The 2006–07 NHL season was the 90th season of operation (89th season of play) of the National Hockey League (NHL). The Mighty Ducks of Anaheim officially shortened their name to the Anaheim Ducks prior to the season. The 2007 Stanley Cup playoffs began on April 11, 2007, and concluded on June 6, with the Ducks defeating the Ottawa Senators to win their first Stanley Cup, becoming the first team from California to do so.
League business Salary cap The NHL announced that the regular season salary cap rise after the initial season. The 2006–07 salary cap was increased by US$5,000,000 per team to bring the salary cap up to US$44,000,000. While the 2006–07 salary floor was increased by US$8,000,000 per team to US$28,000,000. This is the only year where the NHL salary floor raised faster than the NHL salary cap.
Anaheim rebranding The Mighty Ducks of Anaheim officially shortened their name to the Anaheim Ducks prior to the season, introducing a new logo, uniforms and color scheme. This reflected a clean break from their original owners, The Walt Disney Company, who originally named the team after the movie, The Mighty Ducks upon their formation in 1993.
Jersey number 84 No NHL player had worn the jersey number 84 until Guillaume Latendresse of the Montreal Canadiens began doing so at the start of this season.
Entry draft The 2006 NHL entry draft was held at General Motors Place in Vancouver, British Columbia, on June 24, 2006. Erik Johnson was selected first overall by the St. Louis Blues.
NHL referee helmet requirement
All NHL officials were required to wear helmets at the beginning of the season, even for those that were covered under the Grandfather clause that was introduced in the 1988-89 season. Mick McGeough would be the last NHL official to referee a game without a helmet during the 2006 Stanley Cup Final
Arena changes The renamed Anaheim Ducks' home arena, the Arrowhead Pond of Anaheim, was renamed the Honda Center as part of a new naming rights deal with Honda. The Nashville Predators' home arena, Gaylord Entertainment Center, was officially reverted to its original name, Nashville Arena. Gaylord Entertainment Company's involvement with the team ended in February 2005, but the Predators did not start referring to the building's original until this season. However, the actual "Gaylord Entertainment Center" signage on arena's exterior was not removed until March 2007. The Phoenix Coyotes' home arena, Glendale Arena, was renamed Jobing.com Arena after the Phoenix-based employment website Jobing.com signed a new naming rights agreement. The St. Louis Blues's home arena, the Savvis Center, was renamed the Scottrade Center as part of a new naming rights agreement with Scottrade. The Washington Capitals' home arena, the MCI Center, was renamed the Verizon Center, reflecting Verizon's acquisition of MCI.
Regular season All-Star Game The NHL All-Star Game returned after a two-year absence when the Dallas Stars hosted the 55th National Hockey League All-Star Game at the American Airlines Center on January 24, 2007. Dallas hosted the All-Star Game for the first time, and it was the first time the Stars franchise had hosted the game since 1972, when it was hosted by the-then Minnesota North Stars. The West defeated the East by a score of 12–9, with Danny Briere of the Buffalo Sabres being named MVP of the game. Fewer penalties were called than in 2005–06 (an average of 398 per team).2006–07 NHL Season Summary Hockey-Reference.com This led to fewer goals scored overall (7,082)2006–07 NHL Season Skater Statistics Hockey-Reference.com and more shutouts (150).2006–07 NHL Season Goalie Statistics Hockey-Reference.com However, more even-strength goals were scored (4,715) than in 2005–06 (4,579).2005–06 NHL Season Skater Statistics Hockey-Reference.com
Highlights This season would have an intense battle between Martin Brodeur and Roberto Luongo for the Vezina Trophy and a piece of NHL history. Both goaltenders were vying to break Bernie Parent's NHL record 47 wins in a single season. On April 3, 2007, Brodeur tied the NHL record for most wins in a single season with 47, set by Parent in 1973–74, in a 2–1 shootout victory against the Ottawa Senators. Two days later, he broke the thirty-three-year-old record with his 48th win in a 3–2 victory over the Philadelphia Flyers, which helped the Devils clinch their seventh Atlantic Division title and the second seed in the Eastern Conference. Luongo finished with a career-high 47 wins, one shy of Brodeur, and consequently finished runner-up in a close race for the Vezina. Luongo and Brodeur are considered, however, to have been given an advantage to Parent with the inauguration of the shootout that season by the NHL, allowing more games to be decided with wins, as opposed to ties.
