History of the National Hockey League (1992–present)
Encyclopedia
The National Hockey League
(NHL) has endured a tumultuous period of history in recent years. It has grown from 22 teams in 1992 to 30 today as the league expanded across the United States. Repeated labour conflicts interrupted play in 1992, 1994–95 and 2004–05; the latter caused the entire 2004–05 NHL season to be canceled, the first time in North American history that a sports league has canceled an entire season in a labour dispute. Five franchises have relocated during this time: the Minnesota North Stars
became the Dallas Stars
(1993), the Quebec Nordiques
became the Colorado Avalanche
(1995), the Winnipeg Jets became the Phoenix Coyotes
(1996), the Hartford Whalers
became the Carolina Hurricanes
(1997), and the Atlanta Thrashers
became the second franchise known as the Winnipeg Jets
(2011).
In 1993, the Montreal Canadiens
celebrated the Stanley Cup's
100th anniversary with their 24th championship. They remain the last Canadian team to capture the trophy. The 1994 New York Rangers
broke the Curse of 1940
, winning their first title in 54 years. The NHL's southern expansion, often maligned by Canadians and fans in the Northeastern United States, has led to championships by the Dallas Stars, Tampa Bay Lightning
, Carolina Hurricanes
and Anaheim Ducks
in the last decade.
Manon Rheaume
became the first female player in the NHL when she suited up for the Lightning in a 1992 pre-season game. Wayne Gretzky
passed Gordie Howe
as the NHL's all-time leading scorer in 1994 when he scored his 802nd career goal. Mario Lemieux
overcame non-Hodgkin lymphoma
to finish his NHL career with more than 1,700 points and two championships, and now owns the Pittsburgh Penguins
. Today's NHL is led by arguably its two biggest young stars: Sidney Crosby
of the Pittsburgh Penguins
and Alexander Ovechkin
of the Washington Capitals
.
The Canada Cup
gave way to the World Cup of Hockey
in 1996, while NHL players first competed in the 1998 Winter Olympics
. To promote itself worldwide, the NHL played regular season games in Japan in 1996, and throughout Europe since 2007. The league played its first outdoor regular season games with the Heritage Classic between the Canadiens and the host Edmonton Oilers
in 2003, and the Winter Classic
, held on New Year's Day from 2008 on in Buffalo, New York
, Chicago, Illinois
, Boston, Massachusetts and Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
.
Increased use of defence-focused systems contributed to decreased scoring in the late 1990s, leading some to argue that the NHL's talent pool had been diluted by the 1990 expansion plan. The league has attempted several times to alter its rules to increase scoring. It began awarding teams a single point for losing in overtime in 1999, hoping to reduce the number of tie games. In 2005, ties were eliminated altogether as the penalty shootout
was introduced to ensure that all games have a winner.
As the 1990s began, players were uneasy with the closeness between National Hockey League Players Association (NHLPA) executive director Alan Eagleson
and the teams' owners. As a result, Eagleson stepped down in December 1991, and was replaced by Bob Goodenow
. Four years later, the Federal Bureau of Investigation
indicted Eagleson on charges of racketeering, fraud
, embezzlement
, kickbacks and obstruction of justice
over allegations that he stole millions of dollars from the NHLPA. Eagleson pleaded guilty in 1998 in a plea bargain and was fined US$
1 million and sentenced to 18 months in prison. He subsequently resigned from the Hockey Hall of Fame
.
Four months after replacing Eagleson, Goodenow and the NHLPA launched the first NHL strike on April 1, 1992. It lasted ten days and resulted in the players receiving larger playoff bonuses, increased control over the licensing of their likenesses and improved rights to free agency. It also led the owners to dismiss league president John Ziegler and replace him on an interim basis with Gil Stein. Goodenow called the strike a major moment, stating "I don't think the owners took the players seriously and it wasn't until the strike that they understood the players were serious." As part of the deal, the league also agreed to have each team play two games per season for the following two years in neutral site locations, partially to help gauge markets for potential expansion.
Desiring a fresh start, the owners replaced Stein with Gary Bettman
in February 1993. Formerly a senior vice president of the National Basketball Association
, Bettman replaced the position of president with that of commissioner
. He was given the task of selling the game to the American market, ending labor unrest, completing expansion plans, and modernizing the league.
The Tampa Bay Lightning
and Ottawa Senators
joined the league in as part of the owners' 1990 plan to expand the NHL to 28 teams within a decade. The Lightning made NHL history when goaltender Manon Rheaume
played a period of an exhibition game for them on September 23, 1992. Rheaume became the first woman to play in an NHL game. She also became the first woman to sign a professional hockey contract, doing so with the Lightning's farm team, the Atlanta Knights. One year later, the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim
and Florida Panthers
began play as the NHL's 25th and 26th franchises. They were established as part of the NHL's attempt to regain a U.S. network television presence by expanding into southern North America. The league expected that bringing in Blockbuster Video's Wayne Huizenga
to own the Panthers, and The Walt Disney Company
to own the Mighty Ducks would raise its profile. The NHL's southward push continued in 1993 when the Minnesota North Stars
moved to Dallas, Texas
to become the Dallas Stars
.
The NHL celebrated the 100th anniversary of the Stanley Cup
in 1993. That year's finals featured Patrick Roy
and the Montreal Canadiens
against Wayne Gretzky
and the Los Angeles Kings
. After losing the first game, the Canadiens rallied from a late deficit to win game two in overtime after the Kings' Marty McSorley
was penalized for using an illegal stick. Montreal scored on the power play
, sending the game into overtime. Montreal won games three and four in overtime en route to winning the series in five games. The Canadiens won an NHL-record ten consecutive overtime games in the 1993 playoffs.
The New York Rangers
ended their "Curse of 1940
" after 54 years by winning the 1994 Stanley Cup
in seven games over the Vancouver Canucks
. The Rangers' championship was the last hurrah for the great Edmonton Oilers dynasty of the 1980s, as there were seven ex-Oilers on the team, including Mark Messier
, who became the first (and to this date, the only) player to win Stanley Cups as the captain for two franchises, having captained the Oilers to the last of their five Stanley Cups in . The Rangers' victory also resulted in the first Russian names to be engraved on the Stanley Cup: Alexei Kovalev
, Alexander Karpovtsev
, Sergei Nemchinov
, and Sergei Zubov
. The global audience of 285 million in 120 countries. that watched the Rangers' victory included a huge European audience, including those watching on the brand-new television screens across the former Soviet Union, because of the first Russian names on the Stanley Cup.
by the owners due to the lack of a Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA). The 1994–95 NHL lockout lasted 104 days and resulted in the season's being shortened from a planned 84 games to 48. The owners wanted to control salary growth and insisted on a salary cap
, changes to free agency and salary arbitration. The union instead proposed a luxury tax system that would penalize teams that spent above a set figure on player salaries. The negotiations were at times bitter, as defenceman Chris Chelios
famously issued a veiled threat against Bettman, suggesting that he should be "worried about [his] family and [his] well-being", because "some crazed fans, or even a player [...] might take matters into their own hands and figure they get Bettman out of the way."
The lockout entered its fourth month in January 1995 and approached a deadline that would have canceled the season when the two sides agreed to an 11th-hour deal. The owners failed to achieve a full salary cap, but the union agreed to a cap on rookie contracts, changes to the arbitration system and restrictive rules for free agency that would not grant a player the unrestricted right to choose where he played until age 31. The deal was initially seen as a victory for the owners.
The agreement was not enough to save two teams in Canada's smallest NHL markets. The revenue disparity between large and small market teams, exacerbated by the falling value of the Canadian dollar
, led the Winnipeg Jets to relocate to Phoenix, Arizona
in 1996, becoming the Coyotes
one year after the Quebec Nordiques
moved to Denver, Colorado to become the Colorado Avalanche
. Hoping to prevent other teams from leaving Canada, and citing the cost of doing business in American dollars while taking revenue in Canadian dollars, the NHL set up a currency assistance plan to support the remaining small market Canadian teams in 1996. The Hartford Whalers
became the third former World Hockey Association
team to relocate in 1997, becoming the Carolina Hurricanes
.
endorsed. Increased use of the neutral zone trap
and similar defensive systems were also blamed. The New Jersey Devils
have often been criticized for popularizing the trap, using it to win the Stanley Cup in 1995, and again in 2000 and 2003. This period has been called the dead puck era.
The Canada Cup
gave way to the World Cup of Hockey
in 1996, an NHL-sanctioned eight team international tournament featuring the top professionals in the world. The inaugural
tournament saw the United States upset the favoured Canadians in a three-game final. That same year, the Avalanche won their first Stanley Cup in their first season in Denver, sweeping the Florida Panthers
. One year later, the Detroit Red Wings
ended a 42-year drought, capturing their first Stanley Cup since 1955. The team's celebration was cut short, as defenceman Vladimir Konstantinov
and team masseur Sergei Mnatsakanov were seriously injured when their limousine crashed six days following the victory. The Red Wings dedicated the 1997–98 season to the two. Upon repeating as champions in 1998, they brought Konstantinov, who had suffered severe brain damage in the crash, out in a wheelchair to celebrate with the team on the ice.
The NHL added four expansion teams to increase the total number of clubs to 30. Continuing its expansion into the southern United States, the Nashville Predators
joined the league in 1998, followed by the Atlanta Thrashers
in 1999. The Minnesota Wild
and Columbus Blue Jackets
then began play in 2000.
On April 16, 1999, Wayne Gretzky played his final NHL game, retiring as the league's all-time scoring leader and holding 61 NHL records. His number, 99, was retired league-wide the following season. The usual three year waiting period between a player's retirement and his induction into the Hockey Hall of Fame
was waived, and he was inducted in 1999.
For marketing reasons, the NHL agreed to participate in the Winter Olympics starting in 1998. NHL players first competed at the Nagano Games
. Led by goaltender Dominik Hasek
, the tournament was won by the Czech Republic. Hasek, who finished the tournament with a 0.97 goals-against average and a .961 save percentage
over six games, was the leading goaltender of the 1990s. His run of consecutive Vezina Trophies
from 1994 to 1999 was interrupted only once, in 1996 by Jim Carey of the Washington Capitals
. Hasek won another Vezina Trophy in 2001, and two consecutive Lester B. Pearson
and Hart Trophies in 1997 and 1998.
