Martin Brodeur

Martin Brodeur

Martin Pierre Brodeur (born May 6, 1972, in Montreal, Quebec) is a Canadian professional ice hockey goaltender who has played his entire National Hockey League career with the New Jersey Devils. He has led the team to three Stanley Cup championships and has taken them to the playoffs all but once in his 15-year tenure. He holds more than thirty Devils franchise records.

Brodeur has been among the NHL's most consistent goaltenders over the past decade, winning at least 35 games each of the last eleven seasons as well as being the only goalie in NHL history with seven 40-win seasons. He is a four-time Vezina Trophy winner, a four-time Jennings Trophy winner, a ten-time NHL All Star, and one of only two National Hockey League goaltenders to have scored goals in the regular season and the playoffs. In the 2006–07 NHL season, Brodeur surpassed Terry Sawchuk and Ed Belfour on the all-time wins list and Glenn Hall on the all-time shutouts list to rank 2nd in each of those categories. He also passed Bernie Parent's record of 47 single-season wins with his 48th win on April 5, 2007.

Brodeur is considered a hybrid style goalie, which differs from the typical butterfly style of his native Quebec. He is best known for his reflexes, especially with his glove hand, his puck handling, and his positional play.

Brodeur's success followed his father Denis, who was considered an outstanding goaltender. He played in the 1956 Olympics for Team Canada and won a bronze medal. After his playing career was over, Denis was a longtime photographer for the Montreal Canadiens. For more than 20 years, he attended all Montreal games and practices, and when Martin was old enough he came along. Martin idolized their goaltender Patrick Roy.

Brodeur's play in goal soon got him noticed by fans and scouts. In 1990, he made it to the Quebec Major Junior League, the same league that produced Roy, Félix Potvin and several other NHL goalies. While playing with the Saint-Hyacinthe Laser, Brodeur made the QMJHL All-Rookie team and the QMJHL 2nd All-Star Team in 1992. He played in the league for three years before being drafted.

Brodeur was drafted in the first round, 20th overall, from Saint-Hyacinthe, in the 1990 NHL Entry Draft by the New Jersey Devils. In the 1991-92 NHL season, he was called up to the Devils for four games during the regular-season when Devils' goaltenders Chris Terreri and Craig Billington became injured, and played in one playoff game. He spent most of the season and the entire following season with the Utica Devils of the AHL. However, in 1994 Brodeur gained recognition when he won the Calder Trophy, an annual award for the best rookie in the NHL, after leading the Devils to the second best record in the league and the Conference finals in the playoffs, where they lost to the New York Rangers in seven games. He finished 2nd in goals against average and 4th in save percentage during the regular season, helping him eventually land the starting job over Terreri.

After a year of success, the Devils were in the middle of the pack for most of the 1995–96 NHL season and barely missed the playoffs. Brodeur played in 74 (of a possible 82) games, setting a single-season record for most minutes played by a goalie, while having the 2nd most shutouts in the league. He was named the starter in the All-Star game for the Eastern Conference, and stopped all 12 shots he faced. He finished fourth in voting for the Vezina Trophy, which is awarded to the league's top goaltender. Brodeur also played on Team Canada during the 1996 World Cup of Hockey, where Canada lost to the United States in the gold medal match.

In the 1996–97 season, the Devils finished 3rd in the NHL and played the Montreal Canadiens in the first round of the playoffs. In the first game of the series on April 17, 1997, with the Devils up by two goals late in the game, Brodeur fired the puck the length of the ice and into the Canadiens' empty net to ensure a 2-0 victory. It was only the second time in NHL history that a goaltender had scored in the playoffs, and the fifth time overall. The Devils went on to win that series, but lost in the second round to the rival New York Rangers once again. Brodeur was runner-up for the Vezina, was named to his second all-star team, and had the lowest goals-against-average by a goalie in almost thirty years, earning him the Jennings Trophy. He also had 10 shutouts and a .927 save-percentage.

The following year, Brodeur had 43 wins and 10 shutouts in the regular–season. The Devils finished first in the Eastern Conference, but lost in the first round of the playoffs to the eighth-seeded Ottawa Senators. Once again, Brodeur made the All-Star Team, finished as a runner up for the Vezina, and took home the Jennings Trophy.

In the 1998–99 season, the Devils finished first in the Eastern Conference for the third straight year, with Brodeur winning 39 games. He was among the contenders for the Vezina Trophy and started in the All-Star game, making his fourth appearance. However, Devils lost in the first round of the playoffs yet again, this time to the Pittsburgh Penguins. It was by far the worst playoff performance in Brodeur's 5-year career, as he allowed 20 goals in 7 games with an .856 save percentage.

During the 1999–2000 NHL season, on February 15, 2000, Brodeur was credited with his second career goal, as Brodeur was the last Devils player on the ice to touch the puck before Simon Gagne of the Philadelphia Flyers accidentally put the puck into his own empty net during a delayed penalty call against the Devils. Brodeur had previously tapped the puck behind his net, stopping an attempted wrap-around by a Flyer.

That season, Brodeur won 43 games for the second time in his career, and the Devils finished with the fourth seed in the Eastern Conference after losing the division to the Philadelphia Flyers by two points. Brodeur helped the Devils sweep the Florida Panthers in the first round, giving up only six goals in four games. In the next round against the Toronto Maple Leafs he recorded two shutouts, including one in the final game of the series as the Devils went on to win four games to two, setting up a showdown with rival Philadelphia in the Eastern Conference Finals. The Flyers took a commanding 3–1 series lead and had home ice to close out the series, but Brodeur gave up only one goal in each of the remaining three games of the series, propelling the Devils to the surprising come from behind series victory in 7 games. They went on to play the Dallas Stars in the Stanley Cup Finals, who had a higher seed but fewer regular season points, giving the Devils home ice advantage in the series. After taking game one with a 7-goal rally against Dallas, the Devils were led by Brodeur the rest of the way as he gave up only six goals in the next five games, giving the team their second Stanley Cup Championship in six years.

The next year, Brodeur topped the 40-win mark for the third time in his career, despite having an average GAA and save-percentage throughout the season. He played in the All-Star Game for the 6th consecutive season, and helped the Devils earn the top seed in the Eastern Conference. In the first round Brodeur recorded two shutouts against the Carolina Hurricanes and the Devils took the series in six games. After struggling to beat 7th-seeded Toronto in seven games, the Devils had little trouble defeating the 6th-seeded Penguins in the Eastern Conference Finals, where Brodeur added two more shutouts, both on the road. In their second straight Stanley Cup finals appearance, the Devils played a back-and-forth series against the top seeded Colorado Avalanche. But with a 3–2 series lead and a game at Continental Airlines Arena to close out the series, a lack of offense, unnecessary penalties and mediocre play from Brodeur combined to lead to two consecutive losses and a Colorado Stanley Cup victory in seven games.

In the 2001–02 NHL season, Brodeur finished among the league leaders in wins and GAA. Brodeur continued to lead the league in victories and remained a Vezina and MVP candidate. The next year, in 2002–03, Brodeur finally achieved what had been eluding him his whole career: the Vezina Trophy. He also won the Jennings Trophy again, was a Hart Memorial Trophy finalist for the league's Most Valuable Player, and was named a 1st Team All-Star and started in the All-Star Game. With one of the most impressive playoff performances of his career, Brodeur guided the Devils to their third Stanley Cup victory after dramatic seven-game series wins against the top-seeded Ottawa Senators and the surprising 7th-seeded Mighty Ducks of Anaheim. He posted 3 shutouts against Anaheim and had a playoff total of 7 overall, breaking Dominik Hašek's NHL record of 6 (Hasek had recorded his 6 shutouts for Detroit the previous year). Despite this, the Conn Smythe Trophy for playoff MVP was awarded to Anaheim goaltender Jean-Sébastien Giguère, who became the first player not on the championship team to be named playoff MVP since Ron Hextall of Philadelphia in 1987. Some hockey writers speculated a New Jersey player did not win because there were multiple candidates, resulting in a split vote among the sportswriters who selected the winner.

In the 2003–04 NHL season, Brodeur won his second consecutive Vezina Trophy and Jennings trophy. He was also a first Team All-Star, a starter in the NHL All-Star Game, and a finalist for the Hart Trophy again. The Devils lost the Atlantic Division title by 1 point to the Philadelphia Flyers, who had obtained the 3-seed and home ice advantage against the sixth seeded Devils in the first round of the playoffs. This would be too much for Brodeur and the Devils to overcome, as the Flyers went on to defeat them in five games.

After the lockout canceled the 2004–05 NHL season, Brodeur signed a contract extension with the Devils on January 27, 2006, that will pay him $31.2 million over six years. In the 2005–06 NHL season he posted 43 wins, adding on to his NHL records of what was now five 40-win seasons and ten consecutive 30-win seasons. After struggling early in the season, his impressive play later on made him a finalist for the Vezina Trophy for the third straight year, and helped lead the Devils to a surprising comeback in the last two months of the season that resulted in them winning the Atlantic Division in the final game of the year. In the first round of the playoffs, he beat the Rangers for the first time in his career, leading the Devils to a four-game sweep. But a 4–1 series loss to the Carolina Hurricanes eliminated the Devils in the next round.

During the time in between the lockout and the time the NHL returned, the league instituted a new rule preventing goaltenders from playing the puck behind the net beyond a trapezoid-shaped zone. This was viewed by many as singling out Brodeur, who is known for his puckhandling ability, and has come to be known as the "Brodeur Rule".

In the 2006–07 NHL season, Brodeur made his ninth NHL All-Star Game appearance in Dallas, Texas, won his third Vezina Trophy and rose on several NHL records lists. On December 9, 2006, he posted a 2–0 victory over the Philadelphia Flyers for his 462nd career win, moving him into 2nd place on the all-time list ahead of active goalie Ed Belfour of the Florida Panthers. Just a few weeks later, on December 26, Brodeur beat the Pittsburgh Penguins 3–0 to record his 85th career shutout, moving him past Glenn Hall for 3rd place on that all-time list and 1st place among all active goalies. On February 1, 2007, Brodeur beat the Philadelphia Flyers 6–5 in overtime to take the all-time lead in overtime (non-shootout) wins with 45, passing childhood idol Patrick Roy. The Devils first 38 wins of the season were all with Brodeur in net, leading him to set a NHL record for most consecutive wins for a team.

On April 3, 2007, Brodeur tied the NHL record for most wins in a single season with 47, set by Bernie Parent in 1973–74, in a 2-1 shootout victory against the Ottawa Senators. Two days later, he broke the record with his 48th win in a 3–2 victory over the Philadelphia Flyers, which helped the Devils clinch their seventh Atlantic Division title and the second seed in the Eastern Conference.

In the Eastern Conference Quarterfinals against the seventh-seeded Tampa Bay Lightning, Brodeur started out shaky and the Devils fell behind two games to one. He would come back strong however to finish the series, and helped the team advance in six games while passing Grant Fuhr for second place in all-time playoff victories. In the second round against the Ottawa Senators, Brodeur could not continue his stellar play and allowed 15 goals in only 5 games en route to a 4-1 series victory for the Senators.

In the 2007–08 NHL season, Brodeur became the second goalie in NHL history to reach 500 wins with a victory against the Philadelphia Flyers on November 17, 2007. The only other goalie to achieve the feat is Patrick Roy. Brodeur was also named the starting goalie for the Eastern Conference in the 2007–08 NHL All Star Game in Atlanta. However, he was unable to participate because of a family obligation. New York Islanders goalie Rick DiPietro took over as starter of the game, while Boston Bruins goalie Tim Thomas took the last spot for goalies.

In the opening round of the 2008 NHL playoffs, following a bitter series against the rival New York Rangers, Brodeur and Sean Avery refused to shake each other's hand. During game three of the series, in an unusual move, Avery turned to face Brodeur during a 5-on-3 power play, and began waving his hands and stick in front of Brodeur's face in an effort to distract him. The day after this game the NHL announced that it had revised its unsportsmanlike conduct rule, effectively outlawing such antics.

Brodeur started wearing a new painted mask design for the 2008–09 NHL season with a stylized "MB30" on the front, replacing the "J" that had been on his mask for his entire NHL career. During a game on November 1, 2008, Brodeur suffered a "bruised elbow" which would later be diagnosed as a torn distal biceps tendon, the first major injury in his career. Following surgery on November 6, he would miss 16 weeks of the season before playing his next game on February 26, 2009. Upon returning from the injury, Brodeur registered a 4-0 shutout against the Colorado Avalanche for his 99th career shutout. Three days later, he recorded his 100th career shutout against the Philadelphia Flyers, three short of Terry Sawchuk's NHL record 103.

Brodeur was selected as Team Canada's back-up goalie to Patrick Roy for the 1998 Winter Olympics in Nagano, Japan; but did not get to play. He has never forgiven Roy for demanding to start every game according to his book. Canada failed to win a medal after losing the bronze-medal match to Finland, a game in which many people thought Brodeur should have played.

