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The 1999–2000 NHL season was the 83rd regular season of the
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 Cana ...
. With the addition of the expansion Atlanta Thrashers, 28 teams each played 82 games. This was the first season played in which teams were awarded a point for an overtime loss. The
New Jersey Devils The New Jersey Devils are a professional ice hockey team based in Newark, New Jersey. The Devils compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference (NHL), Eastern Conference. The club w ...
defeated the defending champion Dallas Stars for their second
Stanley Cup The Stanley Cup () is the championship trophy awarded annually to the National Hockey League (NHL) playoff champion. It is the oldest existing trophy to be awarded to a professional sports franchise in North America, and the International Ic ...
championship. During the regular season, no player reached the 100-point plateau, the first time in a non-lockout season since the 1967–68 season. Also, in the 2000 Stanley Cup playoffs, the New Jersey Devils overcame a three-games-to-one deficit against the
Philadelphia Flyers The Philadelphia Flyers are a professional ice hockey team based in Philadelphia. The Flyers compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference (NHL), Eastern Conference. The team play ...
to win the Eastern Conference Finals.


League business


Expansion

The 1999–2000 season was the inaugural year for the Atlanta Thrashers. They would join the Southeast Division, marking the return of the NHL to
Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Georgia (U.S. state), most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. It is the county seat, seat of Fulton County, Georg ...
since the Atlanta Flames moved to
Calgary Calgary () is a major city in the Canadian province of Alberta. As of 2021, the city proper had a population of 1,306,784 and a metropolitan population of 1,481,806 making it the third-largest city and fifth-largest metropolitan area in C ...
in 1980. The 1999 NHL expansion draft was held on June 25 to fill the new Thrashers roster.


Entry draft

The 1999 NHL entry draft was held on June 26 at the FleetCenter in
Boston Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...
. Patrik Stefan was selected first overall by the expansion Atlanta Thrashers.


Rule changes

* Overtime during the regular season will now have four skaters per side, instead of the 5-on-5. Furthermore, teams will earn one point in the standings for an overtime loss instead of none. These changes were intended to discourage teams from playing very defensively during the overtime to guarantee the single point from a tie. The number of ties had been going up for some years, and the league was able to successfully reverse that trend with these changes. * The four-official system (two referees and two linesmen) continued its phase-in regularly in which teams played 25 home and 25 road games (50 games per team) for a total of 700 games with four officials. The system was also used for all playoff games again.


Uniform changes

* League wide: ** An "NHL 2000" patch was worn this season to celebrate the turn of the millennium. ** Wayne Gretzky's jersey number, 99, was retired league-wide on February 6, 2000, at the season's All–Star Game. *Anaheim: Jade Alternates Retired. Eggplant pants with Jade Stripes are restored. *Atlanta: White jerseys have the team logo, while the road darks have the alternate mark. The team wore inaugural season patches for their first season. *Carolina: Shade of red is darkened. In addition to the NHL 2000 Patch, the Hurricanes wore two other patches this season, one celebrated the opening of the Raleigh Entertainment and Sports Arena, and the other was in Memory of Steve Chiasson, who died in a single-vehicle, alcohol-involved crash after the Hurricanes were eliminated in the
1999 Stanley Cup playoffs The 1999 Stanley Cup playoffs, the Stanley Cup playoffs, playoff tournament of the National Hockey League (NHL), began on April 21, 1999, following the 1998–99 NHL season. Prior to the season, the league realigned its teams into six divisions ...
. *Chicago: The tan outline on the crest is removed. *Colorado: Shade of Burgundy is darkened from 1998–1999 *Dallas: The alternates from 1998–1999 become the basis of the team's new home Uniform. the actual 1998–1999 Alternates become the new road uniform. *Los Angeles: New Purple alternates introduced. *New York Rangers: Navy Blue Lady Liberty Alternates return. *Ottawa: The Alternates from the 1998–1999 become the new Road Uniforms *Phoenix: Crest on the alternates get a sand-colored outline. *Tampa Bay: the alternate jerseys are dropped. *Toronto: All-star game patch worn for 2000 NHL All-Star Game. The Alternates worn during the 1998–1999 season for the last year at Maple Leaf Gardens go on a one-year hiatus.


