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.
League business
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.
Regular season
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
Danny Briere of the
Buffalo Sabres being named MVP of the
game.
Final standings
Buffalo Sabres won the Presidents' Trophy and home-ice advantage
throughout the playoffs.
For the purpose of conference rankings, 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.
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:
- 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
Note: GP = Games played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points;
+/– = Plus/Minus; PIM = Penalty Minutes
Leading goaltenders
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
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.
Finals
Anaheim Ducks vs. Ottawa Senators
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 Lidstrom, 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: |
Brian Leetch, Cammi Granato, Stan
Fischler, John
Halligan |
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 |
|
Events and milestones
Several former players had their jersey numbers retired
during this season:
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.
- Jaromir Jagr joined
Shanahan in the 600 goal club on November
19, making Jagr and Shanahan the first teammates to reach 600
goals in the same season. Jagr also passed Jari Kurri's record for points by a European-born
player and later became the 12th player to score 1,500 career
points. Jagr scored his 30th goal of the season 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 on November
13, 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, becoming only the second Finnish
player to
reach the mark.
- Peter Bondra became the 37th player
to achieve 500 goals on December 22,
followed shortly thereafter by Mark
Recchi as number 38 on January
26.
- On March 13, Mike Modano became the 39th player to score 500
goals. 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:
Numerous other milestones, events, and happenings
occurred as well:
- 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, with 12 wins and four overtime losses. The previous mark
was set by the 1984–85 Edmonton
Oilers, who had 12 wins and three ties.
- 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 three game
misconduct ejections.
- 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.
- 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.
Debuts
The following is a list of players of note who played their first
NHL game in 2006–07:
- Niklas Backstrom,
Minnesota Wild
- Brandon Dubinsky, New York
Rangers
- Yutaka Fukufuji, Los Angeles
Kings (first Japanese NHL player)
- Jaroslav Halak, Montreal
Canadiens
- 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):
See also
References
External links