The merger of the NHL and the WHA into a single league in June 1979 completed the seven-year existence of the World Hockey Association and made the National Hockey League uniquely the main professional hockey league in North America .
As a result of the merger, four clubs from the association ( Edmonton Oilers , Winnipeg Jets , Quebec Nordics and Hartford Whalers ) were included in the NHL, increasing its composition from seventeen to twenty-one teams.
Content
Background
The existence of two competing hockey leagues in the same geographical space sooner or later should have ended either in their merger or in the dissolution of one of them. The confrontation between the BHA, founded in September 1971 and having a rich history of the NHL, caused losses to both organizations: clubs regularly moved to the association in search of better financial conditions, while the league had to reduce its membership in 1978 by combining Minnesota North Stars and Cleveland Barons ”(this is the only case since the liquidation of a team in the NHL since 1943). These circumstances forced the parties to begin merger negotiations.
Agreement
Of the six participants in the most recent WHA championships, Edmonton, Winnipeg, Quebec, and Hartford, formerly called New England, were accepted into the league [1] . It is noteworthy that these four clubs have been in association with her starting season and, unlike many rivals, have never changed their registration.
Consequences
Of the teams included in the NHL as a result of the merger, only “Oilmen”, who became five- time Stanley Cup holders (more than members of the Original Six ), still play in their hometown. The Nordics, Jets, and Whalers moved to Denver , Phoenix, and Raleigh , respectively, in the mid-1990s.
Notes
- ↑ From the WHA to the NHL . NHL. Date of treatment November 28, 2013. Archived May 21, 2011.