2011 NHL Entry Draft
The 2011 NHL Entry Draft was the 49th NHL Entry Draft. It was held on June 24 -- 2011, at the Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul, Minnesota, it was the first time the Draft was held in the state of Minnesota since the Minnesota North Stars hosted the 1989 NHL Entry Draft. The top three picks consisted of Ryan Nugent-Hopkins going to the Edmonton Oilers, Gabriel Landeskog going to the Colorado Avalanche, Jonathan Huberdeau going to the Florida Panthers; the draft was noteworthy as the venue at which the relocated Atlanta Thrashers franchise announced that they would be known as the Winnipeg Jets, making the announcement as they drafted Mark Scheifele with their first pick. Ice hockey players born between January 1, 1991, September 15, 1993, were eligible for selection in the 2011 NHL Entry Draft. Additionally, un-drafted, non-North American players over the age of 20 were eligible for the draft; the draft lottery was held on April 12, 2011, was won by the New Jersey Devils, who moved up four spots to the fourth-overall pick.
The Edmonton Oilers retained the first-overall pick. This was the first time since the 2007 draft lottery that a team other than the team with the worst regular season record won the draft lottery. New Jersey were tied with the 1999 Chicago Blackhawks for the lowest ranked team to win the lottery as the eighth seed. Source: NHL Central Scouting Bureau final ranking. Source: International Scouting Services May 2011 ranking. NotesThe Columbus Blue Jackets' first-round pick went to the Philadelphia Flyers as the result of a trade on June 23, 2011, that sent Jeff Carter to Columbus in exchange for Jakub Voracek, a third-round pick in 2011 and this pick; the Toronto Maple Leafs' first-round pick went to the Boston Bruins as the result of a trade on September 18, 2009, that sent Phil Kessel to Toronto in exchange for a first-round pick in 2010, a second-round pick in 2010 and this pick. The St. Louis Blues' first-round pick went to the Colorado Avalanche as the result of a trade on February 19, 2011, that sent Kevin Shattenkirk, Chris Stewart and a conditional second-round pick to the Blues in exchange for Erik Johnson, Jay McClement and this pick.
The condition – St. Louis' pick was not among the top 10 picks – was converted on April 12, 2011, when St. Louis retained the 11th overall pick at the NHL Draft Lottery; the Los Angeles Kings' first-round pick went to the Edmonton Oilers as the result of a trade on February 28, 2011, that sent Dustin Penner to Los Angeles in exchange for Colten Teubert, a conditional third-round pick in 2012 and this pick. The Nashville Predators' first-round pick went to the Ottawa Senators as the result of a trade on February 10, 2011, that sent Mike Fisher to Nashville in exchange for a conditional pick in 2012 and this pick; the Anaheim Ducks' first-round pick went to the Toronto Maple Leafs as the result of a trade on June 24, 2011, that sent Boston's first-round pick in 2011 and Toronto's second-round pick in 2011 to Anaheim in exchange for this pick. The Detroit Red Wings' first-round pick went to the Ottawa Senators as the result of a trade on June 24, 2011, that sent Ottawa and Chicago's second-round picks in 2011 to Detroit in exchange for this pick.
The Philadelphia Flyers' first-round pick went to the Toronto Maple Leafs as the result of a trade on February 14, 2011, that sent Kris Versteeg to Philadelphia in exchange for a third-round pick in 2011 and this pick. The Washington Capitals' first-round pick went to the Chicago Blackhawks as the result of a trade on June 24, 2011, that sent Troy Brouwer to Washington in exchange for this pick; the San Jose Sharks' first-round pick went to the Minnesota Wild as the result of a trade on June 24, 2011, that sent Brent Burns and a second-round pick in 2012 to San Jose in exchange for Devin Setoguchi, Charlie Coyle and this pick. The Boston Bruins' first-round pick went to the Anaheim Ducks as the result of a trade on June 24, 2011, that sent Anaheim's first-round pick in 2011 to Toronto in exchange for the Maple Leafs' second-round pick in 2011 and this pick. Toronto acquired the pick in a trade on February 18, 2011, that sent Tomas Kaberle to Boston in exchange for Joe Colborne, a conditional second-round pick in 2012 and this pick.
