| 1994–95 NHL season | |
|---|---|
| League | National Hockey League |
| Sport | Ice hockey |
| Duration | January 20 – June 24, 1995 |
| Games | 48 |
| Teams | 26 |
| TV partner(s) | CBC,TSN,SRC (Canada) ESPN,Fox (United States) |
| Draft | |
| Top draft pick | Ed Jovanovski |
| Picked by | Florida Panthers |
| Regular season | |
| Presidents' Trophy | Detroit Red Wings |
| SeasonMVP | Eric Lindros (Flyers) |
| Top scorer | Jaromir Jagr (Penguins) |
| Playoffs | |
| PlayoffsMVP | Claude Lemieux (Devils) |
| Stanley Cup | |
| Champions | New Jersey Devils |
| Runners-up | Detroit Red Wings |
| NHL seasons | |
← 1993–94 1995–96 → | |
The1994–95 NHL season was the78thregular season of theNational Hockey League. The season start was delayed due to alockout of players imposed by the NHL franchise owners. After a new labour agreement was reached between the owners and theNational Hockey League Players' Association (NHLPA), a 48-game season started on January 20. The season ended when theNew Jersey Devils swept the heavily favoredDetroit Red Wings for their firstStanley Cup win. It was also their first appearance in the finals overall.
The1994 NHL entry draft was held on June 28–29, 1994, at theHartford Civic Center inHartford, Connecticut.Ed Jovanovski was selected first overall by theFlorida Panthers.
On October 1, 1994, the NHL initiated alockout of theNational Hockey League Players' Association (NHLPA). The players had beguntraining camps a few weeks earlier as if to start the season. However, as these camps came to a close, labour negotiations remained unresolved.[1] The big issue was the implementation of asalary cap. The NHL owners were strongly in favor of the cap while the players were opposed to it. The NHL wanted to levy aluxury tax, a financial penalty that is assigned by the league, on salaries that were higher than the average. However, theNational Hockey League Players' Association (NHLPA) viewed that as a variation on a salary cap and refused to accept it. This came right off the heels of the1992 walkout by players, which interrupted the race for the Stanley Cup.[2] Unlike in the 1992 strike however, it was the owners who wanted to make sure that they got the right deal.[3] Under the leadership of executive directorBob Goodenow, the NHLPA position was that it would be open to a small tax, however the bulk of the financial goals could be achieved through revenue sharing.
After the lockout had dragged on, the talk of salary cap faded and new items entered the debate. Talk of rookie salary cap, changes to the arbitration system, and loosened free agency. However, large market teams such asToronto,Detroit, theNew York Rangers,Dallas, andPhiladelphia eventually broke with the league, as they feared that an extended lockout would outweigh the benefits from getting a salary cap and did not want to be the first league in North America to forfeit an entire season just to help out their small-market colleagues.[1]
The lockout ended on January 11, 1995. As a result, the league shortened the season length from 84 games, the length of the previous two seasons, to 48.[4] The regular season would then last from January 20 to May 3, the first time in NHL history that the regular season extended into May. All games were limited to intra-conference play. The NHL and NHLPA agreed to shorten future seasons to 82 games. TheNHL All-Star Game, which had been scheduled to take place January 20–21, 1995, inSan Jose, California, was canceled; San Jose was then awarded1997 NHL All-Star Game instead. The lost revenue due to the lockout would eventually contribute in part to three teams relocating: theQuebec Nordiques moved toDenver, Colorado after the 1994–95 season to became theColorado Avalanche; theWinnipeg Jets relocated toPhoenix, Arizona after the1995–96 season to became thePhoenix Coyotes; and theHartford Whalers moved toGreensboro, North Carolina after the1996–97 season to become theCarolina Hurricanes.
