Is it true that the NHL had six hockey teams initially?

Currently, there are 31 teams that make up the league (24 of them from the United States and 7 of them from Canada). There are two conferences each one divided into two divisions. The two conferences are the Eastern and Western. The Eastern Conference is broken down into the Metropolitan and Atlantic Divisions.

The Metropolitan Division is comprised of: NY Islanders, Washington CAPITALS, Columbus Blue Jackets, Pittsburgh Penguins, Carolina Hurricanes, NY Rangers, Philadelphia Flyers, and New Jersey Devils. The Atlantic Division is comprised of: Tampa Bay Lightning, Toronto Maple Leafs, Montreal Canadiens, Boston Bruins, Buffalo Sabres, Florida Panthers, Detroit Red Wings, and Ottawa Senators.

The Western Conference is comprised of the Central and Pacific Divisions. The Central Division is comprised of: Winnipeg Jets, Nashville Predators, Minnesota Wild, Dallas Stars, Colorado Avalanche, St. Louis Blues, and the Chicago Blackhawks. The Pacific Division is comprised of: Calgary Flames, San Jose Sharks, Las Vegas Golden Nights, Vancouver Canucks, Anaheim Ducks, Arizona Coyotes, Edmonton Oilers, and the Los Angeles Kings.

Yes, the NHL had six hockey teams initially. These teams are commonly known as the “Original Six”. The teams that made up the Original Six are: The Montreal Canadiens, Toronto Maple Leafs, Chicago Blackhawks, New York Rangers, Detroit Red Wings and Boston Bruins. The era of the Original Six of the NHL began in 1942. In 1967, the NHL added six new teams to double its original size, adding the Los Angeles Kings, Pittsburgh Penguins, Philadelphia Flyers, California Stars, Minnesota North Stars and St. Louis Blues.

The league then increased to 18 teams by 1974 and 21 in 1979. Between 1991 to 2000, the league further expanded to 30 teams. The 31st tea was added in 2017and the league has approved the addition of the 32nd team in 2021.