In the 2002 Olympics at Salt Lake City, Utah, Brodeur won gold for Canada, playing in every game except the tournament opener against Sweden. He had the best GAA in the tournament and went undefeated, stopping 31 of 33 shots in the gold-medal victory over Team USA.

Brodeur was most recently selected as Team Canada's starter in the 2006 Winter Olympics in Turin, Italy. He started in 4 of 6 games, but Canada failed to win a medal after losing to Russia in the quarterfinals.

Martin and Melanie Dubois (a native of Saint-Liboire, Quebec, Canada) married in 1995 and have four children: Anthony, born in 1995; twin sons, William and Jeremy, born in 1996; and Annabelle Antoinette, born in 2002. Melanie filed for divorce during the 2003 playoffs amid reports that Martin was having an affair with Genevieve Nault, the wife of Melanie's brother. The incident added some fuel to the fire for hecklers during the playoffs. Martin and Genevieve got married in June 2008.

Brodeur is regarded as a brilliant chef and an engaging raconteur in his spare time. He has hosted a street hockey tournament in his hometown of St. Leonard, Quebec, for each of the Devils' Stanley Cup championships, where he plays his childhood position of forward. His oldest brother, Denis Jr., is a photographer like their father, and his other older brother, Claude, was a pitcher in the Montreal Expos' farm system. Martin also has two sisters, Line and Sylvie.

In 2005 Brodeur began co-authoring his autobiography, Brodeur: Beyond the Crease, with long-time Toronto Star columnist and ESPN contributor Damien Cox, which was released in October 2006. Some of the things Brodeur talks about in the book are player salaries and contracts, NHL marketing, Lou Lamoriello, and the Devils' new arena in Newark, the Prudential Center. Brodeur also includes his views on the "new NHL" after the lockout, and how it affects his career. The book's photographs were shot by Martin's father, Denis.

Brodeur resides in West Orange, New Jersey, near the Devils former practice facility, South Mountain Arena. According to his autobiography, he enjoys spending time in his native Montreal in the off-season.

The official website of Brodeur, MartinBrodeur30.com, was launched before the start of the 2008-09 NHL season. The website is available in both English and French (Brodeur's first language). According to the site, Brodeur co-owns a business called "La Pizzeria Etc." with former teammate Sheldon Souray. The idea came about after Souray was traded to play in Montreal, the city in which the business now operates.

Brodeur is a co-owner of the Spa D'howard, also based in his native Quebec.

Bolded numbers indicate league leader.

Records are through the 2007–08 season.

Bolded numbers indicate tournament leader.

Brodeur is the youngest goaltender in NHL history to reach the 300, 400 and 500 regular season win plateaus. His 300th victory came on December 15, 2001. with a 39-save shutout against the Ottawa Senators at the Corel Centre. His 400th victory was on March 23, 2004, at the Office Depot Center in Sunrise, Florida, as the Devils defeated the hometown Florida Panthers. Brodeur stopped twenty-one shots, and needed to work overtime to get the win. With the victory he also became the first goaltender to win 400 games playing every game for the same team. He reached the 500 win plateau on November 17, 2007, against the Philadelphia Flyers, with a 6 to 2 win; Brodeur is second only to Patrick Roy who retired with 551 wins in regular season NHL games.

On December 23, 2007, he recorded his 95th career shutout by blanking the Calgary Flames 1-0 in overtime. The shutout places him second all-time to Terry Sawchuck (103 shutouts), breaking a tie with George Hainsworth.

On March 15, 2008, he recorded his 40th win of the season giving him the most seasons with 40 wins, seven.

On March 1, 2009, he recorded his 100th career shutout in a 3-0 win against the Philadelphia Flyers.

In over 14 seasons with the New Jersey Devils, Brodeur has acquired more than 30 franchise records, including most all-time, regular season and playoff wins, shutouts, games and minutes played by a goalie, shots faced, points by a goalie, losses, ties, and goals allowed as well as lowest goals-against-average and highest save percentage. He is also on several notable NHL records lists as listed below. Note: none of the below records include the current (2008–09) season and will be updated upon its completion.

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National Hockey League

The National Hockey League (NHL) is a professional ice hockey league composed of 30 teams in North America. It is considered to be the premier professional ice hockey league in the world, and one of the North American major professional sports leagues. The Stanley Cup, the oldest professional sports trophy in North America, is awarded annually to the league champion at the end of each season.

The league was formed in 1917 in Montreal, Quebec, Canada from a predecessor organization, the National Hockey Association (NHA), founded in 1909. It started with four teams, and through a series of expansions, contractions and relocations, the league is now composed of 30 teams, 24 of which are based in the United States and six in Canada. After a labour dispute that led to the cancellation of the entire 2004–05 season, the league has staged a successful comeback, including revenue and profit growth.

The NHL draws many highly skilled players from all over the world. Currently, the league has players from about 20 different countries. Canadians have historically constituted a large majority of the players in the NHL because both the sport and the league originated in Canada. In the past 25 years, the percentages of American and European players have increased because of the NHL's continued expansion into the United States, its high standard of play compared to other leagues, and the availability of highly skilled European players.

After a series of disputes in the Canadian National Hockey Association (NHA) between Eddie Livingstone, who was the owner of the Toronto Blueshirts, and other owners, the owners of the Montreal Canadiens, Montreal Wanderers, Ottawa Senators, and Quebec Bulldogs met at the Windsor Hotel in Montreal to talk about the NHA's future. Their discussions eventually led to the creation of the National Hockey League on November 22, 1917. Three former NHA franchises, the Canadiens, Wanderers and Senators were founding members of the NHL, along with a new Toronto franchise. Because of the dispute, the Toronto team was given temporarily to the Toronto Arena Corp to operate, and is often referred to as the Arenas, though they operated without a nickname.

On January 18, 1958, a milestone in the NHL's history occurred, as the first black Canadian person ever to play in the NHL stepped onto the ice for the Boston Bruins, Fredericton, New Brunswick-born left wing Willie O'Ree. He would play in 45 games for the Bruins, in the 1957-58 and 1960-61 seasons, scoring six goals and ten assists in his NHL career.

By the mid 1960s, the desire for a network television contract in the U.S., and concerns that the Western Hockey League was planning to declare itself a major league and challenge for the Stanley Cup, spurred the NHL to undertake its first expansion since the 1920s. Six new teams were added to the NHL roster in 1967, and were placed in their own newly-created division. Two teams each were added in California, Pennsylvania, and the Mississippi River valley. The teams were the Los Angeles Kings, Oakland Seals (later folded), Pittsburgh Penguins, Philadelphia Flyers, Minnesota North Stars (Dallas Stars since 1993), and St. Louis Blues. Three years later, the NHL added the Vancouver Canucks and Buffalo Sabres.

In 1972, the World Hockey Association (WHA) was formed, the first potential rival to the NHL in decades. Although it was at first publicly dismissed as a threat by the NHL owners, the NHL decided to rush its own expansion plans in 1972 by adding the New York Islanders and Atlanta Flames (which became the Calgary Flames in 1980) to forestall WHA franchises in newly constructed arenas in those markets, followed by the addition of the Kansas City Scouts (which became the Colorado Rockies in 1976 before becoming the New Jersey Devils in 1982) and Washington Capitals two years later. The two leagues fought for the rights of players and fans until the WHA folded in 1979 as part of an agreement whereby four of the remaining six WHA teams would enter the NHL as expansion teams: the Hartford Whalers (the Carolina Hurricanes since 1997), Québec Nordiques (the Colorado Avalanche since 1995), Edmonton Oilers, and Winnipeg Jets (the Phoenix Coyotes since 1996).

With the expansion in 1974, the NHL was aligned into 2 conferences. These conferences, the Clarence Campbell (representing the west) and the Prince of Wales (representing the east) each had 2 divisions. The Campbell's divisions were the Lester Patrick and Conn Smythe; while the Wales' divisions were the Jack Adams and James Norris (The Norris and Patrick divisions switched conferences for the 1981-82 season). This changed in 1993 when the NHL was realigned into geographical conferences (East & West), divided into two divisions--three divisions since 1998-99. The Eastern Conference currently consists of the Atlantic, Southeast, and Northeast while the Western is made up of the Central, Northwest, and Pacific. Reasons for realignment include further expansion into the U.S. and efforts to expand the NHL's breadth of audience.

After a period of stability in the 1980s, the NHL further expanded with nine new franchises in ten years. The San Jose Sharks entered in 1991; a season later the Ottawa Senators would return to the NHL along with the addition of the Tampa Bay Lightning. In 1993, the league added two additional teams, the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim and the Florida Panthers. Next came the Nashville Predators in 1998, the Atlanta Thrashers in 1999, and then the Minnesota Wild and the Columbus Blue Jackets in 2000, bringing the total to 30 teams.

There have been three league-wide work stoppages in NHL history, all happening between 1992 and 2005.

The first was a strike by the National Hockey League Players Association in April 1992 which lasted for 10 days, but the strike was settled quickly and all affected games were rescheduled. A lockout at the start of the 1994–95 season forced the league to reduce the schedule from 84 games to just 48, with the teams playing only intra-conference games during the reduced season. The resulting collective bargaining agreement was set for renegotiation in 1998 and extended to September 15, 2004.

With no new agreement in hand when the existing contract expired on September 15, 2004, league commissioner Gary Bettman announced a lockout of the players union and cessation of operations by the NHL head office. The lockout shut down the league for 310 days, the longest in sports history; the NHL was the first professional sports league to lose an entire season. The league vowed to install what it dubbed "cost certainty" for its teams, but the NHL Players Association countered that the move was little more than a euphemism for a salary cap, which the union initially said it would not accept. A new collective bargaining agreement was ratified in July 2005 with a term of six years with an option of extending the collective bargaining agreement for an additional year at the end of the term, allowing the NHL to resume as of the 2005–06 season.

On October 6, 2005, the first post-lockout NHL season took to the ice with 15 games, and consequently all 30 teams. Of those 15 games, 11 were in front of sell-out crowds. The NHL received record attendance in the 2005–06 season. 20,854,169 fans, an average of 16,955 per game, was a 1.2% increase over the previous mark held in the 2001–02 season. Also, the Montreal Canadiens, Calgary Flames, Colorado Avalanche, Minnesota Wild, and the Vancouver Canucks sold out all of their home games; all six Canadian teams played to 98% capacity or better at every home game. 24 of the 30 clubs finished even or ahead of their 2003–04 mark. The Pittsburgh Penguins had the highest increase at 33%, mainly because of 18-year-old first overall draft pick Sidney Crosby. After losing a season to a labour dispute in 2005, attendance figures for League teams have returned to solid ground; but the League's TV audience has not because of ESPN's decision to drop the sport from its schedule. The NHL League's current agreement with NBC gives the sport a share of revenue from each game's advertising sales, rather than the usual lump sum paid up front for game rights. The NHL is estimated to earn annual revenue of around $2.27 billion.

Each National Hockey League regulation game is an ice hockey game played between two teams and is 60 minutes long. The game is composed of three 20-minute periods with an intermission of either 15½ or 17 minutes (if nationally televised) between periods. Television timeouts are taken at the first stoppage of play after 6, 10, and 14 minutes of elapsed time unless there is a power play or the first stoppage is the result of a goal. In these cases, the timeout will occur at the first stoppage after the penalty expires or the next stoppage after the goal, respectively. A new rule was introduced for the 2007-08 season that if the first stoppage of play is an icing, the TV timeout does not occur. This is to prevent players from getting a break despite not being allowed to change. At the end of the 60-minute regulation time, the team with the most goals wins the game. If a game is tied after regulation time, overtime ensues. During the regular season, overtime is a five-minute, four-player on four-player sudden-death period, in which the first team to score a goal wins the game. Until the 2005–06 season, if no team was able to score in the five-minute overtime, the game ended in a tie.

Beginning in the 2005–06 season, if the game is still tied at the end of overtime, the game enters a shootout. Three players for each team in turn take a penalty shot. The team with the most goals during the three-round shootout wins the game. If the game is still tied after the three shootout rounds, the shootout continues but becomes sudden death. Whichever team ultimately wins the shootout is awarded a goal in the game score and thus awarded two points in the standings. The losing team in overtime or shootout is awarded only one. Shootout goals and saves are not tracked in hockey statistics; shootout statistics are tracked separately.

Shootouts do not occur during the playoffs. In the playoffs, sudden-death 20-minute five-on-five periods are played until one team scores. While a game could theoretically continue forever, only four games have reached five overtime periods, two have reached six, and none have gone beyond six. There are no television timeouts during playoff overtime periods; the only break is to clean the loose ice at the first stoppage after the period is halfway finished.

