The 2006-07 NHL season is now finished. After dropping an adjective from their name, the mighty Anaheim Ducks took the NHL by storm and went on to win their first ever Stanley Cup.

This inaugural edition of The Aftermath is a six-part series which will consist of brief summaries of every team’s performance this season. Part 2 will cover the Northeast Division.

Boston Bruins

Final standings: 35W, 41L, 6OTL, 97 points, 5th Northeast, 13^th Eastern Conference, 23^rd NHL

For the second consecutive season, the Boston Bruins finished in last place in their division. However their record was (slightly) improved over their performance in 2005-06. While they won 6 more games than they did last season, they also lost 4 more, and lost in 10 fewer in overtime, finishing with 2 more points. While veteran forwards Marc Savard and Zdeno Chara were major additions to the Bruins’ roster last spring, this did not stop the team from finishing with the third worst record in the Eastern Conference.

Buffalo Sabres

Final standings: 53W, 22L, 7OTL, 113 points, 1^st Northeast, 1^st Eastern Conference, 1^st NHL

Like the eventual champions Anaheim, the Buffalo Sabres were a favourite pick by many to win the Stanley Cup. While fans were disappointed with the team’s new logo, nicknamed the ‘Buffaslug’, they quickly got over this as the Sabres would end up finishing with the best record in the NHL, winning the Presidents’ Trophy for the first time in franchise history. Entering the 2006-07 NHL season, the Sabres won 10 straight games, becoming the second team in NHL history to do so. While the Atlanta Thrashers ended this winning streak, Buffalo were still undefeated in regulation for the next two games. Any losing streaks suffered by the Sabres did not last very long, with the longest being just 3 games. During the playoffs, the Buffalo Sabres made short work of state rivals New York Islanders and Rangers, but after this the ‘Presidents’ Trophy Curse’ hit the Sabres, as they lost in the Eastern Conference Finals to bitter division rival and underdogs the Ottawa Senators, losing 4 games to 1 against the Sens.

Montreal Canadiens

Final standings: 42W, 34L, 6OTL, 90 points, 4^th Northeast, 10^th Eastern Conference, 19^th NHL

The Montreal Canadiens planned to build on their 2006 playoff defeat to the Carolina Hurricanes, wanting to rejoin the elite of the East. Unfortunately for Montreal, this season was rough, especially during February when the Canadiens suffered a six game losing streak, which cost them a playoff spot. The only long winning streak they had this season took place in December, and lasted for five games. Had it not been for their performance this season, Montreal could have easily overtaken The New York Islanders, or even the Tampa Bay Lightning to clinch a playoff spot at the end of the regular season.

Ottawa Senators

Final standings: 48W, 25L, 9OTL, 105 points, 2^nd Northeast, 4^th Eastern Conference, 9^th NHL

This season, the Ottawa Senators were looking to make up for a disappointing playoff performance from the 2005-06 playoffs, and they really did. While goaltender Dominik Hasek left for the Detroit Red Wings, the Ottawa Senators were able to rely on Ray Emery for most of the season, as he would lead them to their first Stanley Cup Final series in franchise history. Other key players for this Senators team included Captain Daniel Alfredsson, who lead the team in assists, and Left Winger Dany Heatly, who lead in scoring. Entering the 2006-07 season, Ottawa had a difficult start, winning just 5 out of their first 11 games in October, however a number of large winning streaks later on would push them right up to join the best of the Eastern Conference teams. In the playoffs, the Sens defeated the Pittsburgh Penguins, New Jersey Devils, and very surprisingly, the heavily favoured Buffalo Sabres, with all series ending 4 games to 1. In the Stanley Cup Finals however, despite some strong effort from the Senators, they would lose 4 games to 1 to the Anaheim Ducks. This would prove ironic for Sens backup goaltender Martin Gerber, who not only made his second consecutive Finals appearance, but also lost to his original NHL team. More irony came from the fact that Head Coach Bryan Murray used to be the General Manger of the Ducks, from 2002 until 2004 when he decided to become a coach in Ottawa.

Toronto Maple Leafs

Final standings: 40W, 31L, 11OTL, 91 points, 3^rd Northeast, 9^th Eastern Conference, 18^th NHL

The Toronto Maple Leafs are another team that’ll be banging their heads on the wall as they missed this year’s playoffs by just one point, with the number 8 spot going to the New York Islanders. The Leafs missed the playoffs for the second straight year. The regular season, in terms of the games this team has played, hasn’t been too bad, and the Leafs even played in some high scoring games, most of which were won, most notably a 10-2 victory over the Boston Bruins. Attendance also continued to be a strong factor for Toronto, who were able to fill most of their capacity up throughout the whole season.

Coming up in Part 3 will be the Southeast Division.