1993–94 NHL season

National Hockey League season August 2023 1993–94 NHL season National Hockey League Ice hockey October 5, 1993 – June 14, 1994 Draft 1993 NHL Draft List of first overall NHL draft picks Alexandre Daigle Ottawa Senators Regular season Presidents' Trophy New York Rangers Sergei Fedorov (Red Wings) Hart Memorial Trophy Wayne Gretzky (Kings) Art Ross Trophy Playoffs 1994 Stanley Cup playoffs Stanley Cup 1994 Stanley Cup Final New York Rangers Vancouver Canucks Brian Leetch (Rangers) Conn Smythe Trophy 1994–95 1992–93 NHL 84 26 CBC, TSN, SRC (Canada)ESPN, ABC, NBCNBC only televised the All-Star Game. (United States) The 1993–94 NHL season was the 77th regular season of the National Hockey League. The league expanded to 26 teams with the addition of the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim and the Florida Panthers. The Minnesota North Stars relocated to become the Dallas Stars. A significant structural change to the league was its realignment to geographically-named conferences and divisions. The New York Rangers defeated the Vancouver Canucks in seven games to become the Stanley Cup champions. It was the Rangers' fourth championship overall, and their first in 54 seasons, since 1939–40. The spectacular play of Dominik Hasek of the Buffalo Sabres ushered in a new era of goaltending dominance in the NHL. Only three teams reached the 300-goal plateau, and only one team, the Detroit Red Wings, averaged more than four goals scored per game.https://www.hockey-reference.com/leagues/NHL_1994.html 1993-94 NHL Season Summary | Hockey-Reference.com 2013-11-19 dead https://web.archive.org/web/20130929125153/http://www.hockey-reference.com/leagues/NHL_1994.html 2013-09-29 Goaltenders combined for 99 shutouts during the regular season,https://www.hockey-reference.com/leagues/NHL_1994_goalies.html 1993-94 NHL Goalie Statistics Hockey-Reference.com a mark that broke the all-time regular-season record of 85 set in 1974–75.https://www.hockey-reference.com/leagues/NHL_1975_goalies.html 1974-75 NHL Goalie Statistics Hockey-Reference.com League business Expansion The Mighty Ducks of Anaheim and the Florida Panthers started play this season, increasing the league to 26 teams. The Ducks became the second team in the Greater Los Angeles area after the Los Angeles Kings, while the Panthers became the second team in the state of Florida after the Tampa Bay Lightning. The 1993 NHL expansion draft was held on June 24 to fill the rosters of the Mighty Ducks and the Panthers. Stars relocation The Minnesota North Stars relocated to Dallas, Texas to become the Dallas Stars. It was the first franchise relocation for the NHL since the Colorado Rockies became the New Jersey Devils in 1982–83. Realignment The names of the conferences were changed from Campbell and Wales to Western and Eastern respectively, and the divisions' names were changed from Adams, Patrick, Norris, and Smythe to Northeast, Atlantic, Central, and Pacific respectively.NHL formally announces complete realignment package Kerr Grant The Globe and Mail April 1, 1993 C8 Canadian Press Each division had changes. The Northeast Division would welcome the Pittsburgh Penguins, previously from the Patrick Division. The Atlantic Division would welcome the newcomer Florida Panthers and the Tampa Bay Lightning, previously from the Norris Division. The Central Division would welcome the Winnipeg Jets, previously from the Smythe Division. The Pacific Division would welcome the newcomer Mighty Ducks of Anaheim. New league commissioner Gary Bettman, who had previously worked in the National Basketball Association (NBA), thought the old names could be confusing to non-traditional fans and believed that a change to geographically named divisions, as used in the NBA and most other North American professional sports, would be more easily understandable to new fans. In addition, the playoff format was changed to a conference based seeding over division specific brackets: the division winners were seeded one-two by order of point finish, then the top six remaining teams in the conference were seeded three through eight.Dillman Lisa 1993-04-01 NHL Approves Realignment https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1993-04-01-sp-17826-story.html 