The lockout delay pushed the start of the 1994–95 season to January 20. The regular season was shortened from 84 games, the length of the previous two seasons, down to 48. Regular season games would be limited to intra-conference play. The shortened regular season ended on May 3, the first time in NHL history that the regular season extended into that month.[5]
The March 10, 1995,Detroit Red Wings–San Jose Sharks game was postponed due to theGuadalupe River flooding, making it impossible for the teams to travel to theSan Jose Arena.[6]
This was the first season since1969–70, that theMontreal Canadiens missed the playoffs.
| R | Div | GP | W | L | T | GF | GA | Pts | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Quebec Nordiques | NE | 48 | 30 | 13 | 5 | 185 | 134 | 65 |
| 2 | Philadelphia Flyers | AT | 48 | 28 | 16 | 4 | 150 | 132 | 60 |
| 3 | Pittsburgh Penguins | NE | 48 | 29 | 16 | 3 | 181 | 158 | 61 |
| 4 | Boston Bruins | NE | 48 | 27 | 18 | 3 | 150 | 127 | 57 |
| 5 | New Jersey Devils | AT | 48 | 22 | 18 | 8 | 136 | 121 | 52 |
| 6 | Washington Capitals | AT | 48 | 22 | 18 | 8 | 136 | 120 | 52 |
| 7 | Buffalo Sabres | NE | 48 | 22 | 19 | 7 | 130 | 119 | 51 |
| 8 | New York Rangers | AT | 48 | 22 | 23 | 3 | 139 | 134 | 47 |
| 9 | Florida Panthers | AT | 48 | 20 | 22 | 6 | 115 | 127 | 46 |
| 10 | Hartford Whalers | NE | 48 | 19 | 24 | 5 | 127 | 141 | 43 |
| 11 | Montreal Canadiens | NE | 48 | 18 | 23 | 7 | 125 | 148 | 43 |
| 12 | Tampa Bay Lightning | AT | 48 | 17 | 28 | 3 | 120 | 144 | 37 |
| 13 | New York Islanders | AT | 48 | 15 | 28 | 5 | 126 | 158 | 35 |
| 14 | Ottawa Senators | NE | 48 | 9 | 34 | 5 | 117 | 174 | 23 |
Divisions:AT – Atlantic,NE – Northeast
bold – Qualified for playoffs
|
|
| R | Div | GP | W | L | T | GF | GA | Pts | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | p –Detroit Red Wings | CEN | 48 | 33 | 11 | 4 | 180 | 117 | 70 |
| 2 | x –Calgary Flames | PAC | 48 | 24 | 17 | 7 | 163 | 135 | 55 |
| 3 | St. Louis Blues | CEN | 48 | 28 | 15 | 5 | 178 | 135 | 61 |
| 4 | Chicago Blackhawks | CEN | 48 | 24 | 19 | 5 | 156 | 115 | 53 |
| 5 | Toronto Maple Leafs | CEN | 48 | 21 | 19 | 8 | 135 | 146 | 50 |
| 6 | Vancouver Canucks | PAC | 48 | 18 | 18 | 12 | 153 | 148 | 48 |
| 7 | San Jose Sharks | PAC | 48 | 19 | 25 | 4 | 129 | 161 | 42 |
| 8 | Dallas Stars | CEN | 48 | 17 | 23 | 8 | 136 | 135 | 42 |
| 9 | Los Angeles Kings | PAC | 48 | 16 | 23 | 9 | 142 | 174 | 41 |
| 10 | Winnipeg Jets | CEN | 48 | 16 | 25 | 7 | 157 | 177 | 39 |
| 11 | Edmonton Oilers | PAC | 48 | 17 | 27 | 4 | 136 | 183 | 38 |
| 12 | Mighty Ducks of Anaheim | PAC | 48 | 16 | 27 | 5 | 125 | 164 | 37 |
Divisions:CEN – Central,PAC – Pacific
bold – Qualified for playoffs;x – Won division;p – WonPresidents' Trophy
|
|
Note: 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.