The Panthers' trip to the Stanley Cup final in 1996 began a trend in which southern-based teams frequently appeared in the championship round. The Dallas Stars
won the 1999 Stanley Cup
over the Buffalo Sabres
in controversial fashion: Brett Hull scored the Cup-winning goal in overtime of game six despite arguments that his foot was in the goal crease, which under the rules at the time would have disallowed the goal. The Stars returned to the finals in 2000, falling to the New Jersey Devils. The Hurricanes first played in the finals in 2002, losing to the Red Wings, while the Mighty Ducks reached the final in 2003, falling to the Devils. In 2004, the Tampa Bay Lightning
defeated the Calgary Flames
to win the Cup. The Lightning win in 2004 was seen as the end to the Devils/Avalanche/Red Wings Stanley Cup era, as all three teams won a combined 8 Stanley Cups between 1995 and 2003.
The Edmonton Oilers
hosted the NHL's first regular season outdoor hockey game, the Heritage Classic, on November 22, 2003. The game against the Canadiens was held at Commonwealth Stadium
before a then-record crowd of 57,167 fans who endured temperatures as low as -19 °C.
When they selected him as the first overall draft pick in 1984, the Pittsburgh Penguins
hoped that Mario Lemieux
would improve the team's fortunes on the ice, and increase interest in the team in the Pittsburgh market. Lemieux, who had scored 133 goals in his final season of junior hockey, recorded his first NHL goal in his first game on his first career shot against the Boston Bruins
. On December 31, 1988, Lemieux scored five goals, one in each of the five different ways possible: even strength, on the power play
, short handed, on a penalty shot
and into an empty net, a feat no player in league history has duplicated.
Injuries and illness plagued Lemieux throughout his career. He played only 26 regular season games in 1990–91 after surgery to repair a herniated disc
in his back, but returned in time to score 44 points in the playoffs in leading the Penguins to their first Stanley Cup. Lemieux continued to struggle with back trouble the next season, though he still won the scoring title
, and his second consecutive playoff MVP award
in leading the Penguins to their second championship in 1992
. In 1993, he was diagnosed with cancer. Lemieux endured 22 radiation treatments in 30 days to treat non-Hodgkin lymphoma
. Only 12 hours after his final treatment, Lemieux returned to the Penguins, scoring a goal in his first game back. A second surgery on his back cost Lemieux most of the 1993–94 season, and the entire 1994–95 campaign. As a result of his injuries, Lemieux retired in 1997. He was immediately inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame; the three-year waiting period was waived by the Hall.
Inspired by his son Austin's desire to see him play, Lemieux returned to the NHL in 2000–01, earning an assist on a Jaromir Jagr goal 33-seconds into his return, and scoring one himself in the 2nd period. He also became the first player-owner in NHL history; he had bought the Penguins in the summer of 1999 to save them from bankruptcy. Lemieux finished the season with 35 goals and 76 points in 43 games. Lemieux continued to battle injuries, missing the majority of the first-half of the 2001–02 season, however he returned to action in time to captain Team Canada to its first gold medal in 50-years at the 2002 Winter Olympics
. Injuries again forced his retirement, as Lemieux finally ended his career on January 24, 2006 with 690 goals and 1,723 points in 915 games. Despite his injuries, it has been argued that Lemieux was the greatest player in NHL history. Hall of Famer Bobby Orr
claimed Lemieux was the most skilled player he had ever seen, while Mike Gartner
said that if he had remained healthy, Lemieux would have scored 1,000 goals.
(CBA), Gary Bettman announced that the players were again locked out to start the 2004–05 season. On February 16, 2005, he announced the cancellation of the entire season: "It is my sad duty to announce that because a solution has not yet been attained, it is no longer practical to conduct even an abbreviated season. Accordingly, I have no choice but to announce the formal cancellation of play." The NHL became the first North American league to cancel an entire season because of a labor stoppage.
As with the 1994–95 lockout, the owners were demanding a salary cap, which the players were unwilling to consider until the season was on the verge of being lost. The season's cancellation led union president Trevor Linden
and senior director Ted Saskin
to take charge of negotiations from executive director Bob Goodenow
. By early July, the two sides had agreed to a new CBA. The deal featured a hard salary cap, linked to a fixed percentage of league revenues, a 24% rollback on salaries, and unrestricted free agency beginning after seven years of service.
The loss of the 2004–05 season led the NHL to institute a special lottery to determine the order of the 2005 draft
, as there were no standings to base a drafting order from. The Pittsburgh Penguins
won the lottery, and selected Sidney Crosby
, a highly-prized prospect whose arrival to the NHL had been greatly anticipated. Crosby and the Washington Capitals
' Alex Ovechkin
, the 2004 first overall pick
, were expected to become the faces of the NHL as the league entered a new era. Ovechkin was named the Calder Memorial Trophy
winner as rookie of the year in 2005–06, while Crosby's presence helped Pittsburgh's attendance increase by 33%, over 4,000 fans per game.
In the 2005–06 season, Ovechkin and Crosby began their careers. In their first three seasons, they each won both the Art Ross
and Hart
trophies; Crosby captured both in 2007 and Ovechkin in 2008. The 2006 Stanley Cup Finals
was the first time that franchises that originally played in the World Hockey Association
(WHA) met in the Stanley Cup Final, as the Oilers lost a seven-game series to the Hurricanes. The following season, the Senators lost the finals in five games to the Ducks. The three year streak of Canadian teams in the finals was halted in the 2007–08 season, when the Red Wings defeated the Penguins for their fourth Stanley Cup in 11 years.
The success of the Heritage Classic led the NHL to schedule more outdoor games. The Sabres hosted the 2008 NHL Winter Classic on New Year's Day 2008, losing to the Pittsburgh Penguins in a shootout before a crowd of 71,217 at Ralph Wilson Stadium
. The second Winter Classic was held January 1, 2009 at Wrigley Field
in Chicago
between the Blackhawks and Red Wings. On January 1, 2010 at Fenway Park
in Boston
the third Winter Classic was held with the Bruins defeating the Philadelphia Flyers
2-1 in overtime.
Intending to promote the game world wide, the league sent the San Jose Sharks and Calgary Flames to begin the 1998–99 season with two games in Tokyo
, Japan
. Since 2007, the NHL has been sending teams to Europe to start each season. The Los Angeles Kings
met the Ducks at the O2 Arena
in London
, England
to start the season the 2007–08 season. A year later, four teams were sent to Prague
, Czech Republic
and Stockholm
, Sweden
. One of those teams, the Rangers, also participated in the inaugural Victoria Cup, defeating the Kontinental Hockey League
's Metallurg Magnitogorsk
4–3 in a single game. Another four teams opened the 2009–10 season
in Stockholm and Helsinki
, Finland
. In 2010, Vancouver hosted the Winter Olympics
, the first time an NHL city has hosted the event since the league began participating. The NHL's participation in future games remains in doubt, as it has expressed a desire not to participate in the 2014 games
in Sochi
, Russia
. The players, however, strongly favour continued participation in the Olympics. The third World Cup of Hockey
is expected to take place in 2011, seven years after the 2004 tournament
.
Due to the 2010 Olympics, the Canucks underwent the longest road trip in NHL history, with 14 games over 6 weeks, from January 27 to March 13, 2010, to allow General Motors Place
to be used for ice hockey during the Winter Games
. It marked the first time that an NHL-sized rink was used during the Winter Olympics. GM Place was "Canada Hockey Place" during the games, as the IOC
prohibits advertising, including corporate sponsorship, within Olympic venues.
Despite these successes after the lockout, a couple of teams still had financial difficulties. The Phoenix Coyotes
eventually filed for bankruptcy in May 2009
after incurring several hundred million dollars of losses. The league then took control over the team later that year in order to stabilize the club's operations, with the hopes of eventually reselling it to a new owner who would be committed to stay in the Phoenix market. However, the NHL still has not finalized a deal with any new owner. Keeping the team afloat for now is the City of Glendale, Arizona
, home of the team's Jobing.com Arena: after paying $25 million to the NHL to cover the club's losses for the 2010–11 season, another agreement was reached for the city to pay another $25 million for the 2011–12 season.
After also suffering financial losses and ownership struggles, the Atlanta Thrashers
were eventually sold to True North Sports and Entertainment in 2011, who then relocated the team
to Winnipeg, a stark reversal of the league's attempts to expand into the southern United States.
was introduced to decide all regular season games tied after the five-minute overtime period. The shootout has proven controversial; critics have called it a gimmick, and expressed fierce opposition to any suggestion of using it to decide playoff games, though the league has not pushed for this to happen. It has also been argued that teams are playing it safe, taking no chances in regulation in order to bring the game to overtime, where they are each guaranteed a point. The shootout also has many supporters, among them Phoenix head coach Dave Tippett
, who stated that many fans enjoy it.
The shootout was one of several rule changes made in 2005 as the league attempted to increase offence following the lockout. The two-line pass rule was eliminated, allowing teams to pass from their defensive zone to anywhere in the neutral zone. Previously, such passes could only be made to their own half of the neutral zone. The rule was intended to encourage long breakout passes and create more breakaways
. Teams that commit an icing
infraction are no longer allowed to make a line change before a faceoff, and goaltenders are now prohibited from playing the puck in the end-zone corners behind the goal line. They are allowed to play the puck directly behind the net, within the trapezoid marked by diagonal lines from the goal line to the end boards.
One of the most controversial changes was the league's zero-tolerance policy on obstruction penalties. The league hoped that the game could be opened up if it cracked down on "clutching and grabbing". The tighter regulations have met with complaints about the legitimacy of some calls, that players are diving to draw penalties, and that officials are not calling enough penalties.
The changes initially led to a sharp increase in scoring. Teams combined to score 6.1 goals per game in 2005–06, more than a goal per game higher than in the 2003–04 season. This represented the highest single-season increase in offence since 1929–30. However, scoring has rapidly declined since, approaching pre-lockout totals in 2007–08.
National Hockey League
The National Hockey League is an unincorporated not-for-profit association which operates a major professional ice hockey league of 30 franchised member clubs, of which 7 are currently located in Canada and 23 in the United States...
