2013-14 NHL season
| 2013–14 NHL season | |
|---|---|
| League | National Hockey League |
| Sport | Ice hockey |
| Duration | October 1, 2013 – June 13, 2014 |
| Number of games | 82 |
| Number of teams | 30 |
| Total attendance | 52,347,789 |
| Regular season | |
| Presidents' Trophy | Boston Bruins |
| Season MVP | Sidney Crosby (Penguins) |
| Top scorer | Sidney Crosby (Penguins) |
| Playoffs | |
| Eastern champions | New York Rangers |
| Eastern runners-up | Montreal Canadiens |
| Western champions | Los Angeles Kings |
| Western runners-up | Chicago Blackhawks |
| Stanley Cup | |
| Champions | Los Angeles Kings |
| Runners-up | New York Rangers |
| Conn Smythe Trophy | Justin Williams (Kings) |
The 2013–14 NHL season was the 97th season of operation (96th season of play) of the National Hockey League (NHL). This season features a realignment of the league's 30 teams from a six to a four division format. The regular season began Tuesday, October 1, and concluded Sunday, April 13. The Stanley Cup playoffs began April 16.
The Los Angeles Kings won their second Stanley Cup championship in franchise history (second in three seasons), defeating the New York Rangers four games to one in the Finals.
The relocation of the former Atlanta Thrashers franchise to the current Winnipeg Jets in 2011 prompted the league to discuss realignment. On December 5, 2011, the NHL Board of Governors approved a conference realignment plan that would eliminate the current six-division setup and move into a four-conference structure from the 2012–2013 season. Under the plan, which was designed to better accommodate the effects of time zone differences, each team would have played 50 or 54 intra-conference games, depending on whether it was in a seven- or eight-team conference, and two games (home and road) against each non-conference team. On January 6, 2012, the league announced that the NHLPA had rejected the proposed realignment, citing concerns about fairness, travel and the inability to see a draft schedule before approving, and that as a result, it would not implement the realignment until at least 2013–14.
Upon NHLPA rejection of the previous realignment, a new joint NHL-NHLPA plan was proposed in February 2013 as a modification of the previous plan with both the Columbus Blue Jackets and Detroit Red Wings moving to the East and the Winnipeg Jets moving to the West. This revised plan also adjusted the previously proposed four-conference system to a four-division/two-conference system, with the Eastern Conference consisting of two eight-team divisions, and the Western Conference consisting of two seven-team divisions. A new playoff format was also introduced to accommodate the new proposal, with the top three teams in each division making the playoffs, along with two wild-cards in each conference (for a total of 16 playoff teams). The NHLPA officially gave its consent to the NHL's proposed realignment plan on March 7, and then the NHL's Board of Governors approved the realignment and the new playoff format on March 14, to be implemented prior to the 2013–2014 season. The league then announced the names of the divisions on July 19: the two eight-team divisions in the Eastern Conference would be the Atlantic Division and the Metropolitan Division, and the two seven-team divisions in the Western Conference would be the Central Division and the Pacific Division.
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