Welcome to the last article on PowerPlaygoal.com for the year 2010. It has certainly been an eventful year for hockey fans worldwide and even eventful for us and the website with us celebrating our fifth season of hockey from a different angle!
In honour of the change from 10 to 11 in years, we here at PowerPlayGoal.com have gotten together to write an article about the key events in the last ten years. If anything, it stands to prove just how many little things you forget as seasons go by, and we hope that our article brings back some memories of the good times in hockey through the last 10 years.
(Please note that these are by calendar year and not season)
2001
This was a year of varied emotions.
There was joy and sadness, with the Dallas Stars moving to their new home at The American Airlines center. The team bid farewell to the Reunion arena, the arena where they won their first (so far) Stanley Cup.
Additionally, Colorado was celebrating as they won their 2nd Stanley Cup; after managing to beat the New Jersey Devils.
It was also a time of remembrance and sorrow; when on September 11th 2001, terrorist’s hijacked aircraft and flew them into the New York twin towers.
In respect to this, the NHL created a special patch which was worn by all players on their jerseys, and a red, white and blue ribbon of remembrance was painted on the ice at both ends behind the net.
2001 was also a year that marked the beginning of an exciting career for several players who we now consider to be some of the most exciting talent on offer. This includes Vancouver’s Sedin twins, Brad Richards and Miika Kiprusoff.
Overall, 2001 was a conflicted year; and one that would mark the beginning of in my opinion 10 turbulent years in which we would see the NHL change drastically during.
2002
2002 in comparison to other years is certainly one of the least action packed. It was the third consecutive year in which no player reached the 100 point plateau and this was used in the now growing debate as to whether scoring in the NHL was on the way out.
This was also the year that The Penguins would not make the playoffs; which was the first time in 12 years. Most people put this down to the massive financial difficulties the team was facing; and the trade of perennial all star Jaromir Jagr.
After meeting the previous year’s reining champions in the conference finals, The Detroit Redwings managed to win yet another Stanley cup. Opponent Carolina Hurricanes would have to wait until 2006 before finally getting the chance to win the Stanley Cup.
2002 was also the first year big name players such as Rick Nash, Steve Ott and Henrik Zetterberg made their entrance to the league. These players are now all major names in their respective franchise.
We also bid a farewell to players such as Bob Probert, Mike Vernon and Gary Suter; all who hung up their skates at the end of the 01/02 season.
Yes, 2002 wasn’t the most exciting year; but at least unlike half of 2005 and 2004, it had hockey.
2003
The 53rd NHL All Star Game was hosted by the Florida Panthers: This was the first time the game was returned to the Western Conference VS Eastern Conference format since 1997. The game was tied at 5-5 by the end of regulation, and the West won the game 6-5 in overtime, the first time an All Star Game had been decided in OT since 1988.
This year saw the Buffalo Sabres and Ottawa Senators suffer from financial troubles, and enter bankruptcy protection. Both teams were eventually purchased by new owners, while Pittsburgh’s own financial troubles continued to plague them.
The 2003 playoffs saw a number of upsets in the West, including the underdog Mighty Ducks sweeping the defending champion Red Wings in the first round, and a much anticipated series between the Maple Leafs and Flyers. Anaheim made their first ever Stanley Cup Finals appearance, which also marked the first time since 1994 that a team other than Detroit, Dallas or Colorado made the Finals, but it would end in heartbreak for them as they lost in Game 7 to the New Jersey Devils, who won their third Stanley Cup in franchise history, and in less than a decade. Ducks goaltender Jean-Sebastian Giguere won the Conn Smythe trophy, making him only the fifth player (and fourth goaltender) on the losing team to win the trophy.
The end of the 2002-03 season also marked the end of Patrick Roy’s career, as the legendary goalie decided to call it a career. This season was also the last before the NHL chose to swap the home and away uniform colours around, returning the home team colours to dark and away to white for the first time since 1970.
In November, the Edmonton Oilers and Montreal Canadiens took part in the NHL’s first ever outdoor regular season game, the Heritage Classic. This event was a huge success, drawing in 57,167 fans, setting a league record for attendance at a single game, as well as setting the template for the NHL’s annual Winter Classic event starting from 2008.
2004
2004 would soon spell dark times for hockey fans everywhere. With the Collective Bargain Agreement expiring, there were rumours of the NHL possibly going into a lockout should the league not come to an agreement with the NHL Players Association. This was looking more and more likely to happen as the two sides continuously clashed throughout the year.
Nonetheless, it was business as usual in the middle of the season as the NHL All Star Game would be hosted by Minnesota for the first time since 1972, with the East beating the West 6-4.
A number of teams were big disappointments this season, including the Mighty Ducks, who despite making it all the way to game 7 of the Finals and signing some big name players, failed to make the playoffs at all this year. The New York Rangers had a roster filled with stars and were still mediocre. Colorado failed to win a division title for the first time in a decade, including when they were still in Quebec.