2023-08-30 Los Angeles Times en-US However, unlike the NBA, the NHL matched the highest-seeded winners against the lowest-seeded winners in the second round. In order to reduce the number of long trips to and from the West Coast, whenever a Central Division team played a Pacific Division team in the playoffs, the format was 2–3–2 rather than the traditional 2–2–1–1–1, a format that was only used for the 1993–94 season. Entry draft The 1993 NHL entry draft was held on June 26, 1993, at the Colisée de Québec in Quebec City, Quebec. Alexandre Daigle was selected first overall by the Ottawa Senators. Rule changes The high-sticking rules were amended to allow goals hit by a stick below the height of the crossbar, instead of the height of the player's shoulders like other situations.https://records.nhl.com/history/historical-rule-changes Historical Rule Changes NHL.com October 13, 2024 Arena changes The expansion Mighty Ducks of Anaheim moved into the Arrowhead Pond of Anaheim, with Arrowhead Water acquired the naming rights. The relocated Dallas Stars moved from the Met Center in Bloomington, Minnesota to Reunion Arena in Dallas. The expansion Florida Panthers moved into Miami Arena. The San Jose Sharks moved from the Cow Palace in Daly City, California to the San Jose Arena in San Jose, California. The Tampa Bay Lightning moved from Expo Hall in East Lake-Orient Park, Florida to the Thunderdome in St. Petersburg, Florida. The Washington Capitals' home arena, the Capital Centre, was renamed USAir Arena after USAir acquired the naming rights. Regular season Neutral site games This was the second regular season that the NHL and Bruce McNall's Multivision Marketing and Public Relations Co. organized games held in cities without a franchise as a litmus test for future expansion. With the addition of the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim and the Florida Panthers to the league, the number of these games increased from 24 to 26. The Dallas Stars played a neutral-site game in their previous market of Minnesota at the Target Center in Minneapolis, where they were greeted enthusiastically. The Minnesota North Stars' tradition of playing on New Year's Eve and holding a post-game skate on the ice was also continued with a game between the Philadelphia Flyers and Boston Bruins. The Tampa Bay Lightning–Detroit Red Wings contest in Minneapolis was scheduled for Martin Luther King Day, a Monday, with an afternoon face-off at 2:05 PM. However, due to an error on the NHL's part, the Lightning believed themselves to be playing at 7:35 PM, an error that was only discovered two weeks prior to the game by reporters. The Lightning ended up playing an 8:05 PM game in Winnipeg, flying back to the U.S., and playing again 18 hours later in Minneapolis. The Panthers, in the midst of a playoff race, played a March "home" game against the Toronto Maple Leafs in Hamilton, Ontario. Date Winning team Score Losing team Score OT City State/Province Arena Attendance01 October 21, 1993St. Louis5San Jose2SacramentoCAARCO Arena07144 7,14402 October 31, 1993NY Rangers4New Jersey1HalifaxNSHalifax Metro Centre08200 8,20003 November 3, 1993Pittsburgh6Buffalo2SacramentoCAARCO Arena10117 10,11704 November 9, 1993Anaheim4Dallas2PhoenixAZAmerica West Arena08143 8,14305 November 18, 1993NY Islanders5Montréal1HamiltonONCopps Coliseum17008 17,00806 December 9, 1993Dallas6Ottawa1MinneapolisMNTarget Center14058 14,05807 December 23, 1993Vancouver4Calgary3SaskatoonSKSaskatchewan Place11429 11,429*08 December 31, 1993Philadelphia4Boston3MinneapolisMNTarget Center10855 10,85509 January 4, 1994Tampa Bay1Toronto0HamiltonONCopps Coliseum17526 17,526*10 January 5, 1994Montréal2Québec0PhoenixAZAmerica West Arena11393 11,39311 January 6, 1994St. Louis2Hartford1ClevelandOHRichfield Coliseum06956 6,95612 January 17, 1994Detroit6Tampa Bay3MinneapolisMNTarget Center08764 8,76413 January 23, 1994Vancouver5Edmonton4(OT)SaskatoonSKSaskatchewan PlaceN/A14 January 24, 1994Calgary3Los Angeles3(OT)PhoenixAZAmerica West Arena14864 14,86415 February 2, 1994Washington5Philadelphia2ClevelandOHRichfield Coliseum08312 8,31216 February 8, 1994San Jose4Chicago3SacramentoCAARCO Arena14182 14,182*17 February 22, 1994Florida3Winnipeg2HamiltonONCopps