The history of the National Hockey League from 1942 to 1967 covers the period from the demise of the Brooklyn Americans, which reduced the NHL to six teams, to the league doubling in size with six new expansion teams. Maurice Richard (pictured) became the first player to score 50 goals in a season in 1944–45. In 1955, he was suspended for assaulting a linesman, leading to the Richard Riot. Gordie Howe made his debut in 1946, retiring 32 years later as the NHL's all-time leader in goals and points. Willie O'Ree broke the NHL's colour barrier in 1958. The Stanley Cup became the official championship in 1947; during this period, the Toronto Maple Leafs won the cup nine times and the Montreal Canadiens ten times, including five consecutive titles. Changes occurred on and off the ice. The NHL introduced the centre-ice red line in 1943, allowing players to pass out of their defensive zone for the first time. In 1959, Jacques Plante became the first goaltender to regularly use a mask for protection. The first amateur draft was held in 1963 as part of efforts to balance talent distribution within the league, and the National Hockey League Players' Association was formed in 1967. Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_the_National_Hockey_League_(1942%E2%80%931967)> _______________________________ Today's selected anniversaries: 1795: Stanisław August Poniatowski, the last King of Poland, was forced to abdicate after the Third Partition of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth by Austria, Prussia, and Russia. <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stanis%C5%82aw_August_Poniatowski> 1917: World War I: German troops invaded Portuguese East Africa in an attempt to escape superior British forces to the north and resupply from captured Portuguese materiel. <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Ngomano> 1940: The de Havilland Mosquito (examples pictured) and the Martin B-26 Marauder, two of the most successful military aircraft in World War II, both had their first flights. <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Martin_B-26_Marauder> 1947: McCarthyism: Executives from movie studios agreed to blacklist ten screenwriters and directors who were jailed for contempt of Congress for refusing to give testimony to the House Un-American Activities Committee. <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hollywood_blacklist> 1970: Failing to instigate a military coup to restore the powers of the Emperor of Japan, author Yukio Mishima committed the ritual suicide seppuku at the Japan Self-Defense Forces headquarters in Tokyo. <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yukio_Mishima> _____________________________ Wiktionary's word of the day: rani: 1. The wife of a rajah. 2. A Hindu princess or female ruler in India. <https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/rani> ___________________________ Wikiquote quote of the day:   All human history is the struggle between systems that attempt to shackle the human personality in the name of some intangible good on the one hand and systems that enable and expand the scope of human personality in the pursuit of extremely tangible aims. The American system is the most successful in the world because it harmonizes best with the aims and longings of human personality while allowing the best protection to other personalities.   --Ben Stein <https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Ben_Stein>