ABSTRACT
The National Hockey League (NHL) was formed in Montreal, Canada and initiated its first season in 1917. Besides the NHL, which is the focus of this chapter, there has been four other independent ice hockey associations organized as leagues in North America. Between 1942 and 1966, the NHL had consisted of Canadian teams in Montreal and Toronto and American teams in Boston, Chicago, Detroit and New York. Since the early 1990s, the NHL's enormous growth in revenue amounts has been exceeded by even larger increases in total player compensation, that is, in salaries and such fringe benefits as liability insurance and pension coverage. The NHL Enterprises is the division that manages and controls the NHL's worldwide marketing and licensing commitments. During 2003, EA Sports and the NHL combined their resources and offered ice hockey fans an opportunity to win a free trip to the league's All-Star Weekend in South Florida.
