2009–10 NHL season

2009–10 NHL season
League	National Hockey League
Sport	Ice hockey
Duration	October 1, 2009 – June 9, 2010
Number of games	1319(total) 1230(reg) 89(playoffs)
Number of teams	30
Total attendance	20,212,972(total)
Regular season
Presidents' Trophy	Washington Capitals
Season MVP	Henrik Sedin (Vancouver)
Top scorer	Henrik Sedin (Vancouver)
Playoffs
Eastern champions	Philadelphia Flyers
Eastern runners-up	Montreal Canadiens
Western champions	Chicago Blackhawks
Western runners-up	San Jose Sharks
Playoffs Playoffs MVP	Jonathan Toews (Chicago)
Stanley Cup
Champions	Chicago Blackhawks
Runners-up	Philadelphia Flyers

The 2009–10 NHL season was the 93rd season of operation (92nd season of play) of the National Hockey League (NHL), and the 100th season since the founding of the predecessor National Hockey Association (NHA). It ran from October 1, 2009, including four games in Europe on October 2 and 3—until April 11, 2010, with the 2010 Stanley Cup playoffs running to June 9, 2010. A mid-season break from February 15 to February 28 occurred to allow participation of NHL players in the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver. Because of the Winter Olympics break, there was no NHL All-Star Game for 2010. The Stanley Cup Final saw the Chicago Blackhawks defeat the Philadelphia Flyers in six games.

League business

Salary cap

The salary cap was only increased a small amount for 2009–10 season. It was set at $56.8 million, which is $100,000 higher than in the 2008–09 season. The salary floor was $40.8 million.

Entry Draft

Main article: 2009 NHL Entry Draft

The Entry Draft was held June 26–27, 2009 at the Bell Centre in Montreal, Quebec. The New York Islanders chose John Tavares with the first overall pick. Other notable picks were Matt Duchene, Victor Hedman, Evander Kane and Brayden Schenn.

New uniforms

Several teams (Calgary, Minnesota, Nashville, Florida, and Colorado) debuted new third uniforms this season, while Philadelphia and Edmonton made their third uniform their primary home jersey, and Chicago made the jersey they wore for the previous season's Winter Classic their new alternate. The New Jersey Devils announced plans to play one game (March 17 against the Pittsburgh Penguins, the first anniversary of Martin Brodeur's record breaking 552nd win) wearing their 1982–1992 uniforms, albeit transferred onto the league's current RBK Edge jersey template. In addition, NHL officials had new uniforms, which debuted at the 2009 All-Star Game.

Television dispute

Prior to the season, a contract dispute between Versus (the NHL cable carrier for the United States) and satellite television supplier DirecTV blacked out Versus for 14 million satellite subscribers. Versus was restored to DirecTV in March 2010. While negotiations were secret, it was reported by the media that the dispute was over the 'slotting' of Versus with other channels. Versus was restored to DirecTV in the same tier of channels as the previous season. Versus President Jamie Davis confirmed that the dispute was necessary to get "the same level of distribution we had prior to be taken off the air".

Phoenix Coyotes bankruptcy and sale

Main article: Phoenix Coyotes bankruptcy

The Phoenix Coyotes' holding company, Dewey Ranch Hockey LLC, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. In a statement, Moyes announced that he had agreed in principle to sell the team to PSE Sports and Entertainment, headed by Research in Motion co-CEO Jim Balsillie, for $212.5 million. As part of the deal, Balsillie intended to move the Coyotes to Hamilton, Ontario. Although initial reports said that Balsillie was considering Kitchener as well, Hamilton already has an NHL-sized arena in place, Copps Coliseum, and Balsillie was already in talks with city officials to secure a lease for the arena. Hamilton had previously bid for an NHL team in the 1990s, narrowly losing out to Ottawa. Balsillie had previously made unsuccessful approaches to purchase the Pittsburgh Penguins and Nashville Predators, with the intent of relocating either team to Hamilton.

The NHL opposed the bankruptcy and the matter went to Phoenix bankruptcy court. Two other potential bidders for the team emerged, Jerry Reinsdorf, owner of the Chicago White Sox and Ice Edge Holdings. Bankruptcy hearings were held from May until September. Reinsdorf and Ice Edge did not bid for the team, and the NHL put in the only rival bid for the team at court.

