1997–98 NHL season

National Hockey League season August 2023 1997–98 NHL season National Hockey League Ice hockey October 1, 1997 – June 16, 1998 Draft 1997 NHL Entry Draft List of first overall NHL draft picks Joe Thornton Boston Bruins Regular season Presidents' Trophy Dallas Stars Dominik Hasek (Sabres) Hart Memorial Trophy Jaromir Jagr (Penguins) Art Ross Trophy Playoffs 1998 Stanley Cup playoffs Stanley Cup 1998 Stanley Cup Finals Detroit Red Wings Washington Capitals Steve Yzerman (Red Wings) Conn Smythe Trophy 1998–99 1996–97 NHL 82 26 CBC, TSN, SRC (Canada)ESPN, Fox (United States) The 1997–98 NHL season was the 81st regular season of the National Hockey League (NHL). For the first time, there was a break in the regular season to allow NHL players join their respective national hockey teams competing at the Winter Olympics. The Hartford Whalers relocated to North Carolina, becoming the Carolina Hurricanes. The Stanley Cup champions were the Detroit Red Wings, who swept the Washington Capitals in four games. League business Approval of four expansion teams On June 25, 1997, the National Hockey League approved of four expansion franchises for Nashville, Atlanta, Columbus, and Saint Paul expanding the league to 30 teams by 2000. These franchises became the Nashville Predators in 1998, the Atlanta Thrashers in 1999, and the Columbus Blue Jackets and Minnesota Wild in 2000. To accommodate the incoming expansion teams, 1997–98 became the last season of the four-division quasi-geographic alignment inherited from the traditional Adams/Patrick/Norris/Smythe set. The league would change the following season to a six-division, more purely geographic alignment, with the Toronto Maple Leafs moving from the Western to Eastern Conference, among others. Franchise relocation The Hartford Whalers relocated to North Carolina, becoming the Carolina Hurricanes. They would remain in the Northeast Division until realignment the following season. It would be another 14 years before another NHL team would relocate. Entry draft The 1997 NHL entry draft was held at the Civic Arena in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, on June 21. Joe Thornton was selected first overall by the Boston Bruins. Rule changes Due to the retirement of Craig MacTavish after the 1996–97 season, all NHL players were now required to wear helmets. MacTavish was the last helmetless player remaining in the league to be grandfathered in to 1979–80 rules requiring incoming players to wear helmets. Arena changes The relocated Carolina Hurricanes moved from Hartford Civic Center in Hartford, Connecticut to Greensboro Coliseum in Greensboro, North Carolina, while their new arena in Raleigh, North Carolina was under construction. The Washington Capitals moved from US Airways Arena in Landover, Maryland to the MCI Center in Washington, D.C. on December 5, 1997, with MCI acquiring the naming rights. Regular season First international regular season games The Vancouver Canucks and Mighty Ducks of Anaheim opened the season with a two-game series at Yoyogi National Gymnasium in Tokyo, Japan, on October 3 and 4, 1997, the first time the NHL played regular games outside of North America. Olympics and new All-Star Game format This was the first time that the NHL took a break during the regular season to allow NHL players join their respective national hockey teams competing at the Winter Olympics. The league's break lasted 17 days from February 8 to 24 while NHL players participated at the men's hockey event at the 1998 Winter Olympics in Nagano, Japan. As a preview for the NHL's first Olympic participation, a new format was introduced at the 1998 All-Star Game at General Motors Place in Vancouver, the home to the Vancouver Canucks, on January 18. The league had the all-star teams consist of a team of North Americans playing against a team of players from the rest of the world. Highlights The all-time record for most shutouts in a season, set at 127 just a year earlier,https://www.hockey-reference.com/leagues/NHL_1997_goalies.html 1996-97 NHL Goalie Statistics Hockey-Reference.com January 26, 2018 July 11, 2017 https://web.archive.org/web/20170711003706/http://www.hockey-reference.com/leagues/NHL_1997_goalies.html live was broken again as 160 shutouts were recorded, 13 of which were earned by Dominik Hasek,https://www.hockey-reference.com/leagues/NHL_1998_goalies.html 