| 2009–10 NHL season | |
|---|---|
| League | National Hockey League |
| Sport | Ice hockey |
| Duration | October 1, 2009 – June 9, 2010 |
| Number of games | 82 |
| Number of teams | 30 |
| TV partner(s) | CBC,TSN,RDS (Canada) Versus,NBC (United States) |
| Draft | |
| Top draft pick | John Tavares |
| Picked by | New York Islanders |
| Regular season | |
| Presidents' Trophy | Washington Capitals |
| SeasonMVP | Henrik Sedin (Canucks) |
| Top scorer | Henrik Sedin (Canucks) |
| Playoffs | |
| PlayoffsMVP | Jonathan Toews (Blackhawks) |
| Stanley Cup | |
| Champions | Chicago Blackhawks |
| Runners-up | Philadelphia Flyers |
| NHL seasons | |
← 2008–09 2010–11 → | |
The2009–10 NHL season was the93rd season of operation (92ndseason of play) of theNational Hockey League (NHL). It ran from October 1, 2009—including four games in Europe on October 2 and 3—until April 11, 2010, with the2010 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 the2010 Winter Olympics inVancouver. Because of the Winter Olympics break, there was noNHL All-Star Game for 2010. TheStanley Cup Finals saw theChicago Blackhawks defeat thePhiladelphia Flyers in six games, for their first championship since the 1960–61 season.
The salary cap was increased by a small amount for the 2009–10 season. It was set at US$56.8 million, US$100,000 higher than in the 2008–09 season. The salary floor was US$40.8 million.[1]
The Entry Draft was held June 26–27, 2009 at theBell Centre inMontreal, Quebec. TheNew York Islanders choseJohn Tavares with the first overall pick. Other notable picks wereMatt Duchene,Victor Hedman,Evander Kane andOliver Ekman-Larsson.
ThePhoenix Coyotes' holding company, Dewey Ranch Hockey LLC, filed forChapter 11 bankruptcy. In a statement, Moyes announced that he had agreed in principle to sell the team to PSE Sports and Entertainment, headed byResearch in Motion co-CEOJim Balsillie, for US$212.5 million.[2] As part of the deal, Balsillie intended to move the Coyotes toHamilton, Ontario.[3] Although initial reports said that Balsillie was consideringKitchener as well,[4] 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.[3] Hamilton had previously bid for an NHL team in the 1990s, losing out toOttawa. Balsillie had previously made unsuccessful approaches to purchase thePittsburgh Penguins andNashville Predators, with theintent of relocating either team to Hamilton.[5]
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 creditorsJerry Moyes andWayne Gretzky. On Balsillie's offer, JudgeRedfield 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 theprevious 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 inSaskatoon,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 theCity of Glendale, and have its ownership approved by the NHL Board of Governors.[6]
On March 6, the NHL launched a lawsuit for $61 million against former Coyotes ownerJerry Moyes to recover $10 million in bankruptcy court costs, $20 million in losses for 2009–10 and $11.6 million owed to creditors.[7] Three weeks later, the Coyotes clinched their first playoff berth since 2002.[8]
On April 13, Glendale, Arizona City Council approved a lease and sale agreement withJerry Reinsdorf to take over the Coyotes and their lease of the Jobing.com Arena. The Council rejected the Ice Edge group. The agreement created a special tax district surrounding the arena. Businesses in that district would pay $47 million annually to support the team. The agreement gave Reinsdorf the option to move the team after five years if revenues were 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 paid the NHL $65 million for the team, needed approval by the league board of governors.[9]
Several teams (Calgary,Minnesota,Nashville,Florida andColorado) debuted new third uniforms this season, whilePhiladelphia andEdmonton made their third uniform their primary home jersey, andChicago made the jersey they wore forthe previous season's Winter Classic their new alternate. TheNew Jersey Devils announced plans to play one game (March 17 against the Pittsburgh Penguins, the first anniversary ofMartin 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 the2009 All-Star Game.
The 2009–10 pre-season for most teams started on September 14, 2009.
Since 2006,Kraft Foods has sponsored a sweepstakes calledKraft 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 theStanley Cup Jamboree. The 2009 winner was the city ofTerrace, British Columbia. The pre-season matchup was between the home town favoriteVancouver Canucks and theNew York Islanders.
TheVictoria Cup, which was held inZürich, Switzerland, on September 29, 2009, just prior to the regular-season games, was contested betweenZSC Zurich Lions and the NHL'sChicago Blackhawks. The game was won by Zurich 2–1.