NotesThe Colorado Avalanche's second-round pick went to the St. Louis Blues as the result of a trade on February 19, 2011, that sent Erik Johnson, Jay McClement and a conditional first-round pick to Colorado in exchange for Kevin Shattenkirk, Chris Stewart and this pick; the condition – St. Louis' pick was not among the top 10 picks – was converted on April 12, 2011, when St. Louis retained the 11th overall pick at the NHL Draft Lottery; the Ottawa Senators' second-round pick went to the Detroit Red Wings as the result of a trade on June 24, 2011, that sent a first-round pick in 2011 to Ottawa in exchange for Chicago's second-round pick in 2011 and this pick. The Winnipeg Jets' second-round pick went to the Chicago Blackhawks as the result of a trade on July 1, 2010, that sent Andrew Ladd to the Atlanta Thrashers in exchange for Ivan Vishnevskiy and this pick; the New Jersey Devils' second-round pick went to the Nashville Predators as the result of a trade on June 19, 2010, that sent Jason Arnott to New Jersey in exchange for Matthew Halischuk and this pick.
The Toronto Maple Leafs' second-round pick went to the Anaheim Ducks as the result of a trade on June 24, 2011, that sent Anaheim's first-round pick in 2011 to Toronto in exchange for Bo
2009–10 NHL season
The 2009–10 NHL season was the 93rd season of operation of the National Hockey League. It ran from October 1, 2009, including four games in Europe on October 2 and 3—until April 11, 2010, with the 2010 Stanley Cup playoffs running to June 9, 2010. A mid-season break from February 15 to February 28 occurred to allow participation of NHL players in the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver; because of the Winter Olympics break, there was no NHL All-Star Game for 2010. The Stanley Cup Final saw the Chicago Blackhawks defeat the Philadelphia Flyers in six games; the salary cap was only increased a small amount for 2009–10 season. It was set at $56.8 million, $100,000 higher than in the 2008–09 season. The salary floor was $40.8 million. The Entry Draft was held June 26 -- 2009 at the Bell Centre in Montreal, Quebec; the New York Islanders chose John Tavares with the first overall pick. Other notable picks were Victor Hedman, Evander Kane and Oliver Ekman-Larsson. Several teams debuted new third uniforms this season, while Philadelphia and Edmonton made their third uniform their primary home jersey, Chicago made the jersey they wore for the previous season's Winter Classic their new alternate.
The New Jersey Devils announced plans to play one game wearing their 1982–1992 uniforms, albeit transferred onto the league's current RBK Edge jersey template. In addition, NHL officials had new uniforms. Prior to the season, a contract dispute between Versus and satellite television supplier DirecTV blacked out Versus for 14 million satellite subscribers. Versus was restored to DirecTV in March 2010. While negotiations were secret, it was reported by the media that the dispute was over the'slotting' of Versus with other channels. Versus was restored to DirecTV in the same tier of channels as the previous season. Versus President Jamie Davis confirmed that the dispute was necessary to get "the same level of distribution we had prior to be taken off the air"; the Phoenix Coyotes' holding company, Dewey Ranch Hockey LLC, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. In a statement, Moyes announced that he had agreed in principle to sell the team to PSE Sports and Entertainment, headed by Research in Motion co-CEO Jim Balsillie, for $212.5 million.
