Hockey trivia time: Who are the ‘Original 6?’

Can you name the National Hockey League’s “Original 6?” 

The term refers to the six teams that arrived during the formative years of the NHL…and have survived for about 100 years, give or take.

Alphabetically, the Original 6 are the Boston Bruins, Chicago Blackhawks, Detroit Red Wings, Montreal Canadiens, New York Rangers and Toronto Maple Leafs. 

The Canadiens and Maple Leafs are the elders and the only charter members of the NHL, which was formed in 1917. The other four came on board in the early 1920s. 

Montreal, Quebec, Canada is where the league started, essentially to find opponents to play against the French-speaking “le Club de Hockey Canadien.”

 

The Montreal franchise has won 23 NHL titles, thereby hoisting the prized Stanley Cup championship trophy more than any other team. Montreal’s logo accents the “CH” – Canadien Hockey. 

Contemporary fans enjoy the antics of Youppi!, the Canadiens’ mascot. It’s French (more or less) for “yippee.” Youppi! actually started out as a baseball guy. 

He was designed by Bonnie Erickson, who formerly worked with Jim Henson and created legendary Muppet characters such as the dynamic Miss Piggy and the hilarious senior citizen duo of Statler & Waldorf. 

Youppi! worked for the Montreal Expos Major League Baseball team from 1979 until 2004. When the franchise moved south of the border and became the Washington Nationals, Youppi! was homeless.

 

The Canadiens, bless their hearts, adopted Youppi! in 2005, making him the first mascot to make the switch between two major sports leagues. 

Toronto, Ontario, was extended an NHL invitation in 1917. The Toronto hockey club was known first as the Arenas and later as the St. Patricks. In 1927, the franchise took on the name Toronto Maple Leafs. Good choice…and very patriotic.

 

But would “Maple Leaves” be better grammar? Mike Kovacs of LastWordOnSports.com in Beamsville, Ontario, said the team was named after a World War I Canadian fighting unit, the “Maple Leaf Regiment.”

Kovacs said: “Most nouns that end in ‘f’ are pluralized by dropping the ‘f’ and adding ‘ves.’” Proper nouns, however, don’t have to play by the same rules. They may be pluralized by simply adding ‘s.’ “So, Leaf (from the regiment) becomes Leafs,” he said. 

Toronto hockey players have always had a large maple leaf displayed on the front of their jerseys. Carlton, an anthropomorphic and adorable polar bear, has been the Maple Leafs’ mascot since 1995.

 

In 1924, Boston was the first city in the United States to be awarded a spot in the NHL. The Boston Bruins hockey club filled the bill. “Bruins” is an Old English word used for brown bears in classic folk tales. Blades the Bruin has served as the team mascot since 1999.

 

Three more American teams came into the league in 1926. One was the Chicago Blackhawks,

 

Its original owner named the club “Blackhawks,” after his World War I U.S. Army division. Today, the Blackhawks’ mascot is Tommy Hawk, an impish creature who has a reputation for creating “mascot mayhem.”

 

The New York Rangers and the Detroit Red Wings also entered the NHL in 1926. The Rangers team is the most anemic of the Original 6, having won just four Stanley Cups.

 

All these years, the Rangers have been mired in mediocrity. The team’s logo is drab and dated. Worst of all, there is no Rangers mascot. 

Detroit, on the other hand, has won 11 Stanley Cups…and the Red Wings club is represented by an octopus as its mascot. We’ll visit “Hockeytown” next.