PowerPlayGoal.com – Hockey From A Different Angle

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, but informal summaries of every team’s performance this season. Part 6, the final part of the series, will finalise coverage of the Western Conference with the Pacific Division.

Anaheim Ducks

Final standings: 39W, 32L, 11OTL, 89 points, 4^th Pacific, 11^th Western Conference, 19^th NHL

It was lame duck season in Anaheim as this team had their worst year since the start of the post-lockout NHL. After making bold moves such as trading away defenseman Chris Pronger over the summer, as well as signing former long-time Montreal captain Saku Koivu, the Ducks got off to a slow start of 16-16-7 over the first three months. Things looked to be improving over the New Year, even as the Ducks traded away veteran goaltender Jean-Sebastien Giguere to Toronto in favour of Jonas Hiller; however, the Winter Olympics happened. Anaheim contributed 8 players, tied for the most by any NHL team with San Jose, with 7 of those 8 earning medals at the games. This had a bad after-effect on the Ducks once the NHL season resumed, as they started March off with a 5 game winless streak (0-4-1), after which they made a final struggle in a desperate attempt to make the postseason. With not even 3 games left, Anaheim’s unrealistic playoff hopes were put to bed as they were defeated in a shootout by So Cal rivals Los Angeles. During this season, Teemu Selanne reached another milestone as he became the 18^th player in NHL history to score his 600^th goal, and then passed his idol Jari Kurri with his 606^th. Captain Scott Niedermayer retired after this season, ending his 18 year NHL career.

Dallas Stars

Final standings: 37W, 31L, 14OTL, 88 points, 5^th Pacific, 12^th Western Conference, 20^th NHL

In hopes of trying to figure out what was wrong with the team after failing to make the playoffs last season, the Stars replaced co-GMs Les Jackson and Brett Hull (who were assigned to different roles instead) with Joe Nieuwendyk, and fired head coach Dave Tippett – who was shortly hired by Phoenix – replacing him with Marc Crawford. The Stars got off to a fairly decent start of 18-11-11 over the first three months of play, but then had a seven game slump at the beginning of January. They were able to pick up a small few more wins before the Olympic break, but as the NHL season resumed, Dallas’s performance somehow became worse, and any hopes of making the postseason went down the drain. This year was also the last of Mike Modano in a Stars uniform, as his contract was set to expire, with standings ovations in tribute to him from both his home fans, his teammates and rivals Anaheim in the Stars’ last home game this season. Modano also, ironically, played his final game with the Stars in Minnesota, where he was cheered with even more ovations from Wild fans, before skating around the rink in a North Stars jersey after being named the game’s first star. He hasn’t officially retired yet (at the time of writing), but the Stars effectively booted him out of the roster, thus ending his 20-year run with the team, and possibly allowing him to play elsewhere for one last season.

Los Angeles Kings

Final standings: 46W, 27L, 9OTL, 101 points, 3^rd Pacific, 6^th Western Conference, 9^th NHL

After eight years of mediocrity, the Kings looked to rise again this season as they managed to improve their play, and eventually finish with their third highest points tally in franchise history, losing out to the 1990-91 squad (102 points) and the 1974-75 team (105 points). Los Angeles racked up plenty of wins, jumping ahead of their Pacific Division rivals early on despite also losing 18 of their first 41 games. The Kings were still rolling as the New Year came around, despite there being a 3-game losing streak in January, and from the 21^st of January through to the 6^th of February they won 9 games, setting a new franchise record for consecutive wins. But after the Olympic tournament was over, they fared off slightly worse through March, going 6-7-2 during that month of play. This would prove to not affect their standings position too much, and they eventually clinched a playoff spot for the first time since 2002. Their playoff run would not last very long however, and in the first round they lost to the Vancouver Canucks in six games.

Phoenix Coyotes

Final standings: 50W, 25L, 6OTL, 107 points, 2^nd Pacific, 4^th Western Conference, 4^th NHL

After lots of legal stuff last summer involving bankruptcy, Jim Balsillie, the NHL taking ownership of the team and Wayne Gretzky stepping down as head coach, the Phoenix Coyotes would end up having their most successful regular season in franchise history, with the team attempting to turn itself around and win fans over, and eventually make the playoffs for the first time since 2002. Dave Tippett was hired as the new head coach after being fired by Dallas, and they got off to a great start. November was a bit shaky for the ‘Yotes, and was their only bad month during the season (6-7-1). In hopes of having a successful playoff run, GM Don Maloney made seven trades before the deadline to improve the team, but this didn’t work in the Coyotes’ favour as they lost in seven games to Detroit in the first round of the postseason, and thus preventing Phoenix from getting any further than the quarterfinals for the first time. Despite their on-ice success this year, the Coyotes only drew in a league-worst average of 11,989 fans to their home games, and they continued to lose money. Their future in Arizona is still uncertain, but the NHL seems determined to keep the team there for at least one more year.

San Jose Sharks

Final standings: 51W, 20L, 11OTL, 113 points, 1^st Pacific, 1^st Western Conference, 2^nd NHL

After earning their best record in franchise history, yet falling to California rivals Anaheim in the first round of the playoffs last year, the San Jose Sharks wanted more. After making a small number of changes including taking Patrick Marleau’s captaincy away, the Sharks went on to eventually earn their second-best regular season record in franchise history, losing out only to last year’s team. They along with Anaheim contributed the most players by any NHL team to the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver, with 8 players selected to represent their respective countries at the games, and this unsurprisingly led to a 6-game winless streak in March, which by then didn’t matter too much as the Sharks were soon able to clinch their sixth consecutive playoff spot. Fans were in for a nice surprise as, for a change, the Sharks saw success early on as in the first round they beat Colorado in six games, and then made quick work of two-time defending Conference Champions Detroit in five. However, the Conference Finals were about as far as the Sharks would go as they were swept by eventual Stanley Cup Champions the Chicago Blackhawks. The Sharks seem to have finally solved the mystery behind their recent playoff disappointments, as long-time goaltender Evgeni Nabokov’s contract expired, and they chose to not re-sign him.