Coliseum06291 6,29118 February 24, 1994Detroit3Hartford0ClevelandOHRichfield Coliseum11621 11,62119 March 4, 1994Winnipeg6Ottawa1MinneapolisMNTarget Center06388 6,38820 March 8, 1994Chicago3Anaheim0PhoenixAZAmerica West Arena13847 13,84721 March 9, 1994NY Rangers7Washington5HalifaxNSHalifax Metro Centre09200 9,200*22 March 18, 1994Buffalo2NY Islanders2(OT)MinneapolisMNTarget Center08016 8,01623 March 23, 1994Florida1Toronto1(OT)HamiltonONCopps Coliseum17096 17,096*24 March 27, 1994New Jersey5Quebec2MinneapolisMNTarget Center06222 6,22225 April 3, 1994Pittsburgh6Boston2ClevelandOHRichfield Coliseum17224 17,22426 April 3, 1994Los Angeles6Edmonton1SacramentoCAARCO Arena10363 10,363 All-Star Game The All-Star Game was held in Madison Square Garden in New York City, home of the New York Rangers, on January 22, 1994. The conference-based all-star teams were renamed to reflect the league's new Eastern and Western conferences. Highlights The Panthers and Mighty Ducks set new records for first-year expansion teams. Both teams finished with 33 wins, surpassing the 31 wins of the Philadelphia Flyers and Los Angeles Kings in 1967–68. That mark would not be topped by another expansion team until the Vegas Golden Knights notched their 34th win in their inaugural season on February 1, 2018, finishing with 51.https://www.espn.com/nhl/recap/_/gameId/400962386 Golden Knights vs. Jets - Game Recap - February 1, 2018 ESPN The Panthers also set a high-water mark in points, with 83 points, surpassing the previous record set by the Flyers' 73 points in 1967–68. The Golden Knights would eventually shatter this inaugural expansion team record by 26 points notching a total of 109 points in 2017–18. Wayne Gretzky became the all-time goal-scoring leader on March 23, 1994, surpassing Gordie Howe's record of 801 goals. The record would eventually be broken by Alexander Ovechkin on April 6, 2025. Final standings start break end start break end        No = Division rank, CR = Conference rank, W = Wins, L = Losses, T = Ties, GF = Goals For, GA = Goals Against, Pts = Points        Teams that qualified for the playoffs are highlighted in bold. Playoffs 1994 Stanley Cup playoffs Bracket The top eight teams in each conference made the playoffs, with the two division winners seeded 1–2 based on regular season records, and the six remaining teams seeded 3–8. In each round, teams competed in a best-of-seven series (scores in the bracket indicate the number of games won in each best-of-seven series). The NHL used "re-seeding" instead of a fixed bracket playoff system. During the first three rounds, the highest remaining seed in each conference was matched against the lowest remaining seed, the second-highest remaining seed played the second-lowest remaining seed, and so forth. The higher-seeded team was awarded home-ice advantage. The two conference winners then advanced to the Stanley Cup Final. Bracket Awards The NHL awards presentation took place on June 16, 1994. + 1993–94 NHL awards Award Recipient(s) Runner(s)-up/Finalists Presidents' Trophy(Best regular-season record) New York Rangers New Jersey Devils Prince of Wales Trophy(Eastern Conference playoff champion) New York Rangers New Jersey Devils Clarence S. Campbell Bowl(Western Conference playoff champion) Vancouver Canucks Toronto Maple Leafs Alka-Seltzer Plus-Minus Award(Best plus-minus statistic) Scott Stevens (New Jersey Devils) Sergei Fedorov (Detroit Red Wings) Art Ross Trophy(Player with most points) Wayne Gretzky (Los Angeles Kings) Sergei Fedorov (Detroit Red Wings) Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy(Perseverance, sportsmanship, and dedication) Cam Neely (Boston Bruins) N/A Calder Memorial Trophy(Best first-year player) Martin Brodeur (New Jersey Devils) Jason Arnott (Edmonton Oilers)Mikael Renberg (Philadelphia Flyers) Conn Smythe Trophy(Most valuable player, playoffs) Brian Leetch (New York Rangers) N/A Frank J. Selke Trophy(Best defensive forward) Sergei Fedorov (Detroit Red Wings) Doug Gilmour (Toronto Maple Leafs)Brian Skrudland (Florida Panthers) Hart Memorial Trophy(Most valuable player, regular season) Sergei Fedorov (Detroit Red Wings) Dominik Hasek (Buffalo Sabres)John Vanbiesbrouck (Florida Panthers) Jack Adams Award(Best coach) Jacques