(NHL) has endured a tumultuous period of history in recent years. It has grown from 22 teams in 1992 to 30 today as the league expanded across the United States. Repeated labour conflicts interrupted play in 1992, 1994–95 and 2004–05; the latter caused the entire 2004–05 NHL season to be canceled, the first time in North American history that a sports league has canceled an entire season in a labour dispute. Five franchises have relocated during this time: the Minnesota North Stars
Minnesota North Stars
The Minnesota North Stars were a professional ice hockey team in the National Hockey League for 26 seasons, from 1967 to 1993. The North Stars played their home games at the Met Center in Bloomington, and the team's colors for most of its history were green, yellow, gold and white...
became the Dallas Stars
Dallas Stars
The Dallas Stars are a professional ice hockey team based in Dallas, Texas. They are members of the Pacific Division of the Western Conference of the National Hockey League . The team was founded during the 1967 NHL expansion as the Minnesota North Stars, based in Bloomington, Minnesota. The...
(1993), the Quebec Nordiques
Quebec Nordiques
The Quebec Nordiques were a professional ice hockey team based in Quebec City, Quebec, Canada. The Nordiques played in the World Hockey Association and the National Hockey League...
became the Colorado Avalanche
Colorado Avalanche
The Colorado Avalanche are a professional ice hockey team based in Denver, Colorado, United States. They are members of the Northwest Division of the Western Conference of the National Hockey League . The Avalanche have won the Stanley Cup twice, in 1995–96 and 2000–01. The franchise...
(1995), the Winnipeg Jets became the Phoenix Coyotes
Phoenix Coyotes
The Phoenix Coyotes are a professional ice hockey team based in Glendale, Arizona. They are members of the Pacific Division of the Western Conference of the National Hockey League . They play their home games at Jobing.com Arena....
(1996), the Hartford Whalers
Hartford Whalers
The Hartford Whalers were a professional ice hockey team based for most of its existence in Hartford, Connecticut, U.S.A.. The club played in the World Hockey Association from 1972–79 and in the National Hockey League from 1979–97...
became the Carolina Hurricanes
Carolina Hurricanes
The Carolina Hurricanes are a professional ice hockey team based in Raleigh, North Carolina, USA. They are members of the Southeast Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League , and play their home games at the 18,680-seat RBC Center...
(1997), and the Atlanta Thrashers
Atlanta Thrashers
The Atlanta Thrashers were a professional ice hockey team based in Atlanta, Georgia, United States. Atlanta was granted a franchise in the National Hockey League on June 25, 1997, and became the league's 28th franchise when it began play in the 1999–2000 NHL season...
became the second franchise known as the Winnipeg Jets
Winnipeg Jets
The Winnipeg Jets were a professional ice hockey team based in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. They began play in the World Hockey Association in 1972, moving to the National Hockey League in 1979 following the collapse of the WHA...
(2011).
In 1993, the Montreal Canadiens
Montreal Canadiens
The Montreal Canadiens are a professional ice hockey team based in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. They are members of the Northeast Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League . The club is officially known as ...
celebrated the Stanley Cup's
Stanley Cup
The Stanley Cup is an ice hockey club trophy, awarded annually to the National Hockey League playoffs champion after the conclusion of the Stanley Cup Finals. It has been referred to as The Cup, Lord Stanley's Cup, The Holy Grail, or facetiously as Lord Stanley's Mug...
100th anniversary with their 24th championship. They remain the last Canadian team to capture the trophy. The 1994 New York Rangers
New York Rangers
The New York Rangers are a professional ice hockey team based in the borough of Manhattan in New York, New York, USA. They are members of the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League . Playing their home games at Madison Square Garden, the Rangers are one of the...
broke the Curse of 1940
Curse of 1940
The Curse of 1940, also called Dutton's Curse, was a superstitious explanation for why the New York Rangers of the National Hockey League did not win the league's championship trophy, the Stanley Cup, from 1940 to 1994.-Popular theories:...
, winning their first title in 54 years. The NHL's southern expansion, often maligned by Canadians and fans in the Northeastern United States, has led to championships by the Dallas Stars, Tampa Bay Lightning
Tampa Bay Lightning
The Tampa Bay Lightning are a professional ice hockey team based in Tampa, Florida. They are members of the Southeast Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League . They have one Stanley Cup championship in their history, in 2003–04. They are often referred to as the...
, Carolina Hurricanes
Carolina Hurricanes
The Carolina Hurricanes are a professional ice hockey team based in Raleigh, North Carolina, USA. They are members of the Southeast Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League , and play their home games at the 18,680-seat RBC Center...
and Anaheim Ducks
Anaheim Ducks
The Anaheim Ducks are a professional ice hockey team based in Anaheim, California, USA. They are members of the Pacific Division of the Western Conference of the National Hockey League...
in the last decade.
Manon Rheaume
Manon Rhéaume
Manon Rhéaume is a Canadian ice hockey goaltender. An Olympic silver medalist, she achieved a number of historic firsts during her career, including becoming the first and only woman ever to play in a National Hockey League exhibition game.In 1992 Rhéaume signed a contract with the Tampa Bay...
became the first female player in the NHL when she suited up for the Lightning in a 1992 pre-season game. Wayne Gretzky
Wayne Gretzky
Wayne Douglas Gretzky, CC is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player and former head coach. Nicknamed "The Great One", he is generally regarded as the best player in the history of the National Hockey League , and has been called "the greatest hockey player ever" by many sportswriters,...
passed Gordie Howe
Gordie Howe
Gordon "Gordie" Howe, OC is a Canadian retired professional ice hockey player who played for the Detroit Red Wings and Hartford Whalers of the National Hockey League , and the Houston Aeros and New England Whalers in the World Hockey Association . Howe is often referred to as Mr...
as the NHL's all-time leading scorer in 1994 when he scored his 802nd career goal. Mario Lemieux
Mario Lemieux
Mario Lemieux, OC, CQ is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player. He is acknowledged to be one of the best players of all time. He played 17 seasons as a forward for the Pittsburgh Penguins of the National Hockey League between 1984 and 2006...
overcame non-Hodgkin lymphoma
Non-Hodgkin lymphoma
The non-Hodgkin lymphomas are a diverse group of blood cancers that include any kind of lymphoma except Hodgkin's lymphomas. Types of NHL vary significantly in their severity, from indolent to very aggressive....
to finish his NHL career with more than 1,700 points and two championships, and now owns the Pittsburgh Penguins
Pittsburgh Penguins
The Pittsburgh Penguins are a professional ice hockey team based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. They are members of the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League . The franchise was founded in 1967 as one of the first expansion teams during the league's original...
. Today's NHL is led by arguably its two biggest young stars: Sidney Crosby
Sidney Crosby
Sidney Patrick Crosby ONS is a Canadian professional ice hockey player and captain of the Pittsburgh Penguins of the National Hockey League . Crosby was drafted first overall by the Penguins out of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League...
of the Pittsburgh Penguins
Pittsburgh Penguins
The Pittsburgh Penguins are a professional ice hockey team based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. They are members of the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League . The franchise was founded in 1967 as one of the first expansion teams during the league's original...
and Alexander Ovechkin
Alexander Ovechkin
Alexander Mikhaylovich Ovechkin is a Russian professional ice hockey left winger and captain of the Washington Capitals of the National Hockey League...
of the Washington Capitals
Washington Capitals
The Washington Capitals are a professional ice hockey team based in Washington, D.C. They are members of the Southeast Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League . Since their founding in 1974, "The Caps" have won one conference championship to reach the 1998 Stanley Cup...
.
The Canada Cup
Canada Cup (ice hockey)
The Canada Cup was an invitational international ice hockey tournament held on five occasions between 1976 and 1991. The tournament was created to meet demand for a true world championship that allowed the best players from participating nations to compete regardless of their status as professional...
gave way to the World Cup of Hockey
World Cup of Hockey
The World Cup of Hockey is an international ice hockey tournament. Inaugurated in 1996, it is the successor to the previous Canada Cup, which ran from 1976 to 1991...
in 1996, while NHL players first competed in the 1998 Winter Olympics
1998 Winter Olympics
The 1998 Winter Olympics, officially the XVIII Olympic Winter Games, was a winter multi-sport event celebrated from 7 to 22 February 1998 in Nagano, Japan. Seventy-two nations and 2,176 participans contested in seven sports and 72 events at 15 venues. The games saw the introduction of Women's ice...
. To promote itself worldwide, the NHL played regular season games in Japan in 1996, and throughout Europe since 2007. The league played its first outdoor regular season games with the Heritage Classic between the Canadiens and the host Edmonton Oilers
Edmonton Oilers
The Edmonton Oilers are a professional ice hockey team based in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. They are members of the Northwest Division in the Western Conference of the National Hockey League ....
in 2003, and the Winter Classic
NHL Winter Classic
The NHL Winter Classic is an annual event held by the National Hockey League on New Year's Day where regular-season games are played outdoors, in areas hosted by NHL teams. Though largely derived from the Heritage Classic outdoor game held in Edmonton in 2003, the Winter Classic has so far only...
, held on New Year's Day from 2008 on in Buffalo, New York
Buffalo, New York
Buffalo is the second most populous city in the state of New York, after New York City. Located in Western New York on the eastern shores of Lake Erie and at the head of the Niagara River across from Fort Erie, Ontario, Buffalo is the seat of Erie County and the principal city of the...
, Chicago, Illinois
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
, Boston, Massachusetts and Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Pittsburgh is the second-largest city in the US Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the county seat of Allegheny County. Regionally, it anchors the largest urban area of Appalachia and the Ohio River Valley, and nationally, it is the 22nd-largest urban area in the United States...
.
Increased use of defence-focused systems contributed to decreased scoring in the late 1990s, leading some to argue that the NHL's talent pool had been diluted by the 1990 expansion plan. The league has attempted several times to alter its rules to increase scoring. It began awarding teams a single point for losing in overtime in 1999, hoping to reduce the number of tie games. In 2005, ties were eliminated altogether as the penalty shootout
Penalty shootout
The shootout is a method of determining a winner in sports matches that would have otherwise been drawn or tied. The rules for penalty shootouts vary between sports and even different competitions; however, the usual form is similar to penalty shots in that a single player takes one shot on goal...
was introduced to ensure that all games have a winner.
