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2011–12 Toronto Maple Leafs Season
The 2011–12 Toronto Maple Leafs season was the 95th season for the National Hockey League (NHL) franchise that was established on November 22, 1917. The team failed to make the Stanley Cup playoffs for the seventh-straight season. Off-season At the 2011 NHL Entry Draft, general manager Brian Burke fulfilled his pledge to trade up in the first round, trading the 30th ( Rickard Rakell) and 39th ( John Gibson) picks to the Anaheim Ducks in exchange for the 22nd pick, which was used to select Tyler Biggs. The Leafs also selected Stuart Percy with the 25th pick. The Leafs made two key free agent additions, adding centers Tim Connolly from the Buffalo Sabres and Philippe Dupuis from the Colorado Avalanche. The Leafs also added to their blue line by trading Brett Lebda and prospect Robert Slaney to the Nashville Predators in exchange for Cody Franson and center Matthew Lombardi. The Leafs suffered no major losses during the off-season, however Tim Brent, who had an impress ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Eastern Conference (NHL)
The Eastern Conference (french: Conférence de l'Est) is one of two conferences in the National Hockey League (NHL) used to divide teams. Its counterpart is the Western Conference. History Originally named the Prince of Wales Conference, it was created in 1974 when the NHL realigned its teams into two conferences and four divisions. Because the new conferences and divisions had little to do with North American geography, geographical references were removed. The Prince of Wales Trophy dates back to 1925, when it was donated to the League by the Prince of Wales, who later became King Edward VIII and then the Duke of Windsor. It was originally given to the NHL's playoff champion. (Until 1926, the Stanley Cup was presented to the winner of a post-season playoff between the NHL and Western Hockey League champions.) Since 1926–27, the Stanley Cup has gone to the NHL's playoff champion. During the years when the NHL had no divisions, (i.e., 1925–26; 1938 to 1967), the Prin ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
National Hockey League
The National Hockey League (NHL; french: Ligue nationale de hockey—LNH, ) is a professional ice hockey league in North America comprising 32 teams—25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. It is considered to be the top ranked professional ice hockey league in the world, and is one of the four major professional sports leagues in the United States and Canada. The Stanley Cup, the oldest professional sports trophy in North America, is awarded annually to the league playoff champion at the end of each season. The NHL is the fifth-wealthiest professional sport league in the world by revenue, after the National Football League (NFL), Major League Baseball (MLB), the National Basketball Association (NBA), and the English Premier League (EPL). The National Hockey League was organized at the Windsor Hotel in Montreal on November 26, 1917, after the suspension of operations of its predecessor organization, the National Hockey Association (NHA), which had been founded in 1909 i ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Nashville Predators
The Nashville Predators (commonly referred to as the Preds) are a professional ice hockey team based in Nashville, Tennessee. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division in the Western Conference, and have played their home games at Bridgestone Arena since 1998. Their television broadcasting rights are held by Bally Sports South, and the Nashville Predators Radio Network flagship station is WPRT-FM. The Predators are currently affiliated with one minor league team: the Milwaukee Admirals of the American Hockey League (AHL). The club was founded in 1997, when the NHL granted an expansion franchise to Craig Leipold, with the team beginning play in the 1998–99 season. After five seasons, the Predators qualified for their first Stanley Cup playoffs during the 2003–04 season. In 2008, ownership of the team was transferred from Leipold to a locally based ownership group. The Predators advanced to their first Stanley Cup Finals in 2017 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Brett Lebda