Lemaire (New Jersey Devils) Kevin Constantine (San Jose Sharks)John Muckler (Buffalo Sabres) James Norris Memorial Trophy(Best defenceman) Ray Bourque (Boston Bruins) Al MacInnis (Calgary Flames)Scott Stevens (New Jersey Devils) King Clancy Memorial Trophy(Leadership and humanitarian contribution) Adam Graves (New York Rangers) N/A Lady Byng Memorial Trophy(Sportsmanship and excellence) Wayne Gretzky (Los Angeles Kings) Adam Oates (Boston Bruins)Pierre Turgeon (New York Islanders) Lester B. Pearson Award(Outstanding player) Sergei Fedorov (Detroit Red Wings) N/A Vezina Trophy(Best goaltender) Dominik Hasek (Buffalo Sabres) Patrick Roy (Montreal Canadiens)John Vanbiesbrouck (Florida Panthers) William M. Jennings Trophy(Goaltender(s) of team with fewest goals against) Dominik Hasek and Grant Fuhr (Buffalo Sabres) Martin Brodeur and Chris Terreri (New Jersey Devils) All-Star teams First team   Position   Second teamDominik Hasek, Buffalo Sabres GJohn Vanbiesbrouck, Florida PanthersRay Bourque, Boston Bruins DAl MacInnis, Calgary FlamesScott Stevens, New Jersey Devils DBrian Leetch, New York RangersSergei Fedorov, Detroit Red Wings CWayne Gretzky, Los Angeles KingsPavel Bure, Vancouver Canucks RWCam Neely, Boston BruinsBrendan Shanahan, St. Louis Blues LWAdam Graves, New York Rangers Player statistics Scoring leaders Player Team GP G A Pts Wayne Gretzky Los Angeles 81 38 92 130 Sergei Fedorov Detroit 82 56 64 120 Adam Oates Boston 77 32 80 112 Doug Gilmour Toronto 83 27 84 111 Pavel Bure Vancouver 76 60 47 107 Jeremy Roenick Chicago 84 46 61 107 Mark Recchi Philadelphia 84 40 67 107 Brendan Shanahan St. Louis 81 52 50 102 Dave Andreychuk Toronto 83 53 46 99 Jaromir Jagr Pittsburgh 80 32 67 99 Standings: 154 THE NATIONAL HOCKEY LEAGUE Official Guide & Record Book/2009 978-1-894801-14-0 National Hockey League 2008 Dave McCarthy NHL Public Relations Department etal Leading goaltenders Player Team GP MIN GA SO GAA SV% Dominik Hasek Buffalo 58 3358 109 7 1.95 .930 Martin Brodeur New Jersey 47 2625 105 3 2.40 .915 Patrick Roy Montreal 68 3867 161 7 2.50 .918 John Vanbiesbrouck Florida 57 3440 145 1 2.53 .924 Mike Richter New York Rangers 68 3710 159 5 2.57 .910 Darcy Wakaluk Dallas 36 2000 88 3 2.64 .910 Ed Belfour Chicago 70 3998 178 7 2.67 .906 Daren Puppa Tampa Bay 63 3653 165 4 2.71 .899 Chris Terreri New Jersey 44 2340 106 2 2.72 .907 Mark Fitzpatrick Florida 15 819 36 2 2.73 .914 https://www.hockey-reference.com/leagues/NHL_1994_leaders.html 1993-94 NHL Leaders Hockey-Reference.com Milestones Debuts The following is a list of players of note who played their first NHL game in 1993–94 (listed with their first team, asterisk(*) marks debut in playoffs): Chris Osgood, Detroit Red Wings Jason Arnott, Edmonton Oilers Kirk Maltby, Edmonton Oilers Rob Niedermayer, Florida Panthers Chris Pronger, Hartford Whalers Donald Brashear, Montreal Canadiens Jason Smith, New Jersey Devils Zigmund Palffy, New York Islanders Mattias Norstrom, New York Rangers Todd Marchant, New York Rangers Alexandre Daigle, Ottawa Senators Alexei Yashin, Ottawa Senators Pavol Demitra, Ottawa Senators Markus Naslund, Pittsburgh Penguins Jocelyn Thibault, Quebec Nordiques Ian Laperriere, St. Louis Blues Chris Gratton, Tampa Bay Lightning Yanic Perreault, Toronto Maple Leafs Michael Peca, Vancouver Canucks Jason Allison, Washington Capitals Last games The following is a list of players of note who played their last game in the NHL in 1993–94 (listed with their last team): Gordie Roberts, Boston Bruins Dave Christian, Chicago Blackhawks Michel Goulet, Chicago Blackhawks Mike Foligno, Florida Panthers Brian Propp, Hartford Whalers Dave Taylor, Los Angeles Kings Keith Acton, New York Islanders Rob Ramage, Philadelphia Flyers Bryan Trottier, Pittsburgh Penguins Coaches Eastern Conference Team Coach CommentsBoston BruinsBrian SutterBuffalo SabresJohn Muckler Florida PanthersRoger NeilsonHartford Whalers Pierre McGuire Elevated to head coach midseason after Paul Holmgren stepped down.Montreal CanadiensJacques Demers New Jersey DevilsJacques Lemaire New York IslandersAl ArbourNew York Rangers Mike KeenanOttawa SenatorsRick Bowness Philadelphia FlyersTerry Simpson Pittsburgh Penguins Eddie Johnston Quebec Nordiques Pierre PageTampa Bay LightningTerry