As part of the deal, Balsillie intended to move the Coyotes to Ontario. Although initial reports said that Balsillie was considering Kitchener as well, Hamilton has an NHL-sized arena in place, Copps Coliseum, Balsillie was in talks with city officials to secure a lease for the arena. Hamilton had bid for an NHL team in the 1990s, losing out to Ottawa. Balsillie had made unsuccessful approaches to purchase the Pittsburgh Penguins and Nashville Predators, with the intent of relocating either team to Hamilton; the NHL opposed the matter went to Phoenix bankruptcy court. Two other potential bidders for the team emerged, Jerry Reinsdorf, owner of the Chicago White Sox and Ice Edge Holdings. Bankruptcy hearings were held from May until September. Reinsdorf and Ice Edge did not bid for the team, the NHL put in the only rival bid for the team at court. In September, a Phoenix bankruptcy court rejected offers from the NHL and Jim Balsillie, ending Balsillie's plan to move the Coyotes to Hamilton; the NHL's offer was rejected because it left out creditors Jerry Wayne Gretzky.
On Balsillie's offer, Judge Redfield T. Baum refused to sanction the use of bankruptcy to force relocation of a franchise on a league. Gretzky, head coach of the team for the previous four seasons, stayed away from training camp and was replaced; the Coyotes played their first home game to a sell-out. In the month, the NHL and Moyes came to a tentative agreement to transfer ownership of the Coyotes to the NHL. In December, the NHL announced that Ice Edge Holdings, a partnership of Canadians and Phoenix-area businessmen, had signed a letter of intent with the NHL to purchase the Coyotes. Ice Edge, which plans to keep the team in Phoenix, plans to play five Coyotes home games in Saskatoon, each season as part of a five-year plan to return the Coyotes to profitability. Ice Edge would still have to negotiate a lease agreement with the City of Glendale, have its ownership approved by the NHL Board of Governors. On March 6, the NHL launched a lawsuit for $61 million against former Coyotes owner Jerry Moyes to recover $10 million in bankruptcy court costs, $20 million in losses for 2009–10 and $11.6 million owed to creditors.
Three weeks the Coyotes clinched their first playoff berth since 2002. On April 13, Arizona City Council approved a lease and sale agreement with Jerry Reinsdorf to take over the Coyotes and their lease of the Jobing.com Arena. The Council rejected the Ice Edge group; the agreement will create a special tax district surrounding the arena. Businesses in that district will pay $47 million annually to support the team; the agreement gives Reinsdorf the option to move the team after five years if revenues are not up to expectations. Former Coyotes CEO Jeff Shumway criticized the deal, saying that the team would not have gone bankrupt if the same deal had been available two years earlier. Reinsdorf's bid, which will pay the NHL $65 million for the team, has to be approved by the league board of governors; the 2009–10 pre-season for most teams started on September 14, 2009. Since 2006, Kraft Foods has sponsored a sweepstakes called Kraft Hockeyville, in which various small cities across Canada compete aga
Ice hockey
Ice hockey is a contact team sport played on ice in a rink, in which two teams of skaters use their sticks to shoot a vulcanized rubber puck into their opponent's net to score points. The sport is known to be fast-paced and physical, with teams consisting of six players each: one goaltender, five players who skate up and down the ice trying to take the puck and score a goal against the opposing team. Ice hockey is most popular in Canada and eastern Europe, the Nordic countries and the United States. Ice hockey is the official national winter sport of Canada. In addition, ice hockey is the most popular winter sport in Belarus, the Czech Republic, Latvia, Slovakia and Switzerland. North America's National Hockey League is the highest level for men's ice hockey and the strongest professional ice hockey league in the world; the Kontinental Hockey League is much of Eastern Europe. The International Ice Hockey Federation is the formal governing body for international ice hockey, with the IIHF managing international tournaments and maintaining the IIHF World Ranking.
Worldwide, there are ice hockey federations in 76 countries. In Canada, the United States, Nordic countries, some other European countries the sport is known as hockey. Ice hockey is believed to have evolved from simple stick and ball games played in the 18th and 19th century United Kingdom and elsewhere; these games were brought to North America and several similar winter games using informal rules as they were developed, such as "shinny" and "ice polo". The contemporary sport of ice hockey was developed in Canada, most notably in Montreal, where the first indoor hockey game was played on March 3, 1875; some characteristics of that game, such as the length of the ice rink and the use of a puck, have been retained to this day. Amateur ice hockey leagues began in the 1880s, professional ice hockey originated around 1900; the Stanley Cup, emblematic of ice hockey club supremacy, was first awarded in 1893 to recognize the Canadian amateur champion and became the championship trophy of the NHL. In the early 1900s, the Canadian rules were adopted by the Ligue Internationale de Hockey sur Glace, the precursor of the IIHF and the sport was played for the first time at the Olympics during the 1920 Summer Olympics.
