The Original Six: A 2026 Guide to the NHL's Founding Era (1942-1967)

From 1942 to 1967, the NHL had exactly six teams. Boston, Chicago, Detroit, Montreal, New York Rangers, and Toronto played a 70-game season against each other twelve to fourteen times per year. The era produced most of hockey's rivalry traditions, dynasty mythology, and franchise records — and most modern team aesthetics, sweater designs, and arena cultures trace back to it. Here's the history.

How the NHL got to six teams

The NHL was founded in 1917 with four teams. By the 1920s + 1930s, the league fluctuated between 6 and 10 teams as American franchises came and went (the Pittsburgh Pirates, Philadelphia Quakers, St. Louis Eagles, Montreal Maroons, Brooklyn Americans). The Great Depression and World War II accelerated franchise failures — by the 1942-43 season, only six teams remained.

The six teams were the Boston Bruins (founded 1924), Chicago Black Hawks (1926, later renamed Blackhawks), Detroit Red Wings (1926, originally the Cougars/Falcons), Montreal Canadiens (1909, the league's oldest franchise, joined NHL at founding 1917), New York Rangers (1926), and Toronto Maple Leafs (1917, the other founding franchise still extant).

The league would stay at six teams for 25 years, until the 1967 expansion doubled the league to twelve.

Why the era matters culturally

Three reasons the Original Six era is hockey's mythological foundation:

• Rivalry density: Six teams playing each other 12-14 times per season produces concentrated rivalry compared to the modern 32-team league where teams meet twice a year. The Bruins-Canadiens, Red Wings-Maple Leafs, Rangers-Bruins rivalries cemented in this era continue today.
• Star concentration: With six teams, every legendary player is on a team your team plays repeatedly each season. Maurice Richard, Gordie Howe, Bobby Hull, Jean Béliveau, Doug Harvey, Jacques Plante — all played most of their careers in the Original Six era and became cultural figures because every fan in the league saw them play multiple times each year.
• Aesthetic foundation: The team sweater designs, arena traditions (organ music, anthem singers, arena chants), and broadcast traditions (Hockey Night in Canada) that define modern hockey culture were established in the Original Six era + remain remarkably unchanged today.

Each team's Original Six identity

Boston Bruins: 4 Stanley Cups in the era (1939, 1941, 1970, 1972 — the latter two outside but include era because dynasty crossover). Eddie Shore + Bobby Orr eras. Boston Garden + the parquet floor.

Chicago Black Hawks: 1 Stanley Cup (1961, ended 23-year drought). Bobby Hull + Stan Mikita eras. Chicago Stadium + the world's largest indoor pipe organ.

Detroit Red Wings: 4 Stanley Cups (1943, 1950, 1952, 1954, 1955). The Production Line of Gordie Howe, Sid Abel, Ted Lindsay. Olympia Stadium + the octopus tradition.

Montreal Canadiens: 10 Stanley Cups (1944, 1946, 1953, 1956-60 dynasty, 1965, 1966). The dominant franchise of the era. Maurice Richard, Jean Béliveau, Doug Harvey, Jacques Plante. The Forum + the Habs mystique.

New York Rangers: Zero Stanley Cups in the era (drought ran 1940 to 1994 — 54 years). The cursed franchise. Madison Square Garden III + IV.

Toronto Maple Leafs: 4 Stanley Cups (1942, 1945, 1947-49 three-peat, 1951, 1962-64 three-peat, 1967 — the team's last Cup). Maple Leaf Gardens + the Conn Smythe-Punch Imlach front office.

The 1967 expansion + the end of the era

The NHL doubled from 6 to 12 teams in the 1967-68 season, adding the California Seals, Los Angeles Kings, Minnesota North Stars, Philadelphia Flyers, Pittsburgh Penguins, and St. Louis Blues. The expansion was driven by U.S. television revenue + the desire to compete with the rival Western Hockey League.

The expansion teams were grouped in their own division for several years (the West Division), with playoff structure ensuring an Original Six team played an expansion team in the Stanley Cup Final — protecting the Cup's prestige during the transition. The first expansion-era Cup Final (1968) was Montreal vs St. Louis; Montreal won.

Toronto's 1967 Stanley Cup is the last won by a Canadian franchise other than Montreal — a fact that has become culturally significant in Toronto hockey culture as the team's decades-long Cup drought continued post-expansion.

Six teams. 25 years. Most of what hockey culture is today started here.

Why a hockey-lifestyle brand names a piece Original Six

Cloche's Original Six Jogger references the era as the cultural foundation of modern hockey identity. The wearer who recognizes the name is signaling affinity with hockey heritage — the multi-generational fan base, the rivalry traditions, the broadcast culture, the team aesthetics that survive 50+ years past the era's end.

The reference also positions the brand as heritage-aware rather than chasing modern team-merch trends. The Original Six Jogger is a lifestyle piece named for the era, not a licensed-team-merch jogger. The cultural framing differs.

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