Background
Alan Eagleson
Robert Alan Eagleson is a disbarred Canadian lawyer, convicted felon in two countries, former politician, hockey agent and promoter...
and the teams' owners. As a result, Eagleson stepped down in December 1991, and was replaced by Bob Goodenow
Bob Goodenow
Robert W. "Bob" Goodenow is an American manager, who became the Executive Director of the National Hockey League Players Association in 1992, succeeding Alan Eagleson...
. Four years later, the Federal Bureau of Investigation
Federal Bureau of Investigation
The Federal Bureau of Investigation is an agency of the United States Department of Justice that serves as both a federal criminal investigative body and an internal intelligence agency . The FBI has investigative jurisdiction over violations of more than 200 categories of federal crime...
indicted Eagleson on charges of racketeering, fraud
Fraud
In criminal law, a fraud is an intentional deception made for personal gain or to damage another individual; the related adjective is fraudulent. The specific legal definition varies by legal jurisdiction. Fraud is a crime, and also a civil law violation...
, embezzlement
Embezzlement
Embezzlement is the act of dishonestly appropriating or secreting assets by one or more individuals to whom such assets have been entrusted....
, kickbacks and obstruction of justice
Obstruction of justice
The crime of obstruction of justice, in United States jurisdictions, refers to the crime of interfering with the work of police, investigators, regulatory agencies, prosecutors, or other officials...
over allegations that he stole millions of dollars from the NHLPA. Eagleson pleaded guilty in 1998 in a plea bargain and was fined US$
United States dollar
The United States dollar , also referred to as the American dollar, is the official currency of the United States of America. It is divided into 100 smaller units called cents or pennies....
1 million and sentenced to 18 months in prison. He subsequently resigned from the Hockey Hall of Fame
Hockey Hall of Fame
The Hockey Hall of Fame is located in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Dedicated to the history of ice hockey, it is both a museum and a hall of fame. It holds exhibits about players, teams, National Hockey League records, memorabilia and NHL trophies, including the Stanley Cup...
.
Four months after replacing Eagleson, Goodenow and the NHLPA launched the first NHL strike on April 1, 1992. It lasted ten days and resulted in the players receiving larger playoff bonuses, increased control over the licensing of their likenesses and improved rights to free agency. It also led the owners to dismiss league president John Ziegler and replace him on an interim basis with Gil Stein. Goodenow called the strike a major moment, stating "I don't think the owners took the players seriously and it wasn't until the strike that they understood the players were serious." As part of the deal, the league also agreed to have each team play two games per season for the following two years in neutral site locations, partially to help gauge markets for potential expansion.
Desiring a fresh start, the owners replaced Stein with Gary Bettman
Gary Bettman
Gary Bruce Bettman is the commissioner of the National Hockey League , a post he has held since February 1, 1993. Previously, Bettman was a senior vice-president and general counsel to the National Basketball Association...
in February 1993. Formerly a senior vice president of the National Basketball Association
National Basketball Association
The National Basketball Association is the pre-eminent men's professional basketball league in North America. It consists of thirty franchised member clubs, of which twenty-nine are located in the United States and one in Canada...
, Bettman replaced the position of president with that of commissioner
NHL Commissioner
The National Hockey League Commissioner is the highest-ranking executive officer in the National Hockey League . The position was created in 1993 with Gary Bettman as the first Commissioner...
. He was given the task of selling the game to the American market, ending labor unrest, completing expansion plans, and modernizing the league.
Expansion
Tampa Bay Lightning
The Tampa Bay Lightning are a professional ice hockey team based in Tampa, Florida. They are members of the Southeast Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League . They have one Stanley Cup championship in their history, in 2003–04. They are often referred to as the...
and Ottawa Senators
Ottawa Senators
The Ottawa Senators are a professional ice hockey team based in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. They are members of the Northeast Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League...
joined the league in as part of the owners' 1990 plan to expand the NHL to 28 teams within a decade. The Lightning made NHL history when goaltender Manon Rheaume
Manon Rhéaume
Manon Rhéaume is a Canadian ice hockey goaltender. An Olympic silver medalist, she achieved a number of historic firsts during her career, including becoming the first and only woman ever to play in a National Hockey League exhibition game.In 1992 Rhéaume signed a contract with the Tampa Bay...
played a period of an exhibition game for them on September 23, 1992. Rheaume became the first woman to play in an NHL game. She also became the first woman to sign a professional hockey contract, doing so with the Lightning's farm team, the Atlanta Knights. One year later, the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim
Anaheim Ducks
The Anaheim Ducks are a professional ice hockey team based in Anaheim, California, USA. They are members of the Pacific Division of the Western Conference of the National Hockey League...
and Florida Panthers
Florida Panthers
The Florida Panthers are a professional ice hockey team based in Sunrise, Florida, in the Miami metropolitan area. They are members of the Southeast Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League . They play their games at the BankAtlantic Center in Sunrise and are the...
began play as the NHL's 25th and 26th franchises. They were established as part of the NHL's attempt to regain a U.S. network television presence by expanding into southern North America. The league expected that bringing in Blockbuster Video's Wayne Huizenga
Wayne Huizenga
Harry Wayne Huizenga is an American businessman who grew Blockbuster Video, Waste Management, Inc., and AutoNation into successful companies. He is the former owner of the National Football League's Miami Dolphins, the National Hockey League's Florida Panthers and the Major League Baseball's Miami...
to own the Panthers, and The Walt Disney Company
The Walt Disney Company
The Walt Disney Company is the largest media conglomerate in the world in terms of revenue. Founded on October 16, 1923, by Walt and Roy Disney as the Disney Brothers Cartoon Studio, Walt Disney Productions established itself as a leader in the American animation industry before diversifying into...
to own the Mighty Ducks would raise its profile. The NHL's southward push continued in 1993 when the Minnesota North Stars
Minnesota North Stars
The Minnesota North Stars were a professional ice hockey team in the National Hockey League for 26 seasons, from 1967 to 1993. The North Stars played their home games at the Met Center in Bloomington, and the team's colors for most of its history were green, yellow, gold and white...
moved to Dallas, Texas
Dallas, Texas
Dallas is the third-largest city in Texas and the ninth-largest in the United States. The Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex is the largest metropolitan area in the South and fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States...
to become the Dallas Stars
Dallas Stars
The Dallas Stars are a professional ice hockey team based in Dallas, Texas. They are members of the Pacific Division of the Western Conference of the National Hockey League . The team was founded during the 1967 NHL expansion as the Minnesota North Stars, based in Bloomington, Minnesota. The...
.
The NHL celebrated the 100th anniversary of the Stanley Cup
Stanley Cup
The Stanley Cup is an ice hockey club trophy, awarded annually to the National Hockey League playoffs champion after the conclusion of the Stanley Cup Finals. It has been referred to as The Cup, Lord Stanley's Cup, The Holy Grail, or facetiously as Lord Stanley's Mug...
in 1993. That year's finals featured Patrick Roy
Patrick Roy
Patrick Edward Armand Roy is a former Canadian ice hockey goaltender. Nicknamed "Saint Patrick," Roy split his professional career between the Montreal Canadiens, whom he played with for 10 years, and the Colorado Avalanche, whom he played with for 8 years, both of the National Hockey League...
and the Montreal Canadiens
Montreal Canadiens
The Montreal Canadiens are a professional ice hockey team based in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. They are members of the Northeast Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League . The club is officially known as ...
against Wayne Gretzky
Wayne Gretzky
Wayne Douglas Gretzky, CC is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player and former head coach. Nicknamed "The Great One", he is generally regarded as the best player in the history of the National Hockey League , and has been called "the greatest hockey player ever" by many sportswriters,...
and the Los Angeles Kings
Los Angeles Kings
The Los Angeles Kings are a professional ice hockey team based in Los Angeles, California. They are members of the Pacific Division of the Western Conference of the National Hockey League...
. After losing the first game, the Canadiens rallied from a late deficit to win game two in overtime after the Kings' Marty McSorley
Marty McSorley
Martin James "Marty" McSorley is a retired Canadian professional hockey player, who played in the National Hockey League from 1983 to 2000. A versatile player, he was able to play both the forward and defense positions. He is also a former head coach of the Springfield Falcons of the American...
was penalized for using an illegal stick. Montreal scored on the power play
Power play (sport)
"Power play" is a sporting term used in various games.*In ice hockey, a team is said to be on a power play when at least one opposing player is serving a penalty, and the team has a numerical advantage on the ice...
, sending the game into overtime. Montreal won games three and four in overtime en route to winning the series in five games. The Canadiens won an NHL-record ten consecutive overtime games in the 1993 playoffs.
The New York Rangers
New York Rangers
The New York Rangers are a professional ice hockey team based in the borough of Manhattan in New York, New York, USA. They are members of the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League . Playing their home games at Madison Square Garden, the Rangers are one of the...
ended their "Curse of 1940
Curse of 1940
The Curse of 1940, also called Dutton's Curse, was a superstitious explanation for why the New York Rangers of the National Hockey League did not win the league's championship trophy, the Stanley Cup, from 1940 to 1994.-Popular theories:...
" after 54 years by winning the 1994 Stanley Cup
1994 Stanley Cup Finals
The 1994 Stanley Cup Final was a best-of-seven playoff series contested between the Eastern Conference champion New York Rangers and Western Conference champion Vancouver Canucks of the National Hockey League...
in seven games over the Vancouver Canucks
Vancouver Canucks
The Vancouver Canucks are a professional ice hockey team based in Vancouver, :British Columbia, Canada. They are members of the Northwest Division of the Western Conference of the National Hockey League . The Canucks play their home games at Rogers Arena, formerly known as General Motors Place,...
. The Rangers' championship was the last hurrah for the great Edmonton Oilers dynasty of the 1980s, as there were seven ex-Oilers on the team, including Mark Messier
Mark Messier
Mark Douglas Messier is a former Canadian professional ice hockey centre of the National Hockey League and current special assistant to the president and general manager of the New York Rangers. He spent a quarter of a century in the NHL with the Edmonton Oilers, New York Rangers, and Vancouver...
