|
The 1993–94 NHL season was the 77th regular season of the National Hockey League. Twenty-six teams each played 84 games. The New York Rangers were the Stanley Cup champions. It was the Rangers' fourth championship. In addition, the final game started the 1994 Stanley Cup riots in Downtown Vancouver.
The spectacular play of Martin Brodeur of the New Jersey Devils and 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. Goaltenders combined for 99 shutouts during the regular season.
League business
For this season, 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. 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 slightly altered to resemble that of the NBA. Whereas the playoffs had previously been bracketed and seeded by division, they were now broken down only by conference: 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. However, unlike the NBA, the NHL matches 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 which lasted only for the 1993–94 season.
This season was the first for two expansion teams, the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim and the Florida Panthers.
For this season, 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.
This was the first year that the San Jose Sharks actually played in San Jose, moving into the new San Jose Arena (now HP Pavilion at San Jose) after spending their first two years at the Cow Palace in Daly City. 1993-94 was also the final year that the Chicago Blackhawks played at Chicago Stadium and the St. Louis Blues played at the St. Louis Arena.
The 1994 Playoffs marked the first time in history that none of the former WHA teams (Edmonton, Hartford, Quebec, and Winnipeg) made the playoffs in the same year.
Regular season
This was the only season (as of the 2007-08 season) that all 4 former WHA teams (Edmonton, Hartford, Quebec, Winnipeg) missed the playoffs since joining in 1979.
Final standings
Note: W = Wins, L = Losses, T = Ties, GF = Goals For, GA = Goals Against, Pts = Points
Eastern Conference
Western Conference
Note: x = clinched playoff berth, y = clinched division title, z = won Presidents' Trophy.
Note: Strikethrough indicates that the team is no longer in the division as of the 2008-2009 season.
Head coaches of the Eastern Conference
Head coaches of the Western Conference
Scoring leaders
Playoffs
-
Playoff bracket
Conference quarterfinals
Eastern Conference
NY Rangers (1) vs. NY Islanders (8)
| Date |
Away |
Home |
OT |
| April 17 |
NY Islanders 0 |
6 NY Rangers |
| April 18 |
NY Islanders 0 |
6 NY Rangers |
| April 21 |
NY Rangers 5 |
1 NY Islanders |
| April 24 |
NY Rangers 5 |
2 NY Islanders |
| NY Rangers wins series 4–0. |
|
Pittsburgh (2) vs. Washington (7)
| Date |
Away |
Home |
OT |
| April 17 |
Washington 5 |
3 Pittsburgh |
| April 19 |
Washington 1 |
2 Pittsburgh |
| April 21 |
Pittsburgh 0 |
2 Washington |
| April 23 |
Pittsburgh 1 |
4 Washington |
| April 25 |
Washington 2 |
3 Pittsburgh |
| April 27 |
Pittsburgh 3 |
6 Washington |
| Washington wins series 4–2. |
|
New Jersey (3) vs. Buffalo (6)
| Date |
Away |
Home |
OT |
| April 17 |
Buffalo 2 |
0 New Jersey |
| April 19 |
Buffalo 1 |
2 New Jersey |
| April 21 |
New Jersey 2 |
1 Buffalo |
| April 23 |
New Jersey 3 |
5 Buffalo |
| April 25 |
Buffalo 3 |
5 New Jersey |
| April 27 |
New Jersey 0 |
1 Buffalo |
4 OT |
| April 29 |
Buffalo 1 |
2 New Jersey |
| New Jersey wins series 4–3. |
|
Boston (4) vs. Montreal (5)