1997-98 NHL Goalie Statistics Hockey-Reference.com January 26, 2018 July 10, 2017 https://web.archive.org/web/20170710235250/http://www.hockey-reference.com/leagues/NHL_1998_goalies.html live who set a League record with 11 teams shut-out. He zeroed the New York Rangers three times, and Los Angeles, Anaheim, Tampa Bay, Boston, Calgary, Washington, Montreal, Ottawa, Pittsburgh and Edmonton once each. Only two teams, the St. Louis Blues and the Detroit Red Wings, averaged more than three goals scored per game.https://www.hockey-reference.com/leagues/NHL_1998.html 1997-98 NHL Summary Hockey-Reference.com January 26, 2018 March 22, 2018 https://web.archive.org/web/20180322041437/https://www.hockey-reference.com/leagues/NHL_1998.html live In addition, only one player, Jaromir Jagr, reached the 100-point plateau during the regular season.https://www.hockey-reference.com/leagues/NHL_1998_leaders.html 1997-98 NHL Leaders Hockey-Reference.com January 26, 2018 July 10, 2017 https://web.archive.org/web/20170710091830/http://www.hockey-reference.com/leagues/NHL_1998_leaders.html live Jari Kurri reached 600 goals in his career, finishing with 601. For the first time since 1968–69 season, the Chicago Blackhawks missed the playoffs. Final standings Eastern Conference start break end Western Conference start break end Playoffs 1998 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 Finals. Bracket Awards The NHL Awards took place in Toronto, Ontario Presidents' Trophy: Dallas Stars Prince of Wales Trophy: (Eastern Conference playoff champion) Washington Capitals Clarence S. Campbell Bowl: (Western Conference playoff champion) Detroit Red Wings Art Ross Trophy: Jaromir Jagr, Pittsburgh Penguins Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy: Jamie McLennan, St. Louis Blues Calder Memorial Trophy: Sergei Samsonov, Boston Bruins Frank J. Selke Trophy: Jere Lehtinen, Dallas Stars Hart Memorial Trophy: Dominik Hasek, Buffalo Sabres Conn Smythe Trophy: Steve Yzerman, Detroit Red Wings Jack Adams Award: Pat Burns, Boston Bruins James Norris Memorial Trophy: Rob Blake, Los Angeles Kings King Clancy Memorial Trophy: Kelly Chase, St. Louis Blues Lady Byng Memorial Trophy: Ron Francis, Pittsburgh Penguins Lester B. Pearson Award: Dominik Hasek, Buffalo Sabres NHL Foundation Player Award: Kelly Chase, St. Louis Blues NHL Plus-Minus Award: Chris Pronger, St. Louis Blues Vezina Trophy: Dominik Hasek, Buffalo Sabres William M. Jennings Trophy: Martin Brodeur, New Jersey Devils All-Star teams First Team   Position   Second TeamDominik Hasek, Buffalo Sabres GMartin Brodeur, New Jersey DevilsNicklas Lidstrom, Detroit Red Wings DChris Pronger, St. Louis BluesRob Blake, Los Angeles Kings DScott Niedermayer, New Jersey DevilsPeter Forsberg, Colorado Avalanche CWayne Gretzky, New York RangersJaromir Jagr, Pittsburgh Penguins RWTeemu Selanne, Mighty Ducks of AnaheimJohn LeClair, Philadelphia Flyers LWKeith Tkachuk, Phoenix Coyotes Player statistics Scoring leaders Regular season Playoffs Player Team GP G A PTS Jaromir Jagr Pittsburgh 77 35 67 102 Peter Forsberg Colorado 72 25 66 91 Pavel Bure Vancouver 82 51 39 90 Wayne Gretzky NY Rangers 82 23 67 90 John LeClair Philadelphia 82 51 36 87 Zigmund Palffy NY Islanders 82 45 42 87 Ron Francis Pittsburgh 81 25 62 87 Teemu Selanne Anaheim 73 52 34 86 Jason Allison Boston 81 33 50 83 Jozef Stumpel Los Angeles 77 21 58 79Peter Bondra Washington 76 52 26 78 Source: NHL.Dinger 2011 154https://www.hockey-reference.com/leagues/NHL_1998_skaters.html Hockey Reference 1997-98 NHL Skater Statistics Hockey Reference.com April 17, 2026 August 21, 2026 https://web.archive.org/web/20260821075541/https://www.hockey-reference.com/leagues/NHL_1998_skaters.html live Player Team GP G A Pts Steve Yzerman Detroit 22 6 18 24 Sergei Fedorov Detroit 22 10 10 20 Tomas Holmstrom Detroit 22 7 12 19 Nicklas Lidstrom Detroit 22 6 13 19 Joe Juneau Washington 21 7 10 17 Adam Oates Washington 21 6 11 17 Martin Lapointe Detroit 21 9 6 15 Larry Murphy Detroit 22 3 12 15 Vyacheslav Kozlov Detroit 22 6 8 14 Mike Modano Dallas 17 4 10 14 Note: GP = Games Played, G = Goals, A = Assists, Pts = Points Leading goaltenders Regular season Player Team GP MIN GA SO GAA SV% Ed Belfour Dallas 65 3581 112 9 1.88 .916 Martin Brodeur New Jersey 70 4128 130 10 1.89 .917 Tom Barrasso Pittsburgh 63 3542 122 7 2.07 .922 Dominik Hasek Buffalo 