, who became the first (and to this date, the only) player to win Stanley Cups as the captain for two franchises, having captained the Oilers to the last of their five Stanley Cups in . The Rangers' victory also resulted in the first Russian names to be engraved on the Stanley Cup: Alexei Kovalev
Alexei Kovalev
Alexei Vyacheslavovich "Alex" Kovalev is a Russian professional ice hockey player who currently plays for Atlant Moscow Oblast of the Kontinental Hockey League....
, Alexander Karpovtsev
Alexander Karpovtsev
Alexander Karpovtsev was a Russian ice hockey player and later an assistant coach for Ak Bars Kazan and Lokomotiv Yaroslavl of the Kontinental Hockey League...
, Sergei Nemchinov
Sergei Nemchinov
Sergei Lvovich Nemchinov is a retired Russian ice hockey player who played in the National Hockey League for the New York Rangers, Vancouver Canucks, New York Islanders and the New Jersey Devils for twelve seasons, bookended by ten seasons in the Soviet Championship League with PHC Krylya Sovetov...
, and Sergei Zubov
Sergei Zubov
Sergei Alexandrovich Zubov is a former Russian professional ice hockey defenceman who played for the Dallas Stars, New York Rangers and Pittsburgh Penguins of the National Hockey League as well as SKA St. Petersburg of the Kontinental Hockey League...
. The global audience of 285 million in 120 countries. that watched the Rangers' victory included a huge European audience, including those watching on the brand-new television screens across the former Soviet Union, because of the first Russian names on the Stanley Cup.
1994–95 lockout
Four months later, the players were locked outLockout (industry)
A lockout is a work stoppage in which an employer prevents employees from working. This is different from a strike, in which employees refuse to work.- Causes :...
by the owners due to the lack of a Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA). The 1994–95 NHL lockout lasted 104 days and resulted in the season's being shortened from a planned 84 games to 48. The owners wanted to control salary growth and insisted on a salary cap
Salary cap
In professional sports, a salary cap is a cartel agreement between teams that places a limit on the amount of money that can be spent on player salaries. The limit exists as a per-player limit or a total limit for the team's roster, or both...
, changes to free agency and salary arbitration. The union instead proposed a luxury tax system that would penalize teams that spent above a set figure on player salaries. The negotiations were at times bitter, as defenceman Chris Chelios
Chris Chelios
Christos Kostas Tselios is a retired American professional ice hockey defenseman. He is currently the Executive Advisor to Ken Holland, the general manager of the Detroit Red Wings, a role that Steve Yzerman held before leaving to become general manager of the Tampa Bay Lightning.Chelios played...
famously issued a veiled threat against Bettman, suggesting that he should be "worried about [his] family and [his] well-being", because "some crazed fans, or even a player [...] might take matters into their own hands and figure they get Bettman out of the way."
The lockout entered its fourth month in January 1995 and approached a deadline that would have canceled the season when the two sides agreed to an 11th-hour deal. The owners failed to achieve a full salary cap, but the union agreed to a cap on rookie contracts, changes to the arbitration system and restrictive rules for free agency that would not grant a player the unrestricted right to choose where he played until age 31. The deal was initially seen as a victory for the owners.
The agreement was not enough to save two teams in Canada's smallest NHL markets. The revenue disparity between large and small market teams, exacerbated by the falling value of the Canadian dollar
Canadian dollar
The Canadian dollar is the currency of Canada. As of 2007, the Canadian dollar is the 7th most traded currency in the world. It is abbreviated with the dollar sign $, or C$ to distinguish it from other dollar-denominated currencies...
, led the Winnipeg Jets to relocate to Phoenix, Arizona
Phoenix, Arizona
Phoenix is the capital, and largest city, of the U.S. state of Arizona, as well as the sixth most populated city in the United States. Phoenix is home to 1,445,632 people according to the official 2010 U.S. Census Bureau data...
in 1996, becoming the Coyotes
Phoenix Coyotes
The Phoenix Coyotes are a professional ice hockey team based in Glendale, Arizona. They are members of the Pacific Division of the Western Conference of the National Hockey League . They play their home games at Jobing.com Arena....
one year after the Quebec Nordiques
Quebec Nordiques
The Quebec Nordiques were a professional ice hockey team based in Quebec City, Quebec, Canada. The Nordiques played in the World Hockey Association and the National Hockey League...
moved to Denver, Colorado to become the Colorado Avalanche
Colorado Avalanche
The Colorado Avalanche are a professional ice hockey team based in Denver, Colorado, United States. They are members of the Northwest Division of the Western Conference of the National Hockey League . The Avalanche have won the Stanley Cup twice, in 1995–96 and 2000–01. The franchise...
. Hoping to prevent other teams from leaving Canada, and citing the cost of doing business in American dollars while taking revenue in Canadian dollars, the NHL set up a currency assistance plan to support the remaining small market Canadian teams in 1996. The Hartford Whalers
Hartford Whalers
The Hartford Whalers were a professional ice hockey team based for most of its existence in Hartford, Connecticut, U.S.A.. The club played in the World Hockey Association from 1972–79 and in the National Hockey League from 1979–97...
became the third former World Hockey Association
World Hockey Association
The World Hockey Association was a professional ice hockey league that operated in North America from 1972 to 1979. It was the first major competition for the National Hockey League since the collapse of the Western Hockey League in 1926...
team to relocate in 1997, becoming the Carolina Hurricanes
Carolina Hurricanes
The Carolina Hurricanes are a professional ice hockey team based in Raleigh, North Carolina, USA. They are members of the Southeast Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League , and play their home games at the 18,680-seat RBC Center...
.
Dead puck era
Following the 1994–95 lockout, the NHL entered a prolonged period of offensive decline. Throughout the 1980s, 7.6 goals were scored per game on average. That figure had dropped below six goals per game by the 1994–95 season, and to 5.19 by 1998–99. There have been many arguments put forth as to what caused this decline. A common claim is that the drop in offence was due to dilution of talent caused by 1990s expansion, a position former player Brett HullBrett Hull
Brett Andrew Hull is a former Canadian-American NHL player and the former Executive Vice President of the Dallas Stars. He is the son of Bobby Hull and nephew of Dennis Hull, both former NHL players. Hull is also known as "The Golden Brett," which is a play off of his father's nickname, "The...
endorsed. Increased use of the neutral zone trap
Neutral zone trap
The neutral zone trap is a defensive strategy used in ice hockey to prevent an opposing team from proceeding through the neutral zone to force turnovers...
and similar defensive systems were also blamed. The New Jersey Devils
New Jersey Devils
The New Jersey Devils are a professional ice hockey team based in Newark, New Jersey, United States. They are members of the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League...
have often been criticized for popularizing the trap, using it to win the Stanley Cup in 1995, and again in 2000 and 2003. This period has been called the dead puck era.
The Canada Cup
Canada Cup (ice hockey)
The Canada Cup was an invitational international ice hockey tournament held on five occasions between 1976 and 1991. The tournament was created to meet demand for a true world championship that allowed the best players from participating nations to compete regardless of their status as professional...
gave way to the World Cup of Hockey
World Cup of Hockey
The World Cup of Hockey is an international ice hockey tournament. Inaugurated in 1996, it is the successor to the previous Canada Cup, which ran from 1976 to 1991...
in 1996, an NHL-sanctioned eight team international tournament featuring the top professionals in the world. The inaugural
1996 World Cup of Hockey
The first World Cup of Hockey , or 1996 World Cup of Hockey, replaced the Canada Cup as one of the premier championships for professional ice hockey ....
tournament saw the United States upset the favoured Canadians in a three-game final. That same year, the Avalanche won their first Stanley Cup in their first season in Denver, sweeping the Florida Panthers
Florida Panthers
The Florida Panthers are a professional ice hockey team based in Sunrise, Florida, in the Miami metropolitan area. They are members of the Southeast Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League . They play their games at the BankAtlantic Center in Sunrise and are the...
. One year later, the Detroit Red Wings
Detroit Red Wings
The Detroit Red Wings are a professional ice hockey team based in Detroit, Michigan. They are members of the Central Division of the Western Conference of the National Hockey League , and are one of the Original Six teams of the NHL, along with the Toronto Maple Leafs, Montreal Canadiens, New York...
ended a 42-year drought, capturing their first Stanley Cup since 1955. The team's celebration was cut short, as defenceman Vladimir Konstantinov
Vladimir Konstantinov
Vladimir Nikolaevich Konstantinov is a Russian retired professional ice hockey player who played his entire National Hockey League career with the Detroit Red Wings. Previously, he had played for Soviet club CSKA Moscow...
and team masseur Sergei Mnatsakanov were seriously injured when their limousine crashed six days following the victory. The Red Wings dedicated the 1997–98 season to the two. Upon repeating as champions in 1998, they brought Konstantinov, who had suffered severe brain damage in the crash, out in a wheelchair to celebrate with the team on the ice.
Nashville Predators
The Nashville Predators are a professional ice hockey team based in Nashville, Tennessee. They are members of the Central Division of the Western Conference of the National Hockey League...
joined the league in 1998, followed by the Atlanta Thrashers
Atlanta Thrashers
The Atlanta Thrashers were a professional ice hockey team based in Atlanta, Georgia, United States. Atlanta was granted a franchise in the National Hockey League on June 25, 1997, and became the league's 28th franchise when it began play in the 1999–2000 NHL season...
in 1999. The Minnesota Wild
Minnesota Wild
The Minnesota Wild are a professional ice hockey team based in St. Paul, Minnesota, United States. They are members of the Northwest Division of the Western Conference of the National Hockey League ....
and Columbus Blue Jackets
Columbus Blue Jackets
The Columbus Blue Jackets are a professional ice hockey team based in Columbus, Ohio, United States. They are members of the Central Division of the Western Conference of the National Hockey League...
then began play in 2000.
On April 16, 1999, Wayne Gretzky played his final NHL game, retiring as the league's all-time scoring leader and holding 61 NHL records. His number, 99, was retired league-wide the following season. The usual three year waiting period between a player's retirement and his induction into the Hockey Hall of Fame
Hockey Hall of Fame
The Hockey Hall of Fame is located in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Dedicated to the history of ice hockey, it is both a museum and a hall of fame. It holds exhibits about players, teams, National Hockey League records, memorabilia and NHL trophies, including the Stanley Cup...
was waived, and he was inducted in 1999.