| Date |
Away |
Home |
OT |
| April 16 |
Montreal 2 |
3 Boston |
| April 18 |
Montreal 3 |
2 Boston |
| April 21 |
Boston 6 |
3 Montreal |
| April 23 |
Boston 2 |
5 Montreal |
| April 25 |
Montreal 2 |
1 Boston |
OT |
| April 27 |
Boston 3 |
2 Montreal |
| April 29 |
Montreal 3 |
5 Boston |
| Boston wins series 4–3. |
|
Western Conference
Detroit (1) vs. San Jose (8)
| Date |
Away |
Home |
OT |
| April 18 |
San Jose 5 |
4 Detroit |
| April 20 |
San Jose 0 |
4 Detroit |
| April 22 |
Detroit 3 |
2 San Jose |
| April 23 |
Detroit 3 |
4 San Jose |
| April 26 |
Detroit 4 |
6 San Jose |
| April 28 |
San Jose 1 |
7 Detroit |
| April 30 |
San Jose 3 |
2 Detroit |
| San Jose wins series 4–3. |
|
Calgary (2) vs. Vancouver (7)
| Date |
Away |
Home |
OT |
| April 18 |
Vancouver 5 |
0 Calgary |
| April 20 |
Vancouver 5 |
7 Calgary |
| April 22 |
Calgary 4 |
2 Vancouver |
| April 24 |
Calgary 3 |
2 Vancouver |
| April 26 |
Vancouver 2 |
1 Calgary |
OT |
| April 28 |
Calgary 2 |
3 Vancouver |
OT |
| April 30 |
Vancouver 4 |
3 Calgary |
2 OT |
| Vancouver wins series 4–3. |
|
Toronto (3) vs. Chicago (6)
| Date |
Away |
Home |
OT |
| April 18 |
Chicago 1 |
5 Toronto |
| April 20 |
Chicago 0 |
1 Toronto |
OT |
| April 22 |
Toronto 4 |
5 Chicago |
| April 24 |
Toronto 3 |
4 Chicago |
OT |
| April 26 |
Chicago 0 |
1 Toronto |
| April 28 |
Toronto 1 |
0 Chicago |
| Toronto wins series 4–2. |
|
Dallas (4) vs. St. Louis (5)
| Date |
Away |
Home |
OT |
| April 17 |
St. Louis 3 |
5 Dallas |
| April 20 |
St. Louis 2 |
4 Dallas |
| April 22 |
Dallas 5 |
4 St. Louis |
OT |
| April 24 |
Dallas 2 |
1 St. Louis |
| Dallas wins series 4–0. |
|
Conference semifinals
NY Rangers (1) vs. Washington (7)
| Date |
Away |
Home |
OT |
| May 1 |
Washington 3 |
6 NY Rangers |
| May 3 |
Washington 2 |
5 NY Rangers |
| May 5 |
NY Rangers 3 |
0 Washington |
| May 7 |
NY Rangers 2 |
4 Washington |
| May 9 |
Washington 3 |
4 NY Rangers |
| NY Rangers win series 4–1. |
|
New Jersey (3) vs. Boston (4)
| Date |
Away |
Home |
OT |
| May 1 |
Boston 2 |
1 New Jersey |
| May 3 |
Boston 6 |
5 New Jersey |
OT |
| May 5 |
New Jersey 4 |
2 Boston |
| May 7 |
New Jersey 5 |
4 Boston |
OT |
| May 9 |
Boston 0 |
2 New Jersey |
| May 11 |
New Jersey 5 |
3 Boston |
| New Jersey wins series 4–2. |
|
Toronto (3) vs. San Jose (8)
| Date |
Away |
Home |
OT |
| May 2 |
San Jose 3 |
2 Toronto |
| May 4 |
San Jose 1 |
5 Toronto |
| May 6 |
Toronto 2 |
5 San Jose |
| May 8 |
Toronto 8 |
3 San Jose |
| May 10 |
Toronto 2 |
5 San Jose |
| May 12 |
San Jose 2 |
3 Toronto |
OT |
| May 14 |
San Jose 2 |
4 Toronto |
| Toronto wins series 4–3. |
|
Dallas (4) vs. Vancouver (7)
| Date |
Away |
Home |
OT |
| May 2 |
Vancouver 6 |
4 Dallas |
| May 4 |
Vancouver 3 |
0 Dallas |
| May 6 |
Dallas 4 |
3 Vancouver |
| May 8 |
Dallas 1 |
2 Vancouver |
OT |
| May 10 |
Dallas 2 |
4 Vancouver |
| Vancouver wins series 4–1. |
|
Conference finals
NY Rangers (1) vs. New Jersey (3)
| Date |
Away |
Home |
OT |
| May 15 |
New Jersey 4 |
3 NY Rangers |
2 OT |
| May 17 |
New Jersey 0 |
4 NY Rangers |
| May 19 |
NY Rangers 3 |
2 New Jersey |
2 OT |
| May 21 |
NY Rangers 1 |
3 New Jersey |
| May 23 |
New Jersey 4 |
1 NY Rangers |
| May 25 |
NY Rangers 4 |
2 New Jersey |
| May 27 |
New Jersey 1 |
2 NY Rangers |
2 OT |
NY Rangers wins series 4–3
and Prince of Wales Trophy. |
|
Toronto (3) vs. Vancouver (7)
| Date |
Away |
Home |
OT |
| May 16 |
Vancouver 2 |
3 Toronto |
