Nobody in the world loves hockey as much as Canada. Canada has a population of 34 million and 7 NHL teams and they could easily support more! For comparisons sake, California has 39 million people with 3 NHL teams.
So what are the Canadian NHL teams? There are seven NHL teams located in Canada. From the date of their first NHL season the seven teams are: Montreal Canadians (1917), Toronto Maple Leafs (1917), Vancouver Canucks (1970), Edmonton Oilers (1979), Calgary Flames (1980), Ottawa Senators (1992), and Winnipeg Jets (2011).
Let’s take a closer look at all seven teams and some of the important dates, players, retired jerseys, and the Stanley Cups that each of them have.
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Calgary Flames
- Founded: 1972 as Atlanta Flames; first year in Calgary 1980-81
- Arena: Scotiabank Saddledome 19,289
- Stanley Cups: 1989
- Hall of Famers: Lanny McDonald, Joe Mullen, Grant Fuhr, Al MacInnis, Brett Hull, Doug Gilmour, Joe Nieuwendyk, Sergei Makarov, Martin St. Louis
- Retired Numbers: Lanny McDonald 9, Jarome Iginla 12, Mike Vernon G
- NHL Playoff Appearances: 29
- Franchise Scoring Leaders: Points: Jarome Iginla 1095, Goals: Jarome Iginla 525, Assists: Al MacInnis 609
Edmonton Oilers
- Founded: 1971 1972-1979 WHA; first NHL season 1979-80
- Arena: Rogers Place 18,500
- Stanley Cups: 5 1984, 1985, 1987, 1988, 1990
- Hall of Famers: Glenn Anderson, Paul Coffey, Grant Fuhr, Wayne Gretzky, Jari Kurri, Mark Messier, Adam Oates, Jacques Plante, Chris Pronger, Norm Ullman
- Retired Numbers: Al Hamilton (3), Paul Coffey (7), Glenn Anderson (9), Mark Messier (11), Jari Kuri (17), Grant Fuhr (31), Wayne Gretzky (99)
- NHL Playoff Appearances: 21
- Franchise Scoring Leaders: Points: Wayne Gretzky 1773, Goals: Wayne Gretzky 626, Assists: Wayne Gretzky 1147
Montreal Canadiens
- Founded: 1909 as member of NHA; 1917 as part of NHL
- Arena: Centre Bell 21, 273
- Stanley Cups: 23
- Hall of Famers: 55
- Retired Numbers: Jacques Plantes (1), Doug Harvey (2), Emile Bouchard (3), Jean Beliveau (4), Bernie Geoffrion (5), Guy Lapointe (5), Howie Morenz (7), Maurice Richard (9), Guy Lafleur (10), Dickie Moore (12), Yvan Cournoyer (12), Henri Richard (16), Elmer Lach (16), Serge Savard (18), Larry Robinson (19), Bob Gainey (23), Ken Dryden (29), Patrick Roy (33)
- NHL Playoff Appearances: 83
- Franchise Scoring Leaders: Points: Guy Lafleur 1,246 Goals: Maurice Richard: 544 Assists: Guy Lafleur 728
Ottawa Senators
- Founded: 1992 (no relation to Ottawa Senators of 1917-34)
- Arena: Canadian Tire Centre 19,153
- Stanley Cups: 0
- Hall of Famers: Dominik Hasek
- Retired Numbers: Frank Finnigan (8), Daniel Alfredsson (11), Chris Phillips (4)
- NHL Playoff Appearances: 16
- Franchise Scoring Leaders: Points: Daniel Alfredsson 1,108 Goals: Daniel Alfredsson 426, Assists: Daniel Alfredsson 682
Toronto Maple Leafs
- Founded: 1917 (formerly Arenas, and St. Patrick’s)
- Arena: Scotiabank Arena 18,819
- Stanley Cups: 13
- Hall of Famers: 61
- Retired Numbers: Turk Broda (1), Johnny Bower (1), Hap Day (4), Red Kelly (4), Bill Barilko (5), Ace Bailey (6), King Clancy (7), Tim Horton (7), Charlie Conacher (9), Ted Kennedy (9), Syl Apps (10), George Armstrong (10), Mats Sundin (13), Dave Keon (14), Wendel Clark (17), Borje Salming (21) Frank Mahovlich (27), Darryl Sittler (27), Doug Gilmour (93)
- NHL Playoff Appearances: 68
- Franchise Scoring Leaders: Points: Mats Sundin 987, Goals: Mats Sundin 420, Assists: Borje Salming 620
Winnipeg Jets
- Founded: 1999 (as Atlanta Thrashers) 2011 Winnipeg Jets
- Arena: Bell MTS Place, 16,345
- Stanley Cups: 0
- Hall of Famers: 0
- Retired Numbers: 0
- NHL Playoff Appearances: 4
- Franchise Scoring Leaders: Points: Ilya Kovalchuk 615, Goals: Ilya Kovalchuk 328, Assists: Blake Wheeler 390
Vancouver Canucks
- Founded: 1970
- Arena: Rogers Arena 18,910
- Stanley Cups: 0
- Hall of Famers: Igor Larionov, Mark Messier, Cam Neely, Pavel Bure, Mats Sundin
- Retired Numbers: Pavel Bure (10), Stan Smyl (12), Trevor Linden (16), Markus Naslund (19)
- NHL Playoff Appearances: 27
- Franchise Scoring Leaders: Points: Henrik Sedin 1,070 Goals: Daniel Sedin 393, Assists: Henrik Sedin 830
Defunct Canadian NHL teams
These are teams in Canada that have played in the NHL but no longer exist. Note: Yes, there is another Ottawa Senators and Winnipeg Jets.
The original Ottawa Senators were from 1917-1934. The newest version of the Ottawa Senators shares only the team name with the old version and new records or Stanley Cups is deemed by either the team or the NHL to have carried over.
The original Winnipeg Jets moved to become the Phoenix/Arizona Coyotes. Winnipeg then get an NHL franchise again when the Atlanta Thrashers relocated to Winnipeg in 2011. Winnipeg renamed them to the Jets. There is no affiliation between the two Jets teams.
The Senators, Nordiques and Jets played in subsequent leagues before they started playing in the NHL. The dates below reflect when they entered the NHL.
- Ottawa Senators (1917-1934) Relocated to become the St. Louis Eagles, which subsequently folded
- Quebec Nordiques (1979-1995) Relocated to become the Colorado Avalanche
- Hamilton Tigers (1920-25) Players contracts sold to New York Americans
- Winnipeg Jets (1979-1996) Relocated to become Phoenix/Arizona Coyotes
Text List of Canadian NHL Teams
(Just in case you need to cut and paste it for something)
Calgary Flames
Edmonton Oilers
Montreal Canadiens
Ottawa Senators
Toronto Maple Leafs
Vancouver Canucks
Winnipeg Jets