The National Hockey League (NHL) 's a professional ice hockey league composed of 30 teams in North America. It's the premier professional ice hockey league in the world, and one of the North American major professional sports leagues. The Stanley Cup, the oldest professional sports trophy in North America,'s awarded annually to the league champion at the end of each season. The league was formed in 1917 in Montreal, Quebec, Canada from a predecessor organization, the National Hockey Association… (More on Nhl)