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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.

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.[1] Goaltenders combined for 99 shutouts during the regular season[2], a mark that broke the all-time regular-season record of 85 set in 1974-75.[3]

League business[]

Stanley Cup 1994 Logo

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. Each division had changes. The Northeast Division would welcome the Pittsburgh Penguins, previously from the Patrick Division. The Atlantic Division would welcome the newcomer Florida Panthers and the Tampa Bay Lightning, previously from the Norris Division. The Central Division would welcome the Winnipeg Jets, previously from the Smythe Division. The Pacific Division would welcome the newcomer Mighty Ducks of Anaheim. 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.

Franchise changes[]

Regular season[]

Final standings[]

The division first-place finishers qualify for the playoffs as 1-2 seeding. The next six per conference are the teams with the six best records of the non-division winners.

Eastern Conference[]

Atlantic Division
GP W L T GF GA PTS
New York Rangers 84 52 24 8 299 231 112
New Jersey Devils 84 47 25 12 306 220 106
Washington Capitals 84 39 35 10 277 263 88
New York Islanders 84 36 36 12 282 264 84
Florida Panthers 84 33 34 17 233 233 83
Philadelphia Flyers 84 35 39 10 294 314 80
Tampa Bay Lightning 84 30 43 11 224 251 71
Northeast Division
GP W L T GF GA PTS
Pittsburgh Penguins 84 44 27 13 299 285 101
Boston Bruins 84 42 29 13 289 252 97
Montreal Canadiens 84 41 29 14 283 248 96
Quebec Nordiques 84 43 32 9 282 218 95
Quebec Nordiques 84 34 42 8 277 292 76
Hartford Whalers 84 27 48 9 227 288 63
Ottawa Senators 84 14 61 9 201 397 37

Note: W = Wins, L = Losses, T = Ties, GF = Goals For, GA = Goals Against, Pts = Points
Teams that qualified for the playoffs are highlighted in bold.

Western Conference[]

Central Division
No. CR GP W L T GF GA Pts
1 1 Detroit Red Wings 84 46 30 8 356 275 100
2 3 Toronto Maple Leafs 84 43 29 12 280 243 98
3 4 Dallas Stars 84 42 29 13 286 265 97
4 5 St. Louis Blues 84 40 33 11 270 283 91
5 6 Chicago Blackhawks 84 39 36 9 254 240 87
6 12 Winnipeg Jets 84 24 51 9 245 344 57

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.

Pacific Division
No. CR GP W L T GF GA Pts
1 2 Calgary Flames 84 42 29 13 302 256 97
2 7 Vancouver Canucks 84 41 40 3 279 276 85
3 8 San Jose Sharks 84 33 35 16 252 265 82
4 9 Mighty Ducks of Anaheim 84 33 46 5 229 251 71
5 10 Los Angeles Kings 84 27 45 12 294 322 66
6 11 Edmonton Oilers 84 25 45 14 261 305 64

Note: z = won Presidents' Trophy.
       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.

Head coaches of the Eastern Conference[]

Team Coach Comments
Boston Bruins Brian Sutter
Buffalo Sabres John Muckler
Florida Panthers Roger Neilson
Hartford Whalers Pierre McGuire Replaced midseason by Paul Holmgren
Montreal Canadiens Jacques Demers
New Jersey Devils Jacques Lemaire
New York Islanders Al Arbour
New York Rangers Mike Keenan
Ottawa Senators Rick Bowness
Philadelphia Flyers Terry Simpson
Pittsburgh Penguins Eddie Johnston
Quebec Nordiques Pierre Page
Tampa Bay Lightning Terry Crisp
Washington Capitals Terry Murray Replaced late in the season by Jim Schoenfeld

Head coaches of the 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 Ted Green Replaced early in the season by Glen Sather
Los Angeles Kings Barry Melrose
St. Louis Blues Bob Berry
San Jose Sharks Kevin Constantine
Toronto Maple Leafs Pat Burns
Vancouver Canucks Pat Quinn
Winnipeg Jets John Paddock

Scoring leaders[]

Player Team GP G A Pts
Wayne Gretzky Los Angeles 81 38 92 130
Sergei Fedorov Detroit 82 56 64 120
Adam Oates Boston 77 32 80 112
Doug Gilmour Toronto 83 27 84 111
Pavel Bure Vancouver 74 60 47 107
Jeremy Roenick Chicago 84 46 61 107
Mark Recchi Philadelphia 84 40 67 107
Brendan Shanahan St. Louis 81 52 50 102
Dave Andreychuk Toronto 83 53 46 99
Jaromir Jagr Pittsburgh 80 32 67 99

[4]

Playoffs[]

For the first time, all four former WHA teams (Edmonton, Hartford, Quebec, and Winnipeg) failed to make the playoffs in the same year.

Playoff bracket[]

  First Round Conference Semifinals Conference Finals Stanley Cup Final
                                     
1  New York Rangers 4  
8  New York Islanders 0  
  1  New York Rangers 4  
  7  Washington Capitals 1  
2  Pittsburgh Penguins 2
7  Washington Capitals 4  
  1  New York Rangers 4  
Eastern Conference
  3  New Jersey Devils 3  
3  New Jersey Devils 4  
6  Buffalo Sabres 3  
  3  New Jersey Devils 4
  4  Boston Bruins 2  
4  Boston Bruins 4
5  Montreal Canadiens 3  
  E1  New York Rangers 4
  W7  Vancouver Canucks 3
1  Detroit Red Wings 3  
8  San Jose Sharks 4  
  3  Toronto Maple Leafs 4
  8  San Jose Sharks 3  
2  Calgary Flames 3
7  Vancouver Canucks 4  
  3  Toronto Maple Leafs 1
Western Conference
  7  Vancouver Canucks 4  
3  Toronto Maple Leafs 4  
6  Chicago Blackhawks 2  
  4  Dallas Stars 1
  7  Vancouver Canucks 4  
4  Dallas Stars 4
5  St. Louis Blues 0  
Hhof stanley cup

The Stanley Cup at the Hockey Hall of Fame.