The postseason saw some surprises as the San Jose Sharks, despite a horrendous record the year before, made it all the way to the Conference Finals. A number of heated rivalry matchups including Toronto VS Ottawa, Montreal VS Boston and Dallas VS Colorado all took place as early as the first round. Eventually, the Calgary Flames reached the Finals for the first time since 1989: during their playoff run, their red jersey, newly released this season, sold like hotcakes, and the infamous Red Mile was a frequent occurrence in the city of Calgary, with over 60,000 fans filling the streets during the Final. However, it was the Tampa Bay Lightning, making their first ever Finals appearance, who would go home with Lord Stanley’s mug as they defeated the Flames in a thrilling 7 game series.
The end of this season also marked the end of several other things: notably, this was the final season in which games could be settled in ties, the last season in which ESPN and ABC aired NHL games, and of course, the expiration of the Collective Bargaining Agreement.
The league tried its best to come to an agreement with the Player’s Association all year long, but nothing could be settled in time for the upcoming season: and thus, the entire 2004-05 NHL season was cancelled.
One final note; 2004 was also the year which saw long established and beloved hockey brand CCM merge with Reebok, a move which would have a huge impact in later years.
2005
This year was not the best for hockey. With the NHL lockout in full swing; there seemed to be no hope of any compromise or chance to salvage even half a season. These were dark times for the NHL; however with big name players taking the year off to play in the AHL or in various other leagues fans could still watch their favourite players in action.
However, whilst the league slept; the teams didn’t – and in one of arguably the most anticipated moments of the year; Disney finally sold the Mighty Ducks to Broadcom co-founder Henry Samueli for a reported $75 million; thus ushering in a new era of hockey in Anaheim.
Luckily, towards the end of summer; word on the street was that the NHL was back and on October 5th 2005, the first game in a year was played.
Notable new names in the league included Sidney Crosby; who had been picked first overall in the NHL entry draft in August thus beginning the expected long and eventful career of a player who is now pretty much a household brand.
Additionally, there was a new logo for the NHL; with silver replacing the old school feeling orange and even more radical, no more ties. All games from this year on will finish in OT or a shootout.
So whether you think 2005 was a good year or a bad year for hockey in general, I don’t think you can argue that it wasn’t an eventful year.
2006
Early on in 2006, the NHL would take a short break as the Winter Olympics took place in Turin, Italy. NHL players represented their respective nations along with non-NHL players to compete in the ice hockey tournament, with Sweden winning the Gold medal game against Finland.
As well as Sidney Crosby and Alex Ovechkin setting NHL rookie records, the 2005-06 regular season would turn out to be the highest scoring in league history, with a total of 7,443 goals scored in 1,230 games.
The playoffs were full of surprises this year: in the East, all four of the higher seeded teams would advance, while in the West all four of the higher seeded teams were eliminated in the first round. Eventually in the Stanley Cup Finals, in a matchup that nobody saw coming, the Carolina Hurricanes won against the Edmonton Oilers in seven games.
The NHL’s first post-lockout season was also the last ever for a number of notable players, including Detroit captain Steve Yzerman, Kings star Luc Robitaille, and of course, Mario Lemiuex.
This year also marked a big change for the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim. After their first year of owning the team, Henry and Susan Samueli decided to change the team’s name to simply the Anaheim Ducks, in order to shed the franchise’s Disney label. Along with the trimming of the adjective hated by self-proclaimed purists everywhere came a new set of uniforms, and soon enough in a blockbuster trade, the addition of Chris Pronger. The newly rebranded Ducks would get off to a strong start at the beginning of the 2006-07 NHL season as they set a league record: they collected points in every single one of their first 16 games, going 12-0-4 to collect 28 points.
2007
After a lengthy hiatus caused by the 2004-05 lockout and the 2006 Winter Olympics, the 55th NHL All Star Game took place and was, fittingly, hosted by the Dallas Stars, marking the second time the franchise has hosted the event, and the first for them since 1972 when they were in Minnesota. This game also marked the debut of the Reebok EDGE uniform system, showcased in this game and later introduced league wide in the 2007-08 season.
In February, Martin Brodeur of the New Jersey Devils continued to rewrite the record books as he surpassed Patrick Roy for the most overtime wins by a goaltender, with 45.
The 2007 playoffs marked the first time ever in NHL history in which neither of the previous Stanley Cup Finalists, Carolina and Edmonton, made the playoffs. The Colorado Avalanche also set a league record for the team with the most points that missed the playoffs, with 95 points. The Anaheim Ducks, qualifying for the playoffs in back-to-back years for the first time, would go on to win their first ever Stanley Cup, beating the Ottawa Senators 4 games to 1. This series marked the first time that the Finals had returned to Ottawa since 1927, and also the first time that an NHL team both on the West Coast and in California won the Stanley Cup.
