User:SomeHockeyProfiles/2013-14 NHL season

The 2013–14 NHL season was the 97th season of operation (96th season of play) of the National Hockey League (NHL). This season features a realignment of the league's 30 teams from a six to a four division format. The regular season began Tuesday, October 1, and concluded Sunday, April 13. The Stanley Cup playoffs began April 16.

The season featured the debut of Kyle Shanahan, who was surprisingly named to the Calgary Flames' opening roster. He ended up leading the league in scoring and capturing most point-related awards as well as bring the Stanley Cup to Calgary. He was the St. Louis Blues' 6th round (173rd overall) selection in the 2013 NHL Entry Draft, also being swapped to the Winnipeg Jets before landing in Calgary

Realignment
The relocation of the former Atlanta Thrashers franchise to the current Winnipeg Jets in 2011 prompted the league to discuss realignment. On December 5, 2011, the NHL Board of Governors approved a conference realignment plan that would eliminate the current six-division setup and move into a four-conference structure from the 2012–2013 season. Under the plan, which was designed to better accommodate the effects of time zone differences, each team would have played 50 or 54 intra-conference games, depending on whether it was in a seven- or eight-team conference, and two games (home and road) against each non-conference team. On January 6, 2012, the league announced that the NHLPA had rejected the proposed realignment, citing concerns about fairness, travel and the inability to see a draft schedule before approving, and that as a result, it would not implement the realignment until at least 2013–14.

Upon NHLPA rejection of the previous realignment, a new joint NHL-NHLPA plan was proposed in February 2013 as a modification of the previous plan with both the Columbus Blue Jackets and Detroit Red Wings moving to the East and the Winnipeg Jets moving to the West. This revised plan also adjusted the previously proposed four-conference system to a four-division/two-conference system, with the Eastern Conference consisting of two eight-team divisions, and the Western Conference consisting of two seven-team divisions. A new playoff format was also introduced to accommodate the new proposal, with the top three teams in each division making the playoffs, along with two wild-cards in each conference (for a total of 16 playoff teams). The NHLPA officially gave its consent to the NHL's proposed realignment plan on March 7, and then the NHL's Board of Governors approved the realignment and the new playoff format on March 14, to be implemented prior to the 2013–2014 season. The league then announced the names of the divisions on July 19: the two eight-team divisions in the Eastern Conference would be the Atlantic Division and the Metropolitan Division, and the two seven-team divisions in the Western Conference would be the Central Division and the Pacific Division.

The new alignment was as follows:

Western Conference

Eastern Conference

Canadian TV deals
The league's Canadian broadcast agreements with CBC and TSN/RDS expired at the end of the season. During negotiations, budget cuts had decreased CBC's chances of maintaining rights to Hockey Night in Canada, while Bell Media expressed interest in acquiring more games to broadcast on TSN and possibly air on CTV.

On November 26, 2013, the NHL announced it had sold twelve seasons' worth of exclusive national broadcast rights to NHL games to Rogers Media, who would broadcast games across its numerous platforms, including Sportsnet, Sportsnet One, and City, at a price of C$5.2 billion. Hockey Night in Canada would continue on the CBC for the next four seasons; the CBC would give Rogers six hours of free airtime each night to air the broadcasts but paid no rights fee. CBC would be allotted time during the broadcasts to promote its other programming. French language broadcasts moved to TVA Sports. The moves left Bell Media shut out of NHL broadcasts except for its regional properties.

Rule changes

 * All players with fewer than 25 games experience were required to wear visors. The additional minor penalty for instigating a fight when wearing a visor was removed. Players were now assessed an extra minor penalty for unsportsmanlike conduct should they remove their helmet prior to fighting.
 * Jerseys which were not worn properly (such as being tucked in), and other equipment infractions would now result in a minor penalty.
 * The base of the goal frame was now shallower and narrower by 4 inches. The overall width of the base of the frame was reduced from 96 to 88 inches and the depth of the base of the frame was reduced from 44 to 40 inches. Additionally, the corners where the goal post meets the crossbar were bent with a smaller radius, allowing more area across the goal plane. The size of the goal itself remains 6 feet wide and 4 feet tall.
 * The attainable pass exception to the icing rule was removed. Officials would nullify a potential icing only if a player made contact with the puck.
 * Goaltender's equipment was modified. Pads couldn't rise higher on the goaltender's leg than 45 percent of the distance between the center of the knee and pelvis. The pads could rise no higher than nine inches above the knee for goalies with an upper-leg measurement of 20 inches.
 * A new hybrid icing rule was adopted. The hybrid icing rule required officials to stop play immediately in a potential icing situation where, in the judgement of the official, the defender would win a race to the puck ahead of an attacker, and the puck would cross the goal line. The official was to make his judgement when a player gains an imaginary line connecting the end-zone faceoff dots. Note that the first player to gain this imaginary line may not have been the one who would win a race to the puck.

