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Timeline

An ice hockey timeline.

The dated history of ice hockey in one table. Each row names its source, and where sources give different dates, the row is marked as disputed with the versions given. Seasons still running in October 2026 are shown as in progress.

Dates are as each source gives them. "Disputed" marks a row where the sources disagree; the other versions are given in the same row. A few origin claims that rest on a single unconfirmed source, such as the 1797 Thames engraving, are left out; the origins page explains them.

Origins to 1900

DateEventSource
No later than 1810 (claimed)Haliburton's school-days hurley on the ice at Windsor, Nova Scotia, as the province's 2008 Sport Act preamble puts itNova Scotia Legislature
1820sCharles Darwin plays hockey on the ice at Shrewsbury, recalled in a letter of 1 March 1853The Hockey News
1824 or 1825 (disputed)Franklin's men play hockey on the ice at Fort Franklin, now Deline; Up Here says 1824, Nunatsiaq News 1825Up Here; Nunatsiaq News
1844Haliburton's The Attaché mentions "hurly" on the iceWikipedia
3 March 1875First recorded organised indoor game, Victoria Skating Rink, MontrealDictionary of Canadian Biography
31 January 1877McGill's organised club beats the Victorias 2-1McGill Athletics
February 1877 (27 February per McGill Athletics)First published ice hockey rules, in The Gazette, MontrealDictionary of Canadian Biography; McGill Athletics
1883McGill wins the Montreal Winter Carnival tournamentMcGill Athletics
10 March 1886Queen's beats RMC and garrison players 1-0 at KingstonQueen's University
8 December 1886Amateur Hockey Association of Canada foundedMcGill Athletics
1888 or 4 February 1889 (disputed)Lord Stanley sees hockey at the Montreal Winter Carnival; NHL.com says 1889, Wikipedia 1888NHL.com; Wikipedia
1889 or 11 February 1891 (disputed)First women's game: a Rideau Hall game in 1889 per search summaries of the Hockey Hall of Fame, or the Ottawa Citizen account of 1891 per the IIHF and (through a search summary) Hockey CanadaIIHF; Hockey Canada
November 1890Ontario Hockey Association foundedNHL.com
18 March 1892Lord Stanley's challenge cup announced in OttawaNHL.com
1893 (recipient disputed)First Stanley Cup goes to Montreal: the MAAA per the HHOF, the Montreal Hockey Club per NHL.com and WikipediaHHOF; NHL.com; Wikipedia
1895Colored Hockey League of the Maritimes founded in HalifaxParks Canada

1900 to 1945

DateEventSource
March 1907The professional Montreal Wanderers win the CupNHL.com
15 May 1908LIHG, later the IIHF, founded in ParisIIHF
2 December 1909National Hockey Association foundedWikipedia
10 to 12 January 1910First European Championship, Les AvantsIIHF
1911-12 (1911 per Wikipedia)NHA drops the rover; six players a sideScouting the Refs; Wikipedia
1917Seattle Metropolitans, the first US-based Cup winnerWikipedia
26 November 1917NHL formed at the Windsor Hotel, Montreal (owners' meeting on 22 November per The Canadian Encyclopedia; meetings from 24 November per NHL.com)NHL.com; The Canadian Encyclopedia
19 December 1917First NHL gamesNHL.com
1917-18Goaltenders allowed to drop to the iceScouting the Refs
1918-19Paul Jacobs on the Toronto Arenas' roster; Parks Canada lists him as the first Indigenous NHL player (disputed)Parks Canada
1919Stanley Cup final abandoned because of influenza; no winnerWikipedia
26 April 1920Canada (Winnipeg Falcons) wins the first Olympic final, at AntwerpCanadian Olympic Hall of Fame; NHL.com
1924Boston Bruins become the first US NHL teamWikipedia
16 November 1926Taffy Abel joins the Rangers; Wikipedia calls him the first Native American to break the NHL colour barrier (disputed)Wikipedia
1926-27Stanley Cup becomes an NHL-only trophy (1926 per the HHOF)NHL.com; HHOF
1927Elizabeth Graham of Queen's wears a fencing mask in goal (Wikipedia only; not confirmed in a second source)Wikipedia
1929-30Forward passing allowed in all three zonesScouting the Refs
1930First standalone World Championship, in Chamonix, Vienna and BerlinWikipedia
1934-35Penalty shot introducedScouting the Refs
1937-38 (1937 per The Hockey News)Icing introducedScouting the Refs; The Hockey News
1942-43Original Six era beginsWikipedia
10 September 1943Hockey Hall of Fame established in KingstonHHOF
1943-44Centre red line introducedThe Hockey News
18 March 1945Maurice Richard's 50th goal in 50 gamesWikipedia

1946 to 1999

DateEventSource
1947Cup trustees delegate control to the NHLWikipedia
March 1948 (13 March per Wikipedia)Larry Kwong, the first NHL player of Asian descent, debutsParks Canada; Wikipedia
November 1953Fred Sasakamoose's first NHL gameParks Canada
7 March 1954Soviet Union beats Canada 7-2 to win its first World Championship, in StockholmIIHF Hall of Fame (search summary)
18 January 1958Willie O'Ree becomes the first Black NHL playerParks Canada
1 November 1959Jacques Plante wears his mask in a game after being cutWikipedia
26 August 1961Hockey Hall of Fame building opens in TorontoHHOF
1967Toronto wins the last Cup of the Original Six era; NHL Players' Association formedWikipedia
1967-68NHL doubles to 12 teamsWikipedia
15 January 1968Bill Masterton dies after an on-ice injuryESPN
1970Canada withdraws from IIHF competition (returns in 1977)Wikipedia
28 September 1972Paul Henderson's goal wins the Summit SeriesCanadian Museum of History
11 October 1972WHA's first gameWikipedia
22 June 1979NHL admits Edmonton, Hartford, Quebec and Winnipeg from the WHAWikipedia
1979-80Helmets required for new NHL playersESPN
22 February 1980Miracle on Ice at Lake Placid; US gold follows on 24 FebruaryWikipedia
1983-84Regular-season overtime returns to the NHLScouting the Refs
1989Sergei Priakin debuts with Calgary, the first Soviet player allowed by Soviet authorities to play in the NHLNHL.com
19 to 25 March 1990First IIHF Women's World Championship, OttawaWikipedia; IIHF
18 June 1993 (1983 per a travel site)Hockey Hall of Fame opens at its current site in TorontoHHOF; A View on Cities
23 March 1994Wayne Gretzky's 802nd goal passes Gordie HoweAP (KUTV)
1994Bill C-212 makes ice hockey Canada's national winter sportHistory.com
1996-97Craig MacTavish, the last NHL player without a helmet, retiresWikipedia
February 1998Nagano: first Olympic women's tournament (US gold, final on 17 February) and first with NHL players (Czech Republic gold)IIHF; Team USA; NHL.com; History.com (search summary, final date)
18 April 1999Gretzky retiresWikipedia

2000 to 2026

DateEventSource
2004-05NHL season cancelled by a lockout; no Stanley Cup in 2005Wikipedia
2005-06Shootout, two-line passes allowed and the goalie trapezoidScouting the Refs
17 May 2008IIHF names the Miracle on Ice its top story of its first centuryThe Hockey News
8 November 2010Angela James and Cammi Granato become the first women in the Hockey Hall of Fame (the IIHF also lists Geraldine Heaney in 2010)Reuters (Fox News); IIHF
2013-14NHL visors required for new players; hybrid icingNHLPA; Scouting the Refs
2015-16Three-on-three overtime and the coach's challengeScouting the Refs
2017-18Vegas Golden Knights joinWikipedia
2021-22Seattle Kraken joinWikipedia
7 December 2022Parks Canada designates "Breaking Racial Barriers in the NHL" a national historic eventParks Canada
4 December 2023IIHF announces neck laceration protectors for all levels of its competitionsIIHF
1 January 2024First PWHL game, TorontoPWHL
1 August 2024USA Hockey neck laceration protection requirement takes effectAP (13abc)
8 October 2024Utah, holder of the former Arizona Coyotes' hockey assets, plays its first gameNHL.com
6 April 2025Alex Ovechkin's 895th goal passes Gretzky's career recordAP (KUTV)
19 February 2026United States women beat Canada 2-1 in overtime for Olympic gold at Milan CortinaCanadian Olympic Committee
22 February 2026United States men beat Canada 2-1 in overtime for Olympic gold at Milan CortinaNBC New York
20 May 2026Montreal Victoire win the Walter Cup, the first Canadian team to do soPWHL
14 June 2026Carolina Hurricanes win the Stanley Cup, beating Vegas 4-2Wikipedia
29 September 20262026-27 NHL season opens with 84 games per team, and new players must wear neck protection (Rule 9.8); in progress as of October 2026NHL.com; NHL Official Rules 2026-2027
6 to 16 November 2026 (upcoming)IIHF Women's World Championship in Herning and Esbjerg, DenmarkVisitDenmark
5 December 2026 (upcoming)PWHL 2026-27 season opens with 12 teamsCanadian Press (CP24)

