The NHL Belt · era belt
The belt since the 1967 expansion
The league doubled from six teams to twelve for 1967–68; this belt starts with that season's first game. Montréal Canadiens won that game against Pittsburgh Penguins, 2–1 on October 11, 1967.
2,296Reigns since 1967–68
2,296Title changes
34Franchises that held it
Golden KnightsHolder today
Start the NHL belt with Montréal Canadiens’ win on October 11, 1967 and it takes a different path for 2 reigns: on October 19, 1967 the new line and the original line land in the same hands, and from that day on they never differ again. Every reign since is the same reign on both belts, so this page is the era's record book rather than a second history.
Where the two lines differed
| # | Holder | From | To | Def. | How |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Montréal Canadiens | Oct 11, 1967 | Oct 15, 1967 | 1 | first game |
| 2 | Boston Bruins | Oct 15, 1967 | Oct 21, 1967 | 2 | beat Canadiens 6–2 |
The era's record book
Most days held since 1967–68
| 1 | Montréal Canadiens | 1,823 |
| 2 | Edmonton Oilers | 1,502 |
| 3 | Boston Bruins | 1,223 |
| 4 | Philadelphia Flyers | 1,123 |
| 5 | New York Islanders | 1,054 |
| 6 | Colorado Avalanche | 944 |
| 7 | Pittsburgh Penguins | 943 |
| 8 | Detroit Red Wings | 882 |
| 9 | Columbus Blue Jackets | 828 |
| 10 | New York Rangers | 821 |
Most reigns since 1967–68
Most defenses since 1967–68
Longest reigns of the era
| # | Reign | Defenses | Days |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Philadelphia FlyersNov 4, 1979 – Jan 7, 1980 | 26 | 64 |
| 2 | Montréal CanadiensDec 23, 1977 – Feb 25, 1978 | 25 | 64 |
| 3 | Edmonton OilersMay 15, 1984 – Nov 11, 1984 | 17 | 180 |
| 4 | Pittsburgh PenguinsMay 17, 1992 – Oct 29, 1992 | 17 | 165 |
| 5 | Boston BruinsApr 14, 1970 – Oct 29, 1970 | 15 | 198 |
| 6 | Boston BruinsJan 2, 1969 – Feb 6, 1969 | 15 | 35 |
| 7 | New York RangersJan 11, 1973 – Feb 14, 1973 | 14 | 34 |
| 8 | Montréal CanadiensFeb 3, 1977 – Mar 6, 1977 | 13 | 31 |
| 9 | Montréal CanadiensFeb 20, 1976 – Mar 20, 1976 | 13 | 29 |
| 10 | Montréal CanadiensMar 16, 1987 – Apr 20, 1987 | 12 | 35 |