Decade in Review Posts

• Team of the Decade - Part 1 - posted 8/3/09
• Team of the Decade - Part 2 - posted 8/6/09
• Top Deadline Deals - posted 10/19/09
• Top Waiver Steals - posted 10/26/09
• Unforgettable Playoff Moments - posted 11/3/09
• Best/Worst Rule Changes - posted 11/12/09
• Decade Awards: Vezina, Norris, and Hart - posted 11/16/09
• Worst Contract of the Decade - posted 11/25/09

Leading Scorers

Trophies

Presidents: St. Louis Blues
Art Ross: Jaromir Jagr
Calder: Scott Gomez
Conn Smythe: Scott Stevens
Selke: Steve Yzerman
Hart: Chris Pronger
Jack Adams: Joel Quenneville
Norris: Chris Pronger
King Clancy: Curtis Joseph
Lady Byng: Pavol Demitra
Lester Pearson: Jaromir Jagr
Rocket Richard: Pavel Bure
Vezina: Olaf Kolzig
Jennings: Roman Turek
Bill Masterton: Ken Daneyko

Season Highlights

• New rule gives one point for an overtime loss.
• Wayne Gretzky's jersey number was retired league-wide
• The Atlanta Thrashers joined the NHL.

Trade Deadline Deals

• New Jersey traded Brendan Morrison and Denis Pederson to Vancouver for Alexander Mogilny.
• Chicago traded Doug Gilmour, J. P. Dumont and a pick to Buffalo for Michal Grosek.
• Boston traded Ray Bourque and Dave Andreychuk to Colorado for Brian Rolston, Samuel Pahlsson, Martin Grenier and a 1st round draft pick.

Notable Retirements

• Grant Fuhr
• Esa Tikkanen
• Geoff Courtnall
• Guy Carbonneau
• Wendel Clark
• Doug Bodger

Leading Scorers

Trophies

Presidents: Colorado Avalanche
Art Ross: Jaromir Jagr
Calder: Evgeni Nabokov
Conn Smythe: Patrick Roy
Selke: John Madden
Hart: Joe Sakic
Jack Adams: Bill Barber
Norris: Nicklas Lidstrom
King Clancy: Shjon Podein
Lady Byng: Joe Sakic
Lester Pearson: Joe Sakic
Rocket Richard: Pavel Bure
Vezina: Dominik Hasek
Jennings: Dominik Hasek
Bill Masterton: Adam Graves

Season Highlights

• The Minnesota Wild and the Columbus Blue Jackets joined the NHL
• Mario Lemieux came out of retirement after three and a half years out of the game.
• The L.A. Kings pulled off a huge upset, beating the Red Wings in Round 1.
• Ray Bourque finally won the Cup and retired, after coming over to the Avalanche.

Trade Deadline Deals

• Atlanta traded Donald Audette to Buffalo for Kamil Piros and a pick.
• Calgary traded Cory Stillman to St. Louis for Craig Conroy and a pick.
• Columbus traded Kevyn Adams and a pick to Florida for Ray Whitney.
• Montreal traded Trevor Linden, Dainius Zubrus and a pick to Washington for Richard Zednik, Jan Bulis and a 1st-round pick.
• Phoenix traded Keith Tkachuk to St. Louis for Michal Handzus, Ladislav Nagy, Jeff Taffe and a 1st-round pick.
• San Jose traded Johan Hedberg and Bobby Dollas to Pittsburgh for Jeff Norton.
• Anaheim traded Teemu Selänne to San Jose for Jeff Friesen, Steve Shields and pick.
• LA traded Rob Blake and Steve Reinprecht from Los Angeles for Adam Deadmarsh, Aaron Miller, and 2 picks.

Notable Retirements

• Paul Coffey
• Kevin Hatcher
• Ray Bourque
• Larry Murphy
• Tony Granato
• Joe Murphy

Leading Scorers

Trophies

Presidents: Detroit Red Wings
Art Ross: Jarome Iginla
Calder: Dany Heatley
Conn Smythe: Niklas Lidstrom
Selke: Michael Peca
Hart: Jose Theodore
Jack Adams: Bob Francis
Norris: Nicklas Lidstrom
King Clancy: Ron Francis
Lady Byng: Ron Francis
Lester Pearson: Jarome Iginla
Rocket Richard: Jarome Iginla
Vezina: Jose Theodore
Jennings: Patrick Roy
Bill Masterton: Saku Koivu

Season Highlights

• Canada won Gold at the Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City, Utah.
• The Red Wings won another Cup, downing the surprising Carolina Hurricanes.

