1998–99 NHL season

1998–99 NHL season
League	National Hockey League
Sport	Ice hockey
Duration	October 9, 1998 – June 19, 1999
Number of games	82
Number of teams	27
Regular season
Presidents' Trophy	Dallas Stars
Season MVP	Jaromir Jagr (Pittsburgh)
Top scorer	Jaromir Jagr (Pittsburgh)
Playoffs
Eastern champions	Buffalo Sabres
Eastern runners-up	Toronto Maple Leafs
Western champions	Dallas Stars
Western runners-up	Colorado Avalanche
Playoffs MVP	Joe Nieuwendyk (Dallas)
Stanley Cup
Champions	Dallas Stars
Runners-up	Buffalo Sabres

The 1998–99 NHL season was the 82nd regular season of the National Hockey League. The Dallas Stars finished first in regular season play, and won the Stanley Cup championship over the Buffalo Sabres on a controversial triple overtime goal by Brett Hull.

League business

With the addition of the expansion Nashville Predators, the NHL realigned this year to a strictly geographic six-division structure (three per conference), erasing the last vestiges of the traditional four-division structure (Adams/Patrick/Norris/Smythe) abandoned in 1993–94. Other than the necessary reassignment of Colorado to the Western Conference in 1995 due to its two-thousand mile (over 3,200 km) move west from Quebec, the divisions' membership had remained static for five years although several franchises had relocated. As part of this realignment, the Toronto Maple Leafs moved from the Western Conference to the Eastern Conference. This put three of the Original Six teams in the Northeast Division (Boston, Montreal and Toronto), and the three original cities of the NHL in the Northeast (Montreal, Ottawa and Toronto).

The Maurice "Rocket" Richard Trophy for the most goals by a player in a season made its debut this year. The first winner was Teemu Selanne of the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim.

Regular season

The 1998–99 season marked the retirement of Wayne Gretzky, the NHL's all-time leading scorer, who played his final three NHL seasons with the New York Rangers.^[1]

This was the final season that Fox televised NHL games in the United States. It was also the final season for the Toronto Maple Leafs at Maple Leaf Gardens, before moving to the Air Canada Centre in February. Toronto also made its first post-season appearance since 1995–96 this season. 1998–99 was also the final year that the Carolina Hurricanes played at Greensboro Coliseum; they moved to the brand-new Raleigh Entertainment and Sports Arena in Raleigh for the next season. The Colorado Avalanche played their fourth and final season at McNichols Sports Arena and would move to Pepsi Center the following season. The Los Angeles Kings played their final season at the Great Western Forum after 32 seasons before moving to the Staples Center for the next season. Due to the fact that the Great Western Bank ceased to exist two seasons prior, the arena name was replaced by the team name on center ice, in anticipation of the move.

In an effort to reduce the number of disallowed goals due to the skate-in-the-crease violation, the goal crease size was significantly reduced. In spite of this, goaltenders and defensive systems continued to dominate the league, as only two teams, the Toronto Maple Leafs and the New Jersey Devils,^[2] averaged more than three goals scored per game. In addition, no player reached the 50-goal plateau.^[3] A total of 160 shutouts were recorded for the second-straight regular season.^[4]

Final standings

Eastern Conference

Atlantic Division

R	CR		GP	W	L	T	GF	GA	Pts
1	1	New Jersey Devils	82	47	24	11	248	196	105
2	5	Philadelphia Flyers	82	37	26	19	231	196	93
3	8	Pittsburgh Penguins	82	38	30	14	242	225	90
4	10	New York Rangers	82	33	38	11	217	227	77
5	13	New York Islanders	82	24	48	10	194	244	58

^[5]

Northeast Division

R	CR		GP	W	L	T	GF	GA	PIM	Pts
1	2	Ottawa Senators	82	44	23	15	239	179	892	103
2	4	Toronto Maple Leafs	82	45	30	7	268	231	1095	97
3	6	Boston Bruins	82	39	30	13	214	181	1182	91
4	7	Buffalo Sabres	82	37	28	17	207	175	1561	91
5	11	Montreal Canadiens	82	32	39	11	184	209	1299	75

^[5]

Southeast Division

R	CR		GP	W	L	T	GF	GA	PIM	Pts
1	3	Carolina Hurricanes	82	34	30	18	210	202	1158	86
2	9	Florida Panthers	82	30	34	18	210	228	1522	78
3	12	Washington Capitals	82	31	45	6	200	218	1381	68
4	14	Tampa Bay Lightning	82	19	54	9	179	292	1316	47

^[5]

Eastern Conference^[6]

R		Div	GP	W	L	T	GF	GA	Pts
1	y – New Jersey Devils	ATL	82	47	24	11	248	196	105
2	y – Ottawa Senators	NE	82	44	23	15	239	179	103
3	y – Carolina Hurricanes	SE	82	34	30	18	210	202	86
4	Toronto Maple Leafs	NE	82	45	30	7	268	231	97
5	Philadelphia Flyers	ATL	82	37	26	19	231	196	93
6	Boston Bruins	NE	82	39	30	13	214	181	91
7	Buffalo Sabres	NE	82	37	28	17	207	175	91
8	Pittsburgh Penguins	ATL	82	38	30	14	242	225	90
9	Florida Panthers	SE	82	30	34	18	210	228	78
10	New York Rangers	ATL	82	33	38	11	217	227	77
11	Montreal Canadiens	NE	82	32	39	11	184	209	75
12	Washington Capitals	SE	82	31	45	6	200	218	68
13	New York Islanders	ATL	82	24	48	10	194	244	58
14	Tampa Bay Lightning	SE	82	19	54	9	179	292	47

Divisions: ATL - Atlantic Division, NE - Northeast Division, SE - Southeast Division

bold – Qualified for playoffs; y – Won division

Western Conference

Central Division

R	CR		GP	W	L	T	GF	GA	PIM	Pts
1	3	Detroit Red Wings	82	43	32	7	245	202	1202	93
2	5	St. Louis Blues	82	37	32	13	237	209	1308	87
3	10	Chicago Blackhawks	82	29	41	12	202	248	1807	70
4	12	Nashville Predators	82	28	47	7	190	261	1420	63

^[5]

Northwest Division

R	CR		GP	W	L	T	GF	GA	PIM	Pts
1	2	Colorado Avalanche	82	44	28	10	239	205	1619	98
2	8	Edmonton Oilers	82	33	37	12	230	226	1373	78
3	9	Calgary Flames	82	30	40	12	211	234	1389	72
4	13	Vancouver Canucks	82	23	47	12	192	258	1764	58

^[5]

Pacific Division

R	CR		GP	W	L	T	GF	GA	Pts
1	1	Dallas Stars	82	51	19	12	236	168	114
2	4	Phoenix Coyotes	82	39	31	12	205	197	90
3	6	Mighty Ducks of Anaheim	82	35	34	13	215	206	83
4	7	San Jose Sharks	82	31	33	18	196	191	80
5	11	Los Angeles Kings	82	32	45	5	189	222	69

^[5]

Western Conference^[7]

R		Div	GP	W	L	T	GF	GA	Pts
1	p – Dallas Stars	PAC	82	51	19	12	236	