72 4220 147 13 2.09 .932 Ron Hextall Philadelphia 46 2688 97 4 2.17 .911 Trevor Kidd Carolina 47 2685 97 3 2.17 .922 Jamie McLennan St. Louis 30 1658 60 2 2.17 .903 Jeff Hackett Chicago 58 3441 126 8 2.20 .917 Olaf Kolzig Washington 64 3788 139 5 2.20 .920 Chris Osgood Detroit 64 3807 140 6 2.21 .913 Coaches Eastern Conference Boston Bruins: Pat Burns Buffalo Sabres: Lindy Ruff Carolina Hurricanes: Paul Maurice Florida Panthers: Doug MacLean and Bryan Murray Montreal Canadiens: Alain Vigneault New Jersey Devils: Jacques Lemaire New York Islanders: Rick Bowness and Mike Milbury New York Rangers: Colin Campbell and John Muckler Ottawa Senators: Jacques Martin Philadelphia Flyers: Wayne Cashman and Roger Neilson Pittsburgh Penguins: Kevin Constantine Tampa Bay Lightning: Terry Crisp, Rick Paterson and Jacques Demers Washington Capitals: Ron Wilson Western Conference Mighty Ducks of Anaheim: Pierre Page Calgary Flames: Brian Sutter Chicago Blackhawks: Craig Hartsburg Colorado Avalanche: Marc Crawford Dallas Stars: Ken Hitchcock Detroit Red Wings: Scotty Bowman Edmonton Oilers: Ron Low Los Angeles Kings: Larry Robinson Phoenix Coyotes: Jim Schoenfeld San Jose Sharks: Darryl Sutter St. Louis Blues: Joel Quenneville Toronto Maple Leafs: Mike Murphy Vancouver Canucks: Tom Renney and Mike Keenan Milestones Debuts The following is a list of players of note who played their first NHL game in 1997–98 (listed with their first team, asterisk(*) marks debut in playoffs): Matt Cullen, Mighty Ducks of Anaheim Joe Thornton, Boston Bruins Sergei Samsonov, Boston Bruins Derek Morris, Calgary Flames Olli Jokinen, Los Angeles Kings Sheldon Souray, New Jersey Devils Zdeno Chara, New York Islanders Marc Savard, New York Rangers Chris Phillips, Ottawa Senators Marian Hossa, Ottawa Senators Daniel Briere, Phoenix Coyotes Patrick Marleau, San Jose Sharks Mattias Ohlund, Vancouver Canucks Last games The following is a list of players of note who played their last game in the NHL in 1997–98 (listed with their last team): Brent Sutter, Chicago Blackhawks Jari Kurri, Colorado Avalanche Slava Fetisov, Detroit Red Wings Kevin Lowe, Edmonton Oilers Andy Moog, Montreal Canadiens Pat LaFontaine, New York Rangers Joel Otto, Philadelphia Flyers Mike Gartner, Phoenix Coyotes Al Iafrate, San Jose Sharks Kelly Hrudey, San Jose Sharks Jeff Brown, Washington Capitals Brian Bradley, Tampa Bay Lightning Norm Maciver, Phoenix Coyotes Broadcasting Canada This was the tenth and final season that the league's Canadian national broadcast rights were split between TSN and Hockey Night in Canada on CBC. During the regular season, Saturday night games aired on CBC, while TSN primarily had Monday and Thursday night games. Coverage of the Stanley Cup playoffs was primarily on CBC, with TSN airing first round all-U.S. series. The league then signed a new deal with the fledgling CTV Sportsnet, replacing TSN as the national cable television partner. United States This was the fourth season of the league's five-year U.S. national broadcast rights deals with Fox and ESPN. Both ESPN and ESPN2 aired weeknight games throughout the regular season. Fox had the All-Star Game, and the network's weekly regional telecasts then expanded from six to 11 weekend afternoons between January and April. During the first two rounds of the playoffs, ESPN and ESPN2 aired selected games, while Fox had Sunday regional telecasts. Each U.S. team's regional broadcaster produced local coverage of first and second round games (except for those games on Fox). Fox's Sunday telecasts continued into the Conference Finals, while ESPN had the rest of the third round games. The Stanley Cup Finals were also split between Fox and ESPN. The controversial "FoxTrax" puck system was last used this season. In August 1998, the NHL signed a five-year, $600 million rights agreement with ABC Sports/ESPN, and thus Fox elected not to use the system in the subsequent "lame duck" season. See also List of Stanley Cup champions 1997 NHL entry draft 1997–98 NHL transactions 48th National Hockey League All-Star Game National Hockey League All-Star Game NHL All-Rookie Team Lester Patrick Trophy Ice hockey at the 1998 Winter Olympics 1997 in sports 1998 in sports 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 NHL.com 1997 Category:1997–98 in Canadian ice hockey by league Category:1997–98 in American ice hockey by league