In international competitions, the national teams of six countries predominate: Canada, Czech Republic, Russia and the United States. Of the 69 medals awarded all-time in men's competition at the Olympics, only seven medals were not awarded to one of those countries. In the annual Ice Hockey World Championships, 177 of 201 medals have been awarded to the six nations. Teams outside the "Big Six" have won only five medals in either competition since 1953; the World Cup of Hockey is organized by the National Hockey League and the National Hockey League Players' Association, unlike the annual World Championships and quadrennial Olympic tournament, both run by the International Ice Hockey Federation. World Cup games are played under NHL rules and not those of the IIHF, the tournament occurs prior to the NHL pre-season, allowing for all NHL players to be available, unlike the World Championships, which overlaps with the NHL's Stanley Cup playoffs. Furthermore, all 12 Women's Olympic and 36 IIHF World Women's Championships medals were awarded to one of these six countries.
The Canadian national team or the United States national team have between them won every gold medal of either series. In England, field hockey has been called "hockey" and what was referenced by first appearances in print; the first known mention spelled as "hockey" occurred in the 1773 book Juvenile Sports and Pastimes, to Which Are Prefixed, Memoirs of the Author: Including a New Mode of Infant Education, by Richard Johnson, whose chapter XI was titled "New Improvements on the Game of Hockey". The 1573 Statute of Galway banned a sport called "'hokie'—the hurling of a little ball with sticks or staves". A form of this word was thus being used in the 16th century, though much removed from its current usage; the belief that hockey was mentioned in a 1363 proclamation by King Edward III of England is based on modern translations of the proclamation, in Latin and explicitly forbade the games "Pilam Manualem, Pedivam, & Bacularem: & ad Canibucam & Gallorum Pugnam". The English historian and biographer John Strype did not use the word "hockey" when he translated the proclamation in 1720, instead translating "Canibucam" as "Cambuck".
According to the Austin Hockey Association, the word "puck" derives from the Scottish Gaelic puc or the Irish poc. "... The blow given by a hurler to the ball with his camán or hurley is always called a puck." Stick-and-ball games date back to pre-Christian times. In Europe, these games included the Irish game of hurling, the related Scottish game of shinty and versions of field hockey. IJscolf, a game resembling colf on an ice-covered surface, was popular in the Low Countries between the Middle Ages and the Dutch Golden Age, it was played with a wooden curved bat, a wooden or leather ball and two poles, with t
1995–96 NHL season
The 1995–96 NHL season was the 79th regular season of the National Hockey League. The Stanley Cup winners were the Colorado Avalanche, who, in their first year as the Avalanche, swept the Florida Panthers in four games; the 1995–96 season was the first season in Denver for the Avalanche, who had relocated from Quebec City where they were known as the Quebec Nordiques. Prior to the season, Colorado was assigned to the Pacific Division of the Western Conference, they played at McNichols Arena, the building that the New Jersey Devils played in from 1976 to 1982 when they were known as the Colorado Rockies. The Avs would play in that building until they moved to the Pepsi Center in 1999, it was the last season of existence for the original Winnipeg Jets, as they announced that they would be moving from Manitoba to Arizona and become the Phoenix Coyotes at the season's end. The NHL would not return to Manitoba until the Atlanta Thrashers moved there to become the "new" Winnipeg Jets following the 2010–11 season.
