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The following is a list of notable players who played their first NHL game in 2011–12, listed with their first team:
The following is a list of notable players who played their first NHL game in 2011–12, listed with their first team:


* [[Gabriel Landeskog]], [[Colorado Avalanche]]
* [[Ryan Nugent-Hopkins]], [[Edmonton Oilers]]
* [[Ryan Nugent-Hopkins]], [[Edmonton Oilers]]
* [[Adam Henrique]], [[New Jersey Devils]]


===Last games===
===Last games===

Revision as of 08:39, 31 May 2012

2011–12 NHL season
LeagueNational Hockey League
SportIce hockey
Number of games82
Number of teams30
Regular season
Presidents' TrophyVancouver Canucks
Top scorerSteven Stamkos (Lightning)
Playoffs
Eastern championsNew Jersey Devils
  Eastern runners-upNew York Rangers
Western championsLos Angeles Kings
  Western runners-upPhoenix Coyotes
Stanley Cup
NHL seasons

The 2011–12 NHL season is the 95th season of operation (94th season of play) of the National Hockey League (NHL). It is the fifth consecutive season to start with games in Europe. The season began on October 6, 2011 with the final regular season game held on April 7, 2012. The 59th All-Star Game was held at Scotiabank Place in Ottawa, Ontario, the home arena of the Ottawa Senators, on January 29, 2012.

During the off-season, the Atlanta Thrashers relocated to Winnipeg, Manitoba to become the Winnipeg Jets. It was the first NHL team relocation since the 1997–98 NHL season when the Hartford Whalers relocated to become the Carolina Hurricanes. The league did not change its divisional structure to accommodate the move, and the Jets took the place of the Thrashers in the Southeast Division. In December 2011, the board of governors eventually approved a proposed realignment for the following season, which would result in four conferences with the first two rounds of the playoffs being divisional, but this was rejected by the NHL Player's Association.

Three 'enforcer'-type players died during the end of the previous season and the off-season: Derek Boogaard, Rick Rypien, and Wade Belak, leading to speculation about the effect of fighting on the mental health of players. Several former NHL players died in the September 7, 2011 plane crash involving the Lokomotiv Yaroslavl hockey team in Russia. Those who perished in the plane crash included NHL All-Star Pavol Demitra, Alexander Karpovtsev, Igor Korolev, former Detroit assistant coach Brad McCrimmon, Karel Rachunek, Ruslan Salei, Karlis Skrastins and Josef Vasicek.

League business

Franchise relocation

Atlanta Spirit, LLC, which previously owned the Atlanta Thrashers, sold the team to True North Sports and Entertainment. True North has announced that the team will be relocated to True North-owned MTS Centre in Winnipeg, Manitoba[1] and renamed the Winnipeg Jets, after a previous NHL team in the market. Winnipeg took Atlanta's place in the Southeast Division for 2011–12.[2]

Proposed realignment announcement

On December 5, 2011, the NHL Board of Governors announced that it would divide the league into four conferences (instead of the previous six "divisions") starting in the 2012–13 season. Under this new realignment, each team would play each team in the other three conferences exactly twice per year, once at home and once on the road. All the remaining games would be within the conference. Also under the plan, the playoff system would have also changed drastically, with the top four teams in each conference qualifying for the playoffs, each with its own individual seeding (1 vs 4, 2 vs 3). The winner of each intraconference tournament would then meet in the semi-finals, ultimately playing for the Stanley Cup.

The new conferences were proposed to be aligned as follows:

  • Carolina Hurricanes, New Jersey Devils, New York Islanders, New York Rangers, Philadelphia Flyers, Pittsburgh Penguins, and Washington Capitals
  • Boston Bruins, Buffalo Sabres, Florida Panthers, Montreal Canadiens, Ottawa Senators, Tampa Bay Lightning, and Toronto Maple Leafs
  • Chicago Blackhawks, Columbus Blue Jackets, Dallas Stars, Detroit Red Wings, Minnesota Wild, Nashville Predators, St. Louis Blues, and Winnipeg Jets
  • Anaheim Ducks, Calgary Flames, Colorado Avalanche, Edmonton Oilers, Los Angeles Kings, Phoenix Coyotes, San Jose Sharks, and Vancouver Canucks

The realignment was partially a reaction to teams on the West Coast complaining about traveling several time zones during the regular season. [3] However, on January 6, 2012, the league announced that the NHL Players' Association rejected this proposed realignment, and that as a result any realignment will not take place until at least 2013–14.[4]

Salary cap

On June 23, 2011, the NHL announced that the salary cap would be increased by $4.9 million. As a result, the new salary cap ceiling is set at $64.3 million while the salary cap floor is $48.3 million.[5]

Uniform changes

Several teams announced plans to change their uniforms in the 2011–12 season.[6]

The Edmonton Oilers unveiled a new away uniform parallel to their 'retro' home uniform used from 1979-96. They retained the navy blue, copper and red uniforms as the alternates.

