The '2006-07 NHL season' was the 89th
regular season of the
National Hockey League (NHL). Originally, the NHL would have celebrated its 90th anniversary this season; however,
the cancellation of the
2004-05 NHL season pushed the 90th season back until the
2007-08 NHL season. The
2007 Stanley Cup Playoffs began on
April 11,
2007 and concluded on
June 6, with the
Anaheim Ducks defeating the
Ottawa Senators to win their first
Stanley Cup.
Events
The Mighty Ducks of Anaheim officially shortened their name to the
Anaheim Ducks prior to the season, introducing a new logo and color scheme. This reflected a clean break from their original owners,
The Walt Disney Company, who originally named the team after the movie, ''
The Mighty Ducks''.
[1]
The
NHL All-Star Game returned after a two-year absence when the
Dallas Stars hosted the
55th National Hockey League All-Star Game at the
American Airlines Center on
January 24,
2007. Dallas hosted the All-Star Game for the first time, and it was the first time the Stars franchise had had hosted the game since 1972, when it was hosted by the-then
Minnesota North Stars. The
West defeated the
East by a score of 12-9, with
Daniel Briere of the
Buffalo Sabres being named MVP of the game.
'''Several former players had their jersey numbers retired during this season:'''
★
Pittsburgh Penguins retired
Mario Lemieux's #66 for the second time on
October 5.
★
St. Louis Blues retired
Brett Hull's #16 on
December 5.
★
Detroit Red Wings retired
Steve Yzerman's #19 on
January 2.
★
Los Angeles Kings retired
Luc Robitaille's #20 on
January 20.
★
Montreal Canadiens retired
Serge Savard's #18 on
November 18 and
Ken Dryden's #29 on
January 29.
★
Calgary Flames retired
Mike Vernon's #30 on
February 6.
★
Edmonton Oilers retired
Mark Messier's #11 on
February 27.
'''Numerous players reached major milestones during the season:'''
★
Brendan Shanahan became the 15th player with 600 regular season NHL goals when he scored twice in his debut with the
New York Rangers on
October 5 against the
Washington Capitals.
★
Jaromir Jagr joined Shanahan in the 600 goal club on
November 19 scoring against
Johan Holmqvist of the
Tampa Bay Lightning. Jagr and Shanahan are the first teammates to reach 600 goals in the same season. Jagr also become the 12th player to score 1,500 career points. He also passed
Jari Kurri's record for points by a European-born player. Finally, Jagr scored his 30th goal against the
Montreal Canadiens on
April 5, tying
Mike Gartner's record for most consecutive 30-goal seasons at 15.
★
Joe Sakic became the third player to score 600 career goals this season on
February 15. Sakic also became the 11th player to record 1,500 points.
★
Teppo Numminen played in his 1,252nd regular season game, passing
Jari Kurri's record for most games played by a European-trained player.
★
Mats Sundin became the first
Swedish player to score 500 career goals on
October 14.
★
Teemu Selanne scored his 500th goal on
November 23.
★
Peter Bondra became the 37th player to achieve 500 goals, followed shortly by
Mark Recchi as number 38 on
January 26.
★ On
March 13,
Mike Modano became the 39th player to score 500 goals, scoring the goal against the
Philadelphia Flyers. Four nights later, he passed
Joe Mullen for most goals by an American-born player by scoring his 503rd goal.
'''The NHL's youth movement continued:'''
★
Evgeni Malkin of the
Pittsburgh Penguins became first player in 89 years to score a goal in each of his first six games in the NHL.
★
Pittsburgh Penguins forward
Jordan Staal became the youngest player (18 years, 153 days) in NHL history to record a hat trick.
★
Colorado Avalanche forward
Paul Stastny set an NHL rookie record by scoring at least one point in 20 consecutive games, breaking
Teemu Selanne's record of 17.
★ 19-year old phenom
Sidney Crosby claimed the scoring title with 120 points, becoming the youngest player in NHL history to achieve the feat.
★ Crosby scored a goal against the
Carolina Hurricanes to pass
Wayne Gretzky as the youngest player in NHL history to reach 200 career points.
'''Numerous other milestones, events, and happenings occurred as well:'''
★ In 2006-07, the
New York Rangers and
Florida Panthers played an historic preseason game. On
September 23,
2006, the Rangers defeated the Panthers 3-2 in the NHL's first game in
Puerto Rico.
★ On
November 9,
2006, the Anaheim Ducks set an NHL open era record by remaining undefeated in regulation for the first 16 games of the season. The previous mark was set by the 1984
Edmonton Oilers.
★ On
January 7,
2007, the
Edmonton Oilers recorded their 1,000th regular season win in franchise history by defeating the
Los Angeles Kings 2-1 in overtime at
Staples Center in
Los Angeles, California.