This season would mark the last season the Buffalo Sabres would play in the Buffalo Memorial Auditorium, the Philadelphia Flyers at the CoreStates Spectrum, the Senators at the Ottawa Civic Centre, the Canadiens at the Montreal Forum. The Sabres made their new home at the Marine Midland Arena, the Flyers at the CoreStates Center, the Senators at the Corel Centre, the Canadiens at the Molson Centre; the two latter arenas opened before the end of this season. With the Montreal Forum closed, Maple Leaf Gardens was the last remaining arena from the Original Six era at the time; the Boston Bruins played their first season at Fleet Center after spending the last 67 at the old Boston Garden, the Vancouver Canucks played their first game at General Motors Place. During the 1992–93 and 1993–94 seasons, each team played 84 games. Starting in the 1995–96 season, the neutral site games were eliminated, which reduced the regular season to 82 games per team; the Detroit Red Wings had a spectacular season, finishing with the second-highest regular-season point total in NHL history, setting the NHL record for most wins in the regular season.
However, they fell to the Avalanche in the Western Conference Final, the sixth game of which marked the beginning of the heated Detroit-Colorado rivalry, which would last for years to come. Jaromír Jágr broke the record for points by a right winger in a single season. Mario Lemieux had the NHL's last 150+ point season with 161 points in 70 games; this would be the last season in which at least one player would score at least 60 goals until 2008. The New Jersey Devils became the first team since the 1969–70 Montreal Canadiens to miss the playoffs after winning the Stanley Cup the previous season. GP = Games Played, W = Wins, L = Losses, T = Ties, Pts = Points, GF = Goals For, GA = Goals Against Teams that qualified for the playoffs are highlighted in bold; the Colorado Avalanche swept the final series over the Florida Panthers in the minimum four games. Both teams were making their first appearance in the Final. For Colorado, it followed the team's first season in Colorado after moving from Quebec City.
Joe Sakic won the Conn Smythe Trophy. During the first three rounds home ice is determined by seeding number, not position on the bracket. In the Finals the team with the better regular season record has home ice. Note: GP = Games Played, G = Goals, A = Assists, Pts = Points Regular season The following is a list of players of note who played their first NHL game in 1995–96: Kyle McLaren, Boston Bruins Jay McKee, Buffalo Sabres Martin Biron, Buffalo Sabres Jarome Iginla*, Calgary Flames Stephane Yelle, Colorado Avalanche Jere Lehtinen, Dallas Stars Miroslav Satan, Edmonton Oilers Ed Jovanovski, Florida Panthers Jeff O'Neill, Hartford Whalers Sami Kapanen, Hartford Whalers Darcy Tucker, Montreal Canadiens Jose Theodore, Montreal Canadiens Saku Koivu, Montreal Canadiens Patrik Elias, New Jersey Devils Petr Sykora, New Jersey Devils Steve Sullivan, New Jersey Devils Bryan McCabe, New York Islanders Todd Bertuzzi, New York Islanders Daniel Alfredsson, Ottawa Senators Daymond Langkow, Tampa Bay Lightning Andrew Brunette, Washington Capitals Brendan Witt, Washington Capitals Shane Doan, Winnipeg Jets The following is a list of players of note that played their last game in the NHL in 1995–96: Cam Neely, Boston Bruins Alexei Kasatonov, Boston Bruins Troy Murray, Colorado Avalanche Paul Cavallini, Dallas Stars Bob Kudelski, Florida Panthers Jimmy Carson, Hartford Whalers Brett Lindros, New York Islanders Joe Cirella, Ottawa Senators Glenn Anderson, St. Louis Blues Greg Gilbert, St. Louis Blues Jim Sandlak, Vancouver Canucks Trading deadline: March 20, 1996.
