10% Of Hockey Fans WILL Fail This Quiz

Following is a compilation of Stanley Cup facts, NHL history, hockey stats, and individual superstars who stood to change the game. In January of this year the National Hockey League honoured their first century of their beloved game by naming the 100 Greatest Players to have ever graced the ice with their playmaking and superb technical skills. Since 1917 the game has changed radically, expanding to the United States and splitting the year into regular and playoff seasons. Also, of course, protective gear and more effective sticks have been added.

Hockey is an exhilarating sport with fierce rivalries that are fanned by the franchises and often spill out onto the ice (through hundreds of fights each season). Each year new drafts are chosen with first pick going to teams at the bottom of the league to even out the competition. However these rookies often strive to join the most established clubs, like those in the Original Six. As the oldest professional sports trophy in North America, the Stanley Cup stands at the centre of this competition. But players often prove themselves through individual trophies and records even if they don't happen to be on this season's victorious team.

How well do you know the NHL?

Question 1

Which team was NOT part of the Original Six?

The NHL now has thirty-one teams that compete across Canada and the United States. Hard to believe it all began with six. In 1917 the NHL was established in Montreal and was open to only Canadian teams. (If there was any doubt that this sport began in the White North from indigenous influences, here's the proof). In 1924 the first American club, the Boston Bruins joined and this led to the Original Six era from 1942 to 1967. It was also the era of dynasties, with teams dominating for consecutive seasons.

Question 2

Who was the first player to score 50 goals in 50 games?

This player was one of the first NHL superstars and he rose to prominence during the Original Six era. Everyone associated him with the Montreal Canadiens as he helped his team challenge in the 1940's-1950's and dominate in the later years. The "Rocket" as he was known played for eighteen seasons and by the time of his retirement was the all time leader in goals. In 1955 this player did have one aggressive spat on the ice and was suspended for the rest of the year-- but hey, that's hockey.

Question 3

Who has won the James Norris Trophy the most times?

This Canadian player joined the Boston Bruins when he was only eighteen. Here he would develop the offensive side of his role. He is also the only defenceman to win the Art Ross Trophy for leading scorer-- and he did this twice. For this he has been voted the greatest athlete in the history of Boston, though he transferred to the Chicago Black Hawks for the 1976-1977 season. By that time he was forced to have had extensive knee operations. He later became a coach for Chicago.

Question 4

Who's the oldest player to ever skate NHL ice?

He isn't called "Mr. Hockey" without reason. This player had 32 seasons in the major leagues (26 years in the NHL)-- that's some major stamina considering most hockey players retire around age thirty. If the aggressiveness of the game isn't too much at a certain age sometimes players are just too injured to continue. However, this player managed to become a 21-time NHL All-Star spending most of his years at the Detroit Red Wings. His strength, scoring ability, and scrappy play fostered an eponymous hat trick-- when a player scores a goal, has an assist, and partakes in a fight.

Question 5

Which team first won the Stanley Cup three times consecutively?

Between 1947 and 1949 this team won the Stanley Cup three times consecutively. Before this the Cup had been defended for back-to-back titles but never before had a team dominated the league so obviously. Also, though this occurred within the era of the Original Six, different players from this team won the Conn Smythe Trophy (so there were no superstars that brought these wins). Prior to these wins in the 1940's a team had dominated for a consecutive title, but we're only counting since the creation of the NHL.

Question 6

Which NHL goaltender first regularly donned a mask?

This player became Montreal's regular goaltender in the 1954-1955 season. (We know this is long ago but can you imagine there were ever goalies without masks??) He won the Vezina trophy several times for technical ability and willingness to skate out of the net on the offensive. During these years he insisted on wearing a face mask after having his face torn by a puck. He rhetorically asked, "if you jump out a plane without a parachute does that make you brave?"

Question 7

Which coach has won the most Stanley Cups?

This Quebecois coach is a nine-time winner of the Stanley Cup, and the only person to lead three separate teams to such an NHL victory (Canadiens, Penguins, Red Wings). He was a junior hockey player but soon recognized his talent for strategy was far greater than his technical skill (also, a fractured skull helped that decision). He holds holds NHL record for number of wins-- with 1,244 victories in regular season and 223 in the playoffs. This coach was inducted in 1991 to the Hockey Hall of Fame.

Question 8

Which country has won the most Olympic hockey gold medals?

