LOS ANGELES: The National Hockey League’s 98th season opens Wednesday with the Los Angeles Kings raising a Stanley Cup championship banner, Boston playing host to Philadelphia and two matchups between Canadian rivals.

Bouncing back after a lockout shortened the 2012-2013 campaign to 48 games per team, the NHL enjoyed revenues of $3.7 billion (2.9 billion euros) last season with this year’s salary caps hitting a record $69 million (54.6 million euros) per club.

The Kings will celebrate their second NHL crown in three seasons at a ceremony before they entertain the San Jose Sharks, the same club that led the Kings 3-0 in the first round of last season’s playoffs before Los Angeles rallied to win the last four games and capture the series.

The Kings went on to defeat Chicago in the Western Conference final, a seventh-game overtime goal avenging a loss to the eventual Cup winners at the same stage the season before, and conclude their title run with a victory over the New York Rangers in the NHL Final.

Other opening-night matchups find the Bruins, the most recent Eastern Conference club to claim the Cup back in 2011, entertaining the Flyers, who reached the 2010 final but have not lifted the trophy since 1975, as well as Montreal at Toronto and Vancouver at Calgary.

No Canadian team has won the Stanley Cup since the Montreal Canadiens in 1993. The only Canadian finalist over the past seven seasons was Vancouver in 2011.

Slovakia’s Marian Gaborik, who scored 14 playoff goals to lead the Kings, signed a seven-year deal worth $34 million (26.9 euros) with Los Angeles after last season.

“Everybody realizes the type of situation we have here,” Kings center Jarret Stoll said. “Nobody wants to leave that. Some people leave and maybe think it’s greener on the other side or take more money. I think there’s something to be said about being able to win and have fun and having a great group and a good coaching staff.

“Some guys try to chase a winning team and a Stanley Cup. And we have that here. I don’t see why you would want to leave.”

Plenty of rivals will be trying to wrest the trophy from the Kings’ grasp, notably Chicago. The Blackhawks have won two of the past five NHL crowns and could again pose a major roadblock.

Chicago stars Jonathan Toews and Patrick Kane agreed eight-year contract extensions with the club after last season. Toews has 195 goals over eight seasons while Kane has 178 over seven seasons.

“To have the chance to continue with this amazing group of teammates and people throughout the organization is an incredible honor. There’s nothing we want more as players than to continue to win Stanley Cups,” Toews said.

Boston led the NHL last season with 117 points but Pittsburgh, with star Sidney Crosby, figures to make another run at the crown, which last went to the US Steeltown in 2009.

The top three teams in each division advance to the playoffs along with two wildcard teams from each conference. Columbus and Detroit took the spots in the East, each team having moved last season from the West to the East.

“The league is coming off what many consider and have characterized as its best season ever, both on the ice and off,” NHL deputy commissioner Bill Daly said. “We are in a good place right now. But the really exciting part is that we all believe it can get even better. The game is growing, and it will continue to grow.”

Several minor rule changes were introduced for the season, the most notable of which will see teams switch ends before the start of overtimes in regular-season games.