The Stanley Cup Finals were also the last NHL games played in the “classic style” CCM jerseys before the NHL and Reebok implemented the RBK Edge uniform system league wide, making the NHL the first professional sports league to do such a thing. During the transition, many teams took the opportunity to rebrand themselves with new logos and uniform designs, while other teams either carried over their existing designs, or went with template-based looks that achieved mixed results.
To begin the 2007-08 season, the Ducks and Kings flew over to England to take part in the NHL Premiere, the very first regular season NHL games ever held in Europe.
2008
After the inaugural NHL Premiere games that opened the season, the NHL then took the game outdoors for the first time since 2003’s Heritage Classic in Edmonton, with the inaugural Winter Classic that was hosted by Buffalo at Ralph Wilson Stadium. The Sabres played against the Pittsburgh Penguins in a game that set a new league record for attendance at 71,217 people. The home team would disappoint as Sidney Crosby’s Penguins won the game in the game-deciding shootout.
The All Star Game this year was hosted by the Atlanta Thrashers, who were originally going to host the event during the cancelled 2004-05 season. With 2008 being the 50th anniversary of Willie O’Ree breaking the colour barrier and being the NHLs’ first ever black player, the NHL also honoured the league’s player diversity at this event. The game was won by the East, 8-7.
Prior to the playoffs, the San Jose Sharks were clearly on a roll as they did not lose a single game in regulation during the entirety of March, and were soon picked as a favourite to win by many. However, the Sharks would continue with their trend of choking in the playoffs as they fell to the Stars in the semi-finals. Dallas would then go on to make their first conference finals appearance since 2000, however they lost to the Detroit Red Wings, who then went on to defeat Sidney Crosby and the Pittsburgh Penguins, in six games and in the Kid’s first ever Finals appearance.
Following discussions held by the NHL Board of Governors, the league finally decided to return to the schedule format that was dropped following the 2003-04 season, in which every team play each other at least once. A number of teams also had plans to introduce new alternate jerseys before or during the upcoming season.
To begin the regular season in Europe for the second year, this time the NHL sent over Ottawa and Pittsburgh to play in Stockholm, Sweden, while Tampa Bay and the New York Rangers played in Prague, Czech Republic. Also prior to this, the Rangers took part in the inaugural Victoria Cup game, beating the KHL’s Metallurg Magnitogorsk 4-3.
2009
2009 will live on in memory for many people only because of the fact that it was the year that the Phoenix Coyotes entered bankruptcy, than the fact that it was the year the Penguins won the cup.
On May 5th 2009, Dewey Ranch Hockey LLC filed for bankruptcy, thus beginning possibly one of the hottest debates between hockey fans and non hockey fans alike. What should happen to the team, should they stay? Should they move? Who will buy them?
There was more problems at the beginning of the 09/10 season, with a contract dispute between Versus and DirecTV leaving millions of people unable to watch certain NHL games until March the following year.
However, this year wasn’t all about uncertainty however, as Chicago hosted the Winter Classic for its second year running. Once again, thousands of fans flocked to see the outdoor game (which this year was being held at Chicago’s famous Wrigley Field) to see the home town team lose 4-6 to their closest rivals, The Detroit Redwings.
Colorado retired the number 19, in honour of player Joe Sakic; along with the Canadiens retiring both the number 3 and 16 in honour of Emile Bouchard and Elmer Lach respectively.
The Montreal Canadiens also began celebration of their 100 year anniversary; hosting the All Star game and the NHL entry draft there as part of the celebrations.
2009 was a year of both celebration, and concern for fans around the world.
2010
To say that 2010 was not an exciting year for hockey in the NHL would be an outright lie. Kicking off the year; Boston hosted the Winter Classic and once again it was clearly a smash hit
The early summer was a time of excitement for the many residents of Chicago who re-found their love for the game of hockey when their hometown team went on to become the first Stanley cup champions of the decade.
Sadly, it wasn’t all fun and games, as after a long period of decision making; Dallas Stars player Jehre Lehtinen decided it was time to hang up his skates; along with Anaheim Ducks main man Scott Niedermayer. Also retiring were big name players such as Bill Guerin, Chris Chelios and Keith Tkachuk.
With the bad comes some good. And mid December, the Coyotes finally had an idea of what their future could bring. With a new contract keeping them in Phoenix, the team now hopes that in the next 10 years they can establish their brand.
2010 has also been a good year for goalies too. Detroit goalie Chris Osgood achieved a momentous 400th win, whilst Martin Brodeur managed his 104th shutout – a new league record.
And to top the whole year off; the NHL returned once again to Europe to open its season, and the PowerPlayGoal.com team got the chance to attend one of the games in Sweden.
Thank you for reading, and we here at PowerPlayGoal.com wish you all a Happy New Year!