For marketing reasons, the NHL agreed to participate in the Winter Olympics starting in 1998. NHL players first competed at the Nagano Games
1998 Winter Olympics
The 1998 Winter Olympics, officially the XVIII Olympic Winter Games, was a winter multi-sport event celebrated from 7 to 22 February 1998 in Nagano, Japan. Seventy-two nations and 2,176 participans contested in seven sports and 72 events at 15 venues. The games saw the introduction of Women's ice...
. Led by goaltender Dominik Hasek
Dominik Hašek
Dominik Hašek is a Czech ice hockey goaltender who is currently with HC Spartak Moscow of the KHL.In his 16-season National Hockey League career, he played for the Chicago Blackhawks, Buffalo Sabres, Detroit Red Wings, and the Ottawa Senators. During his years in Buffalo, he became one of the...
, the tournament was won by the Czech Republic. Hasek, who finished the tournament with a 0.97 goals-against average and a .961 save percentage
Save percentage
Save percentage is an ice hockey and lacrosse statistic that represents the percentage of shots on goal a goaltender stops...
over six games, was the leading goaltender of the 1990s. His run of consecutive Vezina Trophies
Vezina Trophy
The Vezina Trophy is awarded annually to the National Hockey League's goaltender who is "adjudged to be the best at this position". At the end of each season, the 30 General Managers of the teams in the National Hockey League vote to determine the goaltender who was the most valuable to his team...
from 1994 to 1999 was interrupted only once, in 1996 by Jim Carey of the Washington Capitals
Washington Capitals
The Washington Capitals are a professional ice hockey team based in Washington, D.C. They are members of the Southeast Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League . Since their founding in 1974, "The Caps" have won one conference championship to reach the 1998 Stanley Cup...
. Hasek won another Vezina Trophy in 2001, and two consecutive Lester B. Pearson
Lester B. Pearson Award
The Ted Lindsay Award, formerly known as the Lester B. Pearson Award, is awarded annually to the National Hockey League's most outstanding player in the regular season as judged by the members of the NHL Players Association. It has been awarded 40 times to 23 different players since its beginnings...
and Hart Trophies in 1997 and 1998.
The Panthers' trip to the Stanley Cup final in 1996 began a trend in which southern-based teams frequently appeared in the championship round. The Dallas Stars
Dallas Stars
The Dallas Stars are a professional ice hockey team based in Dallas, Texas. They are members of the Pacific Division of the Western Conference of the National Hockey League . The team was founded during the 1967 NHL expansion as the Minnesota North Stars, based in Bloomington, Minnesota. The...
won the 1999 Stanley Cup
1999 Stanley Cup Finals
The 1999 Stanley Cup Final NHL championship series was contested by the Eastern Conference champion Buffalo Sabres and the Western Conference champion Dallas Stars. It was the 106th year of the Stanley Cup. The Sabres were led by captain Michael Peca, coach Lindy Ruff and goalie Dominik Hasek. The...
over the Buffalo Sabres
Buffalo Sabres
The Buffalo Sabres are a professional ice hockey team based in Buffalo, New York. They are members of the Northeast Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League .-Founding and early success: 1970-71—1980-81:...
in controversial fashion: Brett Hull scored the Cup-winning goal in overtime of game six despite arguments that his foot was in the goal crease, which under the rules at the time would have disallowed the goal. The Stars returned to the finals in 2000, falling to the New Jersey Devils. The Hurricanes first played in the finals in 2002, losing to the Red Wings, while the Mighty Ducks reached the final in 2003, falling to the Devils. In 2004, the Tampa Bay Lightning
Tampa Bay Lightning
The Tampa Bay Lightning are a professional ice hockey team based in Tampa, Florida. They are members of the Southeast Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League . They have one Stanley Cup championship in their history, in 2003–04. They are often referred to as the...
defeated the Calgary Flames
Calgary Flames
The Calgary Flames are a professional ice hockey team based in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. They are members of the Northwest Division of the Western Conference of the National Hockey League . The club is the third major-professional ice hockey team to represent the city of Calgary, following the...
to win the Cup. The Lightning win in 2004 was seen as the end to the Devils/Avalanche/Red Wings Stanley Cup era, as all three teams won a combined 8 Stanley Cups between 1995 and 2003.
The Edmonton Oilers
Edmonton Oilers
The Edmonton Oilers are a professional ice hockey team based in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. They are members of the Northwest Division in the Western Conference of the National Hockey League ....
hosted the NHL's first regular season outdoor hockey game, the Heritage Classic, on November 22, 2003. The game against the Canadiens was held at Commonwealth Stadium
Commonwealth Stadium (Edmonton)
Commonwealth Stadium is a sports stadium located in the Norwood Area of Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, primarily used by the Edmonton Eskimos of the Canadian Football League. The stadium is owned and operated by the City of Edmonton.- History :...
before a then-record crowd of 57,167 fans who endured temperatures as low as -19 °C.
Mario Lemieux
Pittsburgh Penguins
The Pittsburgh Penguins are a professional ice hockey team based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. They are members of the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League . The franchise was founded in 1967 as one of the first expansion teams during the league's original...
hoped that Mario Lemieux
Mario Lemieux
Mario Lemieux, OC, CQ is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player. He is acknowledged to be one of the best players of all time. He played 17 seasons as a forward for the Pittsburgh Penguins of the National Hockey League between 1984 and 2006...
would improve the team's fortunes on the ice, and increase interest in the team in the Pittsburgh market. Lemieux, who had scored 133 goals in his final season of junior hockey, recorded his first NHL goal in his first game on his first career shot against the Boston Bruins
Boston Bruins
The Boston Bruins are a professional ice hockey team based in Boston, Massachusetts, USA. They are members of the Northeast Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League . The team has been in existence since 1924, and is the league's third-oldest team and its oldest in the...
. On December 31, 1988, Lemieux scored five goals, one in each of the five different ways possible: even strength, on the power play
Power play (sport)
"Power play" is a sporting term used in various games.*In ice hockey, a team is said to be on a power play when at least one opposing player is serving a penalty, and the team has a numerical advantage on the ice...
, short handed, on a penalty shot
Penalty shot
A penalty shot is a play used in several sports whereby a goal is attempted during stop-time. Penalty shots are sometimes grouped into the larger penalty shootout used to decide games in several sports.-Ice hockey:...
and into an empty net, a feat no player in league history has duplicated.
Injuries and illness plagued Lemieux throughout his career. He played only 26 regular season games in 1990–91 after surgery to repair a herniated disc
Spinal disc herniation
A spinal disc herniation , informally and misleadingly called a "slipped disc", is a medical condition affecting the spine due to trauma, lifting injuries, or idiopathic, in which a tear in the outer, fibrous ring of an intervertebral disc allows the soft, central portion A spinal disc herniation...
in his back, but returned in time to score 44 points in the playoffs in leading the Penguins to their first Stanley Cup. Lemieux continued to struggle with back trouble the next season, though he still won the scoring title
Art Ross Trophy
The Art Ross Trophy is awarded to the National Hockey League player who leads the league in scoring points at the end of the regular season. It was presented to the NHL by former player, general manager, and head coach Art Ross. The trophy has been awarded 61 times to 25 players since its inception...
, and his second consecutive playoff MVP award
Conn Smythe Trophy
The Conn Smythe Trophy is awarded annually to the player judged most valuable to his team during the National Hockey League's Stanley Cup playoffs. The Conn Smythe Trophy has been awarded 46 times to 40 players since the 1964–65 NHL season...
in leading the Penguins to their second championship in 1992
1992 Stanley Cup Finals
The 1992 Stanley Cup Final NHL championship series was contested by the Prince of Wales Conference and defending Stanley Cup champion Pittsburgh Penguins and the Clarence Campbell Conference champion Chicago Blackhawks. The Blackhawks were making their first appearance in the Final since...
. In 1993, he was diagnosed with cancer. Lemieux endured 22 radiation treatments in 30 days to treat non-Hodgkin lymphoma
Non-Hodgkin lymphoma
The non-Hodgkin lymphomas are a diverse group of blood cancers that include any kind of lymphoma except Hodgkin's lymphomas. Types of NHL vary significantly in their severity, from indolent to very aggressive....
. Only 12 hours after his final treatment, Lemieux returned to the Penguins, scoring a goal in his first game back. A second surgery on his back cost Lemieux most of the 1993–94 season, and the entire 1994–95 campaign. As a result of his injuries, Lemieux retired in 1997. He was immediately inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame; the three-year waiting period was waived by the Hall.
Inspired by his son Austin's desire to see him play, Lemieux returned to the NHL in 2000–01, earning an assist on a Jaromir Jagr goal 33-seconds into his return, and scoring one himself in the 2nd period. He also became the first player-owner in NHL history; he had bought the Penguins in the summer of 1999 to save them from bankruptcy. Lemieux finished the season with 35 goals and 76 points in 43 games. Lemieux continued to battle injuries, missing the majority of the first-half of the 2001–02 season, however he returned to action in time to captain Team Canada to its first gold medal in 50-years at the 2002 Winter Olympics
2002 Winter Olympics
The 2002 Winter Olympics, officially the XIX Olympic Winter Games, were a winter multi-sport event that was celebrated in February 2002 in and around Salt Lake City, Utah, United States. Approximately 2,400 athletes from 77 nations participated in 78 events in fifteen disciplines, held throughout...
. Injuries again forced his retirement, as Lemieux finally ended his career on January 24, 2006 with 690 goals and 1,723 points in 915 games. Despite his injuries, it has been argued that Lemieux was the greatest player in NHL history. Hall of Famer Bobby Orr
Bobby Orr
Robert Gordon "Bobby" Orr, OC is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player. Orr played in the National Hockey League for his entire career, the first ten seasons with the Boston Bruins, joining the Chicago Black Hawks for two more. Orr is widely acknowledged to be one of the greatest...
claimed Lemieux was the most skilled player he had ever seen, while Mike Gartner
Mike Gartner
Michael Alfred Gartner is a retired Canadian professional ice hockey right winger who played 19 seasons in the National Hockey League for the Washington Capitals, Minnesota North Stars, New York Rangers, Toronto Maple Leafs and Phoenix Coyotes...
said that if he had remained healthy, Lemieux would have scored 1,000 goals.