In September, a Phoenix bankruptcy court rejected offers from the NHL and Jim Balsillie, ending Balsillie's plan to move the Coyotes to Hamilton. The NHL's offer was rejected because it left out creditors Jerry Moyes and Wayne Gretzky. On Balsillie's offer, Judge Redfield T. Baum refused to sanction the use of bankruptcy to force relocation of a franchise on a league. Gretzky, who was head coach of the team for the previous four seasons, stayed away from training camp and was replaced. The Coyotes played their first home game to a sell-out; however, attendance was lower at other games in the month of October. Later in the month, the NHL and Moyes came to a tentative agreement to transfer ownership of the Coyotes to the NHL.

In December, the NHL announced that Ice Edge Holdings, a partnership of Canadians and Phoenix-area businessmen, had signed a letter of intent with the NHL to purchase the Coyotes. Ice Edge, which plans to keep the team in Phoenix, plans to play five Coyotes home games in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, each season as part of a five-year plan to return the Coyotes to profitability. Ice Edge would still have to negotiate a lease agreement with the City of Glendale, and have its ownership approved by the NHL Board of Governors.

On March 6, the NHL launched a lawsuit for $61 million against former Coyotes owner Jerry Moyes to recover $10 million in bankruptcy court costs, $20 million in losses for 2009–10 and $11.6 million owed to creditors. Three weeks later, the Coyotes clinched their first playoff berth since 2002.

On April 13, Glendale, Arizona City Council approved a lease and sale agreement with Jerry Reinsdorf to take over the Coyotes and their lease of the Jobing.com Arena. The Council rejected the Ice Edge group. The agreement will create a special tax district surrounding the arena. Businesses in that district will pay $47 million annually to support the team. The agreement gives Reinsdorf the option to move the team after five years if revenues are not up to expectations. Former Coyotes CEO Jeff Shumway criticized the deal, saying that the team would not have gone bankrupt if the same deal had been available two years earlier. Reinsdorf's bid, which will pay the NHL $65 million for the team, has to be approved by the league board of governors.

Pre-season

The 2009–10 pre-season for most teams started on September 14, 2009.

2009 Kraft Hockeyville

Since 2006, Kraft Foods has sponsored a sweepstakes called Kraft Hockeyville, in which various small cities across Canada compete against each other with the hopes of winning the privilege of having an NHL pre-season game played in a local sports complex or arena, along with a hockey festival named the Stanley Cup Jamboree. The 2009 winner was the city of Terrace, British Columbia. The pre-season matchup was between the home town favorite Vancouver Canucks and the New York Islanders.

Victoria Cup

Main article: 2009 Victoria Cup

The Victoria Cup, which was held in Zurich, Switzerland, on September 29, 2009, just prior to the regular-season games, was contested between ZSC Zurich Lions and the NHL's Chicago Blackhawks. The game was won by Zurich 2–1.

Regular season

Four teams (Blackhawks, Blues, Panthers and Red Wings) began their season in the NHL Premiere series, each playing two regular-season games in Europe. The Red Wings played the Blues in Stockholm, Sweden, at Ericsson Globe while the Blackhawks and Panthers played in Helsinki, Finland, at Hartwall Areena on October 2 and October 3. This is the second-straight season that Sweden has hosted an NHL regular season game, and the third season of the Premiere series, in which NHL regular season games are held in Europe. Unlike in previous years, the European games are not the inaugural games, as the regular season began October 1 in North America.

The Avalanche, picked by many in the media to finish last in the Western Conference, instead roared to a 10–2–2 mark for the month of October to lead the Western Conference, partly on the strong play of Craig Anderson in net and rookies Ryan O'Reilly and Matt Duchene. The Coyotes, who were also not expected to make the playoffs, started strongly. The team had signed some veterans and demoted some young players to the minors. The Coyotes surprised the Stanley Cup champion Penguins 3–0 in Pittsburgh.

In the Eastern Conference, the Penguins had the best record after the first month. Teams playing at a higher level than predicted included the Sabres, which led the Northeast Division through most of October. On the other end of the scale, 2009 Conference finalist Hurricanes had a 2–8–3 record for October, the worst in franchise history.

In early November, the Columbus Chamber of Commerce released a report detailing how the Blue Jackets were losing $12 million per year. According to The Columbus Dispatch, the team's ownership is not prepared to continue funding the 'structural problem'. The Blue Jackets spend $5 million annually in arena rent, and lose around $4 million per year on events at the Nationwide Arena. The arena district is estimated to provide $30 million in taxes. The report by Stephen A. Buser, suggests some options including the use of local and state taxes.

