The 2009-10 NHL season is now finished. The Chicago Blackhawks had been waiting for their turn to hoist the Cup for 49 years, and that drought was finally brought to an end after an exciting series against the Philadelphia Flyers.

This six part series will consist of brief summaries of every team’s performance this season. Part 4 will begin coverage of the Western Conference with the Central Division.

Chicago Blackhawks

Final standings: 52W, 22L, 8OTL, 112 points, 1^st Central, 2^nd Western Conference, 3^rd NHL

The Chicago Blackhawks started off in Switzerland this year, playing in an exhibition game against HC Davos, and then in the annual Victoria Cup game against the ZSC Lions of National League A, before opening their regular season in Finland with a pair of back-to-back games against the Florida Panthers. Having made it as far as the Conference Finals last year, the Hawks were clearly hungry for more as they went on to become a even better team, eventually finishing with a new franchise record for both wins and points at the end of the regular season. The only bad spot this team went through during the season was the entirety of March, perhaps due to team chemistry not being up to scratch after the Olympic break. However, they did have a winning streak at the end of March through April, eventually clinching the second place conference spot. Come playoff time, the Blackhawks faced division rivals Nashville in the first round, beating them in six games. The second round saw them up against the Vancouver Canucks, and winning in six. In the Conference Final, they faced the first place San Jose Sharks, making quick work of them in a sweep. Chicago made it to the Stanley Cup Final for the first time since 1992, and were up against the Philadelphia Flyers, defeating them in six games to win their first Stanley Cup since 1961, thus ending a 48-year drought and winning their fourth Championship in club history.

Columbus Blue Jackets

Final standings: 32W, 35L, 15OTL, 92 points, 5^th Central, 14^th Western Conference, 27^th NHL

This year was the 10^th anniversary of the Columbus Blue Jackets, but was actually their 9^th in play due to the lockout, so next year… you know the drill. Stupid Lockout. Last year, the Jackets made it to the playoffs for the first time in franchise history, making them the last currently active NHL team to make the playoffs for the first time. They only made it as far as the first round, yet despite this success, they failed to build on it, and instead had yet another mediocre season. The Jackets got fed up with head coach Ken Hitchcock’s ways and fired him in early February, replacing him with interim head coach Claude Noel. However, this didn’t change things much as the Jackets failed to make the playoffs yet again.

Detroit Red Wings

Final standings: 44W, 24L, 14OTL, 102 points, 2^nd Central, 5^th Western Conference, 7^th NHL

It sounds really odd saying this – considering how successful the Detroit Red Wings have been over the last several years – but there was a point this year when the Wings looked like they were going to lose their playoff spot this year. And this was actually their worst season since the start of the post-lockout NHL. But despite these facts, the Red Wings did end up having yet another very good season anyway, even though they failed to win the Central Division title for the first time since the 1999-2000 season. In the playoffs, the Wings beat the Phoenix Coyotes in a very close (if predictable) seven game series, but in the second round lost to the then-surging San Jose Sharks in just five games.

Nashville Predators

Final standings: 47W, 29L, 6OTL, 101 points, 3^rd Central, 7^th Western Conference, 10^th NHL

After failing to make the playoffs last year, the Preds were able to improve their game this season: although they got off to a slow start in October with an eight game slump, they quickly got to winning ways the following month, and even had a seven game winning streak in November. January was also a rough period for Nashville, and they went into the Olympic Break in the middle of a slump. However, then they managed to win 14 out of the remaining 21 games, managing to clinch the seventh place spot in the West, making the playoffs for the fifth time in franchise history. As per usual however, their stay in the postseason wasn’t very long as once again they were beaten in the first round, losing to Chicago in six games.

St. Louis Blues

Final standings: 40W, 32L, 10OTL, 92 points, 4^th Central, 9^th Western Conference, 15^th NHL

The St. Louis Blues got off to a rough start this year with a 17-17-6 record over the first three months of play. After blowing a game against Chicago on January 2^nd, in which the Blues lost 6-3, they fired head coach Andy Murray due to the team having not only a sub-par record, but also the worst home record in the NHL (6-13-3), with David Payne named to take his place, making him the 23^rd head coach in Blues franchise history. It took a little while for the Blues to pick up again, but they soon started winning more games. However, due to their abysmal play beforehand, this ultimately proved to not be enough as St. Louis missed the playoffs this year by just 5 points, being elimated with just 3 games left to play. Keith Tkachuk announced his retirement from professional hockey shortly afterwards, and he was honoured during the Blues’ last home game this year.

Coming up next in Part 5 will be the Northwest Division.