The National Hockey League (NHL; French: Ligue nationale de hockey—LNH) is a professional ice hockey league composed of 30 member clubs: 23 in the United States and 7 in Canada. Headquartered in New York City, the NHL is considered to be the premier professional ice hockey league in the world,[2] and one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Canada. The Stanley Cup, the oldest professional sports trophy in North America,[3] is awarded annually to the league playoff