Trade Deadline Deals

• Chicago traded Jaroslav Spacek and a pick to Columbus for Lyle Odelein.
• Dallas traded Joe Nieuwendyk and Jamie Langenbrunner to New Jersey for Jason Arnott, Randy McKay and a 1st round draft pick.
• Edmonton traded Tom Poti and Rem Murray to NY Rangers for Mike York a pick.
• Florida traded Pavel Bure and a pick to the New York Rangers for Igor Ulanov, rights to Filip Novak and 2 picks.

Notable Retirements

• Mike Vernon
• Steve Duchesne
• John Vanbiesbrouck
• Stephane Richer
• Kevin Stevens
• Rick Tocchet
• Gary Suter
• Ray Ferraro
• Dmitri Khristich

Leading Scorers

Trophies

Presidents: Ottawa Senators
Art Ross: Peter Forsberg
Calder: Barret Jackman
Conn Smythe: Jean-Sebastien Giguere
Selke: Jere Lehtinen
Hart: Peter Forsberg
Jack Adams: Jacques Lemaire
Norris: Nicklas Lidstrom
King Clancy: Brendan Shanahan
Lady Byng: Alexander Mogilny
Lester Pearson: Markus Naslund
Rocket Richard: Milan Hejduk
Vezina: Martin Brodeur
Jennings: Martin Brodeur, Roman Cechmanek & Robert Esche
Bill Masterton: Steve Yzerman

Season Highlights

• The Ottawa Senators were in bankruptcy for most of the season and had a hard time paying their players.
• The Minnesota Wild made the playoffs for the first time.
• The Mighty Ducks pulled off one of the biggest upsets of all time by sweeping the defending champion Red Wings.
• The New Jersey Devils one their 3rd Cup in 8 seasons.
• J.S. Giguere wins the Conn Smythe on the losing team.

Trade Deadline Deals

• Edmonton traded Anson Carter and Ales Pisa to NY Rangers for Radek Dvorak and Cory Cross.
• Edmonton traded Janne Niinimaa and a pick to NY Islanders for Brad Isbister and Raffi Torres.
• Los Angeles traded Mathieu Schneider to Detroit for Sean Avery, Maxim Kuznetsov, and 2 picks.
• Montreal traded Doug Gilmour to Toronto for a pick.
• NY Islanders traded Chris Osgood and a pick to St. Louis for Justin Papineau and a pick.

Notable Retirements

• Theo Fleury
• Patrick Roy
• Kirk Muller
• Mike Richter
• Pavel Bure
• Adam Graves
• Tom Barrasso
• Phil Housley
• Doug Gilmour

Leading Scorers

Trophies

Presidents: Detroit Red Wings
Art Ross: Martin St. Louis
Calder: Andrew Raycroft
Conn Smythe: Brad Richards
Selke: Kris Draper
Hart: Martin St. Louis
Jack Adams: John Totorella
Norris: Scott Niedermayer
King Clancy: Jarome Iginla
Lady Byng: Brad Richards
Lester Pearson: Martin St. Louis
Rocket Richard: Rick Nash, Jarome Iginla, Ilya Kovalchuk
Vezina: Martin Brodeur
Jennings: Martin Brodeur
Bill Masterton: Bryan Berard

Season Highlights

• The schedule format changed to increase the number of divisional games at the expense of inter-conference games. Horrible idea.
• Dany Heatley's tragic accident took the life of teammate Dan Snyder.
• The Nashville Predators made the playoffs for the first time in their short history.
• The Tampa Bay Lightning win their first Stanley Cup, then are forced to break up their star lineup due to salary cap constraints.
• Three players tied for the goal lead, sharing the Rocket Richard trophy.

Trade Deadline Deals

• Carolina traded Ron Francis to Toronto for a pick.
• Columbus traded Geoff Sanderson to Vancouver a pick.
• NY Rangers traded Martin Rucinsky to Vancouver for R. J. Umberger and Martin Grenier.
• Boston traded Jeff Jillson to San Jose for Brad Boyes.