Two streaks came to an end in November. The Devils won nine games in a row on the road to start the season, one short of the league record set in the 2006–07 season by the Sabres, before losing in Philadelphia to the Flyers. The Hurricanes lost a franchise-high 14 games in a row before defeating the Wild in a shootout on November 15. The streak included overtime and shootout losses.

The 2009 flu pandemic hit the Oilers hard with several players out for stretches in October. The Flames received their flu shots ahead of the general public, causing an Alberta health official to be fired. The Maple Leafs and the Canucks teams both had members of their staff "jump the queue" and receive flu shots ahead of the general public and were criticized in the media.

In December, Shane Doan of the Coyotes played his 1,000th game in a 2–1 shootout win over the Blue Jackets. On December 21, New Jersey Devils goaltender Martin Brodeur recorded his 104th shutout, breaking a record set by Terry Sawchuk during the 1969–70 NHL season.

Three head coaches lost their positions in mid-season. Despite being early favorites for the Stanley Cup, the Philadelphia Flyers were 13–11–1 and 10th in the Eastern Conference when John Stevens was fired on December 4, 2009. On January 2, 2010, the Blues fired Head Coach Andy Murray. In 2008–09, the Blues had made the playoffs but struggled during 2009–10. Davis Payne was named interim head coach. One month later, on February 3, 2010, the Blue Jackets, unhappy with their slide in the standings after a good start, fired defensive-minded Head Coach Ken Hitchcock. Although the slide had started months previous, team management had given time to Hitchcock to resolve the situation before firing him.

Player trades started in earnest a month before the March 3, 2010, trade deadline. On January 31, the Maple Leafs made two large trades, getting Dion Phaneuf from the Flames in a seven-player trade, and Jean-Sebastien Giguere from the Ducks for two players. The Flames were not done, trading Olli Jokinen to the Rangers the next day. After top scorer and pending free agent Ilya Kovalchuk turned down a $101 million contract offer from the Thrashers, he was traded to the Devils on February 4.

On February 5, Boston investment banker Jeff Vinik agreed to buy the Lightning from owners OK Hockey, headed by Oren Koules and Len Barrie. The sale price was not disclosed, although the media speculated it was much less than the US$206 million that OK Hockey paid. The purchase is contingent on the approval of the NHL Board of Governors.

On February 8, Canadiens' General Manager Bob Gainey announced his retirement as GM, staying on as advisor to the club. Assistant GM Pierre Gauthier became the interim GM. Gauthier and Coach Jacques Martin held the same positions with the Senators in the late 1990s.

From 3 pm EST on February 12 until 11:59 pm on Feb. 28, teams were not permitted to make any trades, since many NHL players were competing at the 2010 Winter Olympics. The March 3 trade deadline produced 31 trades involving 55 players, the largest number in NHL history. The most active team was the Coyotes, who were involved in seven deals. Unlike previous seasons, the Coyotes were in a playoff position at the trade deadline and were "buyers" of players rather than "sellers" (that is, they were looking to acquire key players to give the team a chance in the playoffs, rather than trading away players to other teams seeking playoff success). Only the Dallas Stars and Philadelphia Flyers did not make any trades between March 1 (after the Olympic roster freeze was lifted) and the trade deadline on March 3 at 3:00 pm EST.

Final standings

GP = Games Played, W = Wins, L = Losses, OTL = Overtime/Shootout Losses, GF = Goals For, GA = Goals Against, Pts = Points

bold – Qualified for playoffs; y – Won division

Eastern Conference

p – Won Presidents' Trophy (and division)

Eastern Conference

R		Div	GP	W	L	OTL	GF	GA	Pts
1	p – Washington Capitals	SE	82	54	15	13	318	233	121
2	y – New Jersey Devils	AT	82	48	27	7	222	191	103
3	y – Buffalo Sabres	NE	82	45	27	10	235	207	100
4	Pittsburgh Penguins	AT	82	47	28	7	257	237	101
5	Ottawa Senators	NE	82	44	32	6	225	238	94
6	Boston Bruins	NE	82	39	30	13	206	200	91
7	Philadelphia Flyers	AT	82	41	35	6	236	225	88
8	Montreal Canadiens	NE	82	39	33	10	217	223	88
8.5
9	New York Rangers	AT	82	38	33	11	222	218	87
10	Atlanta Thrashers	SE	82	35	34	13	234	256	83
11	Carolina Hurricanes	SE	82	35	37	10	230	256	80
12	Tampa Bay Lightning	SE	82	34	36	12	217	260	80
13	New York Islanders	AT	82	34	37	11	222	264	79
14	Florida Panthers	SE	82	32	37	13	208	244	77
15	Toronto Maple Leafs	NE	82	30	38	14	214	267	74

bold – Qualified for playoffs; y – Won division; p – Won Presidents' Trophy (and division)

