Timeline of Defunct Hockey Leagues
F i l t e r   &   S o r t 
PHL: 1927-1928 (2 seasons)
Created from the five remaining teams of the WCHL following its demise in 1926.
WCHL: 1922-1926 (5 seasons)
Centered in smaller cities, WCHL teams eventually resorted to selling players to their richer NHL rivals to stay afloat.
PCHA: 1912-1924 (13 seasons)
Oriented in western Canada and the western U.S., eventually merged with the Western Canada Hockey League (WHL)
NHL: 1918-2021 (104 seasons)
Founded to replace the NHA. Expanded into the U.S. in 1924 to emerge as the sole North American hockey league.
NHA: 1910-1917 (8 seasons)
NHA suspended operations in order to oust unwanted owner . Remaining league owners then started today's NHL.
MaPHL: 1911-1915 (5 seasons)
Operating in New Brunswick and Nova Scotia, also known as Interprovincial Hockey League and Eastern Professional Hockey League
CHA: 1910-1910 (1 season)
Three teams from ECHA formed the new CHA, which only lasted a few weeks, as two of the teams quickly moved to NHA.
OPHL: 1908-1911 (4 seasons)
Sometimes referred to as the Trolley League, rose in popularity followning collapse of the IHL.
ECHA: 1906-1909 (4 seasons)
Formed after when the Montreal Wanderers of the FHL and Ottawa of the CAHL joined together and then absorbed the defunct leagues.
MPHL: 1892-1909 (18 seasons)
Started as Mabitoba Hockey Association (MHA), an elite amateur league in 1892, turning professional as the WPHL in 1905.
FHL: 1904-1909 (6 seasons)
Formed to provide a league for teams not accepted by the rival CAHL, but dissolved with the formation of the NHA.
IHL: 1905-1907 (3 seasons)
The first fully professional league, instrumental in changing the nature of ice hockey from amateur to professional.
CAHL: 1899-1905 (7 seasons)
Early men's amateur hockey league, with a growing focus on revenues. Replaced the organization that was AHAC.
WPHL: 1897-1909 (13 seasons)
The pre-eminent ice hockey league in the U.S., it was the first organization to openly hire and trade players.
AHAC: 1887-1898 (12 seasons)
Organized to provide a longer season to determine the Canadian champion, the first winner of the newly introduced Stanley Cup.
Considered to be the first ice hockey tournaments and the predecessor to the first championship ice hockey league.

1 Comment

  1. I sincerely appreciate the research work, and the information being shared. It is important and interesting history.

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