High Quality Content by WIKIPEDIA articles! The Original Six era of the National Hockey League (NHL) began in 1942 with the demise of the Brooklyn Americans, reducing the NHL to six teams. The NHL, comprising the Boston Bruins, Chicago Black Hawks, Detroit Red Wings, Montreal Canadiens, New York Rangers and Toronto Maple Leafs, remained stable for a quarter century. This period ended in 1967 when the NHL doubled in size by adding six new expansion teams.