Look, the term is a total lie. It’s one of the most successful marketing rebrands in the history of professional sports, yet almost every hockey fan accepts it as gospel. If you hear "Original Six," you probably think of these teams as the founding fathers who started it all back in 1917. They didn't.
Actually, they weren't even original.
By the time the original six teams of the NHL era actually solidified in 1942, the league had already been around for twenty-five years. Teams like the Montreal Wanderers, the Ottawa Senators (the old ones, not the current version), and the Quebec Bulldogs had already lived and died. Even the Pittsburgh Pirates and the New York Americans had their moments in the sun before the Great Depression and World War II strangled the league’s finances. The "Original Six" wasn't a beginning; it was a survival pod. For 25 years, from 1942 to 1967, the Montreal Canadiens, Toronto Maple Leafs, Boston Bruins, Chicago Black Hawks, Detroit Red Wings, and New York Rangers were the only ones left standing.
It was a closed shop. A monopoly. And honestly, it was kind of a mess.
The James Norris Monopoly and the Myth of Parity
People get misty-eyed about this era, thinking it was some golden age of equal competition. It really wasn't. For a long time, the league was basically a family business run by James Norris. He owned the Detroit Red Wings. He also owned the stadiums for the Chicago Black Hawks and the New York Rangers. He was also the largest stockholder for the Rangers.
Basically, if you were a player in Chicago or New York, you were often treated like a farm system for Detroit.
This is why the Red Wings and the Montreal Canadiens dominated so heavily. Between 1943 and 1967, the Rangers won zero Cups. The Bruins went on a massive drought. The "Original Six" era was a tale of the haves and the have-nots. You had the Canadiens, who had first rights to players in Quebec, and everyone else trying to catch up to their depth. If you weren't Montreal or Detroit, you were usually just filling out the schedule.
The Montreal Canadiens: A Cultural Juggernaut
You can't talk about the original six teams of the NHL without acknowledging that the Habs were basically a national team. Maurice "Rocket" Richard wasn't just a goal scorer; he was a political icon for French Canada. When he was suspended in 1955, Montreal literally rioted. Think about that. People trashed Ste. Catherine Street because their star player got benched.
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They won five straight Stanley Cups from 1956 to 1960. That will never happen again. The talent pool was so concentrated that Montreal could stash Hall of Fame talent on their bench just so other teams couldn't have them.
The Toronto Maple Leafs and the Punch Imlach Era
Toronto was the other titan. While Montreal had flair, Toronto had grit. Punch Imlach, their legendary coach and GM, loved older players. He built a roster of "old men" who knew how to win. They dominated the early 60s, winning three straight Cups from '62 to '64 and then a final "Original Six" era Cup in 1967. That '67 win is bittersweet for Leafs fans because, well, it was the last time they saw a parade.
It was also the last year before the league doubled in size to twelve teams.
Why the Rangers and Bruins Struggled So Hard
It’s easy to forget that the New York Rangers were the league's punching bag for decades. Between 1940 and 1994, they won nothing. Part of the problem was their home ice. During the spring, the circus came to Madison Square Garden. The Rangers literally had to play their "home" playoff games on the road because Barnum & Bailey took priority. You can't build a dynasty when you're evicted by elephants every April.
Boston wasn't much better. After their 1941 Cup, they fell into a deep hole. It wasn't until the late 60s, right as the era was ending, that they found a kid named Bobby Orr in Parry Sound. Orr changed everything, but for most of the Original Six era, the Bruins were just... there.
The Detroit Red Wings: Gordie Howe’s House
Detroit was the gold standard for American teams. They had the "Production Line." They had Gordie Howe, who was basically a modern-day cyborg. He played at an elite level for decades. Detroit’s success was built on a scouting system that was light-years ahead of Chicago or New York. They found talent in the prairies of Western Canada and brought them to Michigan.
The Brutality of the 21-Man Roster
The game was different. Brutal.
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Since there were only six teams, there were only about 120 jobs in the entire world for professional hockey players. If you lost your spot, you were done. There was no "call-up" from the minors in the way we think of it now; if you were in the AHL, you were basically in exile. This created a level of desperation on the ice that we don't see today. Players played through broken bones, horrific facial lacerations, and concussions because they knew ten guys in the minors were waiting for them to trip up.