National Hockey League games are played on an oblong hockey rink, similar to a rectangle with rounded corners, and surrounded by a wall. It measures 25.91 by 60.92 metres (85 by 200 ft) in the NHL, while international standards call for a rink measuring 29–30 metres by 60–61 metres (95.14–98.43 ft by 196.85–200.13 ft). The center line divides the ice in half, and is used to judge icing violations. There are two blue lines that divide the rink roughly into thirds, which divide the ice into two attacking and one neutral zone. Near the end of both ends of the rink, there is a thin red goal line spanning the width of the ice, which is used to judge goals and icing calls.

Starting in the 2005–2006 season, after testing in the American Hockey League, a trapezoidal area behind each goal net has been introduced. The goaltender can only play the puck within that area or in front of the goal line; if the goaltender plays the puck behind the goal line and not in the trapezoidal area, a 2 minute minor penalty for delay of game is assessed by the referees.

While the National Hockey League follows the general rules of ice hockey, it differs slightly from those used in international games organized by the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) such as the Olympics. Infractions of the rules can lead to either the stoppage of play in the case of offside and icing calls, or a penalty call for more serious infractions.

During the 2004–05 lockout, the league changed some of the rules regarding being offside. First, the league removed the "offside pass" or "two-line pass" rule, which required a stoppage in play if a pass originating from inside a team's defending zone was completed on the offensive side of the center line, unless the puck crossed the line before the player. Furthermore, the league reinstated the "tag-up offside" which allows an attacking player a chance to get back onside by returning to the neutral zone. The changes to the offside rule were one of several rule changes intended to increase overall scoring, which had been in decline since the expansion years of the mid-nineties.

Another rule difference between the NHL and the IIHF rules concerns how icings are called. In the NHL, a linesman stops play due to icing if a defending player (other than the goaltender) touches the puck before an attacking player is able to, in contrast to the IIHF rules where play is stopped the moment the puck crosses the goal line. As a result of the rule changes following the 2004–05 lockout, when a team is guilty of icing the puck they are not allowed to make a line change before the following faceoff.

The NHL and IIHF differ also in penalty rules. The NHL, in addition to the minor and double minor penalties called in IIHF games, calls major penalties which are more dangerous infractions of the rules, such as fighting, and have a duration of five minutes. This is in contrast to the IIHF rule, in which players who fight are ejected from the game. Usually a penalized team cannot replace a player that is penalized on the ice and is thus shorthanded for the duration of the penalty, but if the penalties are coincidental, for example when two players fight, both teams remain at full strength. Also, unlike minor penalties, major penalties must be served to their full completion, regardless of number of goals scored during the power play.

The NHL and the NHLPA created a stringent anti-doping policy in the new CBA of September 2005. The policy provides for a 20-game penalty for a first positive test, 60 games for a second positive test, and a third offence resulting in a permanent ban.

The National Hockey League originated in 1917 with four teams, and through a sequence of team expansions, reductions, and relocations currently consists of 30 teams, 24 of which are based in the United States and six in Canada. The Montreal Canadiens are the most successful franchise with 24 Stanley Cup championships; in the four major North American professional sports leagues the Montreal Canadiens are only surpassed in the number of championships by the New York Yankees of Major League Baseball, who have two more. The next most successful franchise is the Toronto Maple Leafs with 13 Stanley Cup championships, but they have not won one since 1967. The Detroit Red Wings, with 11 Stanley Cup championships, is the most successful American franchise. The longest streak of winning the Stanley Cup in consecutive years is five, held by the Montreal Canadiens from 1955–56 to 1959–60; the New York Islanders (1980–1983) and the Montreal Canadiens (1976–1979) have four-year championship streaks. The 1977 edition of the Montreal Canadiens, the second of four straight Stanley Cup champions, was named by ESPN as the second greatest sports team of all-time.

Of all the major leagues in North America, the NHL is the only league to field teams that play in two countries' capital cities, Ottawa and Washington, DC.

The current league organization divides the teams into two conferences. Each conference has three divisions, and each division has five teams. The current organization has roots in the 1998–99 season where a league realignment added two divisions to bring the total number of divisions to six; the current team alignment began with the 2000–2001 season when the Minnesota Wild and the Columbus Blue Jackets joined the league as expansion teams.

The National Hockey League season is divided into an exhibition season (September), a regular season (from the first week in October through early to mid April) and a postseason (the Stanley Cup playoffs). During the regular season, clubs play each other in a predefined schedule. The Stanley Cup playoffs, which goes from April to the beginning of June, is an elimination tournament where two teams play against each other to win a best-of-seven series in order to advance to the next round. The final remaining team is crowned the Stanley Cup champion. Beginning in 2007, the NHL regular season has begun in Europe while teams not involved complete their exhibition schedule. The 2008–2009 season began with the Pittsburgh Penguins facing off against the Ottawa Senators in Stockholm, Sweden and the New York Rangers taking on the Tampa Bay Lightning in Prague, Czech Republic.

In the regular season, each team plays 82 games; 41 games at home and 41 on the road. Each team plays 24 games in its division (6 against each divisional opponent), and 40 games against non-divisional intra-conference opponents. That is, 4 games against each team in its conference, but not in its own division. Each team plays every team in the other conference at least once (one game each against 12 teams and two games against the remaining 3 teams). Prior to the 2008-2009 season, teams played 32 games within their division (8 games against each team in the division) and 10 inter-conference games (1 game against each team in two of the three divisions in the opposite conference). The two divisions from the opposite conference which each team plays against were rotated every year, much like interleague play in Major League Baseball. As with the current system, each team played 4 games against the other 10 teams in its conference, but not in its own division.

Points are awarded for each game, where two points are awarded for a win, one point for losing in overtime or a shootout, and zero points for a loss in regulation. Among major professional sports leagues, the NHL is the only one to award a team points for losing in overtime.

At the end of the regular season, the team that finishes with the most points in each division is crowned the division champion. The league's overall leader is awarded the Presidents' Trophy. The three division champions along with the five other teams in each conference with the next highest number of points, for a total of 8 teams in each conference, qualify for the playoffs. The division winners are seeded one through three (even if a non-division winner has a higher point total), and the next five teams with the best records in the conference are seeded four through eight. The Stanley Cup playoffs is an elimination tournament, where two teams battle to win a best-of-seven series in order to advance to the next round. The first round of the playoffs, or conference quarterfinals, consists of the first seed playing the eighth seed, the second playing the seventh, third playing the sixth, and the fourth playing the fifth. In the second round, or conference semifinals, the NHL re-seeds the teams, with the top remaining conference seed playing against the lowest remaining seed, and the other two remaining conference teams pairing off. In the third round, the conference finals, the two remaining teams in each conference play each other, with the conference champions proceeding to the Stanley Cup Finals.

In each round the higher-ranked team is said to be the team with the home-ice advantage. Four of the seven games are played at this team's home venue — the first and second, and, when necessary, the fifth and seventh games — with the other games played at the lower-ranked team's home venue. In the Stanley Cup Finals, the team with the most points during the regular season is given home-ice advantage, regardless of where each team ranks in their own conference.

The National Hockey League presents a number of trophies each year. The most prestigious team award is the Stanley Cup, which is awarded to the league champion at the end of the Stanley Cup playoffs. The team that has the most points in the regular season is awarded the Presidents' Trophy. There are also numerous trophies that are awarded to players based on their statistics during the regular season; they include, among others, the Art Ross Trophy for the league scoring champion (goals and assists), the Maurice 'Rocket' Richard Trophy for the goal-scoring leader, and the William M. Jennings Trophy for the goalkeeper(s) for the team with the fewest goals against them. For the 2006–07 season these statistics-based trophies were awarded to Sidney Crosby of the Pittsburgh Penguins, Vincent Lecavalier of the Tampa Bay Lightning, and, dually, Niklas Bäckström and Manny Fernandez of the Minnesota Wild respectively.

The other player trophies are voted on by the Professional Hockey Writers Association or the team general managers. The most prestigious individual award is the Hart Memorial Trophy which is awarded annually to the Most Valuable Player; the voting is conducted by members of the Professional Hockey Writers Association to judge the player who is the most valuable to his team during the regular season. The Vezina Trophy is awarded annually to the person deemed the best goalkeeper as voted on by the general managers of the teams in the NHL. The James Norris Memorial Trophy is awarded annually to the National Hockey League's top defenceman, the Calder Memorial Trophy is awarded annually to the top rookie, and the Lady Byng Memorial Trophy is awarded to the player deemed to combine the highest degree of skill and sportsmanship; all three of these awards are voted on by members of the Professional Hockey Writers Association.

In addition to the regular season awards, the Conn Smythe Trophy is awarded annually to the most valuable player during the NHL's Stanley Cup playoffs. Furthermore, the top coach in the league wins the Jack Adams Award as selected by a poll of the National Hockey League Broadcasters Association. The National Hockey League publishes the names of the top three vote getters for all awards, and then names the award winner during the NHL Awards Ceremony.

One interesting aspect for the trophies in the NHL is that the same trophy is reused every year for each of its awards. The Stanley Cup, much like its CFL counterpart, is unique in this aspect, as opposed to the Vince Lombardi Trophy, Larry O'Brien Trophy, and Commissioner's Trophy, who have new ones made every year for that year's champion. Despite only one trophy being used, the names of the teams winning and the players are engraved every year on the Stanley Cup. The same can also be said for the other trophies reissued every year.

Players, coaches, officials, and team builders who have had notable careers are eligible to be voted into the Hockey Hall of Fame. Players cannot enter until three years have passed since their last professional game, the shortest such time period of any major sport. One unique consequence has been Hall of Fame members (specifically, Gordie Howe, Guy Lafleur, and Mario Lemieux) coming out of retirement to play once more. In the past, however, if a player was deemed significant enough, the pending period would be waived; only ten individuals have been honoured in this manner. In 1999, Wayne Gretzky became the last player to have the three-year restriction waived, and after Gretzky's induction, the NHL declared that he would be the last to have the waiting period omitted.

The reigning Hart Trophy winner (given to the league's most valuable player) is Alexander Ovechkin.

The top five point scoring forwards in the 2007–08 season were Alexander Ovechkin, Evgeni Malkin, Jarome Iginla (all current Hart Trophy nominees), Pavel Datsyuk and Joe Thornton. The top goal scorer was Alexander Ovechkin with 65, followed by Ilya Kovalchuk (52) and Jarome Iginla (50). The top four scoring defencemen were Nicklas Lidstrom, Sergei Gonchar, Mark Streit, and Brian Campbell and the top goaltenders (by wins) were Evgeni Nabokov (46), Martin Brodeur (44), Miikka Kiprusoff (39), Henrik Lundqvist (37), and Cam Ward (37).

In addition to Canadian and American born and trained players, who have historically composed a large majority of NHL rosters, the NHL also draws players from an expanding pool of other nations where organized and professional hockey is played. Since the collapse of the Soviet Bloc, restrictions on the movement of hockey players from this region have lessened and there has been a large influx of European players into the NHL such as Alexander Ovechkin, Ilya Kovalchuk, Pavel Datsyuk, Miika Kiprusoff, and Jaromir Jagr. European players were drafted and signed by NHL teams in an effort to bring in more "skilled offensive players". Although recently there has been a decline in European players as more American players enter the league. The addition of European players changed the style of play in the NHL and European style hockey has been integrated in to the NHL game. Conversely Canadian coaches and the Canadian style of play have been embraced by many European countries. Because of the continued success of Canadian teams in world tournaments many other countries are trying to model their development programs after Hockey Canada's. In Winter Olympic years, the league voluntarily suspends its season so that NHL players can play in the Winter Olympics, representing their native countries (though this practice may end after the 2010 Winter Olympics, which will be held in an NHL city, Vancouver). Currently the NHL has players from 18 different countries, with the majority (52.0 percent during the 2007–08 NHL season) coming from Canada.

In Canada, National Hockey League games are aired nationally by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) and The Sports Network (TSN). Regional games are broadcast by a number of networks including Rogers Sportsnet (RSN). French language games are broadcast by the Réseau des sports (RDS) and Réseau Info-Sports (RIS), but no longer on Radio-Canada (the French-language counterpart of the CBC), a change which has caused controversy in French Canada. The program Hockey Night in Canada, usually aired on Saturday nights on CBC, is a long-standing Canadian tradition dating to 1952, and even prior to that on radio since the 1920s. During the playoffs, the CBC airs all games that involve Canadian teams and the Stanley Cup finals; TSN airs certain other games during the first three rounds.

In the United States NHL games are aired nationally by Versus (previously the "Outdoor Life Network" and "OLN"), and by NBC. NBC replaced the previous over-the-air network, ABC, and has a revenue-sharing agreement with the NHL. Versus replaced ESPN as the cable network; Comcast, which owns Versus, offered a two-year $120 million agreement, while ESPN offered a revenue sharing agreement.

Versus had about 20 million fewer subscribers than ESPN when the NHL started on Versus, but Comcast switched Versus from a digital tier to basic cable to make NHL games available to more cable subscribers. For Versus the NHL coverage was a good addition as Versus' ratings grew by about 275% when it showed an NHL game.