OT |
| May 18 |
Vancouver 4 |
3 Toronto |
| May 20 |
Toronto 0 |
4 Vancouver |
| May 22 |
Toronto 0 |
2 Vancouver |
| May 24 |
Toronto 3 |
4 Vancouver |
2OT |
Vancouver wins series 4–1 and
Clarence S. Campbell Bowl. |
|
Finals
-
NY Rangers (1) vs. Vancouver (7)
| Date |
Away |
Score |
Home |
Score |
OT |
| May 31 |
Vancouver |
3 |
New York |
2 |
OT |
| June 2 |
Vancouver |
1 |
New York |
3 |
|
| June 4 |
New York |
5 |
Vancouver |
1 |
|
| June 7 |
New York |
4 |
Vancouver |
2 |
|
| June 9 |
Vancouver |
6 |
New York |
3 |
|
| June 11 |
New York |
1 |
Vancouver |
4 |
|
| June 14 |
Vancouver |
2 |
New York |
3 |
|
New York Rangers wins series 4–3
and Stanley Cup. |
Brian Leetch (NY Rangers)
wins Conn Smythe Trophy. |
|
NHL awards
The NHL awards presentation took place on June 16, 1994.
| 1993–94 NHL Awards |
| Presidents' Trophy: |
New York Rangers |
| Prince of Wales Trophy: |
New York Rangers |
| Clarence S. Campbell Bowl: |
Vancouver Canucks |
| Art Ross Memorial Trophy: |
Wayne Gretzky, Los Angeles Kings |
| Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy: |
Cam Neely, Boston Bruins |
| Calder Memorial Trophy: |
Martin Brodeur, New Jersey Devils |
| Conn Smythe Trophy: |
Brian Leetch, New York Rangers |
| Frank J. Selke Trophy: |
Sergei Fedorov, Detroit Red Wings |
| Hart Memorial Trophy: |
Sergei Fedorov, Detroit Red Wings |
| Jack Adams Award: |
Jacques Lemaire, New Jersey Devils |
| James Norris Memorial Trophy: |
Ray Bourque, Boston Bruins |
| King Clancy Memorial Trophy: |
Adam Graves, New York Rangers |
| Lady Byng Memorial Trophy: |
Wayne Gretzky, Los Angeles Kings |
| Lester B. Pearson Award: |
Sergei Fedorov, Detroit Red Wings |
| NHL Plus/Minus Award: |
Scott Stevens, New Jersey Devils |
| Vezina Trophy: |
Dominik Hasek, Buffalo Sabres |
| William M. Jennings Trophy: |
Dominik Hasek and Grant Fuhr, Buffalo Sabres |
| Lester Patrick Trophy: |
Wayne Gretzky |
All-Star teams
| First team |
Position |
Second team |
| Dominik Hasek, Buffalo Sabres |
G |
John Vanbiesbrouck, Florida Panthers |
| Ray Bourque, Boston Bruins |
D |
Al MacInnis, Calgary Flames |
| Scott Stevens, New Jersey Devils |
D |
Brian Leetch, New York Rangers |
| Sergei Fedorov, Detroit Red Wings |
C |
Ron Francis, Pittsburgh Penguins |
| Pavel Bure, Vancouver Canucks |
RW |
Cam Neely, Boston Bruins |
| Brendan Shanahan, St. Louis Blues |
LW |
Adam Graves, New York Rangers |
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):
- Mariusz Czerkawski, Boston Bruins
- Chris Osgood, Detroit Red Wings
- Darren McCarty, Detroit Red Wings
- Greg Johnson, 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
- Martin Brodeur, 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
- Mikael Renberg, Philadelphia Flyers
- Markus Naslund, Pittsburgh Penguins
- Jocelyn Thibault, Quebec Nordiques
- Ian Laperriere, St. Louis Blues
- Chris Gratton, Tampa Bay Lightning
- Yanic Perreault, Toronto Maple Leafs
- Mike Peca, Vancouver Canucks
- Jason Allison, Washington Capitals
Last games
The following is a list of players of note that 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
- Mark Hardy, Los Angeles Kings
- Keith Acton, New York Islanders
- Rob Ramage, Philadelphia Flyers
- Bryan Trottier, Pittsburgh Penguins
1994 trading deadline
Trading deadline: March 21, 1994.1
- March 19, 1994: Donald Dufresne traded from Tampa Bay to Los Angeles for Los Angeles's sixth round pick in 1994 Entry Draft.
