The 2005–06 NHL season was the 89th season of operation of the National Hockey League (NHL). This season succeeded the 2004–05 season which had all of its scheduled games canceled due to a labor dispute with the National Hockey League Players' Association (NHLPA) over the Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) between the League and its players. The season featured the first time that all 30 of its member teams played games on the same day, which happened the first day of the season, October 5, 2005.
The Stanley Cup
The National Hockey League is a men’s professional ice hockey league in North America comprising 33 teams – 26 in the United States and 7 in Canada. The Stanley Cup, the oldest professional sports trophy in North America, is awarded annually to the league playoff champion at the end of each season. The NHL is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Canada and is considered to be the top ranked professional ice hockey league in the world, with players from 17 countries as of the 2023–24 season. The International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) also views the Stanley Cup as one of the "most important championships available to the sport". The NHL is headquartered in Midtown Manhattan.
The Stanley Cup in 1930, several years after it became the de facto championship trophy for the NHL
A game between the Montreal Canadiens and the New York Rangers in 1962
Size difference between a hockey rink used in IIHF-sanctioned games and an NHL hockey rink
New Jersey Devils goaltender Martin Brodeur (top left) positions himself along the net during a 2008 game against the Boston Bruins. Brodeur's exploits led the NHL in 2005 to delineate the trapezoidal area behind the net to limit where the goaltender can legally play the puck behind the goal line.