This country has won nine Olympic gold medals in ice hockey including three out of the last four Winter competitions (Salt Lake City, Vancouver, and Sochi). This national team was founded in 1963. For the 1998 Winter Olympics the NHL took a break for the first time to allow all its players the opportunity to play for their national teams. This men's hockey team defended gold at Sochi 2014. The team was also the first to finish undefeated since 1984.

Question 9

Which team last won the Stanley Cup in back to back seasons?

The Stanley Cup title was most recently defended in seasons 2016-2017 under Coach Mike Sullivan. They were the first team to win consecutively since the Detroit Red Wings in 1997 and 1998. This 2017 American team beat the San Jose Sharks and defended against the Nashville Predators-- it's the fifth Stanley Cup Trophy for this team. Sidney Crosby was awarded the Conn Smythe Trophy both times. Crosby claimed the team managed it thanks to the grit of the returning players.

Question 10

Which player scored the fastest goal in a Stanley Cup final?

0:09 seconds was the time that passed before this Canadien scored in overtime of the 1986 Final against the Calgary Flames. It was the goal you could miss in the blink of an eye. Fans should have known not to go to the washroom or for that extra beer-- especially in overtime of the Final! The Canadiens ended up snatching the Stanley Cup title that year, maybe the Calgary Flames learnt to be on their toes when they come out.

Question 11

When is the last time Montreal has brought home a Stanley Cup?

Considering Montreal is more or less the location where hockey (as we know it) was established, you would consider Montrealers to be pretty good at it. Add to this the idea that the Canadiens have been in the NHL prior to the Original Six (and addition of American teams) and it makes sense that they have won ten more Stanley Cups than anyone else (24). The real tragedy is with this streak people are quickly forgetting that tradition. Instead Canadian players flood the American teams for greater salaries.

Question 12

Which team has NOT appeared in a Stanley Cup Final?

Compared to those in the Eastern Conference, these franchises are just babies. So maybe it's forgivable that they've never won a Stanley Cup. After all, the sport needs to become popular with a fan base for the business to buy some of the best players around. This team was established in the 2000-2001 NHL season and two years later they had a playoff appearance. They are the only professional sports league to play in St.Paul, all the others play in the adjacent Twin City, Minneapolis.

Question 13

Which goaltender has a record for the most Vezina's?

In 1959 Madison Square Garden this goaltender took a brutal backhander to the face from Rangers winger Andy Bathgate. The goalie had a cut from the corner of his mouth up through the nostril. He was stitched up and returned to the ice twenty minutes later. "Playing goal is like being shot at," says this goalie. If you play hockey might seem like a remarkable statement, because you're actually trying to shoot past (the goalie). But for those of us who don't play hockey that statement is exactly what the game seems like-- the goaltender seems like a sitting duck.

Question 14

Who was the first team to win the Stanley Cup in the NHL?

Ok, so if you've been paying attention to NHL history you know that prior to this there was another league--Western League that folded in 1926. Since then only NHL teams compete for the Stanley Cup. American teams were added to the NHL starting in 1926. The first year Stanley Cup was competed for as an NHL Championship was in 1927 when the newly arrived American team challenged a veteran Canadian one. So, it was the first Stanley Cup Final to have games in both countries. Who won?

Question 15

Who has won the Hart Trophy the most times?

The Hart Memorial Trophy is voted on each regular season to determine the NHL's most valuable player. The trophy was first awarded the 1923-24 season. This player known as "The Great One" was awarded the trophy eight times consecutively during the 1980's while captaining the Oilers and a last time in the 1988-1989 season after he had been traded to the Los Angeles Kings. Only one other player has won the trophy at two different franchises. He has been named MVP more than any other player of a major professional NA sport.

Question 16

Which NHL team has won the most championships with overtime victories?

The Stanley Cup series is played in a best of seven game format as of 1939. If a game is tied at the end of the regulated time it goes into overtime. From 1926-2017 the Stanley Cup has been won in overtime seventeen times. "The Rocket" has helped this team score more than two overtime goals in the Final. Four of this team's championship victories have been won in overtime, the most recent being in 1977. Can you guess which team we're talking about?

Question 17

Where was Wayne Gretzky traded to?