The Nashville Predators unveiled new home and away uniforms on June 22, complete with the updated saber-toothed cat logo. Their use of gold as the home colors marked the first time since 1998 that an NHL team wore gold in their home uniforms.

The Florida Panthers made minor changes to their home uniform, using red as the primary and relegating navy blue as a trim color.

The Los Angeles Kings returned to the silver and black motif they used from 1988 to 1998, by designating their alternate home black and silver uniform as a regular uniform and unveiling a new white away uniform with black and silver trim. The purple and black uniform were retained as an alternate uniform.

The Ottawa Senators unveiled a new alternate home uniform based on the original Senators barber pole design. The uniform does not use the Roman centurion logo, instead using an outlined 'O' on stripes. The Senators' uniform will also have an All-Star Game patch.

The Pittsburgh Penguins promoted their dark blue uniforms, worn during the 2011 NHL Winter Classic, as the home alternates, replacing the 2008 NHL Winter Classic alternates.

The Tampa Bay Lightning unveiled new home and road uniforms, featuring the simplified lightning logo. Originally the uniforms were simply blue and white, but by popular demand, black was added as a trim color to the uniform numbers, and added the lightning bolt to the pants. The 'Bolts' alternate home uniform was retained.

The Toronto Maple Leafs unveiled a new alternate home uniform based on the Leafs uniforms worn during their run to the 1967 Stanley Cup title, including the 11-point maple leaf logo.

The Washington Capitals also promoted their 2011 NHL Winter Classic retro uniforms as their road alternates.

The new Winnipeg Jets unveiled uniforms consisting of navy with silver and light blue trim, containing a logo based on the roundel of the Royal Canadian Air Force; these were significantly different from, but in a similar color scheme to, the original Jets uniforms.

The New York Islanders unveiled a new black alternate uniform, featuring the team name above the player's number, a similar template the Dallas Stars' uniforms currently use. Speaking of the Stars, they officially retired their alternate away jersey featuring the team crest, instead using their regular away jerseys with the city name and number in front for all 41 road games.

The New York Rangers and Philadelphia Flyers wore special commemorative uniforms for the 2012 NHL Winter Classic. The Flyers unveiled theirs on November 21, and is in a classic sweater design in orange featuring black numbers and different striping patterns on the yoke. The Rangers unveiled theirs on November 28, and features a mix of designs used from previous jerseys. The shield logo in front is a variation of the logos used during the 1930s–1940s, while the shoulder, arm and tail striping was taken from the current jersey. Both teams would wear their Winter Classic uniforms again on February 5 and 11 at Madison Square Garden and Wells Fargo Center respectively, with the away team wearing the regular uniforms.

In addition several teams will sport memorial patches throughout the season; unless specified, the patches will be seen on the team helmets:

Furthermore, a new league-wide rule required that player numbers be displayed on the front of their helmets, as well as on the back.

Even though the New Jersey Devils and the Phoenix Coyotes unveiled anniversary logos commemorating their 30th and 15th anniversaries of their respective relocations from Colorado and Winnipeg, they opted not to use them on their uniforms or helmets.

Rule changes

Boarding

Prior to the 2011–12 NHL season the Board of Governors unanimously agreed to update and re-word rule 41 involving boarding penalties. The new wording requires the player delivering the check to avoid or minimize contact if the opponent is defenseless.[7]

Illegal hits to the head

The Board of Governors also approved an update to rule 48 involving illegal checks to the head. The new rule will penalize all hits where the head is the principal point of contact. The previous version of this rule only made checks from the blindside illegal. However, determination if the check is legal will depend on various factors including whether or not the player put himself in a vulnerable position or if the hit was unavoidable. A two-minute minor penalty, or a major penalty in the event the hit was deemed to be deliberate with intent to injure, may be assessed.[7]

Pre-season

European exhibition games

See also: List of international games played by NHL teams

The four teams going to Europe to open their regular seasons there as part of the NHL Premiere games also played exhibition games against European teams under the banner of NHL Premiere Challenge to close out their pre-seasons. The NHL teams had an overall record of 6–1–0 against the European teams, with the New York Rangers, playing four games in five days in four countries, having a record of 3–1–0.