The 2007 Stanley Cup Finals were the lowest rated in the United States in history. As a whole, the television ratings on NBC were down 20% from the 2006 series, with Game 3's coverage on NBC garnering a mere 1.1 rating (approximately 1,205,600 households), making it the lowest rated prime-time broadcast in the network's history. However, coverage in Canada on CBC pulled in 2,608,000, 2,378,000, and 2,553,000 (for Games 1, 2, and 3 respectively), slightly higher than their numbers for the first three games in 2006. Comparatively, in 1994, when the New York Rangers were involved, Game 7 of the Stanley Cup finals posted a rating of 6.9.

Although 2007 saw low Stanley Cup Finals ratings, the 2008 series between Detroit and Pittsburgh drew one of the highest Stanley Cup ratings ever with strong 4.4 as the high overnight rating.

XM Satellite Radio is the official satellite radio broadcaster of the NHL, as of July 1, 2007. Between September 2005 and June 2007, the NHL's broadcasting rights were shared with both XM and Sirius Satellite Radio and were broadcast on just Sirius before the NHL lockout. XM used to broadcast more than 80% of NHL games, including all the play-offs and finals. Starting with the 2007–08 season, XM broadcasts every game.

Outside of North America, NHL games are broadcast across Europe on NASN (North American Sports Network) which takes feeds from Versus, FSN, TSN and CBC (including Hockey Night in Canada), and MSG. Games can also be seen in the UK on Five, on Fox Sports in Australia and on Viasat Sport in Russia.

The NHL is considered one of the four major professional sports leagues in the North America, along with Major League Baseball, the National Football League, and the National Basketball Association. In the US, hockey has the smallest total fan base of the four leagues, the smallest revenue from television, and the least sponsorship. In contrast, hockey is the most popular of these four major sports in Canada. NHL season ticket prices have traditionally been higher (given the number of games per season) than the other sports.

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Patrick Roy

Patrick Jacques Roy (pronounced ), (born October 5, 1965, in Sainte-Foy, Quebec, Canada) is a retired ice hockey goaltender. Nicknamed "St. Patrick", Roy split his professional career between the Montreal Canadiens and Colorado Avalanche of the National Hockey League, winning two Stanley Cup championships with each franchise. In 2004, Roy was selected as the greatest goaltender in NHL history by a panel of 41 writers, coupled with a simultaneous fan poll. On November 13, 2006, Roy was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame. He is the only player in NHL history to have won the Conn Smythe Trophy, the award given to the most valuable player in the Stanley Cup playoffs, three times. His number 33 is retired by both the Montreal Canadiens and Colorado Avalanche.

He is currently the co-owner, general manager, and head coach of the Québec Remparts of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League.

Patrick was raised in the suburb of Sainte-Foy by his parents Michel and Barbara. He became interested in being a hockey goalie when he was seven years old. After playing for the local Sainte-Foy Gouverneurs, he started his professional career with the Sherbrooke Canadiens of the American Hockey League.

Roy was drafted 51st overall in the 1984 NHL Entry Draft by the Montreal Canadiens, which he disliked, being a fan of the rivals Quebec Nordiques. His grandmother, Anna Peacock, who was a big Canadiens fan, died before seeing her grandson being drafted. Roy kept playing for the Bisons, before being called up by the Canadiens. Despite the thoughts that he wasn't going to play, on February 23, 1985, he made his NHL debut when he replaced the Canadiens starting goaltender Doug Soetaert in the third period. Roy played for 20 minutes and earned his first NHL win without allowing a goal. After the game, he was sent to the Sherbrooke Canadiens of the American Hockey League. Despite starting as a backup, Roy replaced the starting goaltender after he had equipment troubles during a game. He got a win, became the starting goaltender for the playoffs and led the team to a Calder Cup championship with ten wins in 13 games.

In the following season, Roy started playing regularly for the Montreal Canadiens. He played 47 games during the regular season and won the starting job for the playoffs, where he emerged as a star, leading his team to an unexpected Stanley Cup title and winning a Conn Smythe Trophy for the Most Valuable Player. As a 20-year old, he became the youngest Conn Smythe winner ever and was chosen for the NHL All-Rookie Team.

Nicknamed St. Patrick after the victory, Roy continued playing for the Canadiens, who won the Adams Division in 1987–88 and in 1988–89, when they lost to the Calgary Flames in the Stanley Cup finals. Roy, together with Brian Hayward, won the William M. Jennings Trophy in 1987, 1988 and 1989. In both 1989 and 1990, he won the Vezina Trophy for best goaltender in the NHL and was voted for the NHL 1st All-Star Team. In 1991–92, the Canadiens won the Adams Division again, with Roy having a very successful individual year, winning the William M. Jennings Trophy, the Vezina Trophy and being selected for the NHL 1st All-Star Team. Despite the successful regular season, the Canadiens were swept in the second round by the Boston Bruins, who stopped their playoff run for the fourth time in five years.

In the 1993 playoffs, after the Canadiens lost their first two games to their archrival Quebec Nordiques in the first round series, a newspaper in Roy's hometown district suggested that he be traded. Nordiques goaltending coach Dan Bouchard also proclaimed that his team had solved Roy. These comments seemed to fire up Roy, who responded by winning the next four games against the Nordiques, sweeping the Buffalo Sabres in the next round, and winning the first three against the New York Islanders to complete an eleven post-season game winning streak. Roy set a record during the post-season with 10 straight overtime wins, won the Stanley Cup, and was once again the Conn Smythe Trophy winner.

In 1994, the Canadiens were the defending champions but they were knocked out in the first round by the Boston Bruins. Nonetheless, that seven game series was notable in the eyes of Montreal fans as Roy came down with appendicitis and missed game three. He convinced doctors to let him return for Game Four and led the Canadiens to a 5-2 victory, stopping 39 shots.

On December 2, 1995, Roy was in net against the Detroit Red Wings during Montreal's worst home game in franchise history, an 11-1 loss. Roy allowed nine goals on 26 shots, and the crowd jeered him whenever he made an easy save. In response, Roy raised his arms in mock celebration. When coach Mario Tremblay finally pulled Roy in the middle of the second period, Roy stormed past him and told team president Ronald Corey "It's my last game in Montreal." Roy later told the media that despite allowing five goals on 17 shots in the first, Tremblay kept him in net in order to humiliate him. He also said that he would not have demanded a trade if Tremblay had kept him on the bench in the second period. Roy and Tremblay reportedly had a lengthy, strained relationship; during his sports radio career, Tremblay often criticized Roy, and when they played together, they would argue during practice. This began what would become a long history of problems between Roy and the Detroit Red Wings, which would reach their peak during his time with the Avalanche.

Three days after the incident, the Canadiens traded Roy and captain Mike Keane to the Colorado Avalanche in exchange for Jocelyn Thibault, Martin Rucinsky, and Andrei Kovalenko, which is sometimes called "Le Trade" ("The Trade"). After the trade, the Canadiens did not have a solid starting goaltender until José Théodore arrived in 2001. Since Le Trade, the Canadiens have won only four playoff series and missed the post-season several times; In contrast, Roy enjoyed great success in Colorado and won two Stanley Cups and two Presidents' Trophies. Montreal Gazette columnist Jack Todd, in a nod to other teams that have struggled since making odd personnel decisions, has written numerous times that the Canadiens are under "The Curse of St. Patrick." In hindsight, the trade was one of the most one-sided deals in NHL history. In 2004, ESPN called Roy's trade to Colorado a steal, and one of the worst moves ever made during the first 25 years of ESPN's existence. Canadiens General Manager Réjean Houle, who was in his first year on the job, was criticized for making the trade instead of resolving the tension between Roy and Tremblay.

The same season he was traded to the Avalanche, Roy helped lead the team to their first Stanley Cup. He played for Colorado until his retirement in 2003, adding another Cup and capturing a record third Conn Smythe Trophy in 2001.

In the 1996 Western Conference semi-finals between the Colorado Avalanche and the Chicago Blackhawks, Jeremy Roenick was stopped by Roy on a break-away during OT in game 4, while apparently being tackled by an Avalanche player. The referees did not call for a penalty shot on the play and the Avalanche won in triple overtime on Joe Sakic's game winning goal. Earlier in game 3, Roenick scored on an unchallenged breakaway to tie the score at 3 and send the game to overtime; the Blackhawks ended up winning the game.

Roy and the Avalanche beat the Blackhawks in 6 games and went on to win the Cup.

Roy was a huge part of the Avalanche/Detroit Red Wings rivalry. During the Red Wings-Avalanche brawl in 1997, he fought Wings goalie Mike Vernon. The next season, he fought another Red Wings goalie, Chris Osgood. The Avalanche and Red Wings met in the playoffs four times after 1996, with both teams winning two series.

His final game was played against the Minnesota Wild on April 22, 2003, in a game seven overtime loss in the western conference quarterfinals of the NHL playoffs.

At the press conference to announce his retirement, Roy was asked by a reporter which NHL player he feared the most when playing. Roy replied that there was no one he feared when playing.

Roy was selected as Team Canada's starting goalie for the 1998 Winter Olympics in Nagano, Japan. He refused to give up a start, even though many people thought backup Martin Brodeur deserved to start in the bronze medal game. Roy played all six games, and Canada failed to win a medal. Roy had a 4-2 record with one shutout.

After retiring from the NHL, Roy joined the Quebec Remparts of the QMJHL as vice president of hockey operations. He is also owner and general manager. On September 29, 2005, he was also named head coach of the team.

On May 28th, 2006, the Quebec Remparts won the Memorial Cup (top Canadian Hockey League tournament), beating the Moncton Wildcats 6-2 in the finals (although the Remparts were only the runner-up in the 2006 QMJHL championship, they were able to participate in the Memorial Cup since the QMJHL champions were the host city — see Memorial Cup, 1983 to present). Patrick Roy is the 7th coach to win the cup on his rookie year, and the first to do so since Claude Julien with the Hull Olympiques in 1997.

On January 19, 2007, Saguenay Police investigated an incident involving Roy and co-owner of the Chicoutimi Saguenéens, Pierre Cardinal. There were reports that Roy threw punches at the co-owner after he intervened in order to disperse a crowd of hockey fans that were blocking the Remparts bus after a game between the two clubs. A complaint for assault had been filed against Roy who may face assault charges in the matter. Montreal newspaper Le Journal de Montréal reported that Roy later apologized to the victim by telephone.

In a press conference following a Remparts game on January 21, 2007, Roy said that he was "suffering prejudice on the part of the media" and believed that he was not guilty of the incident. He then questioned his future as head coach and co-owner of the team, even considering resigning from his duties. On January 25, 2007, Cardinal announced that he removed his complaint against Roy, before Roy made a press conference about his future in the Quebec Remparts, where he announced he will stay coach and co-owner of the team.

On March 22, 2008, in Chicoutimi, Quebec, Roy was involved in another on-ice incident during Game 2 of a first-round playoff series against the rival Saguenéens. Late in the second period, in which the Saguenéens were leading Quebec 7-1, a brawl started and Remparts goaltender Jonathan Roy, who is also Patrick's son, charged towards opposing goaltender Bobby Nadeau. Roy hit Nadeau numerous times despite the other goalie indicating he didn't want to fight. After knocking Nadeau down, Roy continued to hit him. Roy fought a second Saguenéens player, then skated off the ice while holding both middle fingers up to the crowd. Coach Roy denied inciting his son to fight even though cameras showed Roy making a gesture towards his son while he was advancing towards Nadeau. After investigation by the league office, Jonathan was suspended for seven games and fined $500 while Patrick was suspended for five games and fined $4,000. The Quebec Ministry of Public Safety has launched a police investigation into the matter. In late July 2008, Jonathan was charged with assault in Saguenay courts.

On November 21, 2008, Roy's other son found trouble playing for the Remparts, when centre Frederick Roy cross-checked an opponent in the head after a stoppage in play, Frederick was ultimately suspended 15 games by the QMJHL for that incident, which occurred the night before Patrick Roy's jersey retirement ceremony in Montreal.

Patrick Roy married Michèle Piuze on June 9, 1990. They have 3 children: Jonathan, Frederick and Jana. His sons, Frederick and Jonathan, play for the team that he coaches, the Québec Remparts. Roy was arrested for domestic violence on Sunday, October 22, 2000, and was released on $750 bail. Roy and his wife were in an argument, and his wife made a hangup call to 911. Police found physical damage to the house and took Roy into custody. Roy was later cleared of all charges when the presiding judge dismissed the case, citing it did not meet the standard for criminal mischief in a case of domestic violence. The couple divorced in early 2006.

Since the 1980s, Roy has been a significant contributor to the Ronald McDonald House charity.

Roy was known for superstitious quirks. He never skated on the blue lines, often talked to the net posts, and he never talked to reporters on days in which he was scheduled to play. By refusing to touch the lines in the ice between periods, he had to jump them.