Four teams (Blackhawks,Blues,Panthers andRed Wings) began their season in the NHL Premiere series, each playing two regular-season games in Europe. The Red Wings played the Blues inStockholm, Sweden, atEricsson Globe while the Blackhawks and Panthers played inHelsinki, Finland, atHartwall Areena on October 2 and October 3.[10] 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.
On July 15, 2009, the NHL announced that the third installment of theWinter Classic would take place on January 1, 2010, atFenway Park inBoston, with theBruins hosting theFlyers. Because the NHL did not host anAll-Star Game in the 2009–10 season due to the2010 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 the2010 Winter Olympics was released, which included Bruins' goaltenderTim Thomas.
The NHL did not hold an All-Star Game this season. Instead, a number of the league's players participated in the2010 Winter Olympics inVancouver,British Columbia. The Olympicmen'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, theCanucks' home arena, was the primary ice hockey venue for the Olympics, and was formally called Canada Hockey Place. The temporary name change reflects theInternational 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.[11] TheCanadian team won gold, theAmerican team won silver, and theFinnish team won bronze. At the end of the tournament, United States goaltenderRyan 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[11][12]
TheAvalanche, picked by some in the media[who?] 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 ofCraig Anderson in net and rookiesRyan O'Reilly andMatt Duchene. The Coyotes, who were also not expected to make the playoffs, started strongly.[13] The team had signed some veterans and demoted some young players to the minors. The Coyotes surprised the Stanley Cup championPenguins 3–0 inPittsburgh.
The Avalanche retired 19, the number ofJoe Sakic, at their home opener on October 1. The Canadiens celebrated theircentennial on December 4 and retired the number 3 forEmile Bouchard and number 16 forElmer Lach (which was already previously retired forHenri Richard). The Phoenix Coyotes retired 27, the number ofTeppo Numminen at their home game.
Two streaks came to an end in November. TheDevils won nine games in a row on the road to start the season, one short of the league record set in the2006–07 season by the Sabres, before losing in Philadelphia to theFlyers. The Hurricanes lost a franchise-high 14 games in a row before defeating theWild in a shootout on November 15. The streak included overtime and shootout losses.
The2009 flu pandemic hit theOilers hard with several players out for stretches in October. TheFlames received their flu shots ahead of the general public, causing anAlberta health official to be fired.[14] TheMaple Leafs and theCanucks 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 goaltenderMartin Brodeur recorded his 104thshutout, breaking a record set byTerry Sawchuk during the1969–70 NHL season.[15]
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 whenJohn Stevens was fired on December 4, 2009.[16] On January 2, 2010, the Blues fired Head CoachAndy Murray. In 2008–09, the Blues had made the playoffs but struggled during 2009–10.Davis Payne was named interim head coach.[17] 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 CoachKen Hitchcock. Although the slide had started months previous, team management had given time to Hitchcock to resolve the situation before firing him.[18]
Player trades started in earnest a month before the March 3, 2010,trade deadline. On January 31, the Maple Leafs made two large trades, gettingDion Phaneuf from the Flames in a seven-player trade, andJean-Sebastien Giguere from theDucks for two players. The Flames were not done, tradingOlli Jokinen to theRangers the next day. After top scorer and pending free agentIlya Kovalchuk turned down a US$101 million contract offer from theThrashers, he was traded to the Devils on February 4.[19]
On February 5, Boston investment bankerJeff Vinik agreed to buy theLightning from owners OK Hockey, headed byOren Koules andLen 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 was contingent on the approval of the NHL Board of Governors.[20]
On February 8,Canadiens' General ManagerBob Gainey announced his retirement as GM, staying on as advisor to the club. Assistant GMPierre Gauthier became the interim GM. Gauthier and CoachJacques Martin held the same positions with theSenators in the late 1990s.[21]
From 3 pmEST on February 12 until 11:59 pm on Feb. 28, teams were not permitted to make any trades, since multiple NHL players were competing at the2010 Winter Olympics.[22] The most active team for trades 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).
On April 8, 2010, thePittsburgh Penguins defeated theNew York Islanders 7-3 in the final regular season game atMellon Arena. The Penguins would move toCONSOL Energy Center for the next season.