Date City NHL team European team Score
September 29 Prague, Czech Republic New York Rangers HC Sparta Praha 2–0
September 30 Gothenburg, Sweden New York Rangers Frölunda HC 4–2
October 2 Bratislava, Slovakia New York Rangers HC Slovan Bratislava 4–1
October 3 Zug, Switzerland New York Rangers EV Zug 4–8
October 4 Helsinki, Finland Anaheim Ducks Helsinki Jokerit 4–3 OT
October 4 Hamburg, Germany Los Angeles Kings Hamburg Freezers 5–4
October 4 Mannheim, Germany Buffalo Sabres Adler Mannheim 8–3

Regular season

Premiere games

Main article: 2011 NHL Premiere

Four teams participated in the 2011 Compuware NHL Premiere in Europe. The Anaheim Ducks, Los Angeles Kings and New York Rangers made their second trip to Europe while the Buffalo Sabres made its first trip. On October 7, Anaheim played Buffalo at Hartwall Areena in Helsinki, Finland and Los Angeles faced New York at the Ericsson Globe Arena in Stockholm, Sweden. All four teams played again on October 8 with Los Angeles against Buffalo at the O2 World Arena in Berlin, Germany and Anaheim against New York in Stockholm.[8]

Thanksgiving Showdown

As part of the league's updated television contract, the NHL debuted the Thanksgiving Showdown, a nationally broadcast game, on the day after American Thanksgiving in 2011. The game, which was sponsored by Discover, featured the Boston Bruins (who have traditionally hosted Black Friday matinees since 1990) hosting the Detroit Red Wings, with Detroit winning the game in a shootout, 3–2.

2012 Winter Classic

The 2012 NHL Winter Classic was held at the Citizens Bank Park baseball stadium in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania on Monday, January 2, 2012. This season, the Philadelphia Flyers hosted the New York Rangers. It was the first Winter Classic game for the Rangers and the second for the Flyers. The result of the game was a 3–2 Ranger victory. Philadelphia last played in the 2010 NHL Winter Classic against the Boston Bruins at Fenway Park in Boston, Massachusetts. The Bruins won that game in overtime by a score of 2–1 on a goal scored by Marco Sturm.[9]

This was the first time that the Winter Classic was not played on New Year's Day, which fell on a Sunday in 2012. If the Winter Classic was held on New Years' Day, it would have conflicted with the final game of the National Football League season (in which the Philadelphia Eagles hosted the Washington Redskins at nearby Lincoln Financial Field), and the annual Mummers Parade in downtown Philadelphia. The Flyers–Rangers rivalry is one of the NHL's most frequently televised rivalries on U.S. television networks; it was televised three times nationally on NBC in 2011–12, including the inaugural Hockey Day in America.

No Heritage Classic was played this season. According to reports, though, it is still possible that there will be one next season.[10]

Standings

Each of the 30 teams play an 82-game season of an unbalanced schedule. Teams play six games against division opponents; four games against other conference opponents; and one or two games against teams of the other conference. The first-place teams in each division place first, second and third in the conference standings. The top five finishers from the rest of the teams in each conference will also qualify for the playoffs, making a total of eight playoff teams in each conference.

Eastern Conference
Pos Div Team
 GP W L OTL ROW GF GA GD Pts
1 AT z – New York Rangers 82 51 24 7 47 226 187 +39 109
2 NE y – Boston Bruins 82 49 29 4 40 269 202 +67 102
3 SE y – Florida Panthers 82 38 26 18 32 203 227 −24 94
4 AT x – Pittsburgh Penguins 82 51 25 6 42 282 221 +61 108
5 AT x – Philadelphia Flyers 82 47 26 9 43 264 232 +32 103
6 AT x – New Jersey Devils 82 48 28 6 36 228 209 +19 102
7 SE x – Washington Capitals 82 42 32 8 38 222 230 −8 92
8 NE x – Ottawa Senators 82 41 31 10 35 249 240 +9 92
9 NE Buffalo Sabres 82 39 32 11 32 218 230 −12 89
10 SE Tampa Bay Lightning 82 38 36 8 35 235 281 −46 84
11 SE Winnipeg Jets 82 37 35 10 33 225 246 −21 84
12 SE Carolina Hurricanes 82 33 33 16 32 213 243 −30 82
13 NE Toronto Maple Leafs 82 35 37 10 31 231 264 −33 80
14 AT New York Islanders 82 34 37 11 27 203 255 −52 79
15 NE Montreal Canadiens 82 31 35 16 26 212 226 −14 78
Source: National Hockey League
x – Clinched playoff spot; y – Clinched division; z – Clinched conference
Western Conference
Pos Div Team
 GP W L OTL ROW GF GA GD Pts
1 NW p – Vancouver Canucks 82 51 22 9 43 249 198 +51 111
2 CE y – St. Louis Blues 82 49 22 11 45 210 165 +45 109
3 PA y – Phoenix Coyotes 82 42 27 13 36 216 204 +12 97
4 CE x – Nashville Predators 82 48 26 8 43 237 210 +27 104
5 CE x – Detroit Red Wings 82 48 28 6 39 248 203 +45 102
6 CE x – Chicago Blackhawks 82 45 26 11 38 248 238 +10 101
7 PA x – San Jose Sharks 82 43 29 10 34 228 210 +18 96
8 PA x – Los Angeles Kings 82 40 27 15 34 194 179 +15 95
9 NW Calgary Flames 82 37 29 16 34 202 226 −24 90
10 PA Dallas Stars 82 42 35 5 35 211 222 −11 89
11 NW Colorado Avalanche 82 41 35 6 32 208 220 −12 88
12 NW Minnesota Wild 82 35 36 11 24 177 226 −49 81
13 PA Anaheim Ducks 82 34 36 12 31 204 231 −27 80
14 NW Edmonton Oilers 82 32 40 10 27 212 239 −27 74
15 CE Columbus Blue Jackets 82 29 46 7 25 202 262 −60 65
Source: National Hockey League
p – Clinched Presidents' Trophy; x – Clinched playoff spot; y – Clinched division