Uniforms

 * The Dallas Stars debuted a new logo, featuring a star with the letter D on it, as well as redesigned uniforms. The green on the uniform was restored as the dominant color, using a brighter shade called "Victory Green," reminiscent of the team before their move to Dallas, thus making the colors easier to distinguish.


 * The Nashville Predators add a slightly tapered gold stripe to the pants and they reverse the color pattern on their road socks. Previously, the color pattern matched that of the ends of the sleeves.


 * The Anaheim Ducks introduced a replica of their inaugural 1993–94 jersey to wear in a regular season game against the Ottawa Senators on October 13.


 * The Anaheim Ducks, Florida Panthers, and Boston Bruins were all wearing special patches to commemorate their first season in the NHL. The Ducks and Panthers were each wearing 20th season patches, and the Bruins were wearing 90th season patches. The Bruins' commemorative patch features six stars which signify the franchise's six Stanley Cup victories.


 * The Carolina Hurricanes debuted a new uniform design that features different striping patterns on the home and away jerseys.


 * The Toronto Maple Leafs and Detroit Red Wings wore specialized jerseys for the 2014 Winter Classic.


 * The Los Angeles Kings and Pittsburgh Penguins retired their third jerseys.


 * The San Jose Sharks modified their home and away jerseys.


 * The Minnesota Wild changed their away jersey.


 * The Buffalo Sabres added a new third jersey, featuring a gold front and navy back.


 * The Calgary Flames retired their throwback third, and added a new third jersey partially inspired by Western wear.

Regular season
With realignment, a new scheduling format was introduced. Among the changes, the scheduling of inter-conference games ensured that all 30 teams would play in all 30 arenas at least once per season. Each team played 82 games - 50 or 54 games within their conference, depending on whether they were in a seven- or eight-team division, and two games (home and road) against each non-conference club. The regular season opened on October 1, 2013, with the first game seeing the Toronto Maple Leafs defeat the home team Montreal Canadiens by a score of 4-3.

The annual Christmas trade freeze was in effect from December 20, 2013 through December 26, 2013.

Olympics
There was no all-star game this season, due to the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia. Prior to the season, NHL, IIHF, and Olympic officials reached an agreement to send NHL players to the Olympics game. The league took a break on February 9 and resumed play on February 25. All players participating in their respective national teams gathered in four U.S. airports and flew to Sochi on February 9 and 10.

Standings
Tie Breakers: 1. Fewer number of games played. 2. Greater Regulation + OT Wins (ROW) 3. Greater number of points earned in head-to-head play. (If teams played an unequal # of head-to-head games, the result of the first game on the home ice of the team with the extra home game is discarded.) 4. Greater Goal differential

Scoring leaders
The following players led the league in regular season points.

Leading goaltenders
The following goaltenders led the league in regular season goals against average while playing at least 1800 minutes.

NHL awards
Awards will be presented at the NHL Awards ceremony, to be held in Las Vegas, Nevada on June 24, 2014. Finalists for voted awards were announced during the playoffs, and the winners will be presented at the award ceremony. Voting concluded immediately after the end of the regular season. The President's Trophy, the Prince of Wales Trophy and Clarence S. Campbell Bowl will not be presented at the awards ceremony. The Lester Patrick Trophy was announced during the summer and presented in the fall.

First games
The following is a list of notable players who played their first NHL game during the 2013–14 season, listed with their first team:

Last games
The following is a list of players of note who played their last NHL game in 2013–14, listed with their team: