The National Hockey League (NHL; French: Ligue nationale de hockey—LNH) is an unincorporated not-for-profit association which operates a major professional ice hockey league of 30 franchised member clubs, of which 7 are currently located in Canada and 23 in the United States. Headquartered in New York City, the NHL is widely considered to be the premier professional ice hockey league in the world, and one of the major professional sports leagues of the United States and Canada. The Stanley Cup, the oldest professional sports trophy in North America, is awarded annually to the league playoff champion at the end of each season.

The league was organized on November 26, 1917, in Montreal, Canada, after the suspension of operations of its predecessor organization, the National Hockey Association (NHA), which had been founded in 1909. It started with four teams and, through a series of expansions, contractions, and relocations, the league is now composed of 30 active franchises. The nation to which the name of the league originally referred was Canada, although the league is now binational with a preponderance of teams in the United States. After a labour dispute that led to the cancellation of the entire 2004–05 season, the league resumed play under a new collective bargaining agreement that included a salary cap. In 2009, the NHL enjoyed record highs in terms of sponsorships, crowds and television audiences.

Alexander Mikhaylovich Ovechkin (Russian: Александр Михайлович Овечкин; IPA: [ɐlʲɪˈksandr ɐˈvʲet͡ɕkʲɪn]; born September 17, 1985) is a Russian professional ice hockey left winger and captain of the Washington Capitals of the National Hockey League (NHL). Prior to playing in the NHL, Ovechkin played for HC Dynamo Moscow of the Russian Superleague for four seasons from 2001 until 2005. Ovechkin was the first overall selection in the 2004 NHL Entry Draft, drafted from Dynamo after 3 seasons with the club. Since the 2004–05 NHL season was lost because of a lockout, Ovechkin remained with Dynamo for one more season before transferring to the NHL for the 2005–06 NHL season, in which he won the Calder Memorial Trophy as rookie of the year, scoring 52 goals and 54 assists to lead all rookies with 106 points.

During the 2007–08 season, he led the NHL with 65 goals and 112 points to capture the Rocket Richard and Art Ross Trophies. That season he also won the Lester B. Pearson Award as the top player voted by the NHL Players' Association and the Hart Memorial Trophy as the league's MVP. He is the only player to win all four awards since the Rocket Richard Trophy's inception in 1999. He would lead Team Russia to a gold medal at the World Championships the same year.

Evgeni "Geno" Vladimirovich Malkin (Russian: Евге́ний Влади́мирович Ма́лкин; IPA: [jɪvˈɡʲenʲɪj ˈmɑlkʲɪn]; born July 31, 1986) is a Russian professional ice hockey center and alternate captain for the Pittsburgh Penguins of the National Hockey League (NHL).

Chosen second overall in the 2004 NHL Draft by the Pittsburgh Penguins, Malkin's career in the NHL was delayed because of an international transfer dispute until 2006–07, in which he captured the Calder Memorial Trophy as the league's best rookie. In his second season, he helped carry Pittsburgh to the 2008 Stanley Cup Final series and was a runner-up for league's MVP award, the Hart Memorial Trophy. The following season, Malkin won the Art Ross Trophy, awarded to the top-scorer in the NHL and again finished runner-up for the Hart Trophy while he and the Penguins won the Stanley Cup championship and Malkin the Conn Smythe Trophy. A second Art Ross Trophy was earned after the 2011–12 season, in which Malkin's 12-point margin was the largest since 1999. On April 27, 2012, he was nominated as one of three finalists for the Hart Trophy.

Sidney Patrick Crosby, ONS (born August 7, 1987) is a Canadian professional ice hockey player who is captain of the Pittsburgh Penguins of the National Hockey League (NHL). Crosby was drafted first overall by the Penguins out of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League (QMJHL). During his two-year major junior career with the Rimouski Océanic, he earned back-to-back CHL Player of the Year awards and led his club to the 2005 Memorial Cup final. Nicknamed "The Next One", he was one of the most highly regarded draft picks in hockey history, leading many to refer to the 2005 Draft Lottery as the "Sidney Crosby Sweepstakes".