March 20, 1996: C Jesse Belanger traded from Florida to Vancouver for Vancouver's third round pick in 1996 Entry Draft and future considerations. March 20, 1996: LW Ken Baumgartner traded from Toronto to Anaheim for Winnipeg's fourth round pick in 1996 Entry Draft. March 20, 1996: D J. J. Daigneault traded from St. Louis to Pittsburgh for Pittsburgh's sixth round pick in 1996 Entry Draft. March 20, 1996: LW Kevin Miller traded from San Jose to Pittsburgh for Pittsburgh's fifth round choice in 1996 Entry Draft and future considerations. March 20, 1996: LW Pat Conacher and Calgary's sixth round pick in 1997 Entry Draft traded from Calgary to NY Islanders for C Bob Sweeney. March 20, 1996: RW Kirk Maltby traded from Edmonton to Detroit for D Dan McGillis. March 20, 1996: D Jaroslav Modry and Ottawa's eighth round pick in 1996 Entry Draft traded from Ottawa to Los Angeles
NHL Entry Draft
The NHL Entry Draft is an annual meeting in which every franchise of the National Hockey League systematically select the rights to available ice hockey players who meet draft eligibility requirements. The NHL Entry Draft is held once every year within two to three months after the conclusion of the previous season. During the draft, teams take turns selecting amateur players from junior or collegiate leagues and professional players from European leagues; the first draft was held in 1963, has been held every year since. The NHL Entry Draft was known as the NHL Amateur Draft until 1979; the entry draft has only been a public event since 1980, a televised event since 1984. Up to 1994, the order was determined by the standings at the end of the regular season. In 1995, the NHL Draft Lottery was introduced where only teams who had missed the playoffs could participate; the one lottery winner would move up the draft order a maximum of four places, meaning only the top five-placed teams could pick first in the draft, no team in the non-playoff group could move down more than one place.
The chances of winning the lottery were weighted towards the teams at the bottom of the regular season standings. Beginning in 2013, the limit of moving up a maximum of four places in the draft order was eliminated, so the lottery winner would automatically receive the first overall pick, any teams above it in the draft order would still move down one spot; the first NHL Entry Draft was held on June 5, 1963 at the Queen Elizabeth Hotel in Quebec. Any amateur player under the age of 20 was eligible to be drafted. In 1979, the rules were changed allowing players who had played professionally to be drafted; this rule change was made to facilitate the absorption of players from the defunct World Hockey Association. The name of the draft was changed from "NHL Amateur Draft" to "NHL Entry Draft". Beginning in 1980, any player, between the ages of 18 and 20 is eligible to be drafted. In addition, any non-North American player over the age of 20 can be selected. From 1987 through 1991, 18 and 19-year-old players could only be drafted in the first three rounds unless they met another criterion of experience which required them to have played in major junior, U.
S. college and high school, or European hockey. In 1980, the Entry Draft became a public event, was held at the Montreal Forum. Prior to that year the Entry Draft was conducted in Montreal hotels or league offices and was closed to the general public; the first draft outside of Montreal was held at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre in Toronto, Ontario, in 1985. Live television coverage of the draft began in 1984 when the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation covered the event in both English and French for Canadian audiences; the 1987 Entry Draft, held at Joe Louis Arena in Detroit, was the first NHL Draft to be held in the United States. SportsChannel America began covering the event in the United States in 1989. Prior to the development of the Draft, NHL teams sponsored junior teams, signed prospects in their teens to the junior teams. Players were signed to one of three forms: the "A" form; the "C" form could only be signed by the player at age eighteen or by the player's parents in exchange for some signing bonus.
The first drafts were held to assign players who had not signed with an NHL organization before the sponsorship of junior teams was discontinued after 1968. The selection order in the NHL Entry Draft is determined by a combination of lottery, regular season standing, playoff results. While teams are permitted to trade draft picks both during the draft and prior to it, in all cases, the selection order of the draft picks is based on the original holder of the pick, not a team which may have acquired the pick via a trade or other means; the order of picks discussed in this section always references the original team. The basic order of the NHL Entry Draft is determined based on the standings of the teams in the previous season; as with the other major sports leagues, the basic draft order is intended to favour the teams with the weakest performance who need the most improvement in their roster to compete with the other teams. Subject to the results of the NHL Draft Lottery, the teams pick in the same order each round, with each team getting one pick per round.
