High Quality Content by WIKIPEDIA articles! The New York Americans were a professional ice hockey team based in New York, New York, the third expansion team in the history of the National Hockey League (NHL) and the second to play in the United States. The team never won the Stanley Cup championship. It may be more famous for its first owner, a bootlegger in New York City, and the behaviour of its team members and staff. While it was the first team in New York, it was eclipsed by the second, the New York Rangers, eventually failed and was taken over by the NHL.