This map traces every city that has hosted an NHL franchise since the league's founding on November 26, 1917, in Montreal. Drag the season slider to see the league's footprint expand, contract, and shift decade by decade — from the four-team Original NHL through the WHA merger, Sun Belt expansion, and the newest club in Salt Lake City.
Click any marker or franchise name to open its full genealogy: every relocation, rename, and the historical reason behind each move, sourced primarily from Wikipedia and contemporary reporting.
Franchise continuity follows the NHL's official definition — a relocated or renamed team keeps its historical records, while a team that folded and was later replaced by an expansion club (e.g. the original Ottawa Senators vs. the 1992 Ottawa Senators) is treated as a new, unrelated franchise.