The basic order of the picks is determined as follows: The teams that did not qualify for the playoffs the previous season The teams that made the playoffs in the previous season but did not win either their division in the regular season or play in the Conference Finals The teams that won their divisions in the previous season but did not play in the Conference Finals The teams that lose in Conference Finals The team, the runner-up in the Stanley Cup Finals The team that won the Stanley Cup in the previous season The number of teams in the second and third group depends on whether the Conference finalists won their division. The teams in each group are ordered within that group based on their point totals in the preceding regular season. Tie-breakers are governed by the same rule
2010–11 NHL season
The 2010–11 NHL season was the 94th season of operation of the National Hockey League. The Boston Bruins defeated the Vancouver Canucks in the Stanley Cup Final 4–3 to win the Stanley Cup, it was the sixth Cup win in Bruins' franchise history. For the fourth consecutive season, the season started with games in Europe; the 58th All-Star Game was held at the RBC Center in Raleigh, North Carolina, home arena of the Carolina Hurricanes, on January 30, 2011. This was the final season of operation for the Atlanta Thrashers, who were sold to True North Sports and Entertainment out of Winnipeg and moved from Atlanta to Winnipeg to become the "new" Winnipeg Jets. Winnipeg had lost its previous NHL team called the Winnipeg Jets, after the 1995–96 NHL season to Phoenix and were renamed "Phoenix Coyotes." This was the second time the city of Atlanta lost an NHL franchise, having lost the Atlanta Flames to Calgary, Alberta after the 1979–80 season. On June 23, 2010, the NHL announced; as a result, the new salary cap ceiling is set at $59.4 million, while the salary cap floor is $43.4 million.
In April 2011, the NHL reached a new television deal with NBCUniversal, acquired by Comcast earlier in the year. The 10-year, US$2 billion deal extended and unified the broadcast and cable television rights to the league, held by NBC and Versus respectively. Notable changes under the new deal included an increase in nationally televised games on Versus, a new Thanksgiving Friday game on NBC, holding exclusive rights to all playoff games beginning with the second round, plans to broadcast all playoff games nationally on NBCUniversal channels; the 2010 NHL Entry Draft took place on June 25–26, 2010, at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, home arena of the Los Angeles Kings. Taylor Hall was selected first overall in the draft by the Edmonton Oilers, Tyler Seguin was picked second by the Boston Bruins and Erik Gudbranson was chosen third by the Florida Panthers. Tom Golisano, Larry Quinn and Daniel DiPofi, owners of the Buffalo Sabres, sold their franchise to Terrence Pegula during the course of the 2010–11 season.
The league approved the sale February 18, 2011. Prior to the 2010–11 season, the first tie-breaker to separate teams with equal number of points in a conference was the number of games won, no matter how the wins were obtained. For the 2010–11 season, the league made a modification to this rule; the new rule states that the team with the greater number of games won, excluding wins obtained in the shootout, will be ranked higher. The change was made to reward in-play team victories instead of a win obtained via an individual skill contest; this figure will be tracked in an additional column in the official league standings called ROW. In its first year, the tie-breaker would prove critical, giving the 106-point, 47-win Philadelphia Flyers the Atlantic Division title over the 106-point, 49-win Pittsburgh Penguins, who were seeded fourth rather than second based on the new rule. Prior to the 2010–11 season, the Board of Governors, General Managers and the Competition Committee unanimously agreed to implement a new penalty.
An illegal hit to the head is a lateral or blind side hit to an opponent where the head is targeted and/or is the principal point of contact is not permitted. Any player who incurs a total of two game misconducts under this rule shall be suspended automatically for the next game his team plays. For each subsequent game misconduct penalty, the automatic suspension shall be increased by one game; the commissioner of the league can increase the suspension longer due to his discretion. The Pittsburgh Penguins moved to the newly constructed Consol Energy Center; the arena replaced Mellon Arena known as "The Igloo", where the Penguins had played since their inception in 1967. The Vancouver Canucks' General Motors Place was renamed Rogers Arena under a 10-year naming rights agreement with Rogers Communications; the Calgary Flames' Pengrowth Saddledome was renamed Scotiabank Saddledome. Several teams announced plans to change their uniforms in the 2010–11 season; the Buffalo Sabres, as part of their 40th anniversary season, reverted to the classic crossed swords insignia and a updated uniform based upon the style they wore from 1970 through 1996, when they left Buffalo Memorial Auditorium and moved down the street to the HSBC Arena with blue and gold trim.