- March 19, 1994: Jeff Daniels traded from Pittsburgh to Florida for Greg Hawgood.
- March 19, 1994: Doug Zmolek and Mike Lalor traded from San Jose to Dallas for Ulf Dahlen.
- March 21, 1994: Joe Juneau traded from Boston to Washington for Al Iafrate.
- March 21, 1994: Craig Janney traded from Vancouver to St. Louis for Jeff Brown, Bret Hedican and Nathan Lafayette.
- March 21, 1994: Jim Johnson traded from Dallas to Washington for Alan May and Washington's seventh round pick in 1995 Entry Draft.
- March 21, 1994: Joe Reekie traded from Tampa Bay to Washington for Enrico Ciccone and Washington's third round pick in 1994 Entry Draft and a conditional draft pick.
- March 21, 1994: Steve Konroyd traded from Detroit to Ottawa for Daniel Berthiaume.
- March 21, 1994: Phil Bourque traded from NY Rangers to Ottawa for future considerations.
- March 21, 1994: Tony Amonte and the rights to Matt Oates traded from NY Rangers to Chicago for Stephane Matteau and Brian Noonan.
- March 21, 1994: Peter Andersson traded from NY Rangers to Florida for future considerations.
- March 21, 1994: Robert Dirk traded from Vancouver to Chicago for Chicago's fourth round pick in 1994 Entry Draft.
- March 21, 1994: Mike Gartner traded from NY Rangers to Toronto for Glenn Anderson, the rights to Scott Malone and Toronto's fourth round pick in 1994 Entry Draft.
- March 21, 1994: Craig MacTavish traded from Edmonton to NY Rangers for Todd Marchant.
- March 21, 1994: Paul Ysebaert traded from Winnipeg to Chicago for Chicago's third round pick in 1995 Entry Draft.
- March 21, 1994: Alexei Kasatonov traded from Anaheim to St. Louis for Maxim Bets and St. Louis's sixth round pick in 1995 Entry Draft.
- March 21, 1994: Mike Needham traded from Pittsburgh to Dallas for Jim McKenzie.
- March 21, 1994: Kevin Todd traded from Chicago to Los Angeles for Los Angeles's fourth round pick in the 1994 Entry Draft.
- March 21, 1994: Pelle Eklund traded from Philadelphia to Dallas for future considerations.
- March 21, 1994: Roy Mitchell and Reid Simpson traded from Dallas to New Jersey for future considerations.
- March 21, 1994: Steve Passmore traded from Quebec to Edmonton for Brad Werenka.
Trivia
Game 7 of the Stanley Cup finals was the most-watched game in NHL history, whether it was on ESPN in the United States, MSG Network, or on the CBC in Canada. (ESPN was blacked out in the New York City area and in most of Washington state).[1]
There were a series of neutral-site games in this season which created a few interesting scenarios:
- The Dallas Stars played a neutral-site game in their previous hometown of Minneapolis, where they were greeted enthusiastically (excluding owner Norm Green.
- The Minnesota North Stars' tradition of playing on New Years' Eve and holding a post-game skate on the ice was continued. However, the North Stars having moved to Dallas, organizers had to attempt to emulate it by scheduling the Philadelphia Flyers and Boston Bruins. Also, the game was played at the Target Center in Minneapolis rather than the Met Center in Bloomington.
- The Tampa Bay Lightning vs. Detroit Red Wings contest at Minneapolis was scheduled for Martin Luther King Day, a Monday, necessitating an afternoon face-off at 2:05 PM. Due to an error on the NHL's part, however, 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 just 18 hours later in Minneapolis.
- The New Jersey Devils and the New York Rangers, whose arenas were located twelve miles apart, played over 1,000 miles away and in a different country (at Halifax, Nova Scotia).
- Similarly, the Montréal Canadiens and the Quebec Nordiques, both hailing from the province of Quebec, played each other 2,500 miles from home (in Phoenix, AZ), travelling not only to another country but also from a French- to an English-speaking city.
- The Florida Panthers, in the midst of a playoff race, played a March "home" game against the Maple Leafs 30 miles from Toronto, at Hamilton.