That’s it for the Aftermath 2010 Edition, hope you enjoyed reading it.

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 5 will cover the Northwest Division.

Calgary Flames

Final standings: 40W, 32L, 10OTL, 90 points, 3^rd Northwest, 10^th Western Conference, 16^th NHL

Before this season got underway, a familiar face very briefly returned to the Flames’ lineup: Theoren Fleury. As a Flame in the late 80’s and the 90’s, he ended up being traded away and finishing his career due to a suspension by the NHL in 2003. After a few stints with some senior teams and the EIHL’s Belfast Giants, he was allowed to make an NHL comeback, playing with his original NHL team for one last time during the preseason, before happily retiring as a Calgary Flame. Afterwards, the team began playing its 30^th season, and started it off with a bang as they led the Northwest Division early on, with a 17-6-3 record over the first two months of play. However, they began to struggle during December with an 11 game slump and fared even worse before the Olympic Break with a 7-11-4 stretch over January and early February. Flames players were successful at the Olympic Tournament, and the team pulled together again in March in a final attempt to make it to the postseason: however, this was not to be as they suffered a four game losing streak in April, ultimately losing out to Colorado by only 5 points. On an upside for the Flames, they won all six games played against their rivals the Edmonton Oilers, marking the first time in the history of this rivalry that either team has won every single game against the other during the regular season.

Colorado Avalanche

Final standings: 43W, 30L, 9OTL, 95 points, 2^nd Northwest, 8^th Western Conference, 12^th NHL

Evidently unhappy with their horrendous record last year, the Avs fired not only their general manager Francois Giguere, but also the entirety of the team’s coaching staff, in order for the team to get off to a fresh new start this season. Greg Sherman and Joe Sacco were hired to become the team’s new general manager and head coach, respectively, although long-time Avalanche captain and franchise star, Joe Sakic, retired after a 20-year NHL career. Following Colorado’s extreme overhaul, the Avs got off to great start with a 10-2-2 record in October, but fell into a slump during the following month before returning to a more satisfactory level of play in December. Their success continued into the New Year, and Colorado went 12-7-0 before the Olympic break, with two winning streaks lasting six and four games each. The post-Olympic break Avs however, were very shaky and the team ended up just about making the eighth place spot in the West. The Avalanche were up against the San Jose Sharks in the first round of the postseason, and although they played very well, taking three of the first four games into OT, they eventually lost to the Sharks in game 6.

Edmonton Oilers

Final standings: 27W, 47L, 8OTL, 62 points, 5^th Northwest, 15^th Western Conference, 30^th NHL

What an embarrassing year for the Oilers. Despite replacing their coaching staff in an attempt to improve the team’s performance, that plan failed and Edmonton played their second worst NHL season in franchise history, beating the 1992-93 team by only 2 points. They appeared to be off to a good start in October, but from there everything went downhill. While they did have a five-game winning streak in December, this was immediately followed by a seven game losing streak, and the team lost all twelve games played in January. To top it all off, the Oilers lost all six games against their arch rivals the Calgary Flames – the first time in 30 years that either team has ever completed a regular season series sweep against the other – and Edmonton eventually finished dead last in the NHL, the first time ever for the team, trailing behind second-worst Toronto by 12 points. On an upside, this partially resulted in the Oilers getting their first ever, first overall pick in franchise history for the 2010 NHL Draft in Los Angeles, which they used to select Taylor Hall of the OHL’s Windsor Spitfires.

Minnesota Wild

Final standings: 38W, 36L, 8OTL, 84 points, 4^th Northwest, 13^th Western Conference, 22^nd NHL

Prior to this season, the Wild replaced both their general manager and head coach with Chuck Fletcher and Todd Richards, respectively. This plan did not appear to work initially, as Minnesota won just five of their first 14 games in October, however, their performance improved as they got to winning ways soon afterwards. One particularly noteworthy incident this year took place on December 18^th, when the team’s equipment van caught fire and incinerated everything, with just a day to go until they were set to play the Ottawa Senators. After scrambling to replace all their equipment, the game successfully went underway, but with Ottawa winning 4-1. This event did not appear to affect the team’s performance for the rest of the season – as much as hockey players are quite superstitious when it comes to anything, including equipment – but it was their bad start, combined with the team’s average record for the rest of the year, which prevented them from making the playoffs this year.

Vancouver Canucks

Final standings: 49W, 28L, 5OTL, 103 points, 1^st Northwest, 3^rd Western Conference, 5^th NHL

Vancouver got off to an average start in October, splitting the first 14 games, and after that went on to marginally improve on their already impressive record set last season, setting their third-best regular season, losing to the 2002-03 team by just one point, and the 2006-07 team by two. At the end of January, the Canucks had a seven game winning streak, but this was immediately followed by the team’s only losing month this season, in which they went 3-4-0. This “bad” month incidentally took place during the Canucks’ 14-game road trip – the longest ever in NHL history – which was undertaken so that their rink could be prepared for the Winter Olympics, as Vancouver was the first NHL city to host the event since the league started allowing their players to participate in the games. Eventually, the Canucks made the playoffs for the third time in five years: in the first round they faced the Los Angeles Kings, beating them in six games, but in the conference semifinals they lost to eventual Stanley Cup Champions the Chicago Blackhawks in six.

Coming up next in the sixth and final part will be the Pacific Division.

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.