The goalies had it the worst. Terry Sawchuk, Jacques Plante, Glenn Hall. These guys played without masks for the majority of the era.
Glenn Hall used to vomit before every single game because of the nerves. He played 502 consecutive games without a mask. That’s not a typo. Five hundred and two games of taking frozen rubber to the face at 90 miles per hour. That’s the kind of insanity that defined the original six teams of the NHL.
The Expansion of 1967: The End of an Elite Club
By the mid-60s, the "closed shop" couldn't hold. Television was becoming a thing. The league needed more markets. In 1967, the NHL added six new teams: the Kings, Stars (then North Stars), Flyers, Penguins, Blues, and Seals.
Purists hated it. They thought the talent would be diluted. And honestly, it was, at least for a while. But it also broke the stranglehold the "Original Six" owners had on the players. This was the era where the Players’ Association (NHLPA) finally started to gain some real traction. Ted Lindsay had tried to start a union in the 50s and got traded to Chicago (the worst team at the time) as punishment.
The expansion meant players finally had some leverage.
The Legacy That Refuses to Die
Why do we still care? Why is a Rangers vs. Canadiens game on a Tuesday night in November still treated like a massive event?
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It's the sweaters. The logos. The history. These teams have an aesthetic gravity that the "Newer" teams (even those from the 70s) can't match. When you see the "C" with the "H" inside it, or the Spoked B, you aren't just looking at a sports team. You're looking at a century of cultural weight.
These teams also benefit from "territorial" nostalgia. Most hockey fans in the US and Canada have a grandfather who rooted for one of these six, regardless of where they lived. If you were in Newfoundland, you were a Leafs or Habs fan. If you were in Michigan or Ohio, you were a Wings fan.
Summary of Actionable Insights for Fans and Collectors
If you’re looking to dive deeper into this era or even start collecting memorabilia, here is how you should approach it.
Focus on the 1950s for the "True" Experience
The 1950s represented the peak of the Original Six era's talent concentration. If you want to understand why these teams are legendary, watch archival footage of the 1950s Detroit Red Wings or the late-50s Montreal Canadiens. This is where the modern game was actually born.
Understand the "Territorial Rights" Rule
One of the biggest misconceptions is that these teams just "drafted" well. They didn't. Until the late 60s, teams had territorial rights. Montreal had access to any player within a certain radius in Quebec. This is why they were so dominant. When you research team histories, look at how the lack of a universal draft created the "dynasties" of the time.
Vintage Memorabilia Strategy
If you’re collecting, the "Original Six" era is the most expensive but also the most stable in value.
- The "Holy Grail": Anything related to Maurice Richard or Gordie Howe from the 1950s.
- The Sleeper: Items from the New York Americans or the Brooklyn Americans. These aren't Original Six teams, but they existed just before the era solidified and are incredibly rare.
- Goalie Gear: Because masks were introduced mid-era (by Jacques Plante in 1959), pre-mask goalie items are some of the most sought-after pieces of sports history.
Visit the Venues (The Ones That Are Left)
Sadly, most of the iconic rinks are gone. The Chicago Stadium, the Detroit Olympia, and the Montreal Forum are ghosts. However, you can still visit the sites.
- Montreal: The Forum is now a cinema and shopping complex, but they kept the center ice circle and some original seats.
- Toronto: Maple Leaf Gardens still stands. It’s a Loblaws grocery store now, but you can see where the ice used to be while you’re buying milk. It sounds weird, but the architecture is still there.
- Boston & New York: Both have moved into new versions of the Garden, but their team museums are the best places to see the actual contracts and jerseys from the 1940s.
The original six teams of the NHL aren't just a list of names. They are the survivors of a time when professional hockey almost went extinct. They aren't the "first" teams, but they are the ones that endured long enough to make the NHL a global powerhouse. Understand the monopoly, respect the brutality of the maskless era, and realize that the "Original Six" label is as much about marketing as it is about history.