In total, 26 such games were played:
Complete list of neutral-site games
| Date |
Score |
City |
Arena |
Attendance |
| October 21, 1993 |
St. Louis Blues 5, San Jose Sharks 2 |
Sacramento, CA |
ARCO Arena |
74 |
|
| October 31, 1993 |
New York Rangers 4, New Jersey Devils 1 |
Halifax, N.S. |
Halifax Metro Centre |
8,200 |
|
| November 3, 1993 |
Pittsburgh Penguins 6, Buffalo Sabres 2 |
Sacramento, CA |
ARCO Arena |
10 |
|
| November 9, 1993 |
Mighty Ducks of Anaheim 4, Dallas Stars 2 |
Phoenix, AZ |
America West Arena |
8,143 |
|
| November 18, 1993 |
New York Islanders 5, Montréal Canadiens 1 |
Hamilton, Ontario, ON |
Copps Coliseum |
17,008 |
|
| December 9, 1993 |
Dallas Stars 6, Ottawa Senators 1 |
Minneapolis, MN |
Target Center |
0 |
|
| December 23, 1993 |
Vancouver Canucks 4, Calgary Flames 3 |
Saskatoon, Sask. |
SaskPlace |
5 |
|
| December 31, 1993 |
Philadelphia Flyers 4, Boston Bruins 3 |
Minneapolis, MN |
Target Center |
6 |
|
| January 4, 1994 |
Tampa Bay Lightning 1, Toronto Maple Leafs 0 |
Hamilton, ON |
Copps Coliseum |
17* |
|
| January 5, 1994 |
Montréal Canadiens 2, Québec Nordiques 0 |
Phoenix, AZ |
America West Arena |
11 |
|
| January 6, 1994 |
St. Louis Blues 2, Hartford Whalers 1 |
Cleveland, OH |
Richfield Coliseum |
|
|
| January 16, 1994 |
Detroit Red Wings 6, Tampa Bay Lightning 3 |
Minneapolis, MN |
Target Center |
|
|
| January 23, 1994 |
Vancouver Canucks 5, Edmonton Oilers 4 (OT) |
Saskatoon, Sask. |
SaskPlace |
- |
|
| January 24, 1994 |
Los Angeles Kings 3, Calgary Flames 3 (OT) |
Phoenix, AZ |
America West Arena |
6 |
|
| February 2, 1994 |
Washington Capitals 5, Philadelphia Flyers 2 |
Cleveland, OH |
Richfield Coliseum |
1 |
|
| February 8, 1994 |
San Jose Sharks 4, Chicago Blackhawks 3 |
Sacramento, CA] |
ARCO Arena |
1* |
|
| February 22, 1994 |
Florida Panthers 3, Winnipeg Jets 2 |
Hamilton, ON |
Copps Coliseum |
1 |
|
| February 24, 1994 |
Detroit Red Wings 3, Hartford Whalers 0 |
Cleveland, OH |
Richfield Coliseum |
11, |
|
| March 4, 1994 |
Winnipeg Jets 6, Ottawa Senators 1 |
Minneapolis, MN |
Target Center |
6,388 |
|
| March 8, 1994 |
Chicago Blackhawks 3, Mighty Ducks of Anaheim 0 |
Phoenix, AZ |
America West Arena |
13,847 |
|
| March 9, 1994 |
New York Rangers 7, Washington Capitals 5 |
Halifax, N.S. |
Halifax Metro Centre |
9,200* |
|
| March 18, 1994 |
New York Islanders 2, Buffalo Sabres 2 |
Minneapolis, MN |
Target Center |
8,016 |
|
| March 23, 1994 |
Toronto Maple Leafs 1, Florida Panthers 1 (OT) |
Hamilton, ON |
Copps Coliseum |
17,096* |
|
| March 27, 1994 |
New Jersey Devils 5, Quebec Nordiques 2 |
Minneapolis, MN |
Target Center |
6,222 |
|
| April 3, 1994 |
Pittsburgh Penguins 6, Boston Bruins 2 |
Cleveland, OH |
Richfield Coliseum |
17,224 |
|
| April 3, 1994 |
Los Angeles Kings 6, Edmonton Oilers 1 |
Sacramento, CA |
ARCO Arena |
10,363 |
|
See also
References
- ^ NHL trade deadline: Deals since 1980 | Habs Inside/Out
|
1993–94 NHL season by team |
|
| Northeast |
|
|
| Atlantic |
|
|
| Central |
|
|
| Pacific |
|
|
| See also |
|
|