2004–05 lockout
By 2004, the owners were claiming that player salaries had grown much faster than revenues, and that the league as a whole lost over US$300 million in 2002–03. Upon the expiry of the collective bargaining agreementNHL Collective Bargaining Agreement
The NHL collective bargaining agreement is the basic contract between the National Hockey League team owners and the NHL Players Association , designed to be arrived at through the typical labor-management negotiations of collective bargaining...
(CBA), Gary Bettman announced that the players were again locked out to start the 2004–05 season. On February 16, 2005, he announced the cancellation of the entire season: "It is my sad duty to announce that because a solution has not yet been attained, it is no longer practical to conduct even an abbreviated season. Accordingly, I have no choice but to announce the formal cancellation of play." The NHL became the first North American league to cancel an entire season because of a labor stoppage.
As with the 1994–95 lockout, the owners were demanding a salary cap, which the players were unwilling to consider until the season was on the verge of being lost. The season's cancellation led union president Trevor Linden
Trevor Linden
Trevor John Linden, C.M., O.B.C. is a retired Canadian professional ice hockey player. He played centre and right wing with four different teams: the Vancouver Canucks , New York Islanders, Montreal Canadiens, and Washington Capitals...
and senior director Ted Saskin
Ted Saskin
Ted Saskin is the former NHL Players Association executive director. He assumed the title after Bob Goodenow resigned on July 28, 2005, but was unanimously fired by the NHLPA on May 10, 2007, after a union-commissioned report concluded Saskin had quarterbacked a campaign to hack into player email...
to take charge of negotiations from executive director Bob Goodenow
Bob Goodenow
Robert W. "Bob" Goodenow is an American manager, who became the Executive Director of the National Hockey League Players Association in 1992, succeeding Alan Eagleson...
. By early July, the two sides had agreed to a new CBA. The deal featured a hard salary cap, linked to a fixed percentage of league revenues, a 24% rollback on salaries, and unrestricted free agency beginning after seven years of service.
The loss of the 2004–05 season led the NHL to institute a special lottery to determine the order of the 2005 draft
2005 NHL Entry Draft
The 2005 NHL Entry Draft was the 43rd NHL Entry Draft.As a lockout cancelled the games of the 2004–05 NHL season, the draft order was determined by lottery on July 22, 2005. Teams were assigned 1 to 3 balls based on their playoff appearances and first overall draft picks from the past three years...
, as there were no standings to base a drafting order from. The Pittsburgh Penguins
Pittsburgh Penguins
The Pittsburgh Penguins are a professional ice hockey team based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. They are members of the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League . The franchise was founded in 1967 as one of the first expansion teams during the league's original...
won the lottery, and selected Sidney Crosby
Sidney Crosby
Sidney Patrick Crosby ONS is a Canadian professional ice hockey player and captain of the Pittsburgh Penguins of the National Hockey League . Crosby was drafted first overall by the Penguins out of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League...
, a highly-prized prospect whose arrival to the NHL had been greatly anticipated. Crosby and the Washington Capitals
Washington Capitals
The Washington Capitals are a professional ice hockey team based in Washington, D.C. They are members of the Southeast Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League . Since their founding in 1974, "The Caps" have won one conference championship to reach the 1998 Stanley Cup...
' Alex Ovechkin
Alexander Ovechkin
Alexander Mikhaylovich Ovechkin is a Russian professional ice hockey left winger and captain of the Washington Capitals of the National Hockey League...
, the 2004 first overall pick
2004 NHL Entry Draft
The 2004 NHL Entry Draft was held on June 26 at the RBC Center in Raleigh, North Carolina. It is especially notable because it was the last NHL event to take place before the beginning of the lockout which canceled all the games scheduled for the 2004–05 NHL season.- Selections by round :Listed...
, were expected to become the faces of the NHL as the league entered a new era. Ovechkin was named the Calder Memorial Trophy
Calder Memorial Trophy
The Calder Memorial Trophy is an annual award given "to the player selected as the most proficient in his first year of competition in the National Hockey League." The Rookie of the Year trophy has been awarded 79 times since its creation for the 1936–37 NHL season...
winner as rookie of the year in 2005–06, while Crosby's presence helped Pittsburgh's attendance increase by 33%, over 4,000 fans per game.
Post-lockout
Art Ross Trophy
The Art Ross Trophy is awarded to the National Hockey League player who leads the league in scoring points at the end of the regular season. It was presented to the NHL by former player, general manager, and head coach Art Ross. The trophy has been awarded 61 times to 25 players since its inception...
and Hart
Hart Memorial Trophy
The Hart Memorial Trophy, originally known as the Hart Trophy, the "oldest and most prestigious individual award in hockey", is awarded annually to the "player adjudged most valuable to his team" in the National Hockey League . The Hart Memorial Trophy has been awarded 86 times to 53 different...
trophies; Crosby captured both in 2007 and Ovechkin in 2008. The 2006 Stanley Cup Finals
2006 Stanley Cup Finals
The 2006 Stanley Cup Final was a best-of-seven playoff series that determined the National Hockey League champion for the 2005–06 season. As a culmination of the 2006 Stanley Cup playoffs, the Eastern Conference champion Carolina Hurricanes defeated the Western Conference champion Edmonton Oilers...
was the first time that franchises that originally played in the World Hockey Association
World Hockey Association
The World Hockey Association was a professional ice hockey league that operated in North America from 1972 to 1979. It was the first major competition for the National Hockey League since the collapse of the Western Hockey League in 1926...
(WHA) met in the Stanley Cup Final, as the Oilers lost a seven-game series to the Hurricanes. The following season, the Senators lost the finals in five games to the Ducks. The three year streak of Canadian teams in the finals was halted in the 2007–08 season, when the Red Wings defeated the Penguins for their fourth Stanley Cup in 11 years.
The success of the Heritage Classic led the NHL to schedule more outdoor games. The Sabres hosted the 2008 NHL Winter Classic on New Year's Day 2008, losing to the Pittsburgh Penguins in a shootout before a crowd of 71,217 at Ralph Wilson Stadium
Ralph Wilson Stadium
Ralph Wilson Stadium is a football stadium, located in the town of Orchard Park, a suburb of Buffalo, New York. It is the home for the Buffalo Bills, of the NFL...
. The second Winter Classic was held January 1, 2009 at Wrigley Field
Wrigley Field
Wrigley Field is a baseball stadium in Chicago, Illinois, United States that has served as the home ballpark of the Chicago Cubs since 1916. It was built in 1914 as Weeghman Park for the Chicago Federal League baseball team, the Chicago Whales...
in Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
between the Blackhawks and Red Wings. On January 1, 2010 at Fenway Park
Fenway Park
Fenway Park is a baseball park near Kenmore Square in Boston, Massachusetts. Located at 4 Yawkey Way, it has served as the home ballpark of the Boston Red Sox baseball club since it opened in 1912, and is the oldest Major League Baseball stadium currently in use. It is one of two "classic"...
in Boston
Boston
Boston is the capital of and largest city in Massachusetts, and is one of the oldest cities in the United States. The largest city in New England, Boston is regarded as the unofficial "Capital of New England" for its economic and cultural impact on the entire New England region. The city proper had...
the third Winter Classic was held with the Bruins defeating the Philadelphia Flyers
Philadelphia Flyers
The Philadelphia Flyers are a professional ice hockey team based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. They are members of the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League...
2-1 in overtime.
Intending to promote the game world wide, the league sent the San Jose Sharks and Calgary Flames to begin the 1998–99 season with two games in Tokyo
Tokyo
, ; officially , is one of the 47 prefectures of Japan. Tokyo is the capital of Japan, the center of the Greater Tokyo Area, and the largest metropolitan area of Japan. It is the seat of the Japanese government and the Imperial Palace, and the home of the Japanese Imperial Family...
, Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
. Since 2007, the NHL has been sending teams to Europe to start each season. The Los Angeles Kings
Los Angeles Kings
The Los Angeles Kings are a professional ice hockey team based in Los Angeles, California. They are members of the Pacific Division of the Western Conference of the National Hockey League...
met the Ducks at the O2 Arena
The O2 arena (London)
The O2 Arena is a multi-purpose indoor arena located in the centre of The O2, a large entertainment complex on the Greenwich peninsula in London, England.With a capacity of up to 20,000 depending on the event, it is second largest...
in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
to start the season the 2007–08 season. A year later, four teams were sent to Prague
Prague
Prague is the capital and largest city of the Czech Republic. Situated in the north-west of the country on the Vltava river, the city is home to about 1.3 million people, while its metropolitan area is estimated to have a population of over 2.3 million...
, Czech Republic
Czech Republic
The Czech Republic is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country is bordered by Poland to the northeast, Slovakia to the east, Austria to the south, and Germany to the west and northwest....
and Stockholm
Stockholm
Stockholm is the capital and the largest city of Sweden and constitutes the most populated urban area in Scandinavia. Stockholm is the most populous city in Sweden, with a population of 851,155 in the municipality , 1.37 million in the urban area , and around 2.1 million in the metropolitan area...
, Sweden
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
. One of those teams, the Rangers, also participated in the inaugural Victoria Cup, defeating the Kontinental Hockey League
Kontinental Hockey League
The Kontinental Hockey League is an international professional ice hockey league in Eurasia founded in 2008. As of 2009, it is ranked as the strongest hockey league in Europe....
's Metallurg Magnitogorsk
Metallurg Magnitogorsk
Metallurg Magnitogorsk is a professional ice hockey team based in Magnitogorsk, Chelyabinsk Oblast, Russia. They are members of the Kharlamov Division of the Kontinental Hockey League...