Though the Oilers won the 1988 Stanley Cup, Edmonton was in mourning. They found out their player, arguably the best hockey offensiveman of all time, was to be traded to an American team. Canadian politics got involved as the NDP leader requested the government forbid it. The Gretzky trade is credited with popularizing hockey in the US. Since Gretzky himself was involved in negotiations he requested teammates McSorley and Krushelnyski go with him. Gretzky won the Hart Trophy for a ninth time the season directly after when he was traded, 1988-1989.

Question 18

Which NHL defensemen had the most goals in one season?

This player is credited with revolutionizing the role of defensemen. He played twenty-one seasons starting with the Edmonton Oilers in the early 1980's. With Gretzky he helped this Canadian team put the pressure on for the Stanley Cup Championships. In the 1984-1985 season he was second-highest scorer (only to Gretzky) with 126 points! The following season when the Oilers won the Stanley cup this player won the Norris Trophy with a record of 48 goals and 90 assists in the championship games.

Question 19

Which is the most recent NHL team?

The NHL has undergone a bunch of relocations in the past two decades. Many Canadian teams moved south with the decline of the northern dollar and opening of new franchises in big American cities. But this is different. The last time the NHL expanded (namely, to the US) was in 2001. The choice to promote a stateside team over a new Quebec City franchise came from East/West conference imbalance and the struggle of bringing two teams on simultaneously. This is the first professional sports franchise in the Nevada city.

Question 20

Which player played the most NHL games?

This right winger played an incredible 1, 767 NHL games in his lifetime-- he is the only player to have competed in the through five different decades (if you count a short contracted stint in 1981). What this takes is an incredible amount of physical endurance. And what we mean by that is your body's ability to deal with stick slaps and being slammed into walls. Luckily this player was six foot and about 200-pounds so he could hold his own on the ice till the end.

Question 21

Which player has won the Art Ross Trophy the most?

The Art Ross Trophy is awarded to the player who leads the NHL in scoring points by the end of the regular season. Ever since the era of the Original Six superstars have dominated these rankings though in recent years (from the early 2000's onward) the offensive competition is diversifying. In a single season it is still incredible when a player can score over 100 points, like Sidney Crosby or Patrick Kane in recent years. However, people call this player "The Great One" because he managed over 200 points four times.

Question 22

Which player has been on the most Stanley-Cup winning teams?

This player's name has been inscribed on the Stanley Cup eleven times. As a centre this player was known for exceptional stick handling and playmaking abilities. He had to be nimble and use his technique because he was one of the slighter players on the ice. The younger brother of "the Rocket" scored two Stanley Cup winning goals and got his taste of championship victory early--during his first season with Blake's Canadiens. When he retired in 1975 the Canadiens retired his jersey number sixteen.

Question 23

Who was the first NHL player to sign a million dollar contract?

In 1972 this player defected to the WHA because they offered him a million dollar contract with signing bonuses. This shift gave more credibility to the WHA. Before jumping leagues the "Golden Jet" was known for his crazy slapshot and for raising the record of 50 goals in a season to 58. Along with Stan Mikita, this player refined the hockey stick by adding a curve. This would give player's more control and made the shot more forceful. Before leaving the NHL he had swept the Art Ross Trophy, the Hart Trophy, and the Lady Byng Trophy.

Question 24

How many times have the Montreal Canadiens won the Stanley Cup?

We are counting one cheeky time before the NHL and one time before the Stanley Cup became the exclusive trophy of the NHL. The Montreal Canadiens are the longest continuously running professional ice hockey team because they were founded in 1909. So, naturally, they've won the most trophies. However the Habs have recently been on a dry streak though they still remain a top tier team. Perhaps Carey Price can pull it through for Canadiens fans this year, after all in preseason he was certainly practicing his offensive side.

Question 25

Who is the NHL American-born points leader?

This Michigan-born centre takes long striding skates up and down the ice and can get from one side of the arena to the other in seemingly no time. He was first pick of the 1988 draft, chosen by the Minnesota North Stars. He led the Dallas Stars to a Stanley Cup win in 1999 and throughout his twenty-one year career has always been a reliable playmaker and goal-scorer. In 2017 he was named one of the 100 Greatest NHL players, he had scored 1,374 throughout his career.

Question 26

Who is the first American player to win the Hart Trophy?