In 1989, 1990, and 1992 Roy won the Vezina Trophy as the NHL's best goaltender. He won the Jennings Trophy (fewest goals allowed) in 1987, 1988, 1989 (all shared with Brian Hayward), 1992, and 2002. He led the league in shutouts and goals against average twice, was named a First Team All-Star four times, a Second Team All-Star twice, and played in eleven All-Star games. Roy has also won a record three Conn Smythe Trophies as NHL Playoff MVP (1986, 1993, and 2001).

Among the many goaltending NHL records Roy holds are career wins (551), career games played (1029), career playoff wins (151), and career playoff games played (247).

The Avalanche retired Roy's #33 jersey on October 28, 2003, while the Montreal Canadiens retired Roy's #33 on November 22, 2008. This makes Roy the sixth NHL player to have his number retired by two different organizations. At the news conference announcing Roy's jersey retirement, Roy stated that it was time for him to move on in regards to what happened in 1995, and that he hoped the Canadiens would do the same. Roy was elected to the Hockey Hall of Fame in 2006, in his first year of eligibility.

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Florida Panthers

The Florida Panthers are a professional ice hockey team based in Sunrise, Florida, a suburb of Ft. Lauderdale, Florida. They are members of the Southeast Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League (NHL). They play their games at the BankAtlantic Center in Sunrise.

Blockbuster Video magnate H. Wayne Huizenga was awarded an NHL franchise for his native Miami on December 10, 1992. The Panthers were brought into the league with the Anaheim Ducks and took part in the 1993 expansion draft, which was hosted by Quebec. The expansion draft produced 10 players that would be a part of the 1996 Eastern conference championship team. The team played at the Miami Arena, and its first major stars were New York Rangers goaltender castoff John Vanbiesbrouck, rookie Rob Niedermayer, and Scott Mellanby, who scored 30 goals. Their first game was a 4-4 tie on the road against the Chicago Blackhawks. The first win in franchise history was a 2-0 shutout against the Tampa Bay Lightning in the Thunderdome before a then NHL record crowd of 27,227. The Panthers had one of the most successful first seasons of any expansion team (and the best first year of any NHL team), finishing one point below .500 and narrowly missing out on the final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference. Their first-year success was attributed mainly to the "trap defense" that first-year coach Roger Neilson implemented. This conservative style was widely criticized by NHL teams; some even suggested that the Panthers were ruining the game at the time.

After missing another close brush with the playoffs in 1995, Neilson was fired and replaced by Doug MacLean. The team then acquired Ray Sheppard from the San Jose Sharks at the trade deadline in 1996 and looked toward the playoffs for the first time.

Also during that season, a very unusual goal celebration developed in Miami. On the night of the Panthers' 1995-96 home opener, a rat scurried across the team's locker room. Mellanby reacted by "one-timing" the rat against the wall, killing it. That night he scored two goals, which Vanbiesbrouck quipped was "a rat trick." Two nights later, as the story found its way into the world, a few fans threw rubber rats on the ice in celebration of a goal. The rubber rat count went from 16 for the third home game to over 2,000 during the playoffs.

In the 1996 playoffs, as the fourth seed, the Panthers faced the Boston Bruins in the first round and won in 5 games. Billy Lindsay's famous series-clinching goal is still a trademark image for the incredible run the third-year franchise went on. The Cats went on to upset the top seeded Philadelphia Flyers in six and then the second seeded Pittsburgh Penguins in seven with Tom Fitzgerald scoring what would end up being the game winning goal to reach the Stanley Cup Final. Their opponent, the Colorado Avalanche, swept the Panthers in four games. Uwe Krupp scored the winning goal on a slap shot from the blue line for the Avalanche in the third overtime of game 4 to defeat the Panthers 1-0. Colorado was led by captain Joe Sakic in the franchise's first year in Denver after moving from Quebec.

The Panthers would begin the next season with a 17–game unbeaten streak but faded in the second half of the season. They lost in the first round of the playoffs to the Wayne Gretzky-led Rangers in five games.

The 1997–98 season would be a return to mediocrity for the Panthers. After a 7–12–4 start, the Panthers fired coach Doug MacLean, replacing him for the season with General Manager Bryan Murray. The change didn't aid matters, as Florida suffered a franchise-worst 24–43–15 record, including a 15–game winless streak. This season would also mark the end of Vanbiesbrouck's time in Florida, who in the midst of that streak, was shelled by the Chicago Blackhawks and never played another game for the Panthers. He would sign with the Flyers that off-season as a free agent.

The Panthers moved into the brand new National Car Rental Center (now known as BankAtlantic Center) in 1998. In 1999, they acquired Pavel Bure (the "Russian Rocket"), in a blockbuster trade with the Vancouver Canucks. They reached the playoffs again in 2000, losing in a first-round sweep to the eventual Stanley Cup Champion New Jersey Devils.

The team slumped in 2000–01. The following season, 2001–02, the Panthers had their worst record ever. Bure struggled despite being reunited with his brother Valeri, and was traded to the Rangers at the 2002 trading deadline.

In 2003, the Panthers hosted the NHL All-Star Weekend in which the Western Conference earned a 6–5 victory after the first OT shootout in All-Star history. The West overcame a four-goal outburst by Thrashers winger Dany Heatley, who took home MVP honors in his first All-Star Game.

On June 23, 2006, the Panthers were again involved in a blockbuster trade with the Vancouver Canucks, sending Roberto Luongo, Lukas Krajicek, and a sixth-round draft pick in exchange for Todd Bertuzzi, Alex Auld, and Bryan Allen. This trade has been regarded by some as one of the worst trades in professional sports history. Luongo went on to be a success in Vancouver, challenging Martin Brodeur for the Vezina trophy each of the past two seasons. Bertuzzi only played a handful of games for the Cats before getting injured. He would be traded to Detroit Red Wings at the trade deadline. Alex Auld ended up being a poor replacement for the Panthers former franchise goalie and was subsequently traded to the Boston Bruins after one season.

On June 22, 2007, the Florida Panthers were involved in yet another draft day deal involving a goalie. The Florida Panthers acquired Tomas Vokoun from the Nashville Predators in exchange for three draft picks, a first round pick in 2008, a second round pick in 2008, and a conditional second round pick that can be used in 2007 or 2008. The move would eventually pay off when Vokoun was selected to the Eastern Conference All-Star team.

On July 28, 2007 the Florida Panthers unveiled their new jerseys to over 11,000 fans at the BankAtlantic Center during the first intermission of the Panthers 1996 Reunion game. Star forwards Nathan Horton and Stephen Weiss were both in full gear to help showcase the sweater changes.

As of 2008, the Florida Panthers are the only team in the NHL to have a lifetime winning percentage of .500 or better over the Montreal Canadiens, the winningest team in the NHL history with 24 Stanley Cup titles.

The 2008 season marked the seventh straight season that the Panthers have missed the playoffs.

In June 2008, the Panthers traded their captain Olli Jokinen to the Phoenix Coyotes for a second round draft pick and two defensemen, Keith Ballard and Nick Boynton.

Records as of the end of the 2007–08 season.

Updated March 4, 2009.

These are the top-ten point-scorers in franchise history. Figures are updated after each completed NHL regular season.

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New Jersey Devils

The New Jersey Devils are a professional ice hockey team based in Newark, New Jersey. They are members of the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League (NHL). The club was founded in Kansas City, Missouri in 1974, moved to Denver, Colorado after only two seasons, and then settled in New Jersey in 1982. Under current general manager Lou Lamoriello, the Devils have made the playoffs in 18 out of the last 20 seasons, including each of the last 11. They won the Stanley Cup in 1995, 2000, and 2003.

The Devils play their home games in Newark at the Prudential Center, which first opened for the 2007-08 season. Previously, they played at the Continental Airlines Arena in East Rutherford, New Jersey, which is now named the Izod Center.

They have rivalries with their trans-Hudson neighbor, the New York Rangers, and with the Philadelphia Flyers. The Devils or Flyers won the Atlantic Division title in every season between 1995 and 2007.

In 1974, the NHL ended its first expansion period by adding teams in Kansas City, Missouri and Washington, D.C. The Kansas City franchise was to be called the Mohawks, since the Kansas City metropolitan area includes portions of Missouri and Kansas. However, the Chicago Black Hawks objected to the similarity. The team was renamed the Scouts after a statue in the city.

On October 9, 1974, the Scouts took the ice for the first time at Maple Leaf Gardens in Toronto and lost 6-2 to the Maple Leafs. Due to a rodeo being held in Kansas City's brand-new Kemper Arena, the Scouts were forced to wait nine games before making their home debut. Although they lost that game to the Black Hawks 4–3, the next night they beat their expansion brethren, the Washington Capitals, 5-4. Like most expansion teams, the Scouts were terrible, garnering only 41 points in their inaugural season. The next season, they won only 12 games—still the worst in franchise history. The Scouts failed to make the playoffs in either season in Kansas City and won only 27 of 160 games.

Although they were better than the Capitals (who won only eight games in their inaugural season), the Scouts began to suffer from an economic downturn in the Midwest. For their second season, the Scouts sold just 2,000 of 8,000 season tickets and were almost $1 million in debt. Due to their various on- and off-ice disappointments, the franchise moved to Denver and was renamed the Colorado Rockies.

The team made a fresh start in Colorado, winning its first game 4-2 over Toronto. They picked up momentum and looked like a possible playoff contender, but things collapsed in February, and the Rockies finished the 1976–77 season with a record of 20-46-14; good for 54 points. The next season, despite finishing with fewer wins (they finished 21 games under .500), they managed to edge the Vancouver Canucks out of the last playoff spot by two points, but were quickly eliminated by the Philadelphia Flyers in the first round of the 1978 Stanley Cup playoffs.

A lack of stability continually dogged the team. In their first eight years, the Scouts/Rockies went through ten coaches, including eight in their first seven years, and none lasting more than one full season. While in Denver, the team changed owners twice.

Prior to the 1978–79 season, owner Jack Vickers sold the team to Arthur Imperatore, who announced that he wished to move the team to the New Jersey Meadowlands. The NHL vetoed the move since the Brendan Byrne Arena was still being built, and there was no suitable temporary facility in the area. In 1979, the team hired Don Cherry as head coach and traded for Maple Leafs star Lanny McDonald. Despite these moves, the Rockies still posted the worst record in the NHL. They played the next two seasons with the possibility of moving until May 27, 1982, when New Jersey shipping tycoon John McMullen purchased the team and announced that the long-expected move to New Jersey would finally come to pass.

The team would now be playing right in the middle of the New York–New Jersey–Connecticut tri-state area, home to the three-time defending Stanley Cup champion New York Islanders, as well as the very popular New York Rangers. The Devils had to compensate the Islanders, Rangers and Philadelphia Flyers for "invading" New Jersey.

On June 30, 1982, the team was renamed the New Jersey Devils, after the legend of the Jersey Devil, an ominous cryptozoological creature supposed to inhabit the Pine Barrens of South Jersey.. Over 10,000 people voted in a contest held by local newspapers to select the name. The Devils' first game ended in a 3–3 tie to the Pittsburgh Penguins. Their first win, a 3-2 victory, came in New Jersey at the expense of their new trans-Hudson rivals, the New York Rangers. The team finished with a 17-49-14 record, putting them three points above last place in the Patrick Division.

Later, Gretzky publicly admitted that his comment went too far, but privately maintained that his comment was accurate. In response, many Devils fans wore Mickey Mouse apparel when the Oilers returned to New Jersey.

In the 1983–84 season, the Devils hosted the annual NHL All-Star Game at the Brendan Byrne Arena. Chico Resch was the winning goaltender, and Devils defenseman Joe Cirella tallied a goal as the Wales Conference beat the Campbell Conference 7–6. However, the team did not achieve much success. Head coach Bill MacMillan was fired midway through the season and replaced with Tom McVie, and the Devils won only 17 games. After the season, McVie was replaced by Doug Carpenter.

Meanwhile, the Devils had begun building a nucleus of young players. John MacLean, Kirk Muller, and Pat Verbeek all complemented the veteran leadership of Resch. The team's record improved each season between 1984 and 1987. However, the presence of the powerful Islanders, Flyers and Capitals in the Patrick Division meant that the Devils found themselves in a losing battle with the Rangers and Pittsburgh Penguins for the division's last playoff spot. The Devils actually finished last in the Patrick in 1986 and 1987 despite improving their record.

Hoping to light a spark under the team, McMullen hired Providence College coach and athletic director Lou Lamoriello as team president in April 1987. Lamoriello appointed himself general manager shortly before the 1987–88 season. This move came as a considerable surprise to NHL circles. Although Lamoriello had been a college coach for 19 years, he had never played, coached, or managed in the NHL and was almost unknown outside the American college hockey community.

The 1987–88 Devils garnered the first winning record in the franchise's 13-year history. On the final day of the regular season, they were tied with their nemesis, the Rangers, for the final playoff spot in the Patrick Division. After New York defeated the Quebec Nordiques 3–0, all eyes were on the Devils, who were playing the Blackhawks in Chicago. The Devils were trailing 3-2 midway through the third period when John MacLean tied the game, and with two minutes left in overtime, he added the winning goal. Although the Rangers and Devils both finished with 82 points, the Devils had one more win, sending them to the playoffs for the second time in franchise history.