4–3 in a single game. Another four teams opened the 2009–10 season
2009–10 NHL season
The 2009–10 NHL season was the 93rd season of operation of the National Hockey League , and the 100th season since the founding of the predecessor National Hockey Association . It ran from October 1, 2009, including four games in Europe on October 2 and 3—until April 11, 2010, with the 2010...
in Stockholm and Helsinki
Helsinki
Helsinki is the capital and largest city in Finland. It is in the region of Uusimaa, located in southern Finland, on the shore of the Gulf of Finland, an arm of the Baltic Sea. The population of the city of Helsinki is , making it by far the most populous municipality in Finland. Helsinki is...
, Finland
Finland
Finland , officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of Northern Europe. It is bordered by Sweden in the west, Norway in the north and Russia in the east, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland.Around 5.4 million people reside...
. In 2010, Vancouver hosted the Winter Olympics
2010 Winter Olympics
The 2010 Winter Olympics, officially the XXI Olympic Winter Games or the 21st Winter Olympics, were a major international multi-sport event held from February 12–28, 2010, in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, with some events held in the suburbs of Richmond, West Vancouver and the University...
, the first time an NHL city has hosted the event since the league began participating. The NHL's participation in future games remains in doubt, as it has expressed a desire not to participate in the 2014 games
2014 Winter Olympics
The 2014 Winter Olympics, officially the XXII Olympic Winter Games, or the 22nd Winter Olympics, is a major international multi-sport event scheduled to be celebrated from 7 to 23 February 2014, in Sochi, Russia with some events held in the resort town of Krasnaya Polyana. Both the Olympic and...
in Sochi
Sochi
Sochi is a city in Krasnodar Krai, Russia, situated just north of Russia's border with the de facto independent republic of Abkhazia, on the Black Sea coast. Greater Sochi sprawls for along the shores of the Black Sea near the Caucasus Mountains...
, Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
. The players, however, strongly favour continued participation in the Olympics. The third World Cup of Hockey
World Cup of Hockey
The World Cup of Hockey is an international ice hockey tournament. Inaugurated in 1996, it is the successor to the previous Canada Cup, which ran from 1976 to 1991...
is expected to take place in 2011, seven years after the 2004 tournament
2004 World Cup of Hockey
The 2004 World Cup of Hockey was an international ice hockey tournament. It was the second installment of the National Hockey League -sanctioned competition eight years after the inaugural 1996 World Cup of Hockey. It was held from August 30 to September 14, 2004, and took place in various venues...
.
Due to the 2010 Olympics, the Canucks underwent the longest road trip in NHL history, with 14 games over 6 weeks, from January 27 to March 13, 2010, to allow General Motors Place
General Motors Place
Rogers Arena Rogers Arena Rogers Arena (nicknamed "The Phone Booth" and "The Cable Box" and also "The Garage" (when it was called GM Place) is an indoor sports arena located at 800 Griffiths Way in the downtown area of Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada...
to be used for ice hockey during the Winter Games
Ice hockey at the 2010 Winter Olympics
Ice hockey at the 2010 Winter Olympics was held at Canada Hockey Place, home of the National Hockey League's Vancouver Canucks, and at UBC Winter Sports Centre, home of the Canadian Interuniversity Sport's UBC Thunderbirds. Twelve teams competed in the men's event and eight teams competed in the...
. It marked the first time that an NHL-sized rink was used during the Winter Olympics. GM Place was "Canada Hockey Place" during the games, as the IOC
International Olympic Committee
The International Olympic Committee is an international corporation based in Lausanne, Switzerland, created by Pierre de Coubertin on 23 June 1894 with Demetrios Vikelas as its first president...
prohibits advertising, including corporate sponsorship, within Olympic venues.
Despite these successes after the lockout, a couple of teams still had financial difficulties. The Phoenix Coyotes
Phoenix Coyotes
The Phoenix Coyotes are a professional ice hockey team based in Glendale, Arizona. They are members of the Pacific Division of the Western Conference of the National Hockey League . They play their home games at Jobing.com Arena....
eventually filed for bankruptcy in May 2009
Phoenix Coyotes bankruptcy
In addition to the bankruptcy of the Phoenix Coyotes, this article discusses the NHL's efforts to sell the club since purchasing it out of bankruptcy.----...
after incurring several hundred million dollars of losses. The league then took control over the team later that year in order to stabilize the club's operations, with the hopes of eventually reselling it to a new owner who would be committed to stay in the Phoenix market. However, the NHL still has not finalized a deal with any new owner. Keeping the team afloat for now is the City of Glendale, Arizona
Glendale, Arizona
Glendale is a city in Maricopa County, Arizona, USA, located about nine miles northwest from Downtown Phoenix. According to 2010 Census Bureau, the population of the city is 226,721....
, home of the team's Jobing.com Arena: after paying $25 million to the NHL to cover the club's losses for the 2010–11 season, another agreement was reached for the city to pay another $25 million for the 2011–12 season.
After also suffering financial losses and ownership struggles, the Atlanta Thrashers
Atlanta Thrashers
The Atlanta Thrashers were a professional ice hockey team based in Atlanta, Georgia, United States. Atlanta was granted a franchise in the National Hockey League on June 25, 1997, and became the league's 28th franchise when it began play in the 1999–2000 NHL season...
were eventually sold to True North Sports and Entertainment in 2011, who then relocated the team
Winnipeg Jets
The Winnipeg Jets were a professional ice hockey team based in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. They began play in the World Hockey Association in 1972, moving to the National Hockey League in 1979 following the collapse of the WHA...
to Winnipeg, a stark reversal of the league's attempts to expand into the southern United States.
Rules and innovations
Hoping to reduce the number of tie games during the regular season, the NHL decided that beginning in the 1999–2000 season, in any game tied after regulation time, both teams would be guaranteed one point, while the team that won in overtime would earn a second point. The theory was that rather than playing conservatively to earn a point for a tie, teams would press for the extra point for the overtime win. In the 2005–06 season the NHL eliminated tie games altogether, as the shootoutPenalty shootout
The shootout is a method of determining a winner in sports matches that would have otherwise been drawn or tied. The rules for penalty shootouts vary between sports and even different competitions; however, the usual form is similar to penalty shots in that a single player takes one shot on goal...
was introduced to decide all regular season games tied after the five-minute overtime period. The shootout has proven controversial; critics have called it a gimmick, and expressed fierce opposition to any suggestion of using it to decide playoff games, though the league has not pushed for this to happen. It has also been argued that teams are playing it safe, taking no chances in regulation in order to bring the game to overtime, where they are each guaranteed a point. The shootout also has many supporters, among them Phoenix head coach Dave Tippett
Dave Tippett
David G. Tippett is a National Hockey League head coach, currently of the Phoenix Coyotes. He is the 6th person to be the head coach of the Coyotes, and the 21st coach in the Phoenix Coyotes/Winnipeg Jets franchise. He is the former head coach of the Dallas Stars...
, who stated that many fans enjoy it.
The shootout was one of several rule changes made in 2005 as the league attempted to increase offence following the lockout. The two-line pass rule was eliminated, allowing teams to pass from their defensive zone to anywhere in the neutral zone. Previously, such passes could only be made to their own half of the neutral zone. The rule was intended to encourage long breakout passes and create more breakaways
Breakaway (ice hockey)
A breakaway is a situation in ice hockey in which a player with the puck has no defending players, except for the goaltender, between himself and the opposing goal, leaving him free to skate in and shoot at will . A breakaway is considered a lapse on the part of the defending team...
. Teams that commit an icing
Icing (ice hockey)
Icing in ice hockey occurs when a player shoots the puck across at least two red lines, the opposing team's goal line being the last, and the puck remains untouched. It is, however, not icing if the puck is shot from behind the halfway line into the goal, or when the shot must be played by the...
infraction are no longer allowed to make a line change before a faceoff, and goaltenders are now prohibited from playing the puck in the end-zone corners behind the goal line. They are allowed to play the puck directly behind the net, within the trapezoid marked by diagonal lines from the goal line to the end boards.
One of the most controversial changes was the league's zero-tolerance policy on obstruction penalties. The league hoped that the game could be opened up if it cracked down on "clutching and grabbing". The tighter regulations have met with complaints about the legitimacy of some calls, that players are diving to draw penalties, and that officials are not calling enough penalties.
The changes initially led to a sharp increase in scoring. Teams combined to score 6.1 goals per game in 2005–06, more than a goal per game higher than in the 2003–04 season. This represented the highest single-season increase in offence since 1929–30. However, scoring has rapidly declined since, approaching pre-lockout totals in 2007–08.
See also
- History of the Detroit Red WingsHistory of the Detroit Red WingsThe history of the Detroit Red Wings begins with the Detroit Red Wings joining the National Hockey League in 1926. With the demise of the Western Canada Hockey League , the rights to the players of the Victoria Cougars, were purchased by a Detroit group. The new NHL franchise began play as the...
- History of the Montreal CanadiensHistory of the Montreal CanadiensThe Montreal Canadiens ice hockey club, formally , was founded on December 4, 1909. It is the oldest professional hockey franchise in the world, and one of the four founding teams of the National Hockey League . The Canadiens have won the Stanley Cup 24 times: once while part of the National Hockey...
- History of the New York RangersHistory of the New York Rangers-Early years:In 1925, the New York Americans joined the National Hockey League, playing in Madison Square Garden. The Amerks proved to be an even greater success than expected, leading Garden president Tex Rickard to go after a team for the Garden despite promising the Amerks that they would be the...
- History of the Ottawa Senators (1992–)History of the Ottawa Senators (1992–)Founded and established by Ottawa real estate developer Bruce Firestone, the Ottawa Senators are the second National Hockey League franchise to have the Ottawa Senators name. The original Ottawa Senators, founded in 1883, had a famed history, winning 11 Stanley Cups and played in the NHL from 1917...
- History of the Toronto Maple LeafsHistory of the Toronto Maple LeafsThis is a history of the Toronto Maple Leafs of the National Hockey League.-Early years :The beginnings of the Maple Leafs NHL franchise arose out of a long-running dispute between Eddie Livingstone, owner of the National Hockey Association's Toronto Blueshirts, and his fellow NHA owners...
External links
- NHL.com—History
- Hockey: A People's History by the Canadian Broadcasting CorporationCanadian Broadcasting CorporationThe Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, commonly known as CBC and officially as CBC/Radio-Canada, is a Canadian crown corporation that serves as the national public radio and television broadcaster...