Notable Retirements

• Vincent Damphousse
• Ron Francis
• Al MacInnis
• Mark Messier
• Adam Oates
• Scott Stevens

Leading Scorers

Trophies

Presidents: Detroit Red Wings
Art Ross: Joe Thornton
Calder: Alex Ovechkin
Conn Smythe: Cam Ward
Selke: Rod Brind'amour
Hart: Joe Thornton
Jack Adams: Lindy Ruff
Norris: Niklas Lidstrom
King Clancy: Olaf Kolzig
Lady Byng: Pavel Datsyuk
Lester Pearson: Jaromir Jagr
Rocket Richard: Jonathan Cheechoo
Vezina: Miikka Kiprusoff
Jennings: Miikka Kiprusoff
Bill Masterton: Teemu Selanne

Season Highlights

• On July 13, 2005, the lockout ended and the salary cap was born.
• OLN (later Versus) took over broadcasting rights, as ESPN felt bowling was more important.
• The shootout was introduced to NHL.
• Joe Thornton was traded to the San Jose Sharks, making him the first player to win the Art Ross and Hart trophies playing for more than one team.
• The NHL took a break in February for the Winter Olympics in Italy.
• On Jan. 16, Alex Ovechkin scored the best goal in NHL history.
• Rick Tocchett was accused of being involved in an illegal gambling ring.
• Alex Ovechkin beats out Sidney Crosby for Rookie of the Year.
• For the first time in 27 years, the St. Louis Blues missed the playoffs.
• The top 4 seeds in the West were embarassed in the first round, allowing 8th seeded Edmonton to make it to the finals, only to lose to the Hurricanes in 7 games.

Trade Deadline Deals

• Carolina acquired Mark Recchi from Pittsburgh for Niklas Nordgren, Krystofer Kolanos, and a pick.
• Nashville acquired Brendan Witt from Washington for Kris Beech and a 1st round pick.
• Edmonton acquired Sergei Samsonov from Boston for Marty Reasoner, Yan Stastny, and a pick.

Notable Retirements

• Dave Andreychuk
• Brett Hull
• Brian Leetch
• Mario Lemieux
• Alexander Mogilny
• Keith Primeau
• Luc Robitaille
• Steve Yzerman

Leading Scorers

Trophies

Presidents: Buffalo Sabres
Art Ross: Sidney Crosby
Calder: Evgeni Malkin
Conn Smythe: Scott Niedermeyer
Selke: Rod Brind'amour
Hart: Sidney Crosby
Jack Adams: Alain Vigneault
Norris: Niklas Lidstrom
King Clancy: Saku Koivu
Lady Byng: Pavel Datsyuk
Lester Pearson: Sidney Crosby
Rocket Richard: Vincent Lecavalier
Vezina: Martin Brodeur
Jennings: Niklas Backstrom & Manny Fernandez
Bill Masterton: Phil Kessel

Season Highlights

• Rookie Evgeni Malkin scores a goal in each of his first six NHL games.
• The Anaheim Ducks set a record by playing the first 16 games of the season without a regulation loss.
• Chris Simon was suspended an NHL-record 25 games for sticking Ryan Hollweg in the face.
• Marty Brodeur set a record with 48 wins.
• The Atlanta Thrashers made the playoffs for the first time, but fell 4-0 to the Rangers.
• The Ducks became the first team from California bring home the Cup.
• A host of legendary jersey retirements, including: Mario Lemieux, Brett Hull, Steve Yzerman, Luc Robitaille, Serge Savard and Mark Messier

Trade Deadline Deals

• San Jose acquired Bill Guerin from St. Louis for Ville Nieminen, Jay Barriball, and a pick.
• Detroit acquired Todd Bertuzzi from Florida for Shawn Matthias and a draft pick.
• St. Louis acquired Brad Boyes from Boston for Dennis Wideman.
• New York Islanders acquired Ryan Smyth from Edmonton for Robert Nilsson, Ryan O'Marra and a 1st round pick.