The team made it all the way to the conference finals, but lost to the Boston Bruins in seven games. In that series, head coach Jim Schoenfeld verbally abused referee Don Koharski after the third game, screaming obscenities. During the exchange, Koharski slipped and fell against the wall. He immediately claimed that Schoenfeld had pushed him, but Schoenfeld retorted that Koharski had fallen down. As Koharski snapped that Schoenfeld was "gone," Schoenfeld replied, "Good, 'cause you fell, you fat pig. Have another donut!" League disciplinarian Brian O'Neill ordered Schoenfeld to sit out game four. The Devils demanded a hearing, but O'Neill refused. Claiming their rights as well as Schoenfeld's had been violated, the Devils appealed to New Jersey Superior Court judge James F. Madden—an unprecedented appeal to authority outside the league. Forty minutes before game time, Madden ordered the suspension overturned pending a formal league hearing. In his order, Madden pointed out that the NHL's investigation consisted of two phone calls—one to Koharski and one to Schoenfeld—and criticized O'Neill for not reviewing the videotape. In protest, referee Dave Newell and linesmen Gord Broseker and Ray Scapinello refused to work the game. After more than an hour's delay, three off-ice officials—Paul McInnis, Jim Sullivan and Vin Godleski—were tracked down to work the game. McInnis served as the referee, while Sullivan and Godleski worked the lines wearing yellow scrimmage sweaters. Notably, league president John Ziegler was away on personal business and could not be contacted, leaving Chicago Blackhawks owner Bill Wirtz, as chairman of the league's board of governors, to give the order to play the game with backup officials.

Ziegler conducted a hearing on May 10, and suspended Schoenfeld for game five and fined him $1,000; the Devils were fined $10,000. Schoenfeld later admitted he regretted his comments. Nonetheless, Devils fans and broadcasters claimed that the officials shortchanged them for several years afterward.

The next season, the Devils once again slipped below .500 and missed the playoffs. Lamoriello made several postseason player changes, notably signing of two Soviet stars: Viacheslav Fetisov and Sergei Starikov. The Devils drafted Fetisov years earlier in the 1983 entry draft, but the Soviet government did not allow Fetisov, who was an Army officer as well as a member of the national team, to leave the country. Shortly after, the Devils signed Fetisov's defense partner, Alexei Kasatonov.

The team changed coaches midway through each of the next two seasons. Schoenfeld was replaced with John Cunniff in 1989–90, and Tom McVie was re-hired midway through the 1990–91 season and helmed the team through its third-straight first-round elimination in 1991–92. Herb Brooks, who coached the 1980 "Miracle on Ice" team, was brought in for the 1992–93 season, but when the team yet again was eliminated in the first round, he was fired and replaced with former Montreal Canadiens coach Jacques Lemaire.

Under Lemaire, the team roared through the 1993–94 regular season with a lineup including defensemen Scott Stevens, Scott Niedermayer, and Ken Daneyko, forwards Stephane Richer, John MacLean, Bobby Holik, and Claude Lemieux, and goaltenders Chris Terreri and Martin Brodeur, who was honored as the league's top rookie with the Calder Memorial Trophy. The Devils' first 100-point season earned them the NHL's second-best record behind the New York Rangers. However, due to the NHL's new playoff format, the Devils were seeded third in the East, behind the Rangers and Penguins. The Devils and Rangers met in a memorable Eastern Conference Finals match up, which went seven games. The Devils had lost all six regular season meetings to the Blueshirts, but let the world know they were up for the challenge, after Stephane Richer scored the game winning goal in the second overtime of Game One. Going into Game 6, the Devils led the series 3-2. Before the game Rangers captain Mark Messier made his famous guarantee that the Rangers would win Game 6. Keeping true to his word, Messier led his team back, netting a natural hat trick, and leading the Rangers to a 4-2 victory (after the Devils were up 2–0). In game seven, the Devils' Valeri Zelepukin tied the deciding game with 7.7 seconds remaining, but the Devils were defeated in double overtime, on a goal by Stephane Matteau. Devils fans, however, claimed that Esa Tikkanen was in the crease, and the goal should have been wiped out. Nonetheless, the series is viewed by many hockey fans as one of the greatest playoff series in NHL history.

Despite the setback, the team returned to the Eastern Conference Finals during the lockout-shortened 1995 season and defeated the Philadelphia Flyers four games to two. They swept the heavily favored Detroit Red Wings to win New Jersey's first-ever Stanley Cup, and the first major professional sports championship in the state's history, as they brought the Stanley Cup across the Hudson River from "the Garden to the Garden State," with the Rangers having won the Stanley Cup the year before. Claude Lemieux was awarded the Conn Smythe Trophy as playoffs MVP. The Devils established an NHL record by posting 11 road victories in one playoff season. The success also came amid constant rumors that the team would move for the third time in its history to Nashville (which eventually gained their own NHL expansion team).

The Devils missed the playoffs by 2 points the following season, with a 37-33-12 record. They were beaten by the Tampa Bay Lightning for the last playoff spot in the East on the last day of the season. It marked the first time in 26 years that a defending Cup champion failed to reach the playoffs. Throughout the remainder of the decade, the Devils failed to live up to expectations. They were ousted by the New York Rangers in the second round of the 1997 playoffs, and were eliminated in the first round by the Ottawa Senators and the Pittsburgh Penguins the next two seasons.

But in the 1999–00 season, however, they reached the top again, defeating the defending champion Dallas Stars in six games to win the Stanley Cup for the second time. Stevens, Holik, Niedermayer, and Brodeur, all integral parts of the 1995 team, were augmented with new players acquired in the intervening five years including Patrik Elias, Petr Sykora, Jason Arnott, Alexander Mogilny, and rookies Brian Rafalski, John Madden, and Calder Trophy recipient Scott Gomez. A highlight of the Devils' second championship run was their come-from-behind victory in the conference finals. They trailed the Philadelphia Flyers three games to one, but rebounded to win the three straight games and the series. This was both the first time in Devils playoff history and in NHL Conference Finals history that a 3-1 deficit was surmounted. This series was also remembered for the pulverizing hit that team captain Scott Stevens laid on Flyers captain Eric Lindros, effectively ending Lindros' career in Philadelphia. Stevens was named the winner of the Conn Smythe Trophy, and assisted on Jason Arnott's Stanley Cup-clinching goal in double-overtime of Game 6 in Dallas.

Shortly before this victory, McMullen sold the team to Puck Holdings, an affiliate of YankeeNets, for $175 million. The owners wanted to use the Devils and the New Jersey Nets (also a tenant at Continental Airlines Arena) for programming on what eventually became the YES Network and move both teams to a new arena in Newark. Neither of these proposals became reality under Puck Holdings' ownership. The new owners largely left the Devils' operations in Lamoriello's hands. For the start of the next season, Lamoriello was appointed CEO of both the Devils and Nets. He remained at the helm of the basketball team until it was sold with the intention of moving it to Brooklyn.

Led by the Elias-Arnott-Sykora line (The A Line) and the stellar play of goaltender Martin Brodeur, the Devils reached the Stanley Cup Finals for the second straight year in 2001. They lost the series to the Colorado Avalanche despite leading 3-2 and having game six on home ice. The team's strong regular season was recognized at the NHL's annual awards that year, with Madden becoming the first player in franchise history to win the Frank J. Selke Trophy (for top defensive forward), along with Brodeur and Stevens named as finalists for the Vezina Trophy (top goalie) and Norris Trophy (top defensemen) awards respectively.

In the 2001–02 season, they were expected to be contenders once again, and they finished the season as the 3rd best team in the Atlantic Division, with 95 points. The Devils entered the playoffs as a 6 seed, but lost in the first round to the number 3 seed Carolina Hurricanes.

In 2003, the Devils finished first in the Atlantic Division with 108 points, earning the number 2 seed in the East. Their playoff run included a seven-game conference final series victory, decided in the final three minutes on a goal by newly acquired forward Jeff Friesen, over the Ottawa Senators, who won the President's Trophy that season. In the Stanley Cup Finals, the Devils and Mighty Ducks of Anaheim had a back and forth battle, with both teams winning only their home games. This was the first time since 1965 that all the games in a Stanley Cup Final were won by the home team. The Devils brought the Stanley Cup to New Jersey a third time, defeating the Ducks in the 7th game of the Finals in New Jersey. Martin Brodeur, Scott Stevens, Scott Niedermayer, Ken Daneyko, and Sergei Brylin each won their third Cup, and after the series, Daneyko, a long-time fan favorite, announced his retirement. Despite Anaheim not being able to complete their Cinderella run, the Conn Smythe Trophy for playoff MVP was awarded to their goaltender Jean-Sebastien Giguere who was the first player not on the championship team to be named playoff MVP since Ron Hextall in 1987. Some hockey writers speculated a New Jersey player did not win because there were multiple candidates, resulting in a split vote among the sportswriters who select the winner. However, Brodeur was awarded the Vezina Trophy as outstanding goaltender in the regular season for the first time in his career.

In the 2003–04 season, Martin Brodeur took home the Vezina Trophy again. Despite the permanent loss of long time team captain Scott Stevens the Devils finished second in the Atlantic Division with 100 points. With the sixth seed in the Stanley Cup playoffs, the Devils lost to the Philadelphia Flyers four games to one. In March 2004, near the end of the season, Lehman Brothers executive Jeffrey Vanderbeek purchased a controlling interest from Puck Holdings and resigned from Lehman Brothers to assume full-time ownership. He had been a minority owner since the 2000 sale.

Vanderbeek was a strong proponent of the proposed arena in Newark, which first received funding from the city council during Puck Holdings' ownership in 2002. After legal battles over both eminent domain and the city's financial participation in the arena project, the final deal was approved by council in October 2004, and the groundbreaking occurred almost exactly a year later. Nonetheless, in January 2006 financial issues threatened to halt the deal, as the Devils did not provide the city with a required letter of credit until the last possible day.

Though construction was well underway, in late summer 2006, Cory Booker, who had recently taken office as Mayor of Newark, promised to reevaluate the deal and considered backing out. In October Booker conceded there would be "a first-class arena built in the city of Newark, whether we like it or not", and soon after the Devils struck a deal including both property and monetary givebacks that appeased city officials. The arena, which was named the Prudential Center when Newark-based Prudential Financial purchased naming rights in early 2007, opened shortly after the start of the 2007–08 season.

During the 2004-05 NHL lockout, many Devils players played in European leagues and in the hockey world championships. Patrik Elias, who was playing in the Russian Superleague, contracted hepatitis A. Faced with Elias' indefinite recovery timetable, plus the loss of defensive stalwarts Scott Niedermayer to free agency and Scott Stevens to retirement, Lamoriello signed veteran defenseman Dan McGillis and two former Devils — winger Alexander Mogilny and defenseman Vladimir Malakhov, none of whom finished the season on the ice. In July 2005, the team announced that head coach Pat Burns did not return for the 2005–2006 season after being diagnosed with cancer for the second time in little more than a year. Assistant coach Larry Robinson, the team's head coach from 2000 to 2002, was promoted to start the season.

The Devils struggled early in the 2005–06 season, ending the 2005 calendar year with a 16-18-5 record. Robinson resigned as head coach on December 19, and Lamoriello moved down to the bench. Once Elias returned from his bout with hepatitis, the team quickly turned around, finishing 46-27-9 after a season-ending eleven-game winning streak capped with a dramatic 4-3 win over the Montreal Canadiens. During that final victory, which clinched the Devils' sixth division title, Brian Gionta set a new team record for goals in a season with 48, topping Pat Verbeek's 46. The win streak to close the year was also an NHL record.

On April 29, 2006, the Devils won their first round Stanley Cup playoff series against the New York Rangers four games to none, extending their winning streak to fifteen games and marking the first time the Devils defeated their cross-river rival in a playoff series. The team's season ended in the next round with an 4-1 Game 5 loss to the Carolina Hurricanes, who eventually won the Stanley Cup.

In the offseason, the Devils hired former Montreal Canadiens coach Claude Julien to replace Lamoriello behind the bench. However, in the last week of the 2006–2007 Devils season, with just three games left, Julien was fired, and Lamoriello once again reprised his coaching role. The move is reminiscent of Robbie Ftorek's firing with eight games left in the 1999–00 season, after which the Devils won the Stanley Cup. Lamoriello defended the move saying, "I don't think we're at a point of being ready both mentally and to play the way that is necessary going into the playoffs." The Devils went on to win their seventh Atlantic Division title and earn the second seed in the Eastern Conference after finishing ahead of the Pittsburgh Penguins by two points. They defeated the Tampa Bay Lightning in six games in the first round, but struggled against the fourth seeded Ottawa Senators in the Eastern Conference Semi-Finals and lost to them in five games. Their final loss of the series on May 5, 2007 marked the final game of the Devils' 25-year history at the Continental Airlines Arena.