Playoffs

The Stanley Cup
Main article: 2012 Stanley Cup playoffs

The 2012 playoffs started on Wednesday, April 11, 2012. The Boston Bruins and Vancouver Canucks, the Stanley Cup finalists from 2011, were eliminated in the first round, ensuring a new champion in 2012. In the East, three of the four series went to seven games in the opening round, and two of those went to overtime to decide their series. The series between Philadelphia and Pittsburgh set new playoff scoring records, while the Boston-Washington series had only a single goal differential. In the West, none of the first-round winners had won the Stanley Cup, and the Phoenix Coyotes won their first playoff series since moving to Phoenix from Winnipeg. All West series were decided in six games or less, and five of the six games in the Chicago-Phoenix series went to overtime.

Bracket

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

Template:NHLBracket

NHL awards

2011–12 NHL awards
Award Recipient(s) Finalists
Stanley Cup
Presidents' Trophy
(Best regular-season record)		 Vancouver Canucks
Prince of Wales Trophy
(Eastern Conference champion)		 New Jersey Devils
Clarence S. Campbell Bowl
(Western Conference champion)		 Los Angeles Kings
Art Ross Trophy
(Top scorer)		 Evgeni Malkin (Pittsburgh Penguins)
Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy
(Perseverance and dedication)		 Daniel Alfredsson (Ottawa Senators)
Joffrey Lupul (Toronto Maple Leafs)
Max Pacioretty (Montreal Canadiens)
Calder Memorial Trophy
(Best first-year player)		 Adam Henrique (New Jersey Devils)
Gabriel Landeskog (Colorado Avalanche)
Ryan Nugent-Hopkins (Edmonton Oilers)
Conn Smythe Trophy
(Most valuable player, playoffs)
Frank J. Selke Trophy
(Defensive forward)		 David Backes (St. Louis Blues)
Patrice Bergeron (Boston Bruins)
Pavel Datsyuk (Detroit Red Wings)
Hart Memorial Trophy
(Most valuable player, regular season)		 Henrik Lundqvist (New York Rangers)
Evgeni Malkin (Pittsburgh Penguins)
Steven Stamkos (Tampa Bay Lightning)
Jack Adams Award
(Best coach)		 Ken Hitchcock (St. Louis Blues)
Paul MacLean (Ottawa Senators)
John Tortorella (New York Rangers)
James Norris Memorial Trophy
(Best defenceman)		 Zdeno Chara (Boston Bruins)
Erik Karlsson (Ottawa Senators)
Shea Weber (Nashville Predators)
King Clancy Memorial Trophy
(Humanitarian contribution)
Lady Byng Memorial Trophy
(Sportsmanship and excellence)		 Brian Campbell (Florida Panthers)
Jordan Eberle (Edmonton Oilers)
Matt Moulson (New York Islanders)
Ted Lindsay Award
(Outstanding player)		 Henrik Lundqvist (New York Rangers)
Evgeni Malkin (Pittsburgh Penguins)
Steven Stamkos (Tampa Bay Lightning)
Mark Messier Leadership Award
(Leadership and community activities)
Maurice "Rocket" Richard Trophy
(Top goal-scorer)		 Steven Stamkos (Tampa Bay Lightning)
NHL General Manager of the Year Award
(Top general manager)		 Doug Armstrong (St. Louis Blues)
David Poile (Nashville Predators)
Dale Tallon (Florida Panthers)
NHL Plus-Minus Award
(Highest plus/minus value)		 Patrice Bergeron (Boston Bruins)
Roger Crozier Saving Grace Award
(Goaltender, highest save percentage)		 Brian Elliott (St. Louis Blues)
Vezina Trophy
(Best goaltender)		 Henrik Lundqvist (New York Rangers)
Jonathan Quick (Los Angeles Kings)
Pekka Rinne (Nashville Predators)
William M. Jennings Trophy
(Goaltender(s) of team with fewest goals against)		 Brian Elliott and Jaroslav Halak (St. Louis Blues)
Lester Patrick Trophy
(Service to ice hockey in U.S.)