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
p – WonPresidents' Trophy (and division)
| 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 – WonPresidents' Trophy (and division)
AT – Atlantic Division,NE – Northeast Division,SE – Southeast Division
| R | Div | GP | W | L | OTL | GF | GA | Pts | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | z –San Jose Sharks | PA | 82 | 51 | 20 | 11 | 264 | 215 | 113 | |
| 2 | y –Chicago Blackhawks | CE | 82 | 52 | 22 | 8 | 271 | 209 | 112 | |
| 3 | y –Vancouver Canucks | NW | 82 | 49 | 28 | 5 | 272 | 222 | 103 | |
| 4 | Phoenix Coyotes | PA | 82 | 50 | 25 | 7 | 225 | 202 | 107 | |
| 5 | Detroit Red Wings | CE | 82 | 44 | 24 | 14 | 229 | 216 | 102 | |
| 6 | Los Angeles Kings | PA | 82 | 46 | 27 | 9 | 241 | 219 | 101 | |
| 7 | Nashville Predators | CE | 82 | 47 | 29 | 6 | 225 | 225 | 100 | |
| 8 | Colorado Avalanche | NW | 82 | 43 | 30 | 9 | 244 | 233 | 95 | |
| 8.5 | ||||||||||
| 9 | St. Louis Blues | CE | 82 | 40 | 32 | 10 | 225 | 223 | 90 | |
| 10 | Calgary Flames | NW | 82 | 40 | 32 | 10 | 204 | 210 | 90 | |
| 11 | Anaheim Ducks | PA | 82 | 39 | 32 | 11 | 238 | 251 | 89 | |
| 12 | Dallas Stars | PA | 82 | 37 | 31 | 14 | 237 | 254 | 88 | |
| 13 | Minnesota Wild | NW | 82 | 38 | 36 | 8 | 219 | 246 | 84 | |
| 14 | Columbus Blue Jackets | CE | 82 | 32 | 35 | 15 | 216 | 259 | 79 | |
| 15 | Edmonton Oilers | NW | 82 | 27 | 47 | 8 | 214 | 284 | 62 | |
bold – Qualified for playoffs;y – Won division;z – Won conference (and division)
If two or more clubs are tied in points during the regular season, theranking of the clubs is determined in the following order:[24]
In each round, teams competed in a best-of-seven series following a 2–2–1–1–1 format (scores in the bracket indicate the number of games won in each best-of-seven series). The team withhome ice advantage played at home for games one and two (and games five and seven, if necessary), and the other team played at home for games three and four (and game six, if necessary). The top eight teams in each conference made the playoffs, with the three division winnersseeded 1–3 based on regular season record, and the five remaining teams seeded 4–8.
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, where home ice advantage was awarded to the team that had the better regular season record.
| Conference quarterfinals | Conference semifinals | Conference finals | Stanley Cup Finals | ||||||||||||||||
| 1 | Washington | 3 | |||||||||||||||||
| 8 | Montreal | 4 | |||||||||||||||||
| 4 | Pittsburgh | 3 | |||||||||||||||||
| 8 | Montreal | 4 | |||||||||||||||||
| 2 | New Jersey | 1 | |||||||||||||||||
| 7 | Philadelphia | 4 | |||||||||||||||||
| 8 | Montreal | 1 | |||||||||||||||||
| Eastern Conference | |||||||||||||||||||
| 7 | Philadelphia | 4 | |||||||||||||||||
| 3 | Buffalo | 2 | |||||||||||||||||
| 6 | Boston | 4 | |||||||||||||||||
| 6 | Boston | 3 | |||||||||||||||||
| 7 | Philadelphia | 4 | |||||||||||||||||
| 4 | Pittsburgh | 4 | |||||||||||||||||
| 5 | Ottawa | 2 | |||||||||||||||||
| E7 | Philadelphia | 2 | |||||||||||||||||
| W2 | Chicago | 4 | |||||||||||||||||
| 1 | San Jose | 4 | |||||||||||||||||
| 8 | Colorado | 2 | |||||||||||||||||
| 1 | San Jose | 4 | |||||||||||||||||
| 5 | Detroit | 1 | |||||||||||||||||
| 2 | Chicago | 4 | |||||||||||||||||
| 7 | Nashville | 2 | |||||||||||||||||
| 1 | San Jose | 0 | |||||||||||||||||
| Western Conference | |||||||||||||||||||
| 2 | Chicago | 4 | |||||||||||||||||
| 3 | Vancouver | 4 | |||||||||||||||||
| 6 | Los Angeles | 2 | |||||||||||||||||
| 2 | Chicago | 4 | |||||||||||||||||
| 3 | Vancouver | 2 | |||||||||||||||||
| 4 | Phoenix | 3 | |||||||||||||||||
| 5 | Detroit | 4 | |||||||||||||||||
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[29]
The following goaltenders led the league ingoals against average at the end of the regular season.[30]