So many players from American teams win the Hart Trophy and it's hard to remember they're all Canadian. But in 2016 this all changed when Chicago Black Hawks right winger brought home both the Hart and the Art Ross Trophy. During the regular season this player had a 26-game point streak. No wonder that season he was selected to captain the Central Division of the NHL All-Star Game. Though he's young he was inaugurated into the 100 Greatest NHL Players-- people are expecting big things.

Question 27

Which NHL team holds the record for most points in a season?

NHL stats online have decided this is a seemingly unassailable record. With 132 points this franchise set the record in 1967-1977 and had only lost eight times all season. They finished 20 points better than their closest competitor, Philadelphia. The regular season point system is calculated based on wins, ties, OT, and losses. Since then only four teams have topped 120 points for regular season. The Detroit Red Wings have come closest to beating this record with 131 points in the 1995-1996 season.

Question 28

Which NHL player has captained the longest?

This Canadian centre spent almost his entire career with the Detroit Red Wings, from 1983 to 2006. He was named captain at age twenty-one and served Detroit this way for two decades, often simply being referred to as "The Captain". He led the team to five Stanley Cup championships, the achievement that was always his priority, in 1997, 1998, and 2002. In the 1988 to 1989 season he scored 155 points which had only been bettered by Gretzky and Lemieux.

Question 29

When did the NHL come into existence?

The NHL originally only included Canadian teams (thus, aptly named). But it was just one of the franchises, alongside the Pacific Coast Hockey Association and Western Canada Hockey League, that was competing for the glorious Stanley Cup. In 1924 the NHL allowed Northeastern American teams to join in the competition and this eventually evolved into the Original Six. This was also the year the victors' names would be engraved on the trophy. From 1926 forward, only NHL teams would compete for the Stanley Cup.

Question 30

Which NHL player has the most 100-point seasons?

This player has more than fifteen 100-point seasons, not to mention a few 200-point ones. The only person who comes close is Lemieux. He also only needed 39 games to score 50 goals-- an efficient achievement indeed!These records seem arbitrarily made up to praise "The Great One" but I think there's also some nostalgia from people not being able to believe what they've lived through. There are so many ways to quantify this person's contribution to hockey but nothing compares to just seeing him play.

Question 31

Which team was NOT part of the 1967 NHL expansion?

In the late 1960's this NHL proposal was the largest in professional sports history. Since the NHL was already a misnomer the idea was to expand the league to the West Coast, maybe later creating two different conferences. Also, the proposal was a push to return on US television with the theory being Americans would pay more attention if they had more skin (teams) in the game. This expansion marked a new era of the NHL, though the Canadian PM was irate no new Canadian teams were added.

Question 32

Which teams played longest game in Stanley Cup Final?

In 1990 Petr Klima scored at 15:13 of the third overtime period to give his team an inch over the Americans. It is the longest NHL overtime Final beating out (by just thirty seconds!) Brett Hull's Cup-winner in 1999 and the Igor Larionov's game winner in 2002. The winning team in this 1990 final did not actually dominate the ice, but the challengers could just not get the puck in the net. Unlike baseball, ice hockey is a game where the deserving team does not necessarily win.

Question 33

Who was the 2017 Vezina Trophy Winner?

The Vezina Trophy was established in the 1926-1927 season to honour the goaltender who is judged best at his position. The now thirty-one NHL managers vote on the recipient of this award. This year's winner had 25 first place votes on his side, and it's his second time winning the honour. The William M. Jennings award goes to the goaltender who allows the fewest number of goals in the season. With a reported .931 save percentage it's not hard to see how coaches favoured this Russian goaltender.

Question 34

What is a tradition of the Stanley Cup?

The Stanley Cup is a 35-pound silver chalice and it's the only one of its kind. Players covet after it and make up elaborate stories about the things they plan to do with it when they've won. (Hey-- get your head out of the gutter by plan I mean take it places for photo ops). One victorious team member stated, "I guess you try to do something different with it." An outlandish tradition it is. The Cup even comes with keepers who act as cup babysitters.

Question 35

Which player has won the Conn Smythe Trophy the most times?

This former goaltender won more than 200 games with two teams and had his jersey number 33 retired out of honour with each. He has won the Stanley Cup four times and was named the Conn Smythe winner three times. ESPN knew this goalie defended his best when it mattered most. Habs fans even called him Saint Patrick...until one fateful day at the Bell Centre when he let nine goals go by. The next season he was traded to Colorado and led them to becoming Stanley Cup champions in 1995-96-- their first season.

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