The Hockey Blog

History Apr 26, 2023

A Short History of the Stanley Cup

The Stanley Cup trophy is one of the most recognizable symbols in all of sports. But where did this iconic trophy come from?

Read Full Post →

History Jul 15, 2023

The Birth of a Legacy: The NHL's Original Six Era

From 1942 to 1967, six teams formed the foundation of the NHL, shaping the sport and captivating fans across North America.

Read Full Post →

History Jul 15, 2023

The Summit Series — Canada vs The Soviet Union

An eight-game ice hockey series held in September 1972 between the national teams of Canada and the Soviet Union.

Read Full Post →

Equipment Jun 16, 2023

Origin Of The Curved Hockey Stick

Where did this iconic piece of hockey gear come from, and how did it become such an important part of the sport?

Read Full Post →

Equipment

Stan Mikita and the Curved Stick

Stan Mikita did not invent the curved hockey stick, but he played an important role in its evolution and popularization.

Read Full Post →

Entertainment Jul 15, 2023

Why Hockey is the Greatest Sport to Watch and Play

When it comes to sports, few can match the adrenaline-pumping excitement and sheer intensity of hockey.

Read Full Post →

Culture Jun 12, 2023

The Curse of the Presidents' Cup: A Haunting in Hockey

While one would expect the Presidents' Trophy to bring luck, history has shown that it often becomes a dreaded omen.

Read Full Post →

Culture Jun 12, 2023

Why Do Hockey Players Fight

Fighting is not technically allowed in hockey, yet it is still a common occurrence. So why do players do it?

Read Full Post →

Culture Jun 12, 2023

What Are The Hockey Gods All About

In the world of hockey, there is a widespread belief in the power of "The Hockey Gods."

Read Full Post →

Culture Aug 28, 2026

The Unwritten Rules of Hockey: Inside "The Code"

Long before rulebooks tried to cover every scenario, players policed the game themselves through an informal code of conduct — here's what it actually covers.

Read Full Post →

History Aug 29, 2026

1875: The Night Hockey Moved Indoors

Long before the NHL, before the Stanley Cup, before any organized league existed, hockey took its first real step toward becoming a sport with rules — by moving indoors.

Read Full Post →

History Aug 30, 2026

1917: The Night the NHL Was Born

The National Hockey League wasn't founded with fanfare or a grand plan — it was founded as a way for a group of team owners to get rid of one person they didn't want to deal with anymore.

Read Full Post →

History Aug 31, 2026

1967: The Year the NHL Doubled Overnight

For 25 years, the NHL was six teams and nothing more. Then, in a single summer, the league doubled in size — and changed what "the NHL" meant for good.

Read Full Post →

History Sep 1, 2026

1980: The Miracle on Ice

A team of college kids and amateurs wasn't supposed to beat the greatest hockey team on the planet. Then, for one night in Lake Placid, they did.

Read Full Post →

History Sep 2, 2026

2004-05: The Season the NHL Lost

For the first time in major North American pro sports history, an entire season was wiped out by a labor dispute. Here's what the lockout was actually about — and how it reshaped the game that came back.

Read Full Post →

History Sep 3, 2026

Hockey Today: A Truly Global Game

From a single indoor game in 1875 Montreal to a sport played and watched on every continent — hockey's growth over the last 150 years has been remarkable.

Read Full Post →

Business Sep 4, 2026

The Cale Makar Contract and Where NHL Salaries Are Headed

Cale Makar just became the first $20 million player in NHL history. Here's what his record deal actually means — and why it's unlikely to be the last one this big.

Read Full Post →

Strategy Sep 5, 2026

The Neutral Zone Trap: Hockey's Most Hated Strategy

No defensive system has been booed by more fans than the neutral zone trap — a strategy so effective at killing offense that it helped force the NHL to rewrite its own rulebook.

Read Full Post →

Strategy Sep 6, 2026

The Butterfly Style: How Goaltending Was Reinvented

For decades, goalies stood up and used their skates to stop shots low. Then a generation of netminders started dropping to their knees — and permanently changed the position.

Read Full Post →

Culture Sep 7, 2026

Why It's Called a Hat Trick

Score three goals in a game and fans throw their hats onto the ice. The tradition's actual origin has nothing to do with hockey at all.

Read Full Post →

Rules Sep 8, 2026

How the Icing Rule Actually Changed

Icing looks like a simple rule on paper. In practice, it's been rewritten specifically to stop players from getting hurt.

Read Full Post →

Culture Sep 9, 2026

Where Hockey's Weirdest Slang Actually Comes From

Biscuit. Dangle. Sin bin. Hockey has its own entire vocabulary — and some of it has surprisingly specific origins.

Read Full Post →

Equipment Sep 10, 2026

The Zamboni: How One Man's Machine Became a Hockey Icon

Resurfacing a hockey rink used to take a crew of workers well over an hour. Then one Californian solved the problem — and put his own name on it for good.

Read Full Post →

Strategy Sep 11, 2026

The Slap Shot: Hockey's Most Feared Weapon

Before the slap shot, goalies didn't have much to fear from distance. Then players started winding up — and shots started arriving fast enough to genuinely hurt.

Read Full Post →

Culture Sep 12, 2026

The Rise and Fall of the NHL Enforcer

There used to be a job on an NHL roster that had almost nothing to do with scoring goals. That job barely exists anymore.

Read Full Post →

Rules Sep 13, 2026

Penalty Shot vs. Shootout: What's Actually the Difference

They look almost identical on TV — one player, one goalie, nobody else on the ice. But a penalty shot and a shootout attempt are completely different rules, called for completely different reasons.