AT - Atlantic Division, NE - Northeast Division, SE - Southeast Division

Western Conference

Western Conference

R		GP	W	L	OTL	GF	GA	Pts
1	z – San Jose Sharks	82	51	20	11	264	215	113
2	y – Chicago Blackhawks	82	52	22	8	271	209	112
3	y – Vancouver Canucks	82	49	28	5	272	222	103
4	Phoenix Coyotes	82	50	25	7	225	202	107
5	Detroit Red Wings	82	44	24	14	229	216	102
6	Los Angeles Kings	82	46	27	9	241	219	101
7	Nashville Predators	82	47	29	6	225	225	100
8	Colorado Avalanche	82	43	30	9	244	233	95
8.5
9	St. Louis Blues	82	40	32	10	225	223	90
10	Calgary Flames	82	40	32	10	204	210	90
11	Anaheim Ducks	82	39	32	11	238	251	89
12	Dallas Stars	82	37	31	14	237	254	88
13	Minnesota Wild	82	38	36	8	219	246	84
14	Columbus Blue Jackets	82	32	35	15	216	259	79
15	Edmonton Oilers	82	27	47	8	214	284	62

bold – Qualified for playoffs; y – Won division; z – Won conference (and division)

Tiebreaking procedures

If two or more clubs are tied in points during the regular season, the ranking of the clubs is determined in the following order:

1. The fewer number of games played.
2. The greater number of games won.
3. The greater number of points earned in games between the tied clubs. If two clubs are tied, and have not played an equal number of home games against each other, points earned in the first game played in the city that had the extra game shall not be included. If more than two clubs are tied, the higher percentage of available points earned in games among those clubs, and not including any "odd" games, shall be used to determine the standing.
4. The greater differential between goals for and against for the entire regular season.

Special events

The Avalanche retired 19, the number of Joe Sakic, at their home opener on October 1. The Canadiens celebrated their centennial on December 4 and retired the number 3 for Emile Bouchard and number 16 for Elmer Lach (which was already previously retired for Henri Richard). The Phoenix Coyotes retired 27, the number of Teppo Numminen at their home game.

Winter Classic

Main article: 2010 NHL Winter Classic

On July 15, 2009, the NHL announced that the third installment of the Winter Classic would take place on January 1, 2010, at Fenway Park in Boston, Massachusetts, with the Bruins hosting the Flyers. Because the NHL did not host an All-Star Game in the 2009–10 season due to the 2010 Olympics, this became the league's showcase event. The Bruins won the game 2–1 in overtime. Marco Sturm scored the game-winning overtime goal, after the Bruins were initially down 1–0 in regulation. After the game, the roster of the United States men's hockey team for the 2010 Winter Olympics was released, which included Bruins' goaltender Tim Thomas.

Olympics

Main article: Ice hockey at the 2010 Winter Olympics – Men's tournament

The NHL did not hold an All-Star Game this season. Instead, many of the league's players participated in the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver, British Columbia. The Olympic men's ice hockey tournament ran from February 16 to February 28, 2010. It was the first time since the NHL allowed its players to compete in the Olympics that the Winter Olympics were held in an NHL market, as well as the first to use an NHL-sized ice rink (as opposed to the bigger one normally used for international play). General Motors Place, the Canucks' home arena, was the primary ice hockey venue for the Olympics, and was formally called Canada Hockey Place. The temporary name change reflects the International Olympic Committee policy against selling or promoting naming rights for its competition venues. Another example of this policy is that the ice surface and dasher boards had their advertisements removed. The Canadian team won gold, the American team won silver, and the Finnish team won bronze. At the end of the tournament, United States goaltender Ryan Miller was named Tournament MVP.