Player statistics

Scoring leaders

The following players lead the league in points at the conclusion of the regular season.[11]

GP = Games played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; +/– = Plus-minus; PIM = Penalty minutes

Player Team GP G A Pts +/– PIM
Evgeni Malkin Pittsburgh Penguins 75 50 59 109 +18 70
Steven Stamkos Tampa Bay Lightning 82 60 37 97 +7 66
Claude Giroux Philadelphia Flyers 77 28 65 93 +6 29
Jason Spezza Ottawa Senators 80 34 50 84 +11 36
Ilya Kovalchuk New Jersey Devils 77 37 46 83 −9 33
Phil Kessel Toronto Maple Leafs 82 37 45 82 −10 20
James Neal Pittsburgh Penguins 80 40 41 81 +6 87
John Tavares New York Islanders 82 31 50 81 −6 26
Henrik Sedin Vancouver Canucks 82 14 67 81 +23 52
Patrik Elias New Jersey Devils 81 26 52 78 −8 16

Leading goaltenders

The following goaltenders led the league in goals against average at the end of the regular season while playing at least 1800 minutes.[12]

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
Brian Elliott St. Louis Blues 38 2234:35 23 10 4 58 9 .940 1.56
Jonathan Quick Los Angeles Kings 69 4099:26 35 21 13 133 10 .929 1.95
Cory Schneider Vancouver Canucks 33 1832:50 20 8 1 60 3 .937 1.96
Henrik Lundqvist New York Rangers 62 3753:30 39 18 5 123 8 .930 1.97
Jaroslav Halak St. Louis Blues 46 2746:37 26 12 7 90 6 .926 1.97
Jimmy Howard Detroit Red Wings 57 3360:17 35 17 4 119 6 .920 2.13
Mike Smith Phoenix Coyotes 67 3903:12 38 18 10 144 8 .930 2.21
Jean-Sebastien Giguere Colorado Avalanche 32 1819:34 15 11 3 69 2 .919 2.27
Kari Lehtonen Dallas Stars 59 3496:49 32 22 4 136 4 .922 2.33
Miikka Kiprusoff Calgary Flames 70 4128:00 35 22 11 162 4 .921 2.35

Milestones

First games

The following is a list of notable players who played their first NHL game in 2011–12, listed with their first team:

Last games

The following is a list of players of note who played their last NHL game in 2011–12, listed with their team:

Major milestones reached

See also

References

  1. ^ "True North buys Thrashers, set to move team to Winnipeg". TSN. May 31, 2011. Archived from the original on June 29, 2011. Retrieved June 1, 2011. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  2. ^ "Gary Bettman expects realignment in '12". ESPN. Associated Press. June 1, 2011. Retrieved June 18, 2011.
  3. ^ Governors adopt radical realignment plan NHL.com | retrieved December 5, 2011
  4. ^ NHL realignment on hold after union balks. The Sports Network. Retrieved January 6, 2012.
  5. ^ "Salary cap set for 2011–12". NHL.com.
  6. ^ NHL Jersey Watch 2011, Icetherics.info, October 5, 2011.
  7. ^ a b http://www.nhl.com/ice/news.htm?id=566579
  8. ^ "Premiere 2011 teams, locations revealed". NHL.com. April 11, 2011. Retrieved May 11, 2011.
  9. ^ "Reports: Flyers host Rangers, Jan. 2 NHL Winter Classic at Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia". NHL.com. May 14, 2011.
  10. ^ Lebrun, Pierre (June 11, 2011). "Sources: Only 1 outdoor game next year". ESPN. Retrieved June 11, 2011.
  11. ^ "Player Stats: 2011–2012 Regular season: All Skaters – Total Points". National Hockey League.
  12. ^ "Player Stats: 2011–2012 Regular season: Goalie – Goals Against Average leaders". National Hockey League.
  13. ^ http://www.tsn.ca/nhl/story/?id=397224

External links

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