The top eight teams in each conference made the playoffs, with the two division winnersseeded 1–2 based on regular season records, and the six remaining teams seeded 3–8. In each round, teams competed in abest-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.
| Conference quarterfinals | Conference semifinals | Conference finals | Stanley Cup Finals | ||||||||||||||||
| 1 | Quebec | 2 | |||||||||||||||||
| 8 | NY Rangers | 4 | |||||||||||||||||
| 2 | Philadelphia | 4 | |||||||||||||||||
| 8 | NY Rangers | 0 | |||||||||||||||||
| 2 | Philadelphia | 4 | |||||||||||||||||
| 7 | Buffalo | 1 | |||||||||||||||||
| 2 | Philadelphia | 2 | |||||||||||||||||
| Eastern Conference | |||||||||||||||||||
| 5 | New Jersey | 4 | |||||||||||||||||
| 3 | Pittsburgh | 4 | |||||||||||||||||
| 6 | Washington | 3 | |||||||||||||||||
| 3 | Pittsburgh | 1 | |||||||||||||||||
| 5 | New Jersey | 4 | |||||||||||||||||
| 4 | Boston | 1 | |||||||||||||||||
| 5 | New Jersey | 4 | |||||||||||||||||
| E5 | New Jersey | 4 | |||||||||||||||||
| W1 | Detroit | 0 | |||||||||||||||||
| 1 | Detroit | 4 | |||||||||||||||||
| 8 | Dallas | 1 | |||||||||||||||||
| 1 | Detroit | 4 | |||||||||||||||||
| 7 | San Jose | 0 | |||||||||||||||||
| 2 | Calgary | 3 | |||||||||||||||||
| 7 | San Jose | 4 | |||||||||||||||||
| 1 | Detroit | 4 | |||||||||||||||||
| Western Conference | |||||||||||||||||||
| 4 | Chicago | 1 | |||||||||||||||||
| 3 | St. Louis | 3 | |||||||||||||||||
| 6 | Vancouver | 4 | |||||||||||||||||
| 4 | Chicago | 4 | |||||||||||||||||
| 6 | Vancouver | 0 | |||||||||||||||||
| 4 | Chicago | 4 | |||||||||||||||||
| 5 | Toronto | 3 | |||||||||||||||||
TheNHL Awards presentation took place on July 6, 1995.
| Presidents' Trophy: | Detroit Red Wings |
| Prince of Wales Trophy: (Eastern Conference playoff champion) | New Jersey Devils |
| Clarence S. Campbell Bowl: (Western Conference playoff champion) | Detroit Red Wings |
| Art Ross Trophy: | Jaromir Jagr,Pittsburgh Penguins |
| Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy: | Pat LaFontaine,Buffalo Sabres |
| Calder Memorial Trophy: | Peter Forsberg,Quebec Nordiques |
| Conn Smythe Trophy: | Claude Lemieux, New Jersey Devils |
| Frank J. Selke Trophy: | Ron Francis, Pittsburgh Penguins |
| Hart Memorial Trophy: | Eric Lindros,Philadelphia Flyers |
| Jack Adams Award: | Marc Crawford, Quebec Nordiques |
| James Norris Memorial Trophy: | Paul Coffey, Detroit Red Wings |
| King Clancy Memorial Trophy: | Joe Nieuwendyk,Calgary Flames |
| Lady Byng Memorial Trophy: | Ron Francis, Pittsburgh Penguins |
| Lester B. Pearson Award: | Eric Lindros, Philadelphia Flyers |
| NHL Plus-Minus Award: | Ron Francis, Pittsburgh Penguins |
| Vezina Trophy: | Dominik Hasek, Buffalo Sabres |
| William M. Jennings Trophy: | Ed Belfour,Chicago Blackhawks |
| Regular season | Playoffs | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Note: GP = Games Played, G = Goals, A = Assists, Pts = Points
Regular season
| Player | Team | GP | MIN | GA | SO | GAA | SV% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dominik Hasek | Buffalo | 41 | 2416 | 85 | 5 | 2.11 | .930 |
| Jim Carey | Washington | 28 | 1604 | 57 | 4 | 2.13 | .913 |
| Chris Osgood | Detroit | 19 | 1087 | 41 | 1 | 2.26 | .917 |
| Ed Belfour | Chicago | 42 | 2450 | 93 | 5 | 2.28 | .906 |
| Jocelyn Thibault | Quebec | 18 | 898 | 35 | 1 | 2.34 | .917 |
