NHL to release quarter-century teams for all 32 teams starting Dec. 30

The National Hockey League is going to be honoring the best players over the past 25 years by introducing a multi-phased celebration, the Quarter-Century Team.

The unique plan will be rolled out starting later this month and will take place across three phases featuring a simple content campaign to both showcase the selections and encourage fans to engage in conversations and debate.

Starting Dec. 30, the league will announce First and Second Quarter-Century Teams for each of the 32 franchises, starting off with the St. Louis Blues and ending on Jan. 31 with the newest franchise in the NHL, the Utah Hockey Club. The teams will be constructed using a traditional lineup–three forwards, two defenseman and a goaltender. The teams will be picked by a select panel of media, retired players and executives specific to each individual franchise.

Click here for the full schedule of team announcement dates

In order for a player to be eligible, they would have to have played one game for that franchise since the turn of the millennium.

Teams like the Seattle Kraken and Vegas Golden Knights might feature mostly active players, as they’ve only been around for a few years, with some present and future Hall of Famers expected to be featured in the selection process.

Then, around the upcoming 4 Nations Face-Off, the league will hold a fan vote to determine the NHL Quarter-Century Team. It will allow fans the opportunity to determine the top 25 players from the last 25 years. Voting will begin on Feb. 12 and conclude 14 days later. People will have the chance to cast their votes on NHL.com and X (formerly known as Twitter).

The date has yet to be determined for when the league will announce the NHL Quarter-Century Team. NHL Productions will also be putting together four debate-style studio shows around the players and highlights of the last 25 years, with the shows scheduled to be released sometime in March.