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2010–11 Chicago Blackhawks Season
The 2010–11 Chicago Blackhawks season was the 85th season for the National Hockey League franchise that was established on September 25, 1926. The team was nicknamed the "Hangover 'Hawks" for having to recover from winning the franchise's first Stanley Cup in 49 years while adapting to the loss of several players from that team due to salary cap restrictions. The defending Stanley Cup champion Blackhawks narrowly made the playoffs as the eighth and final seed in the Western Conference having clinched their playoff berth on the last day of the season. The Blackhawks lost their season finale 4–3 in regulation against the Detroit Red Wings on April 10 but still clinched the last spot because of the Dallas Stars losing their finale later the same day 5–3 against the Minnesota Wild. Had the Stars won their finale against the Wild, the Stars would’ve overtaken the defending Stanley Cup champion Blackhawks to the last playoff spot, which would’ve resulted in the Blackhawks dr ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Western Conference (NHL)
The Western Conference () is one of two conferences in the National Hockey League (NHL) used to divide teams. Its counterpart is the Eastern Conference (NHL), Eastern Conference. History Originally named the Clarence Campbell Conference (or Campbell Conference for short), it was created in 1974–75 NHL season, 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 conferences and divisions were re-aligned in 1981–82 NHL season, 1981 to better reflect the geographical locations of the teams, but the existing names were retained with the Campbell Conference becoming the conference for the NHL's westernmost teams. The names of conferences and divisions were changed in 1993–94 NHL season, 1993 to reflect their geographic locations. Then-new NHL commissioner Gary Bettman made the change to help non-hockey fans better understa ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
National Hockey League
The National Hockey League (NHL; , ''LNH'') is a professional ice hockey league in North America composed of 32 teams25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. The NHL is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Canada and is considered the premier professional ice hockey league in the world. The Stanley Cup, the oldest professional sports trophy in North America, is awarded annually to the Stanley Cup playoffs, league playoff champion at the end of each season. The International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) views the Stanley Cup as one of the "most important championships available to the sport". The NHL is headquartered in Midtown Manhattan. The National Hockey League was organized at the Windsor Hotel (Montreal), 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 at Renfrew, Ontario. The NHL immediately took the NHA ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Atlanta Thrashers
The Atlanta Thrashers were a professional ice hockey team based in Atlanta. Atlanta was granted a franchise in the National Hockey League (NHL) on June 25, 1997, and became the League's 28th franchise when it began play in the 1999–2000 NHL season, 1999–2000 season. They were members of the Southeast Division (NHL), Southeast Division of the NHL's Eastern Conference (NHL), Eastern Conference, and played their home games at what is now known as Philips Arena, State Farm Arena in downtown Atlanta. Despite several high-level draft picks and some high-profile player acquisitions, including two first-overall selections, the Thrashers were futile for the majority of their existence. They qualified for the Stanley Cup playoffs only once, after winning the Southeast Division in the 2006–07 NHL season, 2006–07 season, but were swept in the 2007 Stanley Cup playoffs, first round by the New York Rangers. In May 2011, the Thrashers were sold to Canada, Canadian-based ownership group T ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Akim Aliu
Akim Olumide Aliu (born April 24, 1989) is a Nigerian-born Ukrainian-Canadian professional ice hockey player currently an unrestricted free agent. Aliu was a second-round selection of the Chicago Blackhawks, 56th overall, in the 2007 NHL Entry Draft and has played for several AHL and ECHL teams in both the Blackhawks and Atlanta Thrashers/Winnipeg Jets organizations before a trade to the Calgary Flames. Aliu made his NHL debut on April 5, 2012. Early life Aliu was born in Okene, Nigeria, but grew up in Kyiv, Ukraine. His father, Tai, a Nigerian, attended university in Kyiv on a track and field scholarship where he met and married Aliu's mother, Larissa, a Ukrainian. He has a brother, Edward. Aliu considers himself Ukrainian Canadian and attests that he and his family live according to Ukrainian culture; and that he would have played for the Ukrainian national hockey team, if asked. Aliu still speaks Ukrainian to his family. Uncomfortable with the political climate followin ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Brent Sopel
Brent Bernard Sopel (born January 7, 1977) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey defenceman who played the majority of his career in the National Hockey League (NHL). Sopel was originally selected 144th overall at the 1995 NHL Entry Draft by the Vancouver Canucks. He has also played for the New York Islanders, Los Angeles Kings, Chicago Blackhawks, Atlanta Thrashers and Montreal Canadiens, winning the Stanley Cup in 2010 with Chicago. In addition to his NHL career, Sopel has also played in the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL) with Metallurg Novokuznetsk and Salavat Yulaev Ufa, also briefly playing for the American Hockey League (AHL)'s Chicago Wolves before retiring from professional hockey in 2015. Playing career Vancouver Canucks On April 3, 1996, just under a year after being drafted, Sopel signed his first professional contract with his draft team, the Vancouver Canucks. He was told by Coach Marc Crawford that he would never play in the NHL, but Sopel scored his ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ben Eager
Benjamin Arthur Eager (born January 22, 1984) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player. He won the Stanley Cup with the Chicago Blackhawks in 2010. Playing career Eager was drafted in the first round, 23rd overall, by the Phoenix Coyotes in the 2002 NHL Entry Draft. He was later traded by the Coyotes, with goaltender Sean Burke and forward Branko Radivojevič, to the Philadelphia Flyers in exchange for centre Mike Comrie. The 2006–07 season would see Eager lead the NHL in penalty minutes, even though he only played 63 games. That same season, he also won the Pelle Lindbergh Memorial Trophy as the Flyer who has most improved from the previous season, as voted by his teammates. Eager was traded to the Chicago Blackhawks on December 18, 2007 for Jim Vandermeer. Eager scored his first Stanley Cup playoff goal in Game 2 of Chicago's victory against the Vancouver Canucks on May 2, 2009, in Vancouver. This led to the Blackhawks' first victory against the Canucks a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Dustin Byfuglien
