NHL turns 100: 21 of biggest changes from then to now

The NHL is 100 years old this season. Today, the league is celebrating its first game, which was played Dec. 19, 1917, with an outdoor game between the Montreal Canadiens and Senators (7 p.m. ET, NBCSN) at Ottawa's Lansdowne Park.

Here are some notable changes from then to now:

1. The average NHL player was under 180 pounds in 1917. Today, Winnipeg’s Dustin Byfuglien is 260 on a light day. An average NHLer is about 205.

2. In 1917, the NHL started with four teams and ended up with three teams. Today, the NHL is seriously considering Seattle for the 32nd team. There’s a line forming to gain franchises.

3. The NHL started with every team in Canada. Today, the team lineup includes three teams in the New York metropolitan area, plus three teams in California, two in Florida and two in the desert (Las Vegas and Arizona).

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4. Toronto's Harry Cameron was rumored to be the NHL's highest-paid player at $900 per season in 1917-18. This season, Chicago’s Jonathan Toews and Patrick Kane will receive $13.8 million U.S. 

5. Joe Malone was the NHL’s top goal scorer with 44 goals in 20 games in 1917-18. Last season, Sidney Crosby led the NHL with 44 goals in an 82-game schedule.

6. In 1917, NHL teams were asked to pay $200 Canadian for players taken in a dispersal draft. Recently, potential owners of a Seattle franchise were told that they will have to pay $650 million for an expansion franchise.

7. Offense was all the rage in the inaugural season as teams averaged 4.75 goals per game. Today, each team is averaging 2.98 goals, a mark that would be the highest since 2005-06.

8. In 1917, the NHL changed the rules to permit goalies to drop to the ice to make a save. Previously, it was a penalty for a goalie to drop. Today, NHL scorers would love it if goalies couldn’t play on their knees.

9. About 700 fans showed up for the NHL’s first game between the Montreal Wanderers and Toronto.  This season, the Montreal Canadiens and Chicago Blackhawks average more than 21,000 fans per game. The Detroit Red Wings, Tampa Bay Lightning, Philadelphia Flyers and Toronto Maples are averaging more than 19,000.

10. The top four point producers -- Joe Malone, Cy Denneny, Reg Noble, Newsy Lalonde -- combined for 164 points and 196 penalty minutes. Today, everything from faceoffs to puck possession to zone entries/exits are tracked. 

11. In the NHL’s first season, players Alf Skinner and Joe Hall were involved in a stick-swinging duel in Toronto. Both players were arrested, but they received suspended sentences. The league fined them $15. This season, Philadelphia defenseman Radko Gudas was suspended 10 games for slashing Mathieu Perreault. His fine was more than $400,000 of lost wages.

12. The team from Toronto won the Stanley Cup that season. Today, the team from Toronto is in the midst of a 50-year Cup drought.

13. In 1917, the maximum driving speed in most American cities was 10 mph. Today, some NHL players have been clocked skating more than 30 mph.

14. During the NHL’s first NHL season, Malone decided he wasn’t making enough money. A bank offered him a higher salary than the NHL. The following season he accepted a job at the bank and only played home games in the NHL. In today’s NHL, the average salary is more than $3 million per player. No one is giving that up to work at a bank.

15. In 1917, only 8% of people had telephones. Today, Alex Ovechkin boasts 2.7 million Twitter followers.

16. Art Ross registered one point in 1917-18. Connor McDavid won the Art Ross Trophy a few months ago with 100 points.

17. Jack Adams played for Toronto in the first NHL season, and now the league’s coach of the year trophy bears his name. Today, Adams winners would have wanted more production out of Adams had he played for them. The feisty center didn’t have a single point in his rookie campaign.

18. The NHL was a train league in 1917. In November, the Calgary Flames took the train from Philadelphia to Washington to commemorate that era. The cigars, wide-brimmed hats, two-toned shoes and card-playing were a nice touch.

19. Tickets for the Stanley Cup championship after the NHL’s first season ranged from 50 cents to $2. Last June, Game 6 of the Stanley Cup Final in Nashville set a secondary market record on SeatGeek with an average price of $2,116. That was the highest price the SeatGeek had ever tracked for an NHL game.

20. In 1917-18, NHL players were exclusively Canadian. This season, 46.1% of NHL players are Canadian. Americans hold 26.8% of NHL playing jobs. The remaining players primarily come from Sweden, Finland, Russia, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Germany, Switzerland and Austria.

21. Noble played in the NHL’s inaugural season, and lasted longer than any other founding player. He was 37 when he played his final NHL season in 1932-33. Today, Jaromir Jagr is the NHL’s oldest player. He turns 46 in February and wants to play beyond age 50.