CrispWashington CapitalsTerry MurrayReplaced late in the season by Jim Schoenfeld Western Conference Team Coach CommentsMighty Ducks of AnaheimRon WilsonCalgary FlamesDave KingChicago BlackhawksDarryl SutterDallas StarsBob GaineyDetroit Red WingsScotty BowmanEdmonton OilersTed GreenReplaced early in the season by Glen SatherLos Angeles KingsBarry MelroseSt. Louis BluesBob BerrySan Jose SharksKevin ConstantineToronto Maple LeafsPat BurnsVancouver CanucksPat QuinnWinnipeg Jets John Paddock Broadcasting Canada This was the sixth season of the league's Canadian national broadcast rights deals with TSN and Hockey Night in Canada on CBC. This was the last regular season before Saturday night doubleheaders became permanent on HNIC on CBC. TSN televised selected regular season weeknight games. Coverage of the Stanley Cup playoffs was primarily on CBC, with TSN airing first round all-U.S. series. United States This was the second season of ESPN's deal for U.S. national broadcast rights,Clark Cammy https://www.tampabay.com/archive/1992/09/03/nhl-okays-espn-deal/ NHL okays ESPN deal Tampa Bay Times September 3, 1992 February 9, 2016 while NBC televised the All-Star Game for the fifth and final consecutive season. ESPN's weekly regular season games were generally broadcast on Wednesdays and Fridays. ESPN also had Sunday games between the NFL and baseball seasons.Sandomir Richard February 22, 2005 Picture Is Fuzzy for N.H.L. on Networks https://www.nytimes.com/2005/02/22/sports/hockey/picture-is-fuzzy-for-nhl-on-networks.html The New York Times Richard Sandomir ESPN2 also began showing up to five games per week, branded as NHL Fire on Ice. https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct-xpm-1993-10-01-9310010193-story.html ESPN2 Takes Aim at Young, Restless Steve Nidetz Chicago Tribune October 1, 1993 February 9, 2016 ESPN's brokered deal with sister broadcast network ABC expanded to include weekly regional telecasts on the last three Sunday afternoons of the regular season.NHL's new boss ready to clear up confusion Rudy Martzke USA Today 3C 5 February 1993Camera could be newest Derby rider Michael Hiestand USA Today 3C 28 April 1993 This marked the first time that regular season NHL games were broadcast on American network television since 1974. https://www.courant.com/news/connecticut/hc-xpm-1993-05-07-0000102356-story.html Select few watching NHL on ABC Jim Shea Hartford Courant 7 May 1993 9 February 2016 ABC then televised playoff games on first three Sundays of the postseason. https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct-xpm-1994-01-21-9401210194-story.html NHL Boss Finishes Eventful 1st Year – Bettman Focuses on CBS Deal Mike Kiley Chicago Tribune 21 January 1994 20 March 2008 ESPN and ESPN2 televised selected first and second-round games. ESPN then had the Conference finals and the Stanley Cup Final. After the season, the NHL reached a five-year deal with Fox, replacing ABC and NBC as the league's U.S. broadcast television partner.September 13, 1994 Fox, ESPN ink deals with NHL https://www.upi.com/Archives/1994/09/13/Fox-ESPN-ink-deals-with-NHL/5942779428800/ UPI See also List of Stanley Cup champions 1993 NHL entry draft 1993 NHL expansion draft 1993 NHL supplemental draft 1993-94 NHL transactions 45th National Hockey League All-Star Game National Hockey League All-Star Game NHL All-Rookie Team Lester Patrick Trophy Ice hockey at the 1994 Winter Olympics 1993 in sports 1994 in sports Notes References Total Hockey Diamond, Dan Total Sports 2000 Kingston, NY 1-892129-85-X Dinger Ralph 2011 The National Hockey League Official Guide & Record Book 2012 Dan Diamond & Associates 978-1-894801-22-5 Toronto, ON registration https://archive.org/details/nationalhockeyle0000unse_u6g5 Dryden Steve Century of hockey McClelland & Stewart Ltd. Toronto, ON 2000 0-7710-4179-9 Fischler Stan Fischler Shirley Hughes Morgan Romain Joseph Duplacey James 2003 The Hockey Chronicle: Year-by-Year History of the National Hockey League Publications International Inc. 0-7853-9624-1 Lincolnwood, IL Fischler 2003 Notes External links Hockey Database 1994 season 1993 Category:1993–94 in Canadian ice hockey by league Category:1993–94 in American ice hockey by league Category:1994 in American sports