Arena changes

* The expansion Atlanta Thrashers moved into
Philips Arena State Farm Arena is a Multi-purpose stadium, multi-purpose arena located in Atlanta, Georgia. The arena serves as the home venue for the Atlanta Hawks of the National Basketball Association (NBA). It also served as home to the Atlanta Thrasher ...
. * The
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 (NHL), Atlantic Division in the Eastern Conference (NHL), Eastern Con ...
' home arena, Marine Midland Arena, was renamed HSBC Arena on March 17, 2000, in recognition of Marine Midland Bank's parent company
HSBC HSBC Holdings plc ( zh, t_hk=滙豐; initialism from its founding member The Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation) is a British universal bank and financial services group headquartered in London, England, with historical and business li ...
retiring the Marine Midland brand. * The
Carolina Hurricanes The Carolina Hurricanes (colloquially known as the Canes) are a professional ice hockey team based in Raleigh, North Carolina. The Hurricanes compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Con ...
moved from Greensboro Coliseum in
Greensboro, North Carolina Greensboro (; ) is a city in Guilford County, North Carolina, United States, and its county seat. At the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, its population was 299,035; it was estimated to be 307,381 in 2024. It is the List of municipalitie ...
to the Raleigh Entertainment & Sports Arena in
Raleigh, North Carolina Raleigh ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of North Carolina. It is the List of municipalities in North Carolina, second-most populous city in the state (after Charlotte, North Carolina, Charlotte) ...
. * The
Colorado Avalanche The Colorado Avalanche (colloquially known as the Avs) are a professional ice hockey team based in Denver. The Avalanche compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division (NHL), Central Division in the Western Con ...
moved from McNichols Sports Arena to the Pepsi Center. * The
Los Angeles Kings The Los Angeles Kings are a professional ice hockey team based in Los Angeles. The Kings compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division (NHL), Pacific Division in the Western Conference (NHL), Western Conference. ...
moved from the Great Western Forum in
Inglewood, California Inglewood is a city in southwestern Los Angeles County, California, United States, in the Greater Los Angeles, Greater Los Angeles metropolitan area. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 U.S. census, the city had a population of 107,762. ...
to the Staples Center in downtown Los Angeles. * The
Pittsburgh Penguins The Pittsburgh Penguins (colloquially known as the Pens) are a professional ice hockey team based in Pittsburgh. The Penguins compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference (NHL), E ...
's home arena, Pittsburgh Civic Arena, was renamed Mellon Arena after Mellon Financial purchased the naming rights.


Regular season


All-Star Game

The
All-Star Game An all-star game is an exhibition game that showcases the best players (the "stars") of a sports league. The exhibition is between two teams organized solely for the event, usually representing the league's teams based on region or division, bu ...
was held on February 6, 2000, at Air Canada Centre in
Toronto Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...
, the home to the
Toronto Maple Leafs The Toronto Maple Leafs (officially the Toronto Maple Leaf Hockey Club and often referred to as the Leafs) are a professional ice hockey team based in Toronto. The Maple Leafs compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the A ...
.


Final standings


Eastern Conference


Western Conference


Playoffs


Bracket

In each round, teams competed in a best-of-seven series following a 2–2–1–1–1 format (scores in the bracket indicate the number of games won in each best-of-seven series). The team with home ice advantage played at home for games one and two (and games five and seven, if necessary), and the other team played at home for games three and four (and game six, if necessary). The top eight teams in each conference made the playoffs, with the three division winners seeded 1–3 based on regular season record, and the five remaining teams seeded 4–8. The NHL used "re-seeding" instead of a fixed bracket playoff system. During the first three rounds, the highest remaining seed in each conference was matched against the lowest remaining seed, the second-highest remaining seed played the second-lowest remaining seed, and so forth. The higher-seeded team was awarded home ice advantage. The two conference winners then advanced to the Stanley Cup Finals, where home ice advantage was awarded to the team that had the better regular season record.


Awards

The Roger Crozier Saving Grace Award was introduced this season for the goaltender with the best save percentage.


All-Star teams


Player statistics


Scoring leaders

''Note: GP = Games played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points''


Leading goaltenders

''Note: GP = Games played; Min = Minutes played; GA = Goals against; GAA = Goals against average; W = Wins; L = Losses; T = Ties; SO = Shutouts; SV% = Save percentage'' ''Source: 2001 NHL Yearbook''


Coaches


Eastern Conference

*Atlanta Thrashers: Curt Fraser *Boston Bruins: Pat Burns *Buffalo Sabres: Lindy Ruff *Carolina Hurricanes: Paul Maurice *Florida Panthers: Terry Murray *Montreal Canadiens: Alain Vigneault *New Jersey Devils: Robbie Ftorek and Larry Robinson *New York Islanders: Butch Goring *New York Rangers: John Muckler and John Tortorella *Ottawa Senators: Jacques Martin *Philadelphia Flyers: Roger Neilson and Craig Ramsay *Pittsburgh Penguins: Kevin Constantine and Herb Brooks *Tampa Bay Lightning: Steve Ludzik *Toronto Maple Leafs: Pat Quinn *Washington Capitals: Ron Wilson


Western Conference

*Mighty Ducks of Anaheim: Craig Hartsburg *Calgary Flames: Brian Sutter *Chicago Blackhawks: Lorne Molleken and Bob Pulford *Colorado Avalanche: Bob Hartley *Dallas Stars: Ken Hitchcock *Detroit Red Wings:
Scotty Bowman William Scott Bowman (born September 18, 1933) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey head coach. He holds the record for most wins in National Hockey League (NHL) history, with 1,244 wins in the regular season and 223 in the Stanley Cup ...
*Edmonton Oilers: Kevin Lowe *Los Angeles Kings:
Andy Murray Sir Andrew Barron Murray (born 15 May 1987) is a British former professional tennis player and coach. He was ranked as the List of ATP number 1 ranked singles tennis players, world No. 1 in men's singles by the Association of Tennis Professio ...
*Nashville Predators: Barry Trotz *Phoenix Coyotes: Bobby Francis *San Jose Sharks: Darryl Sutter *St. Louis Blues: Joel Quenneville *Vancouver Canucks: Marc Crawford


