey leagues, ice hockey league, operating from 1904 to 1907. It was formed by Jack Gibson (ice hockey born 1880), Jack "Doc" Gi ...

(IPHL) existed from 1904 until 1907. *The

Ontario Professional Hockey League The Ontario Professional Hockey League (OPHL), sometimes referred to as the Trolley League, and also known as the Canadian Hockey League in its time, was a professional ice hockey league in Canada. It was a fully professional league and consisted ...

(OPHL) existed from 1908 until 1911. *The Canadian Hockey Association (CHA) existed in 1910 for part of one season. *The

National Hockey Association The National Hockey Association (NHA), officially the National Hockey Association of Canada Limited, was a professional ice hockey organization with teams in Ontario and Quebec, Canada. It is the direct predecessor of today's National Hockey Lea ...

(NHA) existed from 1910 to 1917. *The

Pacific Coast Hockey Association The Pacific Coast Hockey Association (PCHA) was a professional ice hockey league in western Canada and the western United States, which operated from 1911 to 1924 when it then merged with the Western Canada Hockey League (WCHL). The PCHA was cons ...

(PCHA) existed from 1911 to 1924. *The

Western Canada Hockey League The Western Canada Hockey League (WCHL), founded in 1921, was a major professional ice hockey league originally based in the prairies of Canada. It was renamed the Western Hockey League (WHL) in 1925 and disbanded in 1926. The WCHL's Victoria C ...

(WCHL) existed from 1921 to 1926. While the WCHL wasn't a ''pre''-NHL league, it is generally deemed by hockey historians to have been a major league. Two years prior to its folding, the PCHA merged with it. The last season, 1925–26, it had been renamed the

Western Hockey League The Western Hockey League (WHL) is a major junior ice hockey league based in Western Canada and the Northwestern United States. The WHL is one of three leagues that constitutes the Canadian Hockey League (CHL) as the highest level of junior h ...

because one of its teams had moved to the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

. The NHL would buy the rights to the WHL players as part of its disbanding. *Prior to 1905 (FAHL), 1910 (NHA) and 1912 (PCHA) league play started in January and ended in March of one calendar year. * The

Stanley Cup The Stanley Cup (french: La Coupe Stanley) is the championship trophy awarded annually to the National Hockey League (NHL) playoff champion. It is the oldest existing trophy to be awarded to a professional sports franchise in North America, an ...

was first awarded in 1893. * Prior to 1915, championships could be won or lost during a season through ''challenge'' play. Hence, multiple championship holders were possible during each season.

Amateur and professional leagues

See also