The blue version was their third jersey for the past three seasons. A new third jersey in blue, featured the city's name in white script on the chest, along with "quilted" numbers on the back and a gold nameplate with blue lettering fashioning the look of the AHL's former Buffalo Bisons; the Columbus Blue Jackets unveiled a third jersey November 24 as part of their 10th season celebration. The new jersey made its debut on November 26; the Philadelphia Flyers adopted their 2010 NHL Winter Classic white uniforms as their new road uniform and dropped the black third jersey they wore since changing to Reebok's "NHL Edge" template. The New York Islanders reverted to the uniforms they made their debut back in 1972–73; the road white uniforms are from the 1972–73 season. The New York Rangers inaugurated a new third jersey; the jersey resembled the one worn by the team in its early years, notably during their Stanley Cup championship years of 1928 and 1933, but with
Jan Hlaváč
Jan Hlaváč is a Czech professional ice hockey player, a free agent. He last played for HC Vrchlabí in the Czech 2.liga. Hlaváč has played at the National Hockey League level for the New York Rangers, Philadelphia Flyers, Vancouver Canucks, Carolina Hurricanes, Tampa Bay Lightning and Nashville Predators, his first stint with the Rangers saw him play on the Czech-mate line with countrymen Radek Dvořák and Petr Nedvěd. He scored 19 goals and 42 points in 1999–2000, his rookie season, he scored an NHL career high 28 goals and 64 points in 2000–01, he was unable to duplicate his early success in Philadelphia and Carolina and returned to Europe following a second stint with New York in 2003–04. After 3 seasons in Europe, Hlaváč returned to the NHL for the 2007–08 NHL season as a member of the Tampa Bay Lightning, scoring 22 points in 62 games before being traded to the Nashville Predators. Hlaváč had decent success with Nashville, scoring 3 goals and 10 assists for 13 points in just 18 games. Hlaváč became an unrestricted free agent after the Predators decided not to retain him on July 1.
In August, he signed a one-year contract with Linköpings HC of Swedish Elitserien. July 14, 1998 - Traded by the New York Islanders to the Calgary Flames in exchange for Jörgen Jönsson. June 26, 1999 - Traded by the Calgary Flames along with Calgary's 1999 1st round and 3rd round draft choice, to the New York Rangers in exchange for Marc Savard and New York's 1999 1st round draft choice. August 20, 2001 - Traded by the New York Rangers, along with Kim Johnsson, Pavel Brendl and New York's 2003 3rd round draft choice, to the Philadelphia Flyers in exchange for Eric Lindros. December 17, 2001 - Traded by the Philadelphia Flyers, along with Tampa Bay's 2002 3rd round draft choice, to the Vancouver Canucks in exchange for Donald Brashear and Vancouver's 2002 6th round draft choice. November 1, 2002 - Traded by the Vancouver Canucks, along with Harold Druken, to the Carolina Hurricanes in exchange for Darren Langdon and Marek Malík. August 28, 2003 - Signed as a free agent with the New York Rangers.
June 14, 2007 - Signed as a free agent with the Tampa Bay Lightning. February 26, 2008 - Traded by the Tampa Bay Lightning to the Nashville Predators in exchange for a 7th round draft choice. August 7, 2008 - Signed as a free agent with Linköpings HC. Biographical information and career statistics from NHL.com, or Eliteprospects.com, or Eurohockey.com, or Hockey-Reference.com, or Legends of Hockey, or The Internet Hockey Database
Czech Republic