NHL Teams From Canada Trivia Quiz

Answer: Montreal

When the National Hockey League began its inaugural season in 1917-18, the Montreal Wanderers were one of the four original teams in the league. At this time, they were one of two Montreal-based teams in the league (the other being the Canadiens) and received most of their support from the English-speaking fans in the city. After just four games, however, their home arena burned down on January 2, 1918. After forfeiting their next two games, the team would fold and never play another game in the league.

During the 1924-25 season, Montreal would again see a second NHL franchise, this being the Maroons. In an attempt to have another team appeal to the English-speaking community in Montreal, it would have appeared that the Maroons would be a perfect replacement for the Wanderers, but their franchise was short-lived as well. Playing from 1924-38, the Maroons became the first team in NHL history to suspend operations and eventually fold from the league despite having won a Stanley Cup (1926, 1935). Financial difficulties due to the Great Depression and lack of fan support were the ultimate causes of their departure from the league.

Answer: Quebec City

The Quebec Bulldogs were one of the key teams in the National Hockey Association (NHA) from 1910 to 1917, having won Stanley Cups in 1912 and 1913. When the National Hockey League formed in 1917, the Bulldogs were not granted a franchise due to owner Percy Quinn's lack of commitment in the league's initial formation. When the 1919-20 NHL season began, the Bulldogs would finally become part of the plan. This would be their only season in the NHL. After finishing the season with 4 wins and 20 losses, they would be transferred to Hamilton, Ontario and become the Hamilton Tigers. Ironically, their leading scorer, Joe Malone, was the top scorer in the NHL and set a NHL record for most goals scored in one game (seven).

The Quebec Nordiques were the second franchise from Quebec City to play in the National Hockey League. Prior to their time in the NHL, however, they were one of the initial teams that joined the World Hockey Association (WHA) in 1972 (a competing league with the NHL). They were initially known as the San Francisco Sharks, but were moved to Quebec prior to the start of the season. When the WHA folded in 1979, the Nordiques were one of four teams to merge into the NHL for the 1979-80 season. Despite having a strong fan base and talented players over the years, including Michel Goulet, the Stastny brothers, Joe Sakic, Owen Nolan, Ron Hextall, and Mats Sundin, they faced financial difficulties and were relocated to Colorado in May 1995 where they became the Avalanche. They won the Stanley Cup one year after their relocation.

Answer: Hamilton

After the relocation of the Quebec Bulldogs hockey team following the 1919-20 NHL season, they became the Hamilton Tigers and played there during 1920-25. Their first four seasons in the NHL were dreadful and their best record was 9 wins and 15 losses during the 1923-24 season.

In their final season in the NHL, they vastly improved under new head coach Jimmy Gardner and had a 19-10 season record. They finished first in the NHL standings and had a chance to go on to win a Stanley Cup. The NHL season had gone from 24 regular season games to 30 games at the beginning of the season, and the Tigers players demanded that they should be paid for those extra six games.

Their organization refused to do so and the players went on strike (the first strike in NHL history). NHL president Frank Calder fined the Tigers' players $200 each and declared the Montreal Canadiens league champions.

The Tigers would become one of the first two American expansion teams to play in the NHL, the New York Americans.

Answer: Toronto

The Arenas, St. Patricks, and Maple Leafs were, through the process of transferring ownership, the same team. When the National Hockey Association was active, two other Toronto-based clubs were in existence; the Shamrocks and Blueshirts. When the NHA ceased operations, the NHL agreed to have a team based out of Toronto (this being the Arenas).

Many of the players on the Arena hockey club were those from the Toronto Blueshirts and, as a result, Blueshirts owner Eddie Livingstone threatened to sue the team. Due to legal costs, the team went into bankruptcy and were sold to new owners and became the St. Patrick's in 1919.

They would win a Stanley Cup in 1922 and remained the St. Pat's until 1927 when the team once again experienced financial difficulties.

After a proposal to relocate the team to Philadelphia, they continued to play in Toronto under a new name, the Maple Leafs. Their jerseys changed colour from green and white to blue and white. In 1931, the Maple Leafs were given a new arena when Maple Leaf Gardens was built. During their history, the Maple Leafs would go on to win 11 Stanley Cups during the 20th century, second only to the Montreal Canadiens hockey club.

Answer: Ottawa

The history of the Ottawa Senators can be broken down into two parts; the original Senators club and the modern Senators club. The original Senators team was founded in 1883 and played as both a club in the NHA and the NHL. During their time in the NHA, they would go on to win the Stanley Cup seven times (1903, 1904, 1905, 1906, 1909, 1910, and 1911). Upon entering the NHL in its inaugural season, they were generally considered to be the first "dynasty" in the history of the NHL. With Hall of Fame bound players Frank Nighbor, Cy Denneny, Clint Benedict, Harry Broadbent, Alex Connell, and Hooley Smith they went on to win four more times in the NHL (1920, 1921, 1923, and 1927). Despite their success, they were a small city and smaller market club and ran into financial difficulties during the early 1930s. The team were eventually transferred in 1934, becoming the St. Louis Eagles.

The modern Ottawa Senators were awarded an NHL hockey team for the start of the 1992-93 hockey season. During their first four seasons, the Senators fared poorly in the NHL and did not qualify for the playoffs in each of those seasons. In 1996, Jacques Martin became head coach of the team and remained in this position until 2004. The Senators made the playoffs in each of these seasons. Following the NHL lockout in 2004-05, the Senators made the playoffs three more times, even reaching the Cup finals in 2006-07 where they lost in five games to the Anaheim Ducks. The modern Senators have had a history of talented players, including Marian Hossa, Daniel Alfredsson, Jason Spezza, Dominic Hasek, and Zdeno Chara.