Brett Steven Lebda (born January 15, 1982) is an American former professional ice hockey defenseman, who last played with the Binghamton Senators of the American Hockey League (AHL). He has played in the National Hockey League with the Detroit Red Wings, Columbus Blue Jackets and Toronto Maple Leafs. He was a member of the Stanley Cup winning Red Wings team of 2007-08. Playing career As a youth, Lebda played in the 1996 Quebec International Pee-Wee Hockey Tournament with the Chicago Young Americans minor ice hockey team. Lebda attended Buffalo Grove High School in Buffalo Grove, Illinois for two years. In addition to hockey, he also played golf and volleyball. He then relocated to Ann Arbor, Michigan, where he was a participant on the USA National Under-18 Team. Lebda graduated from Pioneer High School. Lebda played college hockey at the University of Notre Dame. He was signed as an undrafted free agent by the Detroit Red Wings in 2004, and was assigned to the Grand Rapids Gr ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Colorado Avalanche
The Colorado Avalanche (colloquially known as the Avs) are a professional ice hockey team based in Denver. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division in the Western Conference. The Avalanche play their home games at Ball Arena, which they share with the NBA's Denver Nuggets and Colorado Mammoth of the National Lacrosse League. Founded in 1972 as the Quebec Nordiques, the team was one of the charter franchises of the World Hockey Association. The franchise joined the NHL in 1979 as a result of the NHL–WHA merger. Following the 1994–95 season, they were sold to the COMSAT Entertainment Group and relocated to Denver. During their first season in Denver, the Avalanche won the Pacific Division and went on to sweep the Florida Panthers in the 1996 Stanley Cup Finals. The Avalanche are the first major professional sports championship a Denver-based team brought to the city. In the 2001 Stanley Cup Finals, the Avalanche defeated the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Philippe Dupuis
Philippe Dupuis (; born April 24, 1985) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player who played in the National Hockey League (NHL) with the Colorado Avalanche and the Toronto Maple Leafs. Playing career Dupuis was drafted 104th overall in the 2003 NHL Entry Draft by the Columbus Blue Jackets from Hull Olympiques of the QMJHL. On July 28, 2005, Dupuis signed a 3-year entry-level contract with the Blue Jackets. After 5 years in the QMJHL, Dupuis made his professional debut in the 2006–07 season with the Syracuse Crunch of the AHL. During the 2007–08 season on January 22, 2008, Dupuis was traded from the Blue Jackets, along with Darcy Campbell, to the Colorado Avalanche for Mark Rycroft. Dupuis was then sent to AHL affiliate, the Lake Erie Monsters, for the remainder of the year. Dupuis received his first recall to the Avalanche in the 2008–09 season on December 11, 2008. He made his NHL debut in a 4-3 loss against the Chicago Blackhawks on December 13, 2008. I ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Buffalo Sabres
The Buffalo Sabres are a professional ice hockey team based in Buffalo, New York. The Sabres compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Division in the Eastern Conference. The team was established in 1970, along with the Vancouver Canucks, when the league expanded to 14 teams. The Sabres have played their home games at KeyBank Center since 1996, having previously played at the Buffalo Memorial Auditorium since their inception. The Sabres are owned by Terry Pegula, who purchased the club in 2011 from Tom Golisano. The team has twice advanced to the Stanley Cup Finals, losing to the Philadelphia Flyers in 1975 and to the Dallas Stars in 1999. The Sabres, along with the Canucks, are the longest continuously running active NHL franchises to have never won the Stanley Cup. The Sabres have the longest active playoff drought in the NHL, at eleven seasons, which stands as an NHL record. History Early years and the French Connection (1970–1981) T ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tim Connolly
Timothy L. Connolly (born May 7, 1981) is an American former professional ice hockey player who played eleven seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the New York Islanders, Buffalo Sabres, and Toronto Maple Leafs. Playing career As a youth, Connolly played in the 1993, 1994 and 1995 Quebec International Pee-Wee Hockey Tournaments with a minor ice hockey team from Syracuse, New York. Connolly played for the Erie Otters of the Ontario Hockey League (OHL) for two seasons, beginning in 1997–98. After recording 68 points in 46 games in his second OHL season, he was drafted fifth overall by the New York Islanders in the 1999 NHL Entry Draft. On June 24, 2001, at the NHL Entry Draft, Connolly and Taylor Pyatt were traded by the Islanders to the Buffalo Sabres for captain Michael Peca. After missing only three regular season games total in his first four seasons in the league, injuries began to plague Connolly's career beginning in 2003–04. He missed the entire season w ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Stuart Percy
