1994–95 NHL season
LeagueNational Hockey League
SportIce hockey
DurationJanuary 20 – June 24, 1995
Number of games48
Number of teams26
TV partner(s)CBC, TSN, SRC (Canada)
ESPN, Fox (United States)
Draft
Top draft pickEd Jovanovski
Picked byFlorida Panthers
Regular season
Presidents' TrophyDetroit Red Wings
Season MVPEric Lindros (Flyers)
Top scorerJaromir Jagr (Penguins)
Playoffs
Playoffs MVPClaude Lemieux (Devils)
Stanley Cup
ChampionsNew Jersey Devils
  Runners-upDetroit Red Wings

The 1994–95 NHL season was the 78th regular season of the National Hockey League. The teams played a shortened season, due to a lockout of the players by the owners. In addition, the NHL All-Star Game, which had been scheduled to take place January 20–21, 1995, in San Jose, California, was canceled. San Jose was soon selected as the venue for the 1997 NHL All-Star Game. The New Jersey Devils swept the heavily favored Detroit Red Wings for their first Stanley Cup win. It was also their first appearance in the finals overall.

League business

The Hartford Whalers were purchased by Peter Karmanos.

This was the last season in Quebec City for the Quebec Nordiques, as they announced that they would move to Denver after the season and become the Colorado Avalanche.

The regular season was shortened because of a 103-day lockout, which ended on January 11, 1995. The season got underway nine days later.

New arenas

The Boston Bruins played their final season at the Boston Garden. They would then move to their current arena, the TD Garden (then named the FleetCenter).

The Vancouver Canucks played their last season at Pacific Coliseum. They would play at GM Place (now known as Rogers Arena) the following year.

The Chicago Blackhawks moved to the United Center.

The St. Louis Blues moved to the Kiel Center (now the Enterprise Center).

Events

Rule changes

  • Two Zambonis would now be required by every arena for the resurfacing between periods.
  • A coach can call for a stick measurement in any overtime period or shootout, but the request must be made before the winning goal is scored.
  • Leaving the penalty box to join an altercation on the ice risks automatic three-game ban, plus any other penalties assessed.
  • Any severe check from behind risks a major penalty and game misconduct.
  • Referees and linesmen would wear numbers instead of nameplates; this restored a practice that had been in use previously from 1955 to 1977.

Regular season

Due to the 1994–95 NHL lockout, the league shortened the season length from 84 games, the length of the previous two seasons, to 48.[2] Furthermore, the season would last from January 20 to May 3; this was the first time in NHL history that the regular season extended into May. The next time was the 2020–21 NHL season. Regular-season games would be limited to intra-conference play (Eastern Conference teams did not play Western Conference teams).

This was the first season since 1969–70, that the Montreal Canadiens missed the playoffs.

Final standings

Eastern Conference[3]
R Div GP W L T GF GA Pts
1Quebec NordiquesNE483013518513465
2Philadelphia FlyersAT482816415013260
3Pittsburgh PenguinsNE482916318115861
4Boston BruinsNE482718315012757
5New Jersey DevilsAT482218813612152
6Washington CapitalsAT482218813612052
7Buffalo SabresNE482219713011951
8New York RangersAT482223313913447
9Florida PanthersAT482022611512746
10Hartford WhalersNE481924512714143
11Montreal CanadiensNE481823712514843
12Tampa Bay LightningAT481728312014437
13New York IslandersAT481528512615835
14Ottawa SenatorsNE48934511717423

Divisions: AT – Atlantic, NE – Northeast

bold – Qualified for playoffs

Atlantic Division
No. CR GP W L T GF GA Pts
12Philadelphia Flyers482816415013260
25New Jersey Devils482218813612152
36Washington Capitals482218813612052
48New York Rangers482223313913447
59Florida Panthers482022611512746
612Tampa Bay Lightning481728312014437
713New York Islanders481528512615835
Northeast Division
No. CR GP W L T GF GA Pts
11Quebec Nordiques483013518513465
23Pittsburgh Penguins482916318115861
34Boston Bruins482718315012757
47Buffalo Sabres482219713011951
510Hartford Whalers481924512714143
611Montreal Canadiens481823712514843
714Ottawa Senators48934511717423
Western Conference[4]
R Div GP W L T GF GA Pts
1p – Detroit Red WingsCEN483311418011770
2x – Calgary FlamesPAC482417716313555
3St. Louis BluesCEN482815517813561
4Chicago BlackhawksCEN482419515611553
5Toronto Maple LeafsCEN482119813514650
6Vancouver CanucksPAC4818181215314848
7San Jose SharksPAC481925412916142
8Dallas StarsCEN481723813613542
9Los Angeles KingsPAC481623914217441
10Winnipeg JetsCEN481625715717739
11Edmonton OilersPAC481727413618338
12Mighty Ducks of AnaheimPAC481627512516437

Divisions: CEN – Central, PAC – Pacific

bold – Qualified for playoffs; x – Won division; p – Won Presidents' Trophy

Central Division
No. CR GP W L T GF GA Pts
11Detroit Red Wings483311418011770
22St. Louis Blues482815517813561
34 Chicago Blackhawks482419515611553
45Toronto Maple Leafs482119813514650
58Dallas Stars481723813613542
610Winnipeg Jets481625715717739
Pacific Division
No. CR GP W L T GF GA Pts
12Calgary Flames482417716313555
26Vancouver Canucks4818181215314848
37San Jose Sharks481925412916142
49Los Angeles Kings481623914217441
511Edmonton Oilers481727413618338
612Mighty Ducks of Anaheim481627512516437

[5]

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.