| Dominic Roussel | Philadelphia | 19 | 1075 | 42 | 1 | 2.34 | .914 |
| Glenn Healy | New York Rangers | 17 | 888 | 35 | 1 | 2.36 | .907 |
| Blaine Lacher | Boston | 35 | 1965 | 79 | 4 | 2.41 | .902 |
| Andy Moog | Dallas | 31 | 1770 | 72 | 2 | 2.44 | .915 |
| Martin Brodeur | New Jersey | 40 | 2184 | 89 | 3 | 2.45 | .902 |
The following is a list ofplayers of note who played their first NHL game in 1994–95, listed with their first team (asterisk(*) marks debut in playoffs):
The following is a list ofplayers of note who played their last game in the NHL in 1994–95 (listed with their last team):
| Team | Coach | Comments |
|---|---|---|
| Boston Bruins | Brian Sutter | |
| Buffalo Sabres | John Muckler | |
| Florida Panthers | Roger Neilson | |
| Hartford Whalers | Paul Holmgren | |
| Montreal Canadiens | Jacques Demers | |
| New Jersey Devils | Jacques Lemaire | |
| New York Islanders | Lorne Henning | |
| New York Rangers | Colin Campbell | |
| Ottawa Senators | Rick Bowness | |
| Philadelphia Flyers | Terry Murray | |
| Pittsburgh Penguins | Eddie Johnston | |
| Quebec Nordiques | Marc Crawford | |
| Tampa Bay Lightning | Terry Crisp | |
| Washington Capitals | Jim Schoenfeld |
| Team | Coach | Comments |
|---|---|---|
| Mighty Ducks of Anaheim | Ron Wilson | |
| Calgary Flames | Dave King | |
| Chicago Blackhawks | Darryl Sutter | |
| Dallas Stars | Bob Gainey | |
| Detroit Red Wings | Scotty Bowman | |
| Edmonton Oilers | George Burnett | Replaced midseason byRon Low |
| Los Angeles Kings | Barry Melrose | Replaced midseason byRogie Vachon |
| St. Louis Blues | Mike Keenan | |
| San Jose Sharks | Kevin Constantine | |
| Toronto Maple Leafs | Pat Burns | |
| Vancouver Canucks | Rick Ley | |
| Winnipeg Jets | John Paddock | Replaced midseason byTerry Simpson |
This was the seventh season that the league's Canadian national broadcast rights were split betweenTSN andHockey Night in Canada onCBC. This was the first season thatHNIC had doubleheaders on every Saturday night of the regular season. TSN continued to televise regular season weeknight games, primarily on Mondays and Thursdays. Coverage of the Stanley Cup playoffs was primarily on CBC, with TSN airing first round all-U.S. series.
This was the first season of the league's five-year U.S. national broadcast rights deals withFox andESPN. Fox's deal marked the NHL's first major American broadcast network agreement since the1974–75 season. ESPN's original deal that began1992–93 season was also restructured, as Fox replaced ESPN'sbrokered deal with its sister broadcast networkABC. Fox had the All-Star Game and weekly regional telecasts on the last five Sunday afternoons of the regular season, while ESPN andESPN2 had weeknight games.[11][12]
For playoff coverage, this was the first time that all Conference Finals and Stanley Cup Finals games were exclusive to Fox or ESPN. Americanregional sports networks could still carry their teams' first and second-round games, but they could no longer televise local coverage beyond those rounds. During the first two rounds, ESPN and ESPN2 televised selected games, while Fox had regional Sunday afternoon telecasts. Fox's Sunday telecasts continued into the Conference Finals, while ESPN had the rest of the Conference Finals games. The Stanley Cup Finals were also split between Fox and ESPN.[13]