In order to prepare General Motors Place for the Olympics, the Canucks were required to face the longest road trip in NHL history, playing 14 straight road games from January 27 to March 13, 2010

Attendance

HP Pavilion

Scotiabank Place

Nationwide Arena

Madison Square Garden

Team	Arena	Home Games	Average Attendance	Total Attendance	Capacity Percentage
Montreal Canadiens	Bell Centre	41	21,273	872,193	100.0%
Chicago Blackhawks	United Center	40	21,356	854,267	108.3%
Detroit Red Wings	Joe Louis Arena	40	19,535	800,966	97.4%
Calgary Flames	Pengrowth Saddledome	41	19,289	790,849	100.0%
Toronto Maple Leafs	Air Canada Centre	41	19,260	789,681	102.5%
Philadelphia Flyers	Wells Fargo Center	41	19,546	781,847	100.2%
Vancouver Canucks	GM Place	41	18,810	771,210	102.1%
Buffalo Sabres	HSBC Arena	41	18,529	759,695	99.1%
St. Louis Blues	Scottrade Center	40	18,883	755,322	98.6%
Minnesota Wild	Xcel Energy Center	41	18,415	755,055	101.9%
Washington Capitals	Verizon Center	41	18,277	749,357	100.0%
Ottawa Senators	Scotiabank Place	41	18,269	749,061	98.8%
New York Rangers	Madison Square Garden	41	18,076	741,128	99.3%
San Jose Sharks	HP Pavilion at San Jose	41	17,558	719,904	100.4%
Los Angeles Kings	Staples Center	41	17,313	709,853	93.6%
Dallas Stars	American Airlines Center	41	17,215	705,817	92.9%
Pittsburgh Penguins	Mellon Arena	41	17,078	700,211	100.7%
Boston Bruins	TD Garden	41	17,388	695,543	99.0%
Edmonton Oilers	Rexall Place	41	16,839	690,399	100.0%
New Jersey Devils	Prudential Center	41	15,535	636,975	88.1%
Tampa Bay Lightning	St. Pete Times Forum	41	15,497	635,388	78.4%
Columbus Blue Jackets	Nationwide Arena	41	15,416	632,086	85.0%
Carolina Hurricanes	RBC Center	41	15,240	624,873	81.4%
Anaheim Ducks	Honda Center	41	15,168	621,903	88.3%
Nashville Predators	Bridgestone Arena	41	14,979	614,143	87.5%
Florida Panthers	BankAtlantic Center	40	15,146	605,863	78.7%
Colorado Avalanche	Pepsi Center	41	13,947	571,849	77.5%
Atlanta Thrashers	Philips Arena	41	13,607	557,897	73.4%
New York Islanders	Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum	41	12,735	522,168	78.1%
Phoenix Coyotes	Jobing.com Arena	41	11,989	491,558	68.5%

Notes

• Totals do not include two regular-season opening games played in Europe. The Detroit Red Wings played the St. Louis Blues at the Ericsson Globe in Stockholm, Sweden, and the Chicago Blackhawks played the Florida Panthers at Hartwall Areena in Helsinki, Finland.
• The Pittsburgh Penguins began play in their new arena (Consol Energy Center) on Wednesday, September 22, 2010. With a larger capacity, more luxury seating, and better amenities than their former home Mellon Arena, the Penguins are expected to have a larger average and overall attendance record in the 2010–11 season.
• As of July 6, 2010, Vancouver's GM Place was renamed Rogers Arena.

Playoffs

Main article: 2010 Stanley Cup playoffs

The Stanley Cup

After the regular season, the standard of 16 teams qualified for the playoffs. The Washington Capitals won the Presidents' Trophy for having the best record in the league, at 121 points. Division champions maintained their relative ranking during the entire playoffs while the remaining teams were reseeded below them after each round.

These playoffs featured a rare event in professional sports, as the Flyers emerged from trailing three games to none against the Boston Bruins, and then after trailing three goals to none in game seven, they came back to win game seven and the series 4–3.

Stanley Cup Final

Main article: 2010 Stanley Cup Finals

The Chicago Blackhawks won their first Stanley Cup since 1961, defeating the Philadelphia Flyers in six games. Their overtime win in Game 6 marked the first time that the Cup was won in overtime since the New Jersey Devils in 2000.

Playoff bracket

In each round, the highest remaining seed in each conference was matched against the lowest remaining seed. The higher-seeded team was awarded home ice advantage. In the Stanley Cup Finals, home ice was determined based on regular season points. Each best-of-seven series follows a 2–2–1–1–1 format: the higher-seeded team played at home for games one and two (plus five and seven if necessary), and the lower-seeded team was at home for games three and four (and if necessary, game six). This was determined on April 11.

