97 years of NHL expansion in one simple map

Via Ann Frazier of SB Nation’s Fear The Fin comes this beautifully simplistic year-by-year breakdown of NHL history, chronicling the league’s teams and logos dating back to 1917.

The Original 6 era from 1942 to 1967 sticks out the most, with no change in teams from the folding of the Brooklyn Americans to the addition of the “Expansion 6.” The league’s rapid growth from 1967 onward, but particularly the “Sun Belt” era from the early 1990s onward, also stands out. It makes you realize just how young the NHL as we know it really is.