Sources

  1. Nova Scotia Legislature, Bill No. 225, Provincial Sport Act (2008)
  2. The Hockey News (26 May 2014), do you think hockey was invented in Canada? Think again
  3. Up Here, was hockey born in Deline?
  4. Nunatsiaq News, Deline, NWT: the birthplace of hockey?
  5. Wikipedia, History of ice hockey (secondary)
  6. Dictionary of Canadian Biography, James George Aylwin Creighton
  7. McGill Athletics, McGill and the birth of organised hockey (2015)
  8. Queen's University Encyclopedia, Carr-Harris Cup
  9. NHL.com, how the Stanley Cup came to be
  10. IIHF, women's hockey history (canada-central.iihf.com)
  11. Hockey Canada, women's hockey herstory, 1890 to 1990
  12. Hockey Hall of Fame, Stanley Cup history
  13. Wikipedia, 1893 AHAC season (secondary)
  14. Parks Canada, Breaking racial barriers in the NHL (7 December 2022)
  15. IIHF, history of ice hockey (canada-central.iihf.com)
  16. IIHF, history 1908 to 1913 (canada-central.iihf.com)
  17. Wikipedia, National Hockey Association (secondary)
  18. Wikipedia, Stanley Cup (secondary)
  19. NHL.com, NHL celebrates 100th anniversary of founding
  20. The Canadian Encyclopedia, the birth of the National Hockey League
  21. Scouting the Refs, NHL historical rule changes (April 2023)
  22. NHL.com, ice hockey got started in the Olympics in summer 1920
  23. Canadian Olympic Hall of Fame, 1920 Winnipeg Falcons men's hockey team
  24. Wikipedia, National Hockey League (secondary)
  25. Wikipedia, Race and ethnicity in the NHL (secondary)
  26. Wikipedia, Goaltender mask (secondary)
  27. Wikipedia, Ice Hockey World Championships (secondary)
  28. Wikipedia, Original Six (secondary)
  29. Hockey Hall of Fame, our history
  30. The Hockey News, rules that changed the game
  31. Wikipedia, 50 goals in 50 games (secondary)
  32. IIHF Hall of Fame, 1954 Soviet team (web archive)
  33. Wikipedia, 1967 NHL expansion (secondary)
  34. ESPN, the real reasons for Bill Masterton's death
  35. Canadian Museum of History, the team of the century
  36. Wikipedia, World Hockey Association (secondary)
  37. Wikipedia, Miracle on Ice (secondary)
  38. NHL.com, this date in NHL history: March 31
  39. Wikipedia, 1990 IIHF Women's World Championship (secondary)
  40. A View on Cities, Hockey Hall of Fame (travel site)
  41. KUTV (AP), Alex Ovechkin breaks Wayne Gretzky's career goals record (6 April 2025)
  42. History.com, first indoor game of ice hockey
  43. History.com, women's sports milestones: hockey at the Olympics (17 February)
  44. Wikipedia, Craig MacTavish (secondary)
  45. NHL.com (Philadelphia Flyers), Flyers at the Olympics: a history
  46. Team USA, 1998 US Olympic women's ice hockey team (Hall of Fame)
  47. Wikipedia, List of career achievements by Wayne Gretzky (secondary)
  48. The Hockey News, Gretzky named to IIHF's centennial all-star team; Miracle on Ice top story (2008)
  49. Fox News (Reuters), James and Granato first women welcomed into Hall (2010)
  50. NHLPA, players one step closer to approving grandfathered visors (4 June 2013)
  51. IIHF, IIHF mandates neck laceration protection at all levels (4 December 2023)
  52. PWHL, game recap of the first PWHL game (2 January 2024)
  53. AP via 13abc, USA Hockey will mandate neck laceration protection (28 January 2024)
  54. NHL.com, get to know the Utah Mammoth (3 May 2026)
  55. Canadian Olympic Committee, women's hockey final at Milan Cortina 2026 (19 February 2026)
  56. NBC New York, Team USA beats Canada for men's hockey gold (22 February 2026)
  57. PWHL, Walter Cup Finals notebook (21 May 2026)
  58. Wikipedia, 2026 Stanley Cup Final (secondary)
  59. NHL.com, NHL announces 2026-27 regular-season schedule (16 July 2026)
  60. NHL Official Rules 2026-2027 (PDF)
  61. VisitDenmark, IIHF Women's World Championship 2026
  62. Canadian Press via CP24, PWHL expands to eight-team playoffs (2 October 2026)

Keep reading

Origins

The rival birthplace claims, the first recorded indoor game in Montreal in 1875 and the first published rules.

The Stanley Cup

Lord Stanley's 1892 donation, the challenge era, the move to an NHL-only trophy, engraving and records.

Rule changes

The forward pass, the red line, icing, overtime, the 2005-06 changes, the shootout and the coach's challenge, season by season.

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