Read Full Post →

Rules Sep 14, 2026

The Crease: Hockey's Most Fought-Over Piece of Ice

It's a small, blue-painted half-circle in front of the net — and for decades, it's been the site of some of hockey's fiercest rules debates.

Read Full Post →

Humor Sep 15, 2026

The Zamboni Driver Who Won an NHL Game

He was in the stands with a bag of snacks. Twenty minutes later, he was in net for an NHL team, and he ended the night as the game's first star.

Read Full Post →

Humor Sep 16, 2026

The Rat Trick: How a Dead Rodent Became a Playoff Tradition

One rat, one hockey stick, and one very good night for Scott Mellanby turned into one of the strangest fan traditions in professional sports.

Read Full Post →

Humor Sep 17, 2026

The Night a Bat Interrupted the Stanley Cup Final

Thick fog rolling off the ice was strange enough. Then a bat started circling the rink, and one player ended the night with a new nickname.

Read Full Post →

Humor Sep 18, 2026

The Night Wayne Gretzky Stole John Garrett's Car

He was a last-minute injury fill-in, playing well enough to win a brand new car as the game's MVP. Then Wayne Gretzky decided to have one of the greatest periods of his career.

Read Full Post →

Humor Sep 19, 2026

The Comment That Got Sean Avery Banned From the NHL

Hockey has no shortage of trash talk. This is the one remark that actually got a player suspended the same day he said it — for something that happened nowhere near the ice.

Read Full Post →

Humor Sep 20, 2026

Hockey's Greatest Insults

Hockey players talk plenty of trash, but every so often someone delivers a line so sharp it outlives the game it was said in. Here are a few of the best.

Read Full Post →

Humor Sep 21, 2026

The Greatest Chirps in Hockey History

Chirping — hockey's own brand of trash talk, on the ice or off it — has produced plenty of memorable lines. None of them come close to what Patrick Roy said about his Stanley Cup rings.

Read Full Post →

Humor Sep 22, 2026

The Girl Who Played an Entire Season of Boys' Hockey Without Anyone Knowing

She wandered into the wrong registration line at age nine, got signed up by accident, and played a full season as a star defenseman before anyone realized "Ab Hoffman" wasn't a boy at all.

Read Full Post →

Strategy Sep 23, 2026

The Left Wing Lock: How Detroit Shut Down the League, and How Teams Fought Back

In the mid-1990s, the Detroit Red Wings turned a Czechoslovakian defensive system into a Presidents' Trophy machine. Then their own coach's old trick beat them in the Final. Here's the system, and how to crack it.

Read Full Post →

Culture Sep 24, 2026

Slap Shot: The Hockey Comedy That Was More Real Than Anyone Realized

The Charlestown Chiefs and the Hanson Brothers look like pure over-the-top comedy. Almost none of it was made up — it was practically a documentary about minor-league hockey in the 1970s.

Read Full Post →

Strategy Sep 25, 2026

The Analytics Revolution That Killed Dump-and-Chase Hockey

For decades, dumping the puck in and chasing it down was just how hockey was played. Then a blogger with a day job in nanotechnology proved, with a spreadsheet, that it was quietly costing teams goals.

Read Full Post →

Strategy Sep 26, 2026

Inside the Playbook: The Named Plays Teams Use to Beat the Blue Line

Once analytics proved that carrying the puck in beats dumping it in, coaches needed real, repeatable plays to actually pull it off. Here are the ones with names, still run in NHL games every night.

Read Full Post →

Strategy Sep 27, 2026

The Power Play Everyone Knows Is Coming, and Still Can't Stop

Alex Ovechkin has scored his signature power-play goal from the exact same spot for over a decade, against defenses built specifically to stop it. Here's why the play still works, and what actually slows it down.

Read Full Post →

Strategy Sep 28, 2026

The Forecheck: How Teams Hunt for the Puck They Just Gave Away

Dumping the puck in is only half the play. What a team does the moment after — how many forwards chase it, and how aggressively — is its own entire system, with its own real risk-reward tradeoffs.

Read Full Post →

History Sep 29, 2026

The Hockey Gods Olympic Experience

Long before this site had an AI-powered Oracle, it had a database of regular expressions and a media badge that never should have been approved. A personal story from the site's founder.

Read Full Post →

Equipment Sep 29, 2026

The Hockey Gods Holiday Gift Guide: Christmas Gifts for Hockey Players, Kids, and Fans

Stocking stuffers every player actually uses, off-ice training gear, gifts for kids just getting into the game, and a few picks for the hockey fan who already has everything.

Read Full Post →

Equipment Sep 29, 2026

What Gear Do NHL Stars Use? McDavid, Crosby, Makar, and More (2026-27)

The sticks, skates, and brand deals behind seven of the NHL's biggest names as the 2026-27 season opens, plus what that gear actually means for your own game.

Read Full Post →

Equipment Sep 30, 2026

Why Does the NHL Puck Blink? Inside Hockey's Smart Puck

Spotted tiny blinking lights on a puck sitting in the net? That's the NHL's smart puck. Here's what's inside it, how the tracking works, and the infamous glowing puck that came first.

Read Full Post →

History Oct 1, 2026

I Was There: The Night Joe Sakic Handed the Cup to Ray Bourque

Section 380, Row 9, Game 7 of the 2001 Stanley Cup Final, with our six-month-old daughter in a chest carrier. The night Joe Sakic gave the Cup away, and the proof, four months later, that our daughter remembered.

Read Full Post →

Culture Oct 2, 2026

The Greatest Mustache in Hockey History: A Tribute to Lanny McDonald

Movember is almost here, so we're saluting the patron saint of hockey mustaches, and announcing our first-ever photo contest: The Best Of: Best Lip Lettuce.

Read Full Post →