★ On
February 1,
2007,
Martin Brodeur passed
Patrick Roy for first place on the all-time overtime wins list, with 45 career overtime wins.
★ On
February 22,
2007, eight games went to overtime, setting a record for most on one day. Four of these games went to a shootout. One of the shootouts, between the
Ottawa Senators and
Buffalo Sabres, was the culmination of a game that saw a huge fight, the result of a late hit on Sabres co-captain
Chris Drury, that resulted in 100 penalty minutes and five game misconduct ejections.
★ On
March 11,
2007,
Chris Simon of the
New York Islanders was suspended an NHL-record 25 games (minimum) for striking
New York Rangers center
Ryan Hollweg in the face with his stick during a
March 8 game between the two teams. Simon missed the Islanders' final 15 regular-season contests, their five post-season games, and will miss the first five games of the 2007-08 season.
★ On
March 31,
2007,
Vincent Lecavalier of the
Tampa Bay Lightning scored his 51st goal of the season, against the
Washington Capitals, which would be enough to ensure that he became the first Lightning player to ever win the
Maurice 'Rocket' Richard Trophy (most goals scored). Lecavalier finished the season with 52 goals. On the same night,
Martin St. Louis crossed the 100-point mark for the season, making him and Lecavalier the only teammates in the 2006-07 season to reach 100 points.
★ On
April 3,
2007,
Dominik Hasek of the
Detroit Red Wings made 35 saves and moved into a tie for eighth place on the career shutouts list with 76, in a 3-0 win over the
Columbus Blue Jackets. Hasek tied
Ed Belfour and
Tony Esposito for career shutouts.
★ On
April 5,
2007, goalie
Martin Brodeur of the
New Jersey Devils recorded his 48th win of the season, setting a new record for most wins in a single season by a goaltender. The previous record of 47 wins was set during the 1973-74 NHL season by
Bernie Parent of the
Philadelphia Flyers. Brodeur had tied the record two nights earlier.
★ For the first time in NHL history, neither of the previous season's Stanley Cup finalists qualified for the playoffs, as both the
Edmonton Oilers and defending champion
Carolina Hurricanes failed to qualify. The Hurricanes are also the first Stanley Cup Champion since the
1995-96 New Jersey Devils to miss the playoffs the season after their victory.
★ The
Colorado Avalanche, with 95 points, broke the record set by the
Montreal Canadiens in the
1969-70 season who had 92 points, for having the most points of any team missing the playoffs.
★ The
Vancouver Canucks broke their franchise record of the longest playoff game on
April 11,
2007 winning near the end of the 4th overtime, against the
Dallas Stars and marking the 6th-longest game in NHL history.
★ On
June 2,
2007, the Stanley Cup Finals returned to Ottawa for the first time in over 80 years, since the final match between the original Ottawa Senators and the Boston Bruins on
April 13,
1927 was played. As reported by The Canadian Press, 99 year-old Russell Williams is in attendance, who attended the previous Finals game. The Senators won the game, 5-3.
★ The
Chicago Blackhawks surpassed the
Toronto Maple Leafs as the team with the most regular season losses in NHL history, finishing the season with 2,393 losses compared to Toronto's 2,391.
Regular season
Final standings
''Red-shaded team won the
Presidents' Trophy and home-ice advantage throughout the playoffs.''
''Orange-shaded team clinched the other conference.''
''Yellow-shaded teams clinched the other four divisions.''
''Green-shaded teams clinched the remaining ten playoff berths.''
Numbers in parentheses indicate ranking in conference. Division leaders are automatically ranked 1-3. These three, plus the next five teams in the conference standings, earn playoff berths at the end of the season.
'''Note:' W = Wins, L = Losses, T = Ties, OTL = Overtime Losses, GF = Goals For, GA = Goals Against, Pts = Points''
Eastern Conference
Western Conference
Tiebreaking Procedures
If two or more clubs are tied in points during the regular season, the standing of the clubs is determined in the following order:
[1]
# The fewer number of games played (i.e., superior points percentage).
# The greater number of games won.
# The greater number of points earned in games between the tied clubs.
# The greater differential between goals for and against.
Scoring leaders
''
[2]
''Note: GP = Games played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; +/– = Plus/Minus; PIM = Penalty Minutes''
Leading goaltenders
[3]
''Note: GP = Games Played; TOI = Time On Ice (minutes); W = Wins; L = Losses; OT = Overtime/Shootout Losses; GA = Goals Against; SO = Shutouts; Sv% = Save Percentage; GAA = Goals Against Average''
Stanley Cup playoffs
Main articles: 2007 Stanley Cup Playoffs
Playoff bracket
In each round, the highest remaining seed in each conference is matched against the lowest remaining seed. The higher-seeded team is awarded home ice advantage, which gives them a maximum possible four games on their home ice, with the other team getting a maximum possible three. In the Stanley Cup Final, home ice is determined based on regular season points, giving the Anaheim Ducks home ice for this year's series. Each best-of-seven series follows a 2-2-1-1-1 format. This means that the higher-seeded team will have Games 1 and 2, plus 5 and 7 if necessary, played on their home ice, while the lower-seeded team will be at home for the other games. The format ensures that the team with home ice advantage will always have home ice for the "extra" game if there are an odd number of games in a series.