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 |
The following is a list of players of note who played their first NHL game in 2009–10, listed with their first team:
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[31] | San Jose Sharks | 6-timeNHL All-Star,James Norris Memorial Trophy winner,Olympic gold medalist, over 1,200 games played. |
| Donald Brashear[32] | New York Rangers | Over 1,000 games played. |
| Rod Brind'Amour[33] | Carolina Hurricanes | 2-timeFrank J. Selke Trophy winner, NHL All-Star, over 1,400 games played. |
| Jonathan Cheechoo[34] | Ottawa Senators | Maurice "Rocket" Richard Trophy winner, 1-time NHL All-Star. |
| Chris Chelios[35] | Atlanta Thrashers | 11-time NHL All-Star, 3-time James Norris Memorial Trophy winner, Olympic silver medalist, over 1,600 games played, oldest active player in NHL at time of retirement and second-oldest NHL player of all time. |
| Pavol Demitra[36] | Vancouver Canucks | 3-time NHL All-Star,Lady Byng Memorial Trophy winner. |
| Bill Guerin[37] | Pittsburgh Penguins | 4-time NHL All-Star, Olympic silver medalist, over 1,200 games played. |
| Cristobal Huet[38] | Chicago Blackhawks | Roger Crozier Saving Grace Award winner, 1-time NHL All-Star. |
| Paul Kariya[39] | St. Louis Blues | 7-time NHL All-Star, Lady Byng Memorial Trophy winner, Olympic gold medalist. |
| Robert Lang[40] | Phoenix Coyotes | Olympic gold and bronze medalist; 1-time NHL All-Star. |
| Ian Laperriere[41] | Philadelphia Flyers | Over 1,000 games played. |
| Jere Lehtinen[42] | Dallas Stars | NHL All-Star, three-time Frank J. Selke Trophy winner. |
| Kirk Maltby[43] | Detroit Red Wings | Over 1,000 games played. |
| Brad May[44] | Detroit Red Wings | Over 1,000 games played. |
| Scott Niedermayer[45] | Anaheim Ducks | 5-time NHL All-Star,Conn Smythe Trophy winner, James Norris Memorial Trophy winner, Olympic gold medalist, over 1,200 games played. |
| Owen Nolan[46] | Minnesota Wild | 4-time NHL All-Star, Olympic gold medalist, over 1,200 games played. |
| Miroslav Satan[47] | Boston Bruins | 2-time NHL All-Star, over 1000 games played. |
| Mathieu Schneider[48] | Phoenix Coyotes | 2-time NHL All-Star; over 1200 games played. |
| Darryl Sydor[49] | St. Louis Blues | 2-time NHL All-Star, over 1,200 games played. |
| Keith Tkachuk[50] | St. Louis Blues | 5-time NHL All-Star, Olympic silver medalist, over 1,200 games played. |
This was the second season of the league's Canadian national broadcast rights deals withCBC andTSN. During the regular season, CBC continued to air Saturday nightHockey Night in Canada games while TSN aired games on Wednesdays and other selected weeknights. CBC and TSN then split the first three rounds of the playoffs, selecting the rights to individual series using a draft-like setup. The Stanley Cup Finals aired exclusively on CBC.
This was the fifth season of the league's U.S. national broadcast rights deals withNBC andVersus. During the regular season, Versus aired games generally on Monday and Tuesday nights, while NBC had games on selected weekends. During the playoffs, NBC had the rights to air selected weekend games during the first three postseason rounds of the Stanley Cup playoffs, while Versus televised selected first and second round playoff games and all Conference Finals games not aired on NBC. Due to NBC's scheduling, the network broadcast the first two and final three games of the Stanley Cup Finals, while Versus broadcast games 3 and 4.
Prior to the season, a contract dispute between Versus and satellite television supplierDirecTV blacked out Versus for 14 million satellite subscribers. Versus was restored to DirecTV in March 2010.[51] 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".[52]
Media related to2009-2010 National Hockey League season at Wikimedia Commons