Stuart Percy (born May 18, 1993) is a Canadian professional ice hockey defenceman who is currently playing for Vaasan Sport in the Liiga. He was selected 25th overall in the 2011 NHL Entry Draft by the Toronto Maple Leafs. Playing career On September 21, 2011, Percy was cut from the Toronto Maple Leafs training camp and sent back to major junior due to the impending lock-out. On November 22, 2011, the Maple Leafs signed Percy to a three-year, entry-level contract. Following an impressive preseason, Percy started the 2014–15 season on the Leafs but was returned to the Toronto Marlies after playing seven games with the Maple Leafs. At the conclusion of his entry-level contract, following the 2015–16 season, Percy was not tendered a contract as a restricted free agent, releasing him to free agency. On July 1, 2016, Percy was signed by the Pittsburgh Penguins to a one-year, two-way contract worth $575,000 at the NHL level. He was assigned to AHL affiliate, the Wilkes-Barre/Scr ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tyler Biggs
Tyler Austin Biggs (born April 30, 1993) is an American former professional ice hockey player. Biggs was selected in the first round, 22nd overall, in the 2011 NHL Entry Draft by the Toronto Maple Leafs. Playing career He played for the Toronto Jr. Canadiens during the 2008–09 season while enrolled at Loveland High School, then transferred to Pioneer High School in Ann Arbor, Michigan, the following fall, to join the USA Hockey National Team Development Program. Biggs played one season with the Miami RedHawks of the Central Collegiate Hockey Association (CCHA) before joining the Oshawa Generals of the Ontario Hockey League for the 2012–13 OHL season. On July 1, 2015, Biggs was traded to the Pittsburgh Penguins with Phil Kessel, Tim Erixon, and a 2016 2nd round pick for Scott Harrington, Nick Spaling, Kasperi Kapanen, and Pittsburgh's 3rd round pick in the 2016 NHL Entry Draft along with a conditional pick exchange between the teams depending on Pittsburgh's 2016 NHL regu ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Anaheim Ducks
The Anaheim Ducks are a professional ice hockey team based in Anaheim, California. The Ducks compete in the Western Conference of the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division, and play their home games at Honda Center. The team was founded in 1993 by the Walt Disney Company as the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim, a name based on the 1992 film ''The Mighty Ducks''. In 2005, Disney sold the franchise to Henry and Susan Samueli, who, along with then-general manager Brian Burke, changed the name of the team to the Anaheim Ducks before the 2006–07 season. History Start of a franchise (1993–1996) The Mighty Ducks of Anaheim were founded in 1993 by The Walt Disney Company. The franchise was awarded by the NHL in December 1992, along with the rights to a Miami team that would become the Florida Panthers. An entrance fee of $50 million was required, half of which Disney would pay directly to the Los Angeles Kings in order to "share" the Greater Los Ange ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
John Gibson (ice Hockey, Born 1993)
John Gibson (born July 14, 1993) is an American professional ice hockey goaltender for the Anaheim Ducks of the National Hockey League (NHL). Gibson was ranked first among North American goaltenders in both the NHL Central Scouting Bureau's preliminary and midterm rankings for the 2011 NHL Entry Draft. Playing career Amateur On June 24, 2011, Gibson was drafted in the second round, 39th overall, at the 2011 NHL Entry Draft by the Anaheim Ducks. Prior to his selection, while still playing with USA Hockey's National Team Development Program, he committed himself to playing college ice hockey at the University of Michigan, which competes in NCAA's Division I in the Big Ten Conference, for the upcoming 2011–12 season. However, on July 27, he opted out of his agreement with Michigan to instead play major junior ice hockey for the Kitchener Rangers of the Ontario Hockey League (OHL). Gibson, who attended Baldwin High School in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, was cut from their hockey ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