Notable Retirements

• Peter Bondra
• Sean Burke
• Eric Lindros
• Joe Nieuwendyk
• Pierre Turgeon

Leading Scorers

Trophies

Presidents: Detroit Red Wings
Art Ross: Alex Ovechkin
Calder: Patrick Kane
Conn Smythe: Henrik Zetterberg
Selke: Pavel Datsyuk
Hart: Alex Ovechkin
Jack Adams: Bruce Boudreau
Norris: Nicklas Lidstrom
King Clancy: Vincent Lecavalier
Lady Byng: Pavel Daysyuk
Lester Pearson: Alex Ovechkin
Rocket Richard: Alex Ovechkin
Vezina: Mary Brodeur
Jennings: Hasek & Osgood
Bill Masterton: Jason Blake

Season Highlights

• NHL reveals new Reebok jerseys as the season opens in London
• Al Arbour made a guest appearance, coaching his 1,500th game with the New York Islanders and earned his 740th win with the team.
• Mike Modano became the all-time career point record for a U.S. born player.
• Pens and Sabres meet in an entertaining Winter Classic outdoor game in the snow.
• Richard Zednik suffered a severe injury to his throat with a Jokinen's skate hit him.
• The All Star game was held in Atlanta. Atlanta originally was scheduled to host the game during the lockout season.
• In December, Marian Gaborik scored five goals in a game versus the Rangers, making him the only player to do it this decade.
• On February 19, Montreal was down 5-0 to the New York Rangers and came back to win the game
• Lidstrom became the first European captain to win the Stanley Cup.

Trade Deadline Deals

• San Jose acquired Brian Campbell and a pick from Buffalo for Steve Bernier and a pick.
• Detroit acquired Brad Stuart from Los Angeles for 2 draft picks.
• Pittsburgh acquired Marian Hossa and Pascal Dupuis from Atlanta for Colby Armstrong, Erik Christensen, Angelo Esposito and a pick.
• Dallas acquired Brad Richards and Johan Holmqvist from Tampa Bay for Jussi Jokinen, Jeff Halpern, Mike Smith, and a draft pick.
• Washington acquired Cristobal Huet from Montreal for a draft pick.

Notable Retirements

• Dominik Hasek
• Trevor Linden
• Glen Wesley

Leading Scorers

Trophies

Presidents: San Jose Sharks
Art Ross: Evgeni Malkin
Calder: Steve Mason
Conn Smythe: Evgeni Malkin
Selke: Pavel Datsyuk
Hart: Alexander Ovechkin
Jack Adams: Claude Julien
Norris: Zdeno Chara
King Clancy: Ethan Moreau
Lady Byng: Pavel Datsyuk
Lester Pearson: Alexander Ovechkin
Rocket Richard: Alexander Ovechkin
Vezina: Tim Thomas
Jennings: Tim Thomas/Manny Fernandez
Bill Masterton: Steve Sullivan

Season Highlights

• Season opens in Europe with Ottawa/Pittsburgh in Sweden and NYR/Tampa Bay in the Czech Republic. Coaches of all four teams would be fired during the season.
• Sean Avery suspended by the Stars for some classy remarks. He was later brought back to the only team who can stand to have him around.
• Phoenix Coyotes financial woes were made public. Everyone gets tired of hearing about it.
• Winter Classic held in Chicago with the Wings humbling the up and coming Blackhawks
• Brodeur gets hurt early in the season, putting a couple records on hold. He later passed Roy for most wins in history.
• Dan Bylsma takes over the Pens and takes them on a dominating run to and through the playoffs
• Columbus Blue Jackets make the playoffs for the first time.
• Pens and Caps meet in a hyped 2nd-round series that exceeded expectations
• Pens revenge their loss against the Redwings, downing them in 7 games

Trade Deadline Deals

• Columbus acquired Antoine Vermette from Ottawa for Pascal Leclaire and a draft pick.
• Calgary acquired Olli Jokinen from Phoenix for Matthew Lombardi, Brandon Prust, and a draft pick.
• Rangers acquired Nik Antropov from the Toronto Maple Leafs for draft picks.
• Carolina acquired Patrick O'Sullivan and a pick from Los Angeles for Justin Williams.
• Edmonton acquired Patrick O'Sullivan and a pick from Carolina for Erik Cole and a draft pick.

Notable Retirements

• Markus Naslund
• Gary Roberts
• Jeremy Roenick
• Joe Sakic
• Mats Sundin