The early playoff exit led to some speculation that this was the "end of an era" for the Devils. This proved to be correct, as on July 1, 2007, long-time Devils Scott Gomez and Brian Rafalski left the team as unrestricted free agents, Gomez to the rival New York Rangers and Rafalski to the Detroit Red Wings. Back-up goalie Scott Clemmensen went to the Toronto Maple Leafs, and local favorite forward Jim Dowd opted for free agency. However, the Devils signed Sabre forward Dainius Zubrus and Ranger defenseman Karel Rachunek shortly after. On July 5, the Devils signed Rangers goalie Kevin Weekes as a backup to Brodeur, as well as Nashville Predators defenseman Vitali Vishnevski on July 10.

On July 13, 2007, Brent Sutter was named the 14th head coach of the team, along with previous coach Larry Robinson, to aide John MacLean as the second assistant coach. On August 7, 2007, the Devils signed former Islander Arron Asham. After the Devils preseason came to an end, Devils prospects Nicklas Bergfors and David Clarkson made the final roster. The Devils opened their new arena, the Prudential Center, on October 27, 2007 against the Ottawa Senators after opening the season with a nine game road trip. The game ended with a 4-1 win for Ottawa.

On October 31, 2007, the New Jersey Devils won their first home game at the Prudential Center by beating the Tampa Bay Lightning, 6-1. Jay Pandolfo was the first Devils player to score a hat trick at the Prudential Center. In a dramatic last game of the season against their rivals the New York Rangers, the Devils won in a shootout, giving them home ice advantage over the Rangers in the playoffs. The Devils lost the series against the Rangers 4-1, losing all three games at the Prudential Center. The following week Brodeur became a finalist for the Vezina Trophy for the eighth time (he won in 2003, 2004, and 2007) and forward John Madden became a finalist for the Frank J. Selke Trophy for the fourth time (having won once in 2000).

On June 12, Martin Brodeur was awarded the Vezina Trophy for the fourth time in five years. On July 1, 2008 the Devils signed Brian Rolston and Bobby Holik and they turned down the option of having career-long Devil Sergei Brylin return for another season, making Brodeur the only remaining Devil from the franchise's three Stanley Cup-winning teams.

On January 10, the Devils announced that in principle, Brendan Shanahan would re-join the team. He would join a list of players who are on their second stint in New Jersey that includes Bobby Holik, Brian Rolston, Mike Rupp, and Scott Clemmensen.

The Devils have been known as a defense-first team since Jacques Lemaire's tenure, although the Devils have twice led the Eastern Conference in Goals scored, once leading the NHL in goals scored (295 GF in 2000-2001). Lemaire gave the Devils their defensive mantra when he implemented a system commonly called the neutral zone trap. This system is designed to force teams to turn over the puck in the neutral zone leading to a counterattack. This style of play, coupled with poor attendance and television ratings, led the team to be chastised by the media and hockey fans for "making the NHL boring". Nevertheless, the Devils were successful using this style of play, and Devils coach Larry Robinson asserted that the Montreal Canadiens (who also won the Cup many times) he played on in the 1970s used a form of the trap, though it did not have a name.

Under Brent Sutter, the team adopted less of a trap and more of a transitional, aggressive forechecking style of play to start the 2007-2008 season. This led to many high scoring games early in the 07-08 season for New Jersey.

The Devils' logo is a monogram of the letters "N" and "J", rendered with two devil horns at the top of the "J" and a pointed tail at the bottom. The monogram is red with a black outline, and sits inside an open black circle. The logo lays on a field of white in the middle of the chest on both uniforms. Prior to the 1992-93 season, the black circle and outline were green.

The current mascot is "NJ Devil", a 7-foot (2.1 m) tall devil who plays into the myth of the Jersey Devil. NJ Devil keeps the crowd excited, signs autographs, participates in entertainment during the intermissions, skates across the ice, and runs throughout the aisles of the arena to high five fans.

Prior to 1993, the mascot was "Slapshot", a large Devils hockey puck that interacted with the fans. However, the man inside the costume resigned after he was accused of improperly touching three women while in costume. The lawsuit and all charges were dropped as nothing could be proven. However, to remove the stigma of the lawsuit, Slapshot was retired and has not returned since.

Records as of May 8, 2007.

These are the top-ten point-scorers in franchise history. Figures are updated after each completed NHL regular season.

Updated March 7, 2009.

Retired Numbers: The Devils have retired two numbers, both in 2006. On February 3 they retired the number 4 of longtime defenseman and captain Scott Stevens, who spent 13 seasons with the Devils. Career Devil Ken Daneyko's number 3 was retired on March 24. Daneyko, a defenseman, was drafted in 1982 and spent 22 seasons in a Devils uniform.

Hall of Famers: Six members of the Hockey Hall of Fame have had experience with the Devils upon election; four players, one coach, and one broadcaster. Defenseman Viacheslav Fetisov, one of the first two Soviet players in the NHL, played for the Devils from 1989 to 1995 and was an assistant coach from 1999 to 2002; he was inducted in 2001. Peter Stastny, a former center and one of the top goal scorers in the 1980s, played for the Devils from 1990 to 1993 and was inducted in 1998. Scott Stevens was inducted in 2007, his first year of eligibility. Igor Larionov, a member of the team during the 2003-04 season, became the fourth Devil elected to the Hockey Hall of Fame as a member of the Class of 2008. Herb Brooks (1992–1993), who led the 1980 U.S. Olympic team to victory in the "Miracle on Ice", was inducted in 2006. In 2008, longtime Devils broadcaster Mike Emrick won the Foster Hewitt Memorial Award and was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame. Former Devils head coaches Jacques Lemaire (1993–1998) and Larry Robinson (2000–2002, 2005) had been elected as players prior to joining the Devils organization.

This list does not include the former captains of the Kansas City Scouts and Colorado Rockies.

This list does not include the former coaches of the Kansas City Scouts and Colorado Rockies.

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New York Rangers

The New York Rangers are a professional ice hockey team based in New York, New York, United States. They are members of the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League (NHL). Playing their home games at Madison Square Garden, the Rangers are one of the oldest teams in the NHL, having joined in 1926 as an expansion franchise, and are part of the group of teams referred to as the Original Six. The Rangers were the first NHL franchise in the United States to win the Stanley Cup, which they have done four times (most recently in 1994).

In 1925, the New York Americans joined the National Hockey League, playing in Madison Square Garden. The Amerks proved to be an even greater success than expected, leading Garden president Tex Rickard to go after a team for the Garden despite promising the Amerks that they would be the only hockey team to play there.

Rickard was granted a franchise to begin play in the 1926–27 season, and he originally planned to name it the New York Giants. However, the New York press soon nicknamed his team "Tex's Rangers", and the new name stuck. Rickard managed to get future legendary Toronto Maple Leafs owner Conn Smythe to assemble the team. However, Smythe had a falling-out with Rickard's hockey man, Col. John S. Hammond, and was fired as manager-coach on the eve of the first season — he was paid a then-hefty $2,500 to leave. Smythe was replaced by Pacific Coast Hockey Association co-founder Lester Patrick. The new team turned out to be a winner. The Rangers won the American Division title their first year but lost to the Boston Bruins in the playoffs. The team's early success led to players becoming minor celebrities and fixtures in New York City's Roaring 20's nightlife. It was also during this time, playing at the Garden on 48th Street, blocks away from Times Square, that the Rangers obtained their now-famous nickname "The Broadway Blueshirts".

In only their second season, the Rangers won the Stanley Cup, defeating the Montreal Maroons three games to two. One of the most memorable stories that emerged from the Finals involved Patrick playing in goal at the age of 44. At the time, teams were not required to dress a backup goaltender so when the Rangers' regular goaltender, Lorne Chabot, left a game with an eye injury, Maroons head coach Eddie Gerard vetoed his original choice for a replacement (who was Alex Connell, another NHL goalie of the old Ottawa Senators who was in attendance for the game). An angry Patrick lined up between the pipes for two periods in game two of the Stanley Cup Finals, allowing one goal to Maroons center Nels Stewart. Frank Boucher would score the game-winning goal in overtime for New York. An expansion team would not come this far this fast in North American professional sports until the Philadelphia Atoms won the North American Soccer League title in their first year of existence.

After a loss to the Bruins in the 1928–29 finals and a few mediocre seasons in the early 1930s, the Rangers, led by brothers Bill and Bun Cook on the right and left wings, respectively, and Frank Boucher at center, would defeat the Toronto Maple Leafs in the 1932–33 best-of-five finals, three games to one, to win their second Stanley Cup, exacting revenge on the Leafs' "Kid line" of Busher Jackson, Joe Primeau, and Charlie Conacher. The Rangers would spend the rest of the 1930s playing close to .500 hockey until their next Cup win. Lester Patrick stepped down as head coach and was replaced by Frank Boucher.

In 1939–40 NHL season, the Rangers finished the regular season in second place behind the Boston Bruins. The two teams would meet in the first round of the playoffs. The Bruins gained a two-games-to-one series lead from the Rangers until they recovered to win three straight games, defeating the first-place Bruins four games to two. The Rangers' first-round victory gave them a bye until the finals. The Detroit Red Wings disposed of the New York Americans in their first round best-of-three series two games to one (even as the Americans had analytical and notorious ex-Bruins star Eddie Shore) and the Toronto Maple Leafs ousted the Chicago Black Hawks two games to none. The Maple Leafs and Red Wings would play a best-of-three series to determine who would go on to play the Rangers in the Cup Finals. The Maple Leafs swept the Red Wings and the Finals match-up was determined. The 1940 Stanley Cup Finals started in Madison Square Garden in New York. The first two games went to the Rangers. In game one the Rangers needed overtime to gain a 1–0 series lead, but they won game two more easily with a 6–2 victory. The series then headed to Toronto where the Maple Leafs won the next two games, tying the series 2–2. In games five and six, the Rangers won in overtime, taking the series four games to two to earn their third Stanley Cup.

The Rangers would collapse by the mid-1940s, losing games by as much as 15–0 and having one goaltender with a 6.20 goals-against average. They would miss the playoffs for five consecutive seasons before squeaking into the fourth and final playoff spot in 1948. They lost in the first round and would miss the playoffs again in 1948–49 NHL season. In the 1950 Stanley Cup Finals, the Rangers were forced to play all of their games on the road (home games in Toronto) while the circus was at the Garden. They would end up losing to the Detroit Red Wings in overtime in the seventh game of the finals, despite a stellar first-round performance as underdogs to the Montreal Canadiens.

During this time, Red Wings owner James E. Norris became the largest stockholder in the Garden. However, he did not buy controlling interest in the arena, which would have violated the NHL's rule against one person owning more than one team. Nonetheless, he had enough support on the board to exercise de facto control.

The Rangers remained a mark of futility in the NHL for most of the remainder of the Original Six era, missing the playoffs in 12 of the next 16 years. However, the team was rejuvenated in the late 1960s, symbolized by moving into a newly rebuilt Madison Square Garden in 1968. A year earlier, they made the playoffs for the first time in five years on the strength of rookie goaltender Eddie Giacomin and acquired 1950s Montreal Canadiens star right wing Bernie "Boom Boom" Geoffrion.

The Rangers made the Finals twice in the 1970s, but lost both times to two '70s powerhouses; in six games to the Boston Bruins in 1972, who were led by such stars as Bobby Orr, Phil Esposito, Ken Hodge, Johnny Bucyk, and Wayne Cashman; and in five games to the Canadiens in 1979, who had Bob Gainey, Guy Lafleur, Larry Robinson, Ken Dryden, Guy Lapointe, and Serge Savard. This time the Rangers had Esposito, but it didn't matter, as the Canadiens were dominant.

By 1972, the Rangers reached the Stanley Cup Finals despite losing high-scoring center Jean Ratelle (who had been on pace over Bruin Phil Esposito to become the first Ranger since Bryan Hextall in 1942 to lead the NHL in scoring) to injury during the stretch drive of the regular season. The strength of players like Brad Park, Ratelle, Vic Hadfield and Rod Gilbert (the last three constructing the famed "GAG line", meaning "goal-a-game") would still carry them through the playoffs. They would defeat the defending-champion Canadiens in the first round and the Chicago Blackhawks in the second, but lost to the Bruins in the finals.

The Rangers played a legendary semifinal series against the Philadelphia Flyers in the 1973–74 playoffs. This series was noted for a game seven fight between Dale Rolfe of the Rangers and Dave Schultz of the Flyers. Schultz pummeled Rolfe without anyone on the Rangers lifting a finger to protect him (the GAG line was on the ice at the time). This lead to the belief that the Rangers of that period were soft, especially when taking into account the bullying endured by the Rangers during the 1972 finals. One example is Gilbert's beating at the hands of Derek Sanderson of the Bruins.