The Carolina Hurricanes became the first team since the 1995–96 New Jersey Devils to miss the playoffs after winning the Stanley Cup the previous season. The Edmonton Oilers, the runners up in the Cup Final, also missed the playoffs, marking the first time in NHL history that both Stanley Cup finalists missed the playoffs the following season.
The inter-conference division play had the Northeast visit the Central, the Central visit the Atlantic, the Atlantic visit the Pacific, the Pacific visit the Southeast, the Southeast visit the Northwest, and the Northwest visits the Northeast.
Standings
Buffalo Sabres won the Presidents' Trophy and home-ice advantage throughout the playoffs.
For the purpose of conference rankings, division leaders are automatically ranked 1–3. These three, plus the next five teams in the conference standings, earn playoff berths at the end of the season.
Eastern Conference
Western Conference
Tiebreaking procedures If two or more clubs are tied in points during the regular season, the standing of the clubs is determined in the following order:
The fewer number of games played (i.e., superior points percentage). The greater number of games won. The greater number of points earned in games between the tied clubs. The greater differential between goals for and against.
Playoffs
Bracket 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 with home 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 winners seeded 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 Final, where home ice advantage was awarded to the team that had the better regular season record.
Awards Award Recipient(s) Runner(s)-up/finalists Presidents' Trophy: Buffalo Sabres Detroit Red Wings Prince of Wales Trophy: (Eastern Conference playoff champion) Ottawa Senators Buffalo Sabres Clarence S. Campbell Bowl: (Western Conference playoff champion) Anaheim Ducks Detroit Red Wings Art Ross Trophy: Sidney Crosby, Pittsburgh Penguins Joe Thornton (San Jose Sharks) Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy: Phil Kessel, Boston Bruins Chris Chelios (Detroit Red Wings)Saku Koivu (Montreal Canadiens) Calder Memorial Trophy: Evgeni Malkin, Pittsburgh Penguins Jordan Staal (Pittsburgh Penguins)Paul Stastny (Colorado Avalanche) Conn Smythe Trophy: Scott Niedermayer, Anaheim Ducks N/A Frank J. Selke Trophy: Rod Brind'Amour, Carolina Hurricanes Samuel Pahlsson (Anaheim Ducks)Jay Pandolfo (New Jersey Devils) Hart Memorial Trophy: Sidney Crosby, Pittsburgh Penguins Roberto Luongo (Vancouver Canucks)Martin Brodeur (New Jersey Devils) Jack Adams Award: Alain Vigneault, Vancouver Canucks Lindy Ruff (Buffalo Sabres)Michel Therrien (Pittsburgh Penguins) James Norris Memorial Trophy: Nicklas Lidstrom, Detroit Red Wings Chris Pronger (Anaheim Ducks)Scott Niedermayer (Anaheim Ducks) King Clancy Memorial Trophy: Saku Koivu, Montreal Canadiens Jarome Iginla (Calgary Flames)Olaf Kolzig (Washington Capitals) Lady Byng Memorial Trophy: Pavel Datsyuk, Detroit Red Wings Joe Sakic (Colorado Avalanche)Martin St. Louis (Tampa Bay Lightning) Lester B. Pearson Award: Sidney Crosby, Pittsburgh Penguins