Dustin Byfuglien ( ; born March 27, 1985), nicknamed "Big Buff", is an American former professional ice hockey player. He played for the Chicago Blackhawks, Atlanta Thrashers, and Winnipeg Jets. Drafted as a defenceman, defenseman, he played both forward (ice hockey), forward and Defenceman, defense in his career, though he generally played defense in his later seasons. Byfuglien helped Chicago win the Stanley Cup in 2010 Stanley Cup Finals, 2010. Byfuglien was the first Black American-born player to win the Stanley Cup. Byfuglien became a professional fisherman after his hockey career. Early life Byfuglien was born in Minneapolis, Minneapolis, Minnesota, to Cheryl Byfuglien and Rick Spencer. His mother is of Norwegians, Norwegian and Swedes, Swedish descent, and his father is African-American. Cheryl moved to Roseau, Minnesota, with Dustin to be closer to her family while Rick stayed in Minneapolis to continue college; the two never wed. In Roseau, Byfuglien was exposed to hocke ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Vancouver Canucks
The Vancouver Canucks are a professional ice hockey team based in Vancouver. The Canucks compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division (NHL), Pacific Division in the Western Conference (NHL), Western Conference. The team plays its home games at Rogers Arena. Adam Foote is the head coach, Jim Rutherford serves as the president of hockey operations and Patrik Allvin serves as the general manager. The Canucks joined the league in 1970–71 NHL season, 1970 as an expansion team along with the Buffalo Sabres. The team has advanced to the Stanley Cup Finals three times, losing to the New York Islanders in 1982 Stanley Cup Finals, 1982, the New York Rangers in 1994 Stanley Cup Finals, 1994 and the Boston Bruins in 2011 Stanley Cup Finals, 2011. They have won the Presidents' Trophy in back-to-back seasons as the team with the league's best regular season record in both the 2010–11 NHL season, 2010–11 and 2011–12 NHL season, 2011–12 seasons. Th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Presidents' Trophy
The Presidents' Trophy () is an award presented by the National Hockey League (NHL) to the team that finishes with the most points (i.e., best overall record) during the regular season. If two teams are tied for the most points, then the Trophy goes to the team with the most regulation wins (RW). The Presidents' Trophy has been awarded 37 times to 18 different teams since its inception during the 1985–86 NHL season. As the team with the best regular season record, the Presidents' Trophy winner is normally guaranteed home-ice advantage throughout the entire Stanley Cup playoffs. Winning the award does not assure playoff success, as there have been only eight instances where the Presidents' Trophy winner has gone on to win the Stanley Cup in the same season, while three Presidents' Trophy winners have been defeated in the Stanley Cup Finals. However, the team with the Presidents' Trophy has won more than any other playoff seeds of 2-16. The most recent team to win both the Presid ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
2011 Stanley Cup Playoffs
The 2011 Stanley Cup playoffs was the playoff tournament of the National Hockey League (NHL) for the 2010–11 season. It began on April 13, 2011, after the conclusion of the regular season. The first game of the Finals between the Vancouver Canucks and Boston Bruins was held on June 1, and Boston went on to capture their first Stanley Cup championship since 1972 (sixth overall) in the deciding seventh game on June 15. The Canucks made the playoffs as the Presidents' Trophy winners with the most points (i.e. best record) during the regular season. The Detroit Red Wings increased their post-season appearance streak to twenty seasons, the longest active streak at the time. The New Jersey Devils missed the playoffs for the first time since 1996, ending their 13-year run of consecutive postseason appearances, the second longest streak at the time. This was the most recent time that the Buffalo Sabres made the playoffs; and to date they hold the all-time record for the longest playo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Minnesota Wild
The Minnesota Wild are a professional ice hockey team based in Saint Paul, Minnesota. The Wild compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division (NHL), Central Division in the Western Conference (NHL), Western Conference. The team plays its home games at the Xcel Energy Center, and is owned by Craig Leipold. The Wild are affiliated with the Iowa Wild of the American Hockey League (AHL) and the Iowa Heartlanders of the ECHL. The Wild were founded on June 25, 1997, and began play in the 2000–01 NHL season, 2000–01 season. The team was founded following the departure of the Minnesota North Stars, who were based in Minnesota from 1967 NHL expansion, 1967 to 1992–93 NHL season, 1993, when they relocated to Dallas, Texas, and became the Dallas Stars. The Wild made their first Stanley Cup playoffs appearance in 2003 Stanley Cup playoffs, 2003, making a surprise run to the Western Conference finals, but ultimately losing to the Anaheim Ducks, Mighty Duc ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
2010–11 Dallas Stars Season
The 2010–11 Dallas Stars season was the 44th season for the National Hockey League franchise that was established on June 5, 1967, and 18th season since the franchise relocated to Dallas to start the 1993–94 NHL season. Despite having a winning record, the Stars failed to qualify for the Stanley Cup playoffs for the third consecutive season. The Stars posted a regular season record of 42 wins, 29 losses and 11 overtime/shootout losses for 95 points, only two points behind the defending Stanley Cup champion Chicago Blackhawks for the last playoff spot. Off-season The Stars decided to not re-sign unrestricted free agent goalie Marty Turco. The Stars signed free agent goalie Andrew Raycroft, formerly of the Vancouver Canucks, as a likely backup goaltender to Kari Lehtonen. Mike Modano left the team to sign with the Detroit Red Wings. Regular season On February 21, 2011, among an extended skid, general manager Joe Nieuwendyk traded defenseman Matt Niskanen and forward James N ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
