2005–06 NHL season

The 2005-06 NHL season will be the 88th season (originally the 89th season) of the National Hockey League. This will be the season after the 2004-05 season which was cancelled due to a labour dispute with the NHL Players Association over the Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) between the league and its players.

File:05 NHL Shield.gif

The modernized NHL shield logo

On July 13, 2005, the NHL and NHLPA jointly announced that they had tentatively agreed to a new collective bargaining agreement which would allow the resumption of hockey for the 2005-06 season. The agreement was voted on July 21 by NHLPA members, and approved by a nearly 7-to-1 margin. The following day, the NHL's board of governors (owners) voted unanimously to approve the new agreement.

A new logo for the NHL was also unveiled, with "NHL" printed in upward-reading letters to project a vibrant, optimistic image, and having silver as the dominant colour to pay homage to the Stanley Cup. [1]

In addition, a number of new rules for the 2005-06 season were announced:

In case of a tie game, after overtime, there will be a shoot out, with three shots per team, and if it is still tied, the shootout becomes sudden death. In preseason games, regardless of the outcome, shootouts were held.
Two-line passes will now be legal, and a "tag-up" offside rule will now be in place, which will allow offensive players to leave the offensive zone.
The size of goaltender equipment will be decreased by about 11%. In addition, the only area behind the goal line where a goalie can play the puck is in a new trapezoid-shaped zone directly behind the net. The goalie may still play the puck, forward of the goal line, in the same manner as before.
The neutral zone will become smaller by four feet, while the goal line will be moved two feet farther from the boards.
If a team ices the puck, they will not be able to make a line change afterwards. Linesmen will be given more discretion when it comes to waving off icing calls when they are accidentaly made as the result of a missed passing attempt.
Players who instigate a fight in the last five minutes of a game will be given a game misconduct and a one-game suspension and the coach will be fined $10,000 (US).

The purpose of these new rule changes are, in the minds of the NHL front office, to create a more exciting game and will therefore hopefully create more scoring opportunities, and therefore goals. In addition, all NHL referees will be miked to announce penalties over the public address system simular to that in the NFL, however when multiple penalties are announced, only the first will be announced by the referee making the call, the rest will be annouced by the PA announcer.

Television in the USA will also have a new look. OLN has taken over for ESPN as the league's new cable network, and will carry games when the season starts on Monday and Tuesday nights under an exclusivity agreement, which means no local braodcasts in either of the two teams' home markets. NBC will televise select games on a regional basis starting in January.

Regular season

The NHL season will begin on October 5. For the first time in the league's history, all of the league's 30 teams will play a game on opening night. The All-Star Game, which would have been in Phoenix this year, will not take place; the league will instead take a break in February so that its players can participate in the 2006 Winter Olympics. The new schedule will feature more intra-division games in order to promote division rivalries. Consequently, there will be whole divisions in the opposite conference that teams will never play in the season.

Standings

Eastern Conference

Northeast Division	GP	W	L	OTL	PTS	GF	GA	PIM
File:BostonBruins 100.png Boston Bruins	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
File:BuffaloSabres 100.png Buffalo Sabres	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
File:Montrealcanadienslogo.gif Montreal Canadiens	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
File:OttawaSenators 100.png Ottawa Senators	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
File:TorontoMapleLeafs 100.png Toronto Maple Leafs	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0

Atlantic Division	GP	W	L	OTL	PTS	GF	GA	PIM
File:NewJerseyDevils 100.png New Jersey Devils	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
File:NewYorkIslanders 100.png New York Islanders	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
File:NewYorkRangers 100.png New York Rangers	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
File:PhiladelphiaFlyers 100.png Philadelphia Flyers	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
File:PittsburghPenguins 100.png Pittsburgh Penguins	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0

Southeast Division	GP	W	L	OTL	PTS	GF	GA	PIM
File:AtlantaThrashers 100.png Atlanta Thrashers	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
File:CarolinaHurricanes 100.png Carolina Hurricanes	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
File:FloridaPanthers 100.png Florida Panthers	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
File:TampaBayLightning 100.png Tampa Bay Lightning	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
File:WashingtonCapitals 100.png Washington Capitals	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0

Western Conference

Central Division	GP	W	L	OTL	PTS	GF	GA	PIM
File:ChicagoBlackhawks 100.png Chicago Blackhawks	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
File:ColumbusBlueJackets 100.png Columbus Blue Jackets	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
File:DetroitRedWings 100.png Detroit Red Wings	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
File:NashvillePredators 100.png Nashville Predators	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
File:StLouisBlues 100.png St. Louis Blues	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0

Pacific Division	GP	W	L	OTL	PTS	GF	GA	PIM
File:AnaheimMightyDucks 100.png Mighty Ducks of Anaheim	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
File:DallasStars 100.png Dallas Stars	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
File:LosAngelesKings 100.png Los Angeles Kings	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
File:PhoenixCoyotes 100.png Phoenix Coyotes	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
File:SanJoseSharks 100.png San Jose Sharks	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0

Northwest Division	GP	W	L	OTL	PTS	GF	GA	PIM
File:CalgaryFlames 100.png Calgary Flames	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
File:ColoradoAvalanche 100.png Colorado Avalanche	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
File:EdmontonOilers 100.png Edmonton Oilers	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
File:MinnesotaWild 100.png Minnesota Wild	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
File:VancouverCanucks 100.png Vancouver Canucks	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0

Scoring leaders

Leading goaltenders

Stanley Cup playoffs

File:Stanley cup.jpg

The Stanley Cup

Stanley Cup finals

NHL awards

Presidents' Trophy:
Prince of Wales Trophy:
Clarence S. Campbell Bowl:
Art Ross Memorial Trophy:
Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy:
Calder Memorial Trophy:
Conn Smythe Trophy:
Frank J. Selke Trophy:
Hart Memorial Trophy:
Jack Adams Award:
James Norris Memorial Trophy:
King Clancy Memorial Trophy:
Lady Byng Memorial Trophy:
Lester B. Pearson Award:
Maurice 'Rocket' Richard Trophy:
NHL Plus/Minus Award:
Roger Crozier Saving Grace Award:
Vezina Trophy:
William M. Jennings Trophy:
Lester Patrick Trophy:

References

Preceded by 2004-05 NHL season	NHL seasons	Succeeded by 2006-07 NHL season