2009–10 NHL season | |
---|---|
League | National Hockey League |
Sport | Ice hockey |
Duration | October 1, 2009 – June 9, 2010 |
Number of games | 1319(total) 1230(reg) 89(playoffs) |
Number of teams | 30 |
Total attendance | 20,212,972(total) |
Regular season | |
Presidents' Trophy | Washington Capitals |
Season MVP | Henrik Sedin (Canucks) |
Top scorer | Henrik Sedin (Canucks) |
Playoffs | |
Eastern champions | Philadelphia Flyers |
Eastern runners-up | Montreal Canadiens |
Western champions | Chicago Blackhawks |
Western runners-up | San Jose Sharks |
Stanley Cup | |
Champions | Chicago Blackhawks |
Runners-up | Philadelphia Flyers |
Conn Smythe Trophy | Jonathan Toews (Blackhawks) |
The 2009–10 NHL season was the 93rd season of operation (92nd season of play) of the National Hockey League (NHL). 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, which is $100,000 higher than in the 2008–09 season. The salary floor was $40.8 million.
The Entry Draft was held June 26–27, 2009 at the Bell Centre in Montreal, Quebec. The New York Islanders chose John Tavares with the first overall pick. Other notable picks were Matt Duchene, Victor Hedman, Evander Kane and Oliver Ekman-Larsson.
Several teams (Calgary, Minnesota, Nashville, Florida, and Colorado) debuted new third uniforms this season, while Philadelphia and Edmonton made their third uniform their primary home jersey, and 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 (March 17 against the Pittsburgh Penguins, the first anniversary of Martin Brodeur's record breaking 552nd win) wearing their 1982–1992 uniforms, albeit transferred onto the league's current RBK Edge jersey template. In addition, NHL officials had new uniforms, which debuted at the 2009 All-Star Game.