Answer: Winnipeg

The Winnipeg Jets have existed in two stints in the NHL. The first Winnipeg Jets hockey team, like the Quebec Nordiques, Hartford Whalers, and Edmonton Oilers were member teams of the World Hockey Association (WHA) and then merged into the league prior to the 1979-80 season. The first Winnipeg Jets team played from 1979-96 and despite dismal beginnings, managed to make the playoffs 11 times from 1982 to 1996 under the guidance of top players such as Dale Howerchuk, Thomas Steen, Randy Carlyle, and Teemu Selanne. With Winnipeg being a small market hockey team and the fact that the team could not find a local buyer, they were eventually relocated to Phoenix after the 1995-96 season.

The Atlanta Thrashers were awarded an expansion team in 1997 and began playing during the 1999-00 hockey season. From 1999-2011, they made the playoffs just one time and had limited fan support. After a strong push to bring a team back to Winnipeg, True North Sports & Entertainment purchased the Thrashers and brought the team to Winnipeg. Their return to the NHL included an emotional welcome by Winnipeg fans when Selanne played his first game since leaving the team just prior to their relocation and their first game against the Phoenix Coyotes (the city where they were relocated in 1996).

Answer: Edmonton

The Edmonton Oilers, like the Winnipeg Jets, Quebec Nordiques, and Hartford Whalers merged into the NHL at the start of the 1979-80 season after the World Hockey Association (WHA) ceased operations. During the 1980s, the Oilers were one of the most dominant teams in the league with various star players, including Wayne Gretzky, Mark Messier, Grant Fuhr, Jari Kurri, and Glenn Andersen. From 1980 to 1990 the Oilers made the playoffs every year and between 1983 and 1990, the Oilers won five Stanley Cups. Star player Wayne Gretzky had been traded to the Los Angeles Kings in 1988 and the Oilers then saw a decline in success.

While they did win a Cup without him in 1990, they lost the Conference Finals in 1991 and 1992 and ultimately failed to make the playoffs from 1993-96. From 1997-2006, they qualified for the playoffs during a rebuilding phase seven times and lost a Stanley Cup Final to the Carolina Hurricanes in 2006. For the next ten seasons, the Oilers were once again in a rebuilding phase, signing various young talented players, including Taylor Hall, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, Nail Yakupov, and Connor McDavid. From 2006-2016, the Oilers failed to make the playoffs for ten straight seasons, finally breaking this curse during the 2016-17 NHL season.

Answer: Calgary

When the Atlanta Flames became an NHL expansion team in 1972, they were successful in making the playoffs in six of their eight seasons in the league. As they only managed to win two playoff games in total, never signed a major television contract, and were in financial decline, it was decided to transfer the team to Calgary. Retaining the "Flames" name, Calgary won a Stanley Cup in 1989 under the leadership of Lanny MacDonald, Al MacInnis, Theoren Fleury, Mike Vernon and Doug Gilmour. During the 1990s, the Flames signed superstar Jarome Iginla after he was drafted and then traded by the Dallas Stars. From 1996 to 2003, the Flames didn't make the playoffs, but they reached the Stanley Cup Final in 2003-04, losing to the Tampa Bay Lightening. During the 2000s, like their "Battle of Alberta" counterparts, the Edmonton Oilers, Calgary were in various stages of rebuild that included various players such as Dion Phaneuf, Alex Tanguay, and Miikka Kiprusoff as well as famous coaches Mike Keenan and Brent Sutter.

Answer: Vancouver

The Vancouver Canucks and Buffalo Sabres entered the NHL as expansion teams in 1970. During their first four years in the league, the Canucks had limited success and failed to make the playoffs. In 1982, the Canucks saw their first playoff successes under head coach Roger Neilson, facing off against a New York Islanders dynasty team.

While they lost the final four games to none, the 1982 playoffs became famous for a tradition now known as "Towel Power". During the Conference Finals against the Chicago Blackhawks, coach Roger Neilson protested what he believed to be "poor officiating" by taking a white towel and waving it around using the end of a hockey stick.

The rest of the players on the team followed suit and when the series had shifted back to Vancouver, the fans in the stands cheered the team on by waving white towels.

The 1982 Canucks were also notable for being the first Western hockey team to reach the finals since the 1926 Victoria Cougars. In 1994, the Canucks again made the playoffs with superstars Kick McLean, Trevor Linden, Pavel Bure and Geoff Courtnall. That time they faced the New York Rangers who had not won a cup since 1940.

The series went to seven games, but the Rangers won the final game by a score of 3-2.

Answer: Montreal

Between 1917 and 1993, the Montreal Canadiens had the best record in the NHL. During this time period, they won a total of 23 cups. The Canadiens organization began operations in 1909 and, in 1916, prior to the formation of the NHL, they had previously won another cup. When the Montreal Maroons hockey club ceased operations following the 1938 NHL season, the Canadiens became the sole hockey team out of Montreal.

During these successful years, they had various superstars, including Georges Vezina, Toe Blake, Maurice "Rocket" Richard, Jean Beliveau, Guy Lafleur, and Patrick Roy. The Montreal Canadiens organization were the first club to employ a full-time goaltender that used a goalie mask, this being Jacques Plante. They were the first NHL team to win five consecutive Stanley Cups (1956-60).