NHL awards
| 2006-2007 NHL awards |
|---|
| Award | Recipient(s) |
|---|---|
| Stanley Cup: | Anaheim Ducks |
| Presidents' Trophy: | Buffalo Sabres |
| Prince of Wales Trophy: | Ottawa Senators |
| Clarence S. Campbell Bowl: | Anaheim Ducks |
| Art Ross Trophy: | Sidney Crosby, Pittsburgh Penguins |
| Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy: | Phil Kessel, Boston Bruins |
| Calder Memorial Trophy: | Evgeni Malkin, Pittsburgh Penguins |
| Conn Smythe Trophy: | Scott Niedermayer, Anaheim Ducks |
| Frank J. Selke Trophy: | Rod Brind'Amour, Carolina Hurricanes |
| Hart Memorial Trophy: | Sidney Crosby, Pittsburgh Penguins |
| Jack Adams Award: | Alain Vigneault, Vancouver Canucks |
| James Norris Memorial Trophy: | Nicklas Lidström, Detroit Red Wings |
| King Clancy Memorial Trophy: | Saku Koivu, Montreal Canadiens |
| Lady Byng Memorial Trophy: | Pavel Datsyuk, Detroit Red Wings |
| Lester B. Pearson Award: | Sidney Crosby, Pittsburgh Penguins |
| Maurice 'Rocket' Richard Trophy: | Vincent Lecavalier, Tampa Bay Lightning |
| NHL Plus/Minus Award: | Thomas Vanek, Buffalo Sabres |
| Roger Crozier Saving Grace Award: | Niklas Backstrom, Minnesota Wild |
| Vezina Trophy: | Martin Brodeur, New Jersey Devils |
| William M. Jennings Trophy: | Niklas Backstrom & Manny Fernandez, Minnesota Wild |
| Lester Patrick Trophy: | |
All-Star teams
| First Team | Position | Second Team |
|---|
| Martin Brodeur, New Jersey Devils | G | Roberto Luongo, Vancouver Canucks |
| Nicklas Lidstrom, Detroit Red Wings | D | Dan Boyle, Tampa Bay Lightning |
| Scott Niedermayer, Anaheim Ducks | D | Chris Pronger, Anaheim Ducks |
| Sidney Crosby, Pittsburgh Penguins | C | Vincent Lecavalier, Tampa Bay Lightning |
| Dany Heatley, Ottawa Senators | RW | Martin St. Louis, Tampa Bay Lightning |
| Alexander Ovechkin, Washington Capitals | LW | Thomas Vanek, Buffalo Sabres |
Debuts
The following is a list of players of note who played their first NHL game in 2006-07:
★
Niklas Backstrom, Minnesota Wild
★
Luc Bourdon, Vancouver Canucks
★
Yutaka Fukufuji, Los Angeles Kings (first Japanese NHL player)
★
Phil Kessel, Boston Bruins
★
Anze Kopitar, Los Angeles Kings
★
Evgeni Malkin, Pittsburgh Penguins
★
Alexander Radulov, Nashville Predators
★
Jordan Staal, Pittsburgh Penguins
★
Paul Stastny, Colorado Avalanche
Last games
The following is a list of players of note that played their last game in the NHL in 2006-07 (listed with their last team):
★
Matthew Barnaby, Dallas Stars
★
Scott Mellanby, Atlanta Thrashers
★
Joe Nieuwendyk, Florida Panthers
★
Mike Ricci, Phoenix Coyotes
★
Pierre Turgeon, Colorado Avalanche
'''NOTE:' This list may expand as more players retire prior to the start of the 2007-08 season.
See also
★
2006 NHL Entry Draft
★
2006-07 NHL transactions
★
2007 Stanley Cup Playoffs
★
55th National Hockey League All-Star Game
★
National Hockey League All-Star Game
★
2006 in sports
★
2007 in sports
References
1. Mighty Ducks of Anaheim to Change Name to Anaheim Ducks in 2006-2007
External links
★
NHL.com
★
Hockey Database
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