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NHL History September 23 is highlighted by Manon Rheaume breaking one of professional hockey’s most significant barriers, a star-studded Hockey Hall of Fame induction class, the retirement of American hockey legend Mike Modano and an important milestone in the NHL’s international expansion.
On September 23, 1992, Rheaume stepped into goal for the Tampa Bay Lightning during a preseason game against the St. Louis Blues and became the first woman to play in an NHL game. Her appearance remains one of the most memorable moments in league history.
One year earlier, New York Islanders legends Mike Bossy and Denis Potvin entered the Hockey Hall of Fame alongside Bob Pulford, Clint Smith and legendary coach Scotty Bowman. Decades later, September 23 would also mark the end of Mike Modano’s remarkable playing career and the conclusion of the NHL’s first games in China.
Here is a look back at some of the biggest NHL and hockey moments to happen on September 23.
NHL History September 23: Biggest Moments and Milestones
1991: Mike Bossy, Denis Potvin and Scotty Bowman Enter the Hockey Hall of Fame
September 23 became an important date in Hockey Hall of Fame history in 1991 when five influential hockey figures were formally inducted.
New York Islanders stars Mike Bossy and Denis Potvin entered the Hall alongside longtime Toronto Maple Leafs centre Bob Pulford and pre-World War II star Clint Smith. Scotty Bowman was inducted in the builder category after already establishing himself as one of the most successful coaches in NHL history.
Bossy and Potvin were central figures in the Islanders dynasty that won four consecutive Stanley Cup championships from 1980 through 1983.
Bossy established himself as one of the greatest pure goal scorers the NHL has ever seen. He scored at least 50 goals in each of his first nine NHL seasons and reached the 50-goal mark in just 50 games during the 1980-81 season.
Despite playing only 10 NHL seasons because of injuries, Bossy finished with 573 goals and 1,126 points in just 752 regular-season games.
Potvin provided the foundation on defense for those championship Islanders teams. The former first overall draft pick won the Norris Trophy three times and became the first NHL defenseman to reach 1,000 career points.
Bowman’s induction recognized a coaching career that was already extraordinary but was far from finished. He would eventually retire with NHL coaching records for 1,244 regular-season victories and nine Stanley Cup championships as a head coach.
The 1991 induction class gives September 23 an important connection to one of the NHL’s greatest dynasties and one of the most successful coaches the sport has ever produced.
1992: Manon Rheaume Becomes the First Woman to Play in an NHL Game
The defining moment in NHL History September 23 occurred one year later.
On September 23, 1992, Manon Rheaume started in goal for the expansion Tampa Bay Lightning in a preseason game against the St. Louis Blues.
In doing so, the 20-year-old goaltender became the first woman to play in an NHL game.
Rheaume played the first period and faced nine shots. She allowed goals to Jeff Brown and Brendan Shanahan as Tampa Bay and St. Louis finished the opening period tied 2-2.
The statistics, however, were secondary to the significance of the moment.
Rheaume had already been breaking barriers throughout her hockey career. She became the first woman to play major junior hockey when she appeared for Trois-Rivieres in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League during the 1991-92 season.
She had also helped Canada win gold at the 1992 IIHF Women’s World Championship before receiving an invitation from Lightning general manager Phil Esposito to attend Tampa Bay’s first training camp.
What initially attracted enormous media attention became much more than a publicity story when Rheaume proved she could compete against high-level players.
She returned to play another NHL preseason period for Tampa Bay against the Boston Bruins in 1993 and later appeared in men’s professional minor-league hockey.
Rheaume also continued to play a major role internationally. She helped Canada win another IIHF Women’s World Championship in 1994 and earned a silver medal at the 1998 Winter Olympics in Nagano.
More than three decades later, her September 23 appearance remains a landmark moment not only in NHL history but in women’s sports.
Why Manon Rheaume’s NHL Appearance Still Matters
Rheaume’s appearance was significant because hockey had traditionally offered very few pathways for women to compete alongside men at elite levels.
She did not simply dress as a backup or participate in a ceremonial event. Rheaume started the game, faced NHL players and competed for an entire period.
The moment also came at an important time for women’s hockey. The first IIHF Women’s World Championship had been held only two years earlier, and women’s hockey would not make its Olympic debut until 1998.
Rheaume therefore became one of the most visible players in the growth of women’s hockey during the 1990s.
Her path helped demonstrate that talented female players could compete at increasingly high levels while giving young girls a highly visible example of what could be possible in hockey.
2011: Mike Modano Retires as a Dallas Star
Another major career came to an end on September 23, 2011, when Mike Modano officially announced his retirement from the NHL.
Modano signed a ceremonial one-day contract with the Dallas Stars, allowing him to retire with the organization where he had spent almost his entire NHL career.
The Minnesota North Stars selected Modano with the first overall pick in the 1988 NHL Draft. He remained with the franchise when it relocated to Dallas in 1993 and became the most recognizable player in Stars history.
His greatest team accomplishment came during the 1998-99 season when Dallas defeated the Buffalo Sabres to capture the Stanley Cup.
Modano spent his first 20 NHL seasons with the North Stars/Stars organization before playing his final season with the Detroit Red Wings in 2010-11.
He retired with 561 goals, 813 assists and 1,374 points in 1,499 regular-season games.
At the time of his retirement, Modano was the NHL’s all-time leader among U.S.-born players in both goals and points.
His impact also extended beyond statistics. Modano became one of the faces of American hockey during the 1990s and helped build interest in the sport in Texas after the franchise’s relocation from Minnesota.
He was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 2014 and later selected as one of the NHL’s 100 Greatest Players.
2017: Kings and Canucks Complete the NHL’s First China Games
September 23 also represents an important date in the NHL’s efforts to grow hockey internationally.
On September 23, 2017, the Los Angeles Kings and Vancouver Canucks played at Wukesong Arena in Beijing in the second game of the inaugural NHL China Games.
Los Angeles defeated Vancouver 4-3 in a shootout, completing a two-game sweep.
Jonny Brodzinski scored the deciding shootout goal in front of 12,759 fans.
The teams had previously played in Shanghai, making the two-game series the first NHL games ever staged in China.
The games were preseason contests, but their importance extended beyond the scores. The NHL was attempting to introduce professional hockey to one of the world’s largest potential sports markets while expanding its international presence.
The league returned to China the following year when the Boston Bruins and Calgary Flames played preseason games in Shenzhen and Beijing.
Why September 23 Is an Important Date in NHL History
NHL History September 23 brings together several different aspects of hockey history.
The 1991 Hockey Hall of Fame class celebrated players and builders who helped define several eras of the NHL, including Islanders dynasty stars Mike Bossy and Denis Potvin and legendary coach Scotty Bowman.
Manon Rheaume’s appearance one year later represented something entirely different. By taking the ice for Tampa Bay, she broke a barrier that had existed throughout the history of major professional hockey and created one of the sport’s most enduring milestones.
Mike Modano’s retirement in 2011 closed the career of one of the most influential American-born players in NHL history, while the 2017 China Games demonstrated how far the league’s international ambitions had expanded.
From Hall of Fame legends and groundbreaking players to international growth, September 23 has quietly produced several moments that helped shape the NHL and the broader history of hockey.
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