The first NHL All-Star Game was held in 1934 to raise funds for Ace Bailey, a player who had to retire because of a nasty play by Eddie Shore. The second match took place in 1937 to support Howie Morenz’s family after his death due to a coronary artery caused by a broken leg injury during a match.

The Great Depression and the outbreak of World War II caused great damage to the tournament. The Pirates became Philadelphia Quakers in 1930, then dissolved a year later. The same Senators team also changed its name to St. Louis Eagles in 1934, then only one year to play. The Maroons did not survive, as they suspended operations in 1938. New York Americans were banned from playing in 1942 due to a lack of players and no handcuffs since.

The tournament dropped to six teams in the 1942-43 season: Boston Bruins, Chicago Black Hawks, Detroit Red Wings, Montreal Canadiens, New York Rangers and Toronto Maple Leafs. These six teams remain intact for 25 years, and are called Original Six. The tournament then reached an agreement with the trustees of the Stanley Cup in 1947 to gain full control of the title, helping NHL to reject the offer of other tournaments to compete.

Maurice “Rocket” Richard became the first person to score 50 goals in a 50-match season. Richard then led Canadiens to five consecutive championships from 1956 to 1960, a record that has never been broken. Willie O’Ree broke the color divide on January 18, 1958 with his debut for Boston Bruins and was the first black player in NHL history.

By the mid-1960s, the ambition of a television contract in the United States, and the concern that the Western Hockey League was aggressively announcing it would become a major and competitive tournament for the Stanley Cup, forcing the decision to expand. for the first time since the 1920s. The National Hockey League must compete fiercely with the WHA to retain players; they lost 67 people to the emerging tournament in the 1972-73 season. Wayne Gretzky played one season at the WHA for Indianapolis Racers (8 games) and Edmonton Oilers (72 matches) before Oilers joined the National Hockey League in 1979-80.