A look at the best seasons in NHL history

Since the NHL was founded on Nov. 26, 1917, the game has grown into a league featuring 30 teams with four divisions and two conferences. Known at first as the National Hockey Association in 1909, World War I forced the NHA to suspend play for a full season due to players fighting overseas. Many attempts to merge leagues in eastern Canada to revive the NHA failed, and in 1917, the NHL was formed. 

When taking into account the number of games played, the most fascinating seasons in NHL history seem to be from the last 20 years.

1995-1996: Make way for those Pittsburgh Penguins

It was the first full season after the NHL's first player strike, which shortened the previous year's schedule. With their 82-game opportunity, 12 players from nine different teams scored more than 100 points. Pittsburgh Penguins forwards Mario Lemieux (161) and Jaromir Jagr (149) scored a combined 310 points while teammate Ron Francis scored 119. 

The Colorado Avalanche won the Stanley Cup with the help of Peter Forsberg and Joe Sakic. The Calder Trophy went to former Ottawa Senator and current Detroit Red Wing Daniel Alfredsson. Lemieux took home the Art Ross and Hart trophies as well as the Ted Lindsay Award.

The Vancouver Canucks acquired Markus Naslund from the Pittsburgh Penguins in exchange for Alek Stojanov on March 20, 1996. Future Hall of Famer Teemu Selanne was also traded from the Winnipeg Jets with Marc Chouinard to the Anaheim Ducks for Chad Kilger, Oleg Tverdovsky and a third-round pick who turned out to be Anton Lundstrom. 

The 1996 season also marked the last year the Winnipeg Jets were an NHL franchise, because they later moved to Arizona as the Phoenix Coyotes. 

2005-2006: Have you met Sidney Crosby and Alex Ovechkin?

There may be a trend here. In the first season after a year-long lockout, there were seven 100-plus point scorers. Pittsburgh Penguins forward Sidney Crosby and Washington Capitals forward Alex Ovechkin made their NHL debuts. Carolina Hurricanes star Eric Staal made the jump from 31 points in his rookie season to scoring 100 in his sophomore year. Penguins forward Jaromir Jagr recorded his third-highest career point total with 149.

In one of the more shocking trades in the last 20 years. Joe Thornton was moved across the country. On Nov. 30, 2005, Thornton was traded from the Boston Bruins to the Sharks in exchange for Wayne Primeau, Brad Stuart, and Marco Sturm. Thornton would go on to be the NHL's leading scorer with 125 points.

Jonathan Cheechoo was the league leader in goals with 56, Alex Ovechkin would take home the Calder Trophy and Thornton would win the Art Ross and Hart trophies. 

In one of the most unlikely Stanley Cup victories, the Carolina Hurricanes were on a roll this season. The Hurricanes, who faced the Edmonton Oilers in the final, won the Cup in seven games. The Oilers and Hurricanes became the first teams in NHL history to reach the Stanley Cup Final and miss the playoffs the following season.

1992-1993: Welcome back, Mario Lemieux

Twenty-one players representing 15 different teams scored more than 100 points. Combined for a total of 2,518 points, it would have taken 34 forwards to equal that total in the 2011-12 season. Eleven of the 21 leading scorers have been inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame. With Teemu Selanne still playing and Theo Fleury on the bubble, that number could soon be 13. 

There have never been 21 players to score 100 or more points in one season making the 1992-93 season the most successful from a point production perspective. 

Mario Lemieux staged one of the most inspirational comebacks in history, returning from a battle with cancer to finish with a league-leading 160 points. He also walked away from the NHL awards with four pieces of hardware including the Art Ross, Hart, and Bill Masterton Memorial trophies as well as the Ted Lindsay award. Lemieux played 60 games.

During this season Doug Weight was traded to the Edmonton Oilers from the New York Rangers in exchange for Esa Tikkanen. Weight would score a career high 104 points in the 1995-96 season three years after the trade. On Feb. 29, Paul Coffey was sent to the Detroit Red Wings from the Los Angeles Kings in a trade involving Sylvian Couturier and Jim Hiller for Jimmy Carson, Marc Potvin, and Gary Shuchuk.

The Montreal Canadiens won their 24th Stanley Cup and Selanne won the Calder Trophy after scoring 76 goals.

Honorable mentions: The Great One and Bobby Orr

It seems like a snub to list the best seasons in NHL history and not mention the best defenseman to ever play the game, and the man called The Great One. Bobby Orr and Wayne Gretzky simply dominated. 

From 1983-1986, Gretzky scored 628 points over three consecutive seasons with the Edmonton Oilers. He recorded more than 200 points in each of those three seasons. While Gretzky was on a tear, there were a few players that tried to keep up, but none were as dominant or successful. Nothing proves this more than the fact that he has more career assists (1,963) than the next player on the all-time scoring list (Mark Messier) has career points (1,887).

Bobby Orr is widely considered the greatest offensive defenseman of all time. Dealing with chronic knee injuries and multiple surgeries, Orr was only able to play for 12 seasons. But despite only playing 657 games, he sits 11th in all-time scoring for defensemen with 915 points. During the 1970-71 season with the Boston Bruins, Orr scored 139 points in 78 games. That is an average of 1.8 points per game.