Their new rivals, the New York Islanders, who entered the league in 1972 after paying a huge territorial fee — some $4 million — to the Rangers, were their first-round opponent in 1975. After splitting the first two games, the Islanders defeated the more-established Rangers eleven seconds into overtime of the deciding game three, establishing a rivalry that continued to grow for years.

After some off years in the mid-to-late 1970s, they picked up Esposito and Carol Vadnais from the Bruins for Park, Ratelle, and Joe Zanussi in 1975. Swedish stars Anders Hedberg and Ulf Nilsson jumped to the Rangers from the maverick World Hockey Association. And in 1979 they defeated the surging Islanders in the semi-finals and would return to the finals again before bowing out to the Canadiens. The Islanders got their revenge, however, eliminating the Rangers in four consecutive playoff series starting in 1981 en route to their second of four consecutive Stanley Cup titles.

The Rangers stayed competitive through the 1980s and early 1990s, making the playoffs each year except for one but never going very far. An exception was 1985–86, when the Rangers, behind rookie goaltender John Vanbiesbrouck, upended the Patrick Division-winning Flyers in five games followed by a six-game win over the Washington Capitals in the Patrick Division Finals. Montreal disposed of the Rangers in the Wales Conference Finals behind a rookie goaltender of their own, Patrick Roy. The Rangers then acquired superstar center Marcel Dionne after almost 12 years as a Los Angeles King the next year. In 1988, Dionne moved into third place in career goals scored (since bettered by Brett Hull). But Dionne's always-churning legs started to slow the next year, thereby ensuring that his goals came further and further apart. “Because you love the game so much, you think it will never end,” said Dionne, who spent nine games in the minors before retiring in 1989. He would only play 49 playoff games in 17 seasons with the Rangers, Kings, and Detroit Red Wings.

The many playoff failures convinced Rangers fans that this was a manifestation of the Curse of 1940, which is said to either have begun when the Rangers management burnt the mortgage to Madison Square Garden in the bowl of the Stanley Cup after the 1940 victory or by Red Dutton following the collapse of the New York Americans franchise. In the early 1980s, Islander fans began chanting "1940! 1940!" to taunt the Rangers. Fans in other cities soon picked up the chant.

Frustration was at its peak when the 1991–92 squad captured the Presidents' Trophy. They took a 2–1 series lead on the defending champion Pittsburgh Penguins and then faltered in three straight (most observers note a Ron Francis slapshot from the blue line that eluded Mike Richter as the series' turning point). The following year, a 1–11 finish landed the Rangers in the cellar of the Patrick Division. Coach Roger Neilson did not finish the season. The off-season hiring of controversial head coach Mike Keenan was criticized by many who pointed out Keenan's 0–3 record in the finals.

During this period, the Rangers were owned by Gulf+Western, which was renamed to Paramount Communications in 1989, and sold to Viacom in 1994. Viacom then sold the team to ITT Corporation and Cablevision, and a couple of years later, ITT sold their ownership stake to Cablevision, who still owns the team today.

The 1993–94 season was a magical one for Rangers fans, as Keenan led the Rangers to their first Stanley Cup championship in 54 years. Two years prior, they picked up center Mark Messier, who was an integral part of the Edmonton Oilers' Cup-winning teams. Adam Graves, who also defected from the Oilers, joined the Rangers as well. Other ex-Oilers on the Blueshirts included trade deadline acquisitions Craig MacTavish (now Oilers head coach) and Glenn Anderson. Brian Leetch and Sergei Zubov were a solid 1-2 punch on defence. In fact, Zubov led the team in scoring that season with 89 points, and continued to be an all-star defenceman throughout his career. Graves would set a team record with 52 goals, breaking the old record of 50 held by Vic Hadfield. This record would later be broken by Jaromir Jagr on April 8, 2006, against the Boston Bruins.

However, on the CBC, because Vancouver couldn't complete their Cinderella run, though they did far better than during the one of 1982, their other Finals' appearance, as evidenced by the fact that they took the Finals all the way to a seventh game after entering the playoffs seeded #7 in the newly-renamed Western Conference and rallying from a 3-1 series deficit to upset the Calgary Flames in the first round, Cole's partner, Harry Neale, cried on the air, from what he had been through then when Canucks general manager, seeing the Islanders end the Canucks' Cinderella run that year in Game 4 of the Finals, at the Pacific Coliseum.

Leetch became the first American-born player to win the Conn Smythe Trophy, the first non-Canadian to win it, and Messier became the first Stanley Cup captain on two different teams. Also, the Rangers became the first (and to this date, only) NHL team to host an All-Star Game, have one of its own named MVP of the All-Star Game, win the Presidents' Trophy, and win the Stanley Cup in one season; the Rangers hosted the 1994 All-Star Game and Richter was MVP of that game. No one from the Colorado Avalanche was named MVP of the All-Star Game in 2001.

Because the New York Knicks were in the NBA Finals, though they fell to the Houston Rockets in seven games, when the Rangers won the Stanley Cup, the Rangers' first Stanley Cup championship in 54 years became a great part of a great chapter in New York sports history, according to Chicago Bulls Coach Phil Jackson. The championship, according to Jackson, was that way because of all of Keenan's experiences in Chicago seeing both NBA and NHL teams from one city making it to their respective league's finals in the same year. In 1992, he coached the Blackhawks to the Stanley Cup Finals, though they got swept by the Pittsburgh Penguins, as Jackson coached the Bulls to the second of their first three straight NBA titles. This great chapter helped him draw many parallels between the two dramas, according to Jackson.

Despite having coached the Rangers to a regular season first place finish and the Stanley Cup, head coach Mike Keenan left after a dispute with General Manager Neil Smith. During the 1994–95 lockout-shortened season, the Rangers struggled to find their form and lost in the second round of the playoffs. They snuck in with the eighth seed and defeated Quebec in the first round, but were swept by Philadelphia in the second round. Succeeding Rangers coach Colin Campbell orchestrated a deal that sent Sergei Zubov and center Petr Nedved to Pittsburgh in exchange for defenseman Ulf Samuelsson and left winger Luc Robitaille in the summer of 1995.

The Rangers landed an aging Wayne Gretzky in 1996, but even with The Great One, they would fizzle out. Their 1994 stars were aging and many retired or dropped off in performance. Gretzky's greatest accomplishment was leading them to the 1997 Eastern Conference finals, where they lost 4–1 to the Eric Lindros-led Philadelphia Flyers. After General Manager Neil Smith ran Messier, a former Oiler teammate of Gretzky's, out of town in the summer of 1997 and failed in a bid to replace him with Colorado Avalanche superstar Joe Sakic, the Rangers began a streak of seven seasons without making the playoffs, despite routinely having the highest payroll in the league.

In March 2000, Smith was fired along with head coach John Muckler, and, that summer, James Dolan hired Glen Sather to replace him. By the end of the 2000–01 season, the Rangers had landed a lot of star power. Mark Messier had returned to New York, Theoren Fleury joined the Rangers after spending most of his career with the Calgary Flames, and Eric Lindros was traded to the Rangers from the Philadelphia Flyers. The Rangers also acquired Pavel Bure late in the 2001–02 season from the Florida Panthers. It was the rookie season of goalie Dan Blackburn, who made the NHL All-Rookie Team even as the Rangers fell back to last place in the conference. Despite these high-priced acquisitions the Rangers still finished out of the playoffs. Later years saw other stars such as Alexei Kovalev, Jaromir Jagr, Martin Rucinsky and Bobby Holik added, but in 2002–03 and 2003–04, the team again missed the playoffs. Blackburn started strongly in 2002–03, but burned out after 17 games. He missed 2003–04 due to mononucleosis and a damaged nerve in his left shoulder. Blackburn could not rehabilitate the damaged nerve, and was forced to retire at age 22.

Towards the end of the 2003–04 season Sather finally gave in to a rebuilding process by trading away Leetch, Kovalev, and eight others for numerous prospects and draft picks. With the retirements of Bure and Messier as well as Lindros signing with the Maple Leafs, the post-lockout Rangers, under new head coach Tom Renney, moved away from high-priced veterans towards a group of talented young players, such as Petr Prucha, Dominic Moore, and Blair Betts. However, the focus of the team remained on veteran superstar Jaromir Jagr. The Rangers were expected to struggle during the 2005–06 season for their eighth consecutive season out of the postseason. For example, Sports Illustrated declared them the worst team in the league in their season preview, but behind stellar performances by Swedish rookie goaltender Henrik Lundqvist, Martin Straka, Prucha, and Jagr, the Rangers finished the season with their best record since 1993–94 (44–26–12).

Jaromir Jagr broke the Rangers' single-season points record with a first-period assist in a 5–1 win against the New York Islanders on March 29, 2006. The assist gave him 110 points on the season, breaking Jean Ratelle's record. Less than two weeks later, on April 8, Jagr scored his 53rd goal of the season against the Boston Bruins, breaking the club record previously held by Adam Graves. Two games prior, on April 4, the Rangers defeated the Philadelphia Flyers 3-2, in a shootout, to clinch a playoff spot for the first time since the 1996–97 season. On April 18, the Rangers lost to the Ottawa Senators 5–1, and, due to wins by division rivals New Jersey Devils and Philadelphia Flyers, the Rangers fell back to third place in the Atlantic Division and sixth in the Eastern Conference to end the season. In the Eastern Conference Quarterfinals the Rangers drew a matchup with the Devils and were defeated in a four-game sweep. In the process they were outscored 17–4, as New Jersey netminder Martin Brodeur took two shutouts and a 1.00 goals-against average to Lundqvist's 4.25. In the first game of the series Jagr suffered an undisclosed injury to his left shoulder, diminishing his usefulness as the series went on. Jagr missed game two of the series and was back in the lineup for game three. He was held to one shot on goal. On his first shift of game four, Jagr re-injured his shoulder and was unable to return.

Jagr fell two points short of winning his sixth Art Ross Trophy as scoring champion in 2005–06 (the San Jose Sharks' Joe Thornton claimed the award, his first, with 125 points), but Jagr did win his third Pearson Award as the players' choice for the most outstanding player. He has thus tied Guy Lafleur in third, and needs one more to tie his ex-centerman, Mario Lemieux, in second and two more to tie Wayne Gretzky in first for times receiving the Pearson Award. On opening night of the 2006–07 season, Jagr was named the first team captain since Messier's retirement.

With the Rangers doing so well in 2005–06, expectations were raised for the 2006–07 season, evidenced by Sports Illustrated then predicting the Rangers would finish first in their division. Realizing that the team had trouble scoring goals in the 2005–06 campaign, the Rangers went out and signed long-time Red Wing Brendan Shanahan to a one-year contract. However, the organization remains committed to its rebuilding program despite the signing of the 37-year-old left winger.

Though the Rangers started a bit slow in the first half of the 2006–07 season, the second half was dominated by the stellar goaltending of Henrik Lundqvist. The acquisition of Sean Avery brought new life to the team, and the Rangers finished ahead of Tampa Bay and the Islanders to face Atlanta in the first round of the playoffs. The Rangers swept the series thanks to play from all around the ice. However, the Rangers lost the next round to Buffalo four games to two.

At the 2007 NHL Entry Draft, the Rangers chose Alexei Cherepanov 17th overall. Cherepanov had been ranked by Central Scouting as the number one European skater and was considered to be a top five pick leading up to the draft, but fell due to teams being unsure whether he would ever come to the NHL from Russia. The 2007 free agency season started with a bang for the Rangers signing two high profile centerman, Scott Gomez from the New Jersey Devils for a seven-year, $51.5 million dollar contract as well as Chris Drury from the Buffalo Sabres for a five-year deal worth $32.25 million. The moves, along with retaining most other key players, have been met favorably as the Rangers appeared to be strong Stanley Cup contenders, making the playoffs for the third consecutive season and the second round for the second season in a row. Despite these streaks, the Rangers failed to meet expectations as they lost their second round series 4–1 to the Pittsburgh Penguins.

The New York Rangers were one of four NHL teams to open their 2008–09 season in Europe. The Rangers were featured in the Victoria Cup final, pitting the European Champions Cup winner against an NHL team. The Rangers prevailed, defeating the Metallurg Magnitogorsk, in Bern, Switzerland. After winning the Victoria Cup, the Rangers followed the victory, playing two NHL regular-season games against the Tampa Bay Lightning team in Prague, Czech Republic on October 4 and October 5 at the O2 Sazka Arena. The Rangers won both games 2-1, with goals from newly acquired Wade Redden and Markus Naslund, in addition to goals from the two Alaskan Rangers, returning All-Star, Scott Gomez, and returning rookie, Brandon Dubinsky.

After a disappointing 2nd half of the season, Head Coach Tom Renney was fired along with Assistant Coach Perry Pearn.

On February 23rd, 2009, John Tortorella was named head coach of the Rangers.

Updated March 5, 2009.

These are the top-ten point-scorers in franchise history. Figures are updated after each completed NHL regular season.

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