	Conference Quarterfinals					Conference Semifinals					Conference Finals					Stanley Cup Finals
	1	Washington	3			4	Pittsburgh	3
	8	Montreal	4			8	Montreal	4
	2	New Jersey	1							Eastern Conference
	7	Philadelphia	4
											8	Montreal	1
										7	Philadelphia	4
	3	Buffalo	2
	6	Boston	4
	4	Pittsburgh	4			6	Boston	3
	5	Ottawa	2			7	Philadelphia	4
																E7	Philadelphia	2
		(Pairings are re-seeded after the first round.)
																W2	Chicago	4
	1	San Jose	4			1	San Jose	4
	8	Colorado	2			5	Detroit	1
	2	Chicago	4
	7	Nashville	2
											1	San Jose	0
										2	Chicago	4
	3	Vancouver	4
	6	Los Angeles	2								Western Conference
	4	Phoenix	3			2	Chicago	4
	5	Detroit	4			3	Vancouver	2

• During the first three rounds home ice is determined by seeding number, not position on the bracket. In the Finals the team with the better regular season record has home ice.

NHL awards

2009–10 NHL awards

Award	Recipient(s)
Stanley Cup	Chicago Blackhawks
Presidents' Trophy	Washington Capitals
Prince of Wales Trophy	Philadelphia Flyers
Clarence S. Campbell Bowl	Chicago Blackhawks
Art Ross Trophy	Henrik Sedin (Vancouver Canucks)
Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy	Jose Theodore (Washington Capitals)
Calder Memorial Trophy	Tyler Myers (Buffalo Sabres)
Conn Smythe Trophy	Jonathan Toews (Chicago Blackhawks)
Frank J. Selke Trophy	Pavel Datsyuk (Detroit Red Wings)
Hart Memorial Trophy	Henrik Sedin (Vancouver Canucks)
Jack Adams Award	Dave Tippett (Phoenix Coyotes)
James Norris Memorial Trophy	Duncan Keith (Chicago Blackhawks)
King Clancy Memorial Trophy	Shane Doan (Phoenix Coyotes)
Lady Byng Memorial Trophy	Martin St. Louis (Tampa Bay Lightning)
Ted Lindsay Award	Alexander Ovechkin (Washington Capitals)
Maurice 'Rocket' Richard Trophy	Sidney Crosby (Pittsburgh Penguins) Steven Stamkos (Tampa Bay Lightning)
NHL General Manager of the Year Award	Don Maloney (Phoenix Coyotes)
Vezina Trophy	Ryan Miller (Buffalo Sabres)
William M. Jennings Trophy	Martin Brodeur (New Jersey Devils)
Lester Patrick Trophy	Dave Andrews, Cam Neely, Jack Parker, Jerry York

Player statistics

Scoring leaders

The following players led the league in points at the conclusion of the regular season. GP = Games played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; +/– = Plus/minus; PIM = Penalty minutes

Player	Team	GP	G	A	Pts	+/–	PIM
Henrik Sedin	Vancouver Canucks	82	29	83	112	+35	48
Alexander Ovechkin	Washington Capitals	72	50	59	109	+45	89
Sidney Crosby	Pittsburgh Penguins	81	51	58	109	+15	69
Nicklas Backstrom	Washington Capitals	82	33	68	101	+37	50
Steven Stamkos	Tampa Bay Lightning	82	51	44	95	−2	38
Martin St. Louis	Tampa Bay Lightning	82	29	65	94	−8	12
Brad Richards	Dallas Stars	80	24	67	91	−12	14
Joe Thornton	San Jose Sharks	79	20	69	89	+17	54
Patrick Kane	Chicago Blackhawks	82	30	58	88	+16	20
Marian Gaborik	New York Rangers	76	42	44	86	+15	37

Source: NHL

Leading goaltenders

The following goaltenders led the league in goals against average at the end of the regular season.