Milestones


Debuts

The following is a list of players of note who played their first NHL game in 1999–2000 (listed with their first team, an asterisk(*) marks debut in playoffs): * Patrik Stefan, Atlanta Thrashers * Robyn Regehr, Calgary Flames * Alex Tanguay, Colorado Avalanche * Martin Skoula, Colorado Avalanche * Brenden Morrow, Dallas Stars * Brian Rafalski, New Jersey Devils * Scott Gomez, New Jersey Devils * Roberto Luongo, New York Islanders * Brian Boucher, Philadelphia Flyers * Simon Gagne, Philadelphia Flyers * Evgeni Nabokov, San Jose Sharks


Last games

The following is a list of players of note that played their last game in the NHL in 1999–2000 (listed with their last team): * Marty McSorley, Boston Bruins * Grant Fuhr, Calgary Flames * Steve Smith, Calgary Flames * Ed Olczyk, Chicago Blackhawks * Brian Skrudland, Dallas Stars * Guy Carbonneau, Dallas Stars * Ken Wregget, Detroit Red Wings * Bill Ranford, Edmonton Oilers * Ray Sheppard, Florida Panthers * Darren Turcotte, Nashville Predators * Ulf Samuelsson, Philadelphia Flyers * Zarley Zalapski, Philadelphia Flyers * Rob Brown, Pittsburgh Penguins * Pat Falloon, Pittsburgh Penguins * Bob Rouse, San Jose Sharks * Murray Craven, San Jose Sharks * Dave Ellett, St. Louis Blues * Geoff Courtnall, St. Louis Blues * Derek King, St. Louis Blues * Daren Puppa, Tampa Bay Lightning * Shawn Burr, Tampa Bay Lightning * Wendel Clark, Toronto Maple Leafs * Doug Bodger, Vancouver Canucks


Broadcasting


Canada

This was the second season of the league's Canadian national broadcast rights deals with CBC and CTV Sportsnet. CBC aired Saturday night ''Hockey Night in Canada'' regular season games, while CTV Sportsnet's telecasts included ''Tuesday Night Hockey'' and other weeknight games. Coverage of the Stanley Cup playoffs continued to primarily be on CBC, while CTV Sportsnet aired first round all-U.S. series.


United States

This was the first year of the league's five-year U.S. national broadcast rights deal with
ESPN ESPN (an initialism of their original name, which was the Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by the Walt Disney Company (80% and operational control) and Hearst Commu ...
and ABC. Much like ABC's initial contract with the NHL in the 1992–93 and 1993–94 seasons, ESPN essentially purchased time on ABC to air selected NHL games on ist sister broadcast network. This was noted in copyright tags at the conclusion of the telecasts (i.e., ''"The preceding program has been paid for by ESPN, Inc."''). ESPN later signed a similar television rights contract with the
National Basketball Association The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada). The NBA is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Ca ...
in 2002, allowing it to produce and broadcast NBA games on ABC under a similar time buy arrangement on the broadcast network. ABC's terms of this deal included four to five weeks worth of regional games on selected Saturday afternoons, typically between beginning in January or March for the first two seasons. ABC also had the All-Star Game. ESPN and
ESPN2 ESPN2 is an American multinational pay television network owned by ESPN Inc., a joint venture between the Walt Disney Company (which owns a controlling 80% stake) and Hearst Communications (which owns the remaining 20%). ESPN2 was initially ...
continued to air weeknight games throughout the regular season. During the first two rounds of the playoffs, ESPN and ESPN2 aired selected games, while ABC had weekend regional telecasts. Each U.S. team's regional broadcaster produced local coverage of first and second round games (except for those games on ABC). ABC's weekend telecasts continued into the Conference Finals, while ESPN had the rest of the third round games. ESPN then aired the first two games of the Stanley Cup Finals before the rest of the series shifted to ABC.


See also

*
List of Stanley Cup champions The Stanley Cup is a trophy awarded annually to the Season structure of the NHL, playoff champion club of the National Hockey League (NHL). It was donated by the Governor General of Canada Frederick Stanley, 16th Earl of Derby, Lord Stanley of Pr ...
* 1999 NHL entry draft * 1999 NHL expansion draft * 1999–2000 NHL transactions * 50th National Hockey League All-Star Game * NHL All-Star Game * NHL All-Rookie Team * Lester Patrick Trophy * 1999 in sports * 2000 in sports


References

* * ;Notes


External links


Hockey Database
*http://nhl.com/ {{DEFAULTSORT:1999-2000 NHL season 1 1