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Why did the National Hockey Association reduce the number of players per team to six?
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ice hockey
Goalie Marc-AndrƩ Fleury of the Vegas Golden Knights blocking a shot by Jakub VrƔna of the Washington Capitals in game five of the 2018 Stanley Cup finals. The Capitals won the game and the series.
The National Hockey Association (NHA) reduced the number of players on the ice from seven to six primarily as a cost-saving measure.12
While the NHA, the forerunner to the National Hockey League, was the dominant organization in North America at the time, it faced intense competition from the Pacific Coast Hockey Association (PCHA). Although the PCHA introduced several innovations that improved the sportāsuch as forward passing, the assist, and allowing goalies to move while making savesāthe NHA's decision to move to six-man hockey was specifically driven by financial considerations rather than tactical evolution.12