Vincent Lecavalier (Tampa Bay Lightning)Roberto Luongo (Vancouver Canucks) Maurice "Rocket" Richard Trophy: Vincent Lecavalier, Tampa Bay Lightning Dany Heatley (Ottawa Senators) NHL Foundation Player Award: Joe Sakic, Colorado Avalanche N/A NHL Plus-Minus Award: Thomas Vanek, Buffalo Sabres N/A Roger Crozier Saving Grace Award: Niklas Backstrom, Minnesota Wild N/A Vezina Trophy: Martin Brodeur, New Jersey Devils Roberto Luongo (Vancouver Canucks)Henrik Lundqvist (New York Rangers) William M. Jennings Trophy: Niklas Backstrom and Manny Fernandez, Minnesota Wild N/A
All-Star teams First Team Position Second TeamMartin Brodeur, New Jersey Devils GRoberto Luongo, Vancouver CanucksNicklas Lidstrom, Detroit Red Wings DDan Boyle, Tampa Bay LightningScott Niedermayer, Anaheim Ducks DChris Pronger, Anaheim DucksSidney Crosby, Pittsburgh Penguins CVincent Lecavalier, Tampa Bay LightningDany Heatley, Ottawa Senators RWMartin St. Louis, Tampa Bay LightningAlexander Ovechkin, Washington Capitals LWThomas Vanek, Buffalo Sabres
Player statistics
Scoring leaders
Note: GP = Games played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; +/– = Plus/minus; PIM = Penalty minutes Player Team GP G A Pts +/– PIM Sidney Crosby Pittsburgh Penguins 79 36 84 120 +10 60 Joe Thornton San Jose Sharks 82 22 92 114 +24 44 Vincent Lecavalier Tampa Bay Lightning 82 52 56 108 +2 44 Dany Heatley Ottawa Senators 82 50 55 105 +31 74 Martin St. Louis Tampa Bay Lightning 82 43 59 102 +7 28 Marian Hossa Atlanta Thrashers 82 43 57 100 +18 49 Joe Sakic Colorado Avalanche 82 36 64 100 +2 46 Jaromir Jagr New York Rangers 82 30 66 96 +26 78 Marc Savard Boston Bruins 82 22 74 96 −19 96 Daniel Briere Buffalo Sabres 81 32 63 95 +17 89 Teemu Selanne Anaheim Ducks 82 48 46 94 +26 82 Source: NHL.
Leading goaltenders Note: 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% GAANiklas BackstromMinnesota Wild 41 2,226 23 8 6 73 5 .929 1.97Dominik HasekDetroit Red Wings 56 3,340 38 11 6 114 8 .913 2.05Martin BrodeurNew Jersey Devils 78 4,696 48 23 7 171 12 .922 2.18Roberto LuongoVancouver Canucks76 4,490 47 22 6 171 5 .921 2.28Jean-Sebastien GiguereAnaheim Ducks 56 3,244 36 10 8 122 4 .918 2.26
Coaches
Eastern Conference Atlanta Thrashers: Bob Hartley Boston Bruins: Dave Lewis Buffalo Sabres: Lindy Ruff Carolina Hurricanes: Peter Laviolette Florida Panthers: Jacques Martin Montreal Canadiens: Guy Carbonneau New Jersey Devils: Claude Julien and Lou Lamoriello New York Islanders: Ted Nolan New York Rangers: Tom Renney Ottawa Senators: Bryan Murray Philadelphia Flyers: Ken Hitchcock and John Stevens Pittsburgh Penguins: Michel Therrien Tampa Bay Lightning: John Tortorella Toronto Maple Leafs: Paul Maurice Washington Capitals: Glen Hanlon
Western Conference Anaheim Ducks: Randy Carlyle Calgary Flames: Jim Playfair Chicago Blackhawks: Trent Yawney and Denis Savard Colorado Avalanche: Joel Quenneville Columbus Blue Jackets: Gerard Gallant, Gary Agnew, and Ken Hitchcock Dallas Stars: Dave Tippett Detroit Red Wings: Mike Babcock Edmonton Oilers: Craig MacTavish Los Angeles Kings: Marc Crawford Minnesota Wild: Jacques Lemaire