GP = Games played; Min = Minutes played; W = Wins; L = Losses; OT = Overtime/shootout losses; GA = Goals against; SO = Shutouts; SV% = Save percentage; GAA = Goals against average

Player	Team	GP	Min	W	L	OT	GA	SO	SV%	GAA
Tuukka Rask	Boston Bruins	45	2,562:11	22	12	5	84	5	.931	1.97
Ryan Miller	Buffalo Sabres	69	4,047:10	41	18	8	150	5	.929	2.22
Martin Brodeur	New Jersey Devils	77	4,499:01	45	25	6	168	9	.916	2.24
Antti Niemi	Chicago Blackhawks	39	2,190:28	26	7	4	82	7	.912	2.25
Jimmy Howard	Detroit Red Wings	63	3,740:15	37	15	10	141	3	.924	2.26
Ilya Bryzgalov	Phoenix Coyotes	69	4,084:27	42	20	6	156	8	.920	2.29
Miikka Kiprusoff	Calgary Flames	73	4,235:19	35	28	10	163	4	.920	2.31
Henrik Lundqvist	New York Rangers	73	4,203:49	35	27	10	167	4	.921	2.38
Jaroslav Halak	Montreal Canadiens	45	2,629:56	26	13	5	105	5	.924	2.40
Evgeni Nabokov	San Jose Sharks	71	4,194:07	44	16	10	170	3	.922	2.43

Milestones

First games

The following is a list of players of note who played their first NHL game in 2009–10, listed with their first team:

• Jamie Benn, Dallas Stars
• Matt Duchene, Colorado Avalanche
• Victor Hedman, Tampa Bay Lightning
• Evander Kane, Atlanta Thrashers
• Erik Karlsson, Ottawa Senators
• Brad Marchand, Boston Bruins
• Tyler Myers, Buffalo Sabres
• John Tavares, New York Islanders
• Logan Couture, San Jose Sharks
• Evan Oberg, Vancouver Canucks
• Ryan O'Reilly, Colorado Avalanche
• P. K. Subban, Montreal Canadiens

Last games

The following is a list of players of note who played their last NHL game in 2009–10, listed with their team:

Player	Team	Notability
Rob Blake	San Jose Sharks	Stanley Cup champion with the Colorado Avalanche, six-time NHL All-Star, James Norris Memorial Trophy winner, Olympic gold medalist, over 1,200 games played
Rod Brind'Amour	Carolina Hurricanes	Stanley Cup champion with the Hurricanes, two-time Frank J. Selke Trophy winner, NHL All-Star, over 1,400 games played
Chris Chelios	Atlanta Thrashers	Three-time Stanley Cup champion (Canadiens, Red Wings), 11-time NHL All-Star, three-time James Norris Memorial Trophy winner, Olympic silver medalist, over 1,600 games played
Bill Guerin	Pittsburgh Penguins	Two-time Stanley Cup champion (Devils, Penguins), four-time NHL All-Star, Olympic silver medalist, over 1,200 games played
Paul Kariya	St. Louis Blues	Seven-time NHL All-Star, Lady Byng Memorial Trophy winner, Olympic gold medalist
Ian Laperriere	Philadelphia Flyers	Over 1,000 games played
Jere Lehtinen	Dallas Stars	Stanley Cup champion with the Stars, NHL All-Star, three-time Frank J. Selke Trophy winner
Kirk Maltby	Detroit Red Wings	Four-time Stanley Cup champion with the Red Wings, over 1,000 games played
Brad May	Detroit Red Wings	Stanley Cup champion with the Anaheim Ducks, over 1,000 games played
Scott Niedermayer	Anaheim Ducks	Four-time Stanley Cup champion (Devils, Ducks), five-time NHL All-Star, Conn Smythe Trophy winner, James Norris Memorial Trophy winner, Olympic gold medalist, over 1,200 games played
Owen Nolan	Minnesota Wild	Four-time NHL All-Star, Olympic gold medalist, over 1,200 games played
Darryl Sydor	St. Louis Blues	Two-time Stanley Cup champion (Stars, Lightning), two-time NHL All-Star, over 1,200 games played
Keith Tkachuk	St. Louis Blues	Five-time NHL All-Star, Olympic silver medalist, over 1,200 games played
Aaron Ward	Anaheim Ducks	Three-time Stanley Cup champion (Red Wings, Hurricanes)

Hat tricks

Main article: 2009-10 NHL Hat tricks

See also

• 2009–10 NHL transactions
• 2009–10 NHL suspensions and fines
• 2009 NHL Entry Draft
• 2009 in sports
• 2010 in sports
• List of 2009–10 NHL Three Star Awards
• 2009–10 NHL attendance statistics

References

Notes

External links

Media related to at Wikimedia Commons

• NHL.com
• 2009–10 NHL season at Hockey Reference
• 2009–10 NHL season at ESPN
• Hockey Database