Final[]

The Final pitted the New York Rangers, seeking to win their first Cup since 1940, versus the Vancouver Canucks, looking for their first-ever Cup win. The series was hard-fought and went the full seven games. The Rangers took a 3–1 series lead, but the Canucks won the next two to force a game seven in New York. The Rangers won the game 3–2 to win their fourth Stanley Cup.

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 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, Los Angeles Kings

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):

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):

1994 trading deadline[]

Trading deadline: March 21, 1994.[5]

  • 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.

Neutral site games[]

There were a series of neutral-site games in this season which created a few interesting scenarios:

  • The Stars played a neutral-site game in their previous hometown of Minneapolis, where they were greeted enthusiastically.
  • The Minnesota North Stars' tradition of playing on New Year's 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 Flyers and Bruins. Also, the game was played at the Target Center in Minneapolis rather than the Met Center in Bloomington.
  • The Lightning vs. 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 Devils and 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 Canadiens and 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 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 Winning Team Score Losing Team Score OT City State/Province Arena Attendance
October 21, 1993 St. Louis 5 San Jose 2 Sacramento CA ARCO Arena 7,144
October 31, 1993 NY Rangers 4 New Jersey 1 Halifax NS Halifax Metro Centre 8,200
November 3, 1993 Pittsburgh 6 Buffalo 2 Sacramento CA ARCO Arena 10,117
November 9, 1993 Anaheim 4 Dallas 2 Phoenix AZ America West Arena 8,143
November 18, 1993 NY Islanders 5 Montréal 1 Hamilton ON Copps Coliseum 17,008
December 9, 1993 Dallas 6 Ottawa 1 Minneapolis MN Target Center 14,058
December 23, 1993 Vancouver 4 Calgary 3 Saskatoon SK SaskPlace 11,429*
December 31, 1993 Philadelphia 4 Boston 3 Minneapolis MN Target Center 10,855
January 4, 1994 Tampa Bay 1 Toronto 0 Hamilton ON Copps Coliseum 17,526*
January 5, 1994 Montréal 2 Québec 0 Phoenix AZ America West Arena 11,393
January 6, 1994 St. Louis 2 Hartford 1 Cleveland OH Richfield Coliseum 6,956
January 16, 1994 Detroit 6 Tampa Bay 3 Minneapolis MN Target Center 8,764
January 23, 1994 Vancouver 5 Edmonton 4 (OT) Saskatoon SK SaskPlace N/A
January 24, 1994 Calgary 3 Los Angeles 3 (OT) Phoenix AZ America West Arena 14,864
February 2, 1994 Washington 5 Philadelphia 2 Cleveland OH Richfield Coliseum 8,312
February 8, 1994 San Jose 4 Chicago 3 Sacramento CA ARCO Arena 14,182*
February 22, 1994 Florida 3 Winnipeg 2 Hamilton ON Copps Coliseum 6,291
February 24, 1994 Detroit 3 Hartford 0 Cleveland OH Richfield Coliseum 11,621
March 4, 1994 Winnipeg 6 Ottawa 1 Minneapolis MN Target Center 6,388
March 8, 1994 Chicago 3 Anaheim 0 Phoenix AZ America West Arena 13,847
March 9, 1994 NY Rangers 7 Washington 5 Halifax NS Halifax Metro Centre 9,200*
March 18, 1994 Buffalo 2 NY Islanders 2 (OT) Minneapolis MN Target Center 8,016
March 23, 1994 Florida 1 Toronto 1 (OT) Hamilton ON Copps Coliseum 17,096*
March 27, 1994 New Jersey 5 Quebec 2 Minneapolis MN Target Center 6,222
April 3, 1994 Pittsburgh 6 Boston 2 Cleveland OH Richfield Coliseum 17,224
April 3, 1994 Los Angeles 6 Edmonton 1 Sacramento CA ARCO Arena 10,363

See also[]

Hat tricks[]

References[]

  1. http://www.hockey-reference.com/leagues/NHL_1994.html
  2. http://www.hockey-reference.com/leagues/NHL_1994_goalies.html
  3. http://www.hockey-reference.com/leagues/NHL_1975_goalies.html
  4. Standings: NHL Public Relations Department (2008). in Dave McCarthy et al: THE NATIONAL HOCKEY LEAGUE Official Guide & Record Book/2009. National Hockey League, 154. ISBN 978-1-894801-14-0. 
  5. NHL trade deadline: Deals since 1980 | Habs Inside/Out
1993-94 NHL season by team
Northeast BostonBuffaloHartfordMontrealOttawaPittsburghQuebec
Atlantic FloridaNew JerseyNY IslandersNY RangersPhiladelphiaTampa BayWashington
Central ChicagoDetroitDallasSt. LouisTorontoWinnepeg
Pacific AnaheimCalgaryEdmontonLos AngelesSan JoseVancouver
See also 1993 NHL Entry Draft1994 Stanley Cup FinalsStanley Cup Finals


NHL Seasons

1989-90 | 1990-91 | 1991-92 | 1992-93 | 1993-94 | 1994-95 | 1995-96 | 1996-97 | 1997-98

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