Playoffs

Bracket

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

Awards

The NHL 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
Lester Patrick Trophy:Joe Mullen, Brian Mullen, Bob Fleming

All-Star teams

First team  Position  Second team
Dominik Hasek, Buffalo Sabres G Ed Belfour, Chicago Blackhawks
Paul Coffey, Detroit Red Wings D Ray Bourque, Boston Bruins
Chris Chelios, Chicago Blackhawks D Larry Murphy, Pittsburgh Penguins
Eric Lindros, Philadelphia Flyers C Alexei Zhamnov, Winnipeg Jets
Jaromir Jagr, Pittsburgh Penguins RW Theoren Fleury, Calgary Flames
John LeClair, Montreal/Philadelphia LW Keith Tkachuk, Winnipeg Jets

Player statistics

Scoring leaders

Regular seasonPlayoffs
Player Team GP G A Pts
Jaromir JagrPittsburgh48323870
Eric LindrosPhiladelphia46294170
Alexei ZhamnovWinnipeg48303565
Joe SakicQuebec47194362
Ron FrancisPittsburgh44114859
Theoren FleuryCalgary47292958
Paul CoffeyDetroit45144458
Mikael RenbergPhiladelphia47263157
John LeClairMontreal/
Philadelphia		46262854
Mark MessierNY Rangers46143953

[5]
PlayerTeamGPGAPts
Sergei FedorovDetroit1771724
Stephane RicherNew Jersey1961521
Neal BrotenNew Jersey2071219
Ron FrancisPittsburgh1261319
Denis SavardChicago1671118
Paul CoffeyDetroit1861218
John MacLeanNew Jersey2051318
Claude LemieuxNew Jersey2013316
Vyacheslav KozlovDetroit189716
Nicklas LidstromDetroit1841216

Note: GP = Games Played, G = Goals, A = Assists, Pts = Points

Leading goaltenders

Regular season

Player Team GP MIN GA SO GAA SV%
Dominik HasekBuffalo4124168552.11.930
Jim CareyWashington2816045742.13.913
Chris OsgoodDetroit1910874112.26.917
Ed BelfourChicago4224509352.28.906
Jocelyn ThibaultQuebec188983512.34.917
Dominic RousselPhiladelphia1910754212.34.914
Glenn HealyNew York Rangers178883512.36.907
Blaine LacherBoston3519657942.41.902
Andy MoogDallas3117707222.44.915
Martin BrodeurNew Jersey4021848932.45.902

[6]

Milestones

Debuts

The following is a list of players of note who played their first NHL game in 1994–95, listed with their first team (asterisk(*) marks debut in playoffs):

Last games

The following is a list of players of note who played their last game in the NHL in 1994–95 (listed with their last team):

Coaches

Eastern Conference

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

Western Conference

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 by Ron Low
Los Angeles Kings Barry Melrose Replaced midseason by Rogie 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 by Terry Simpson

Broadcasting

Canada

This was the seventh season that the league's Canadian national broadcast rights were split between TSN and Hockey Night in Canada on CBC. This was the first season that HNIC 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.

United States

This was the first season of the league's five-year U.S. national broadcast rights deals with Fox and ESPN. Fox's deal marked the NHL's first major American broadcast network agreement since the 1974–75 season. ESPN's original deal that began 1992–93 season was also restructured, as Fox replaced ESPN's brokered deal with its sister broadcast network ABC. Fox had the All-Star Game and weekly regional telecasts on the last five Sunday afternoons of the regular season, while ESPN and ESPN2 had weeknight games.[7][8]

For playoff coverage, this was the first time that all Conference Finals and Stanley Cup Finals games were exclusive to Fox or ESPN. American regional 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 third round games. The Stanley Cup Finals were also split between Fox and ESPN.

See also

References

  • Diamond, Dan, ed. (2000). Total Hockey. Kingston, NY: Total Sports. ISBN 1-892129-85-X.
  • Dinger, Ralph, ed. (2011). The National Hockey League Official Guide & Record Book 2012. Toronto, ON: Dan Diamond & Associates. ISBN 978-1-894801-22-5.
  • Dryden, Steve, ed. (2000). Century of hockey. Toronto, ON: McClelland & Stewart Ltd. ISBN 0-7710-4179-9.
  • Fischler, Stan; Fischler, Shirley; Hughes, Morgan; Romain, Joseph; Duplacey, James (2003). The Hockey Chronicle: Year-by-Year History of the National Hockey League. Lincolnwood, IL: Publications International Inc. ISBN 0-7853-9624-1.
Notes
  1. ↑ Weekes, Don (2003). The Best and Worst of Hockey's Firsts: The Unofficial Guide. Canada: Greystone Books. pp. 240. ISBN 9781550548600.
  2. ↑ "Abbreviated Seasons". Sports Illustrated. July 1, 2011.
  3. ↑ "1994-1995 Conference Standings Standings - NHL.com - Standings". NHL.
  4. ↑ "1994-1995 Conference Standings Standings - NHL.com - Standings". NHL.
  5. 1 2 Regular-season standings, scoring leaders: NHL Public Relations Department (2008). Dave McCarthy; et al. (eds.). THE NATIONAL HOCKEY LEAGUE Official Guide & Record Book/2009. National Hockey League. p. 154. ISBN 978-1-894801-14-0.
  6. ↑ "1994-95 NHL Leaders".
  7. ↑ "Fox, ESPN ink deals with NHL". UPI. September 13, 1994.
  8. ↑ Gatehouse, Jonathon (October 2012). The Instigator: How Gary Bettman Remade the NHL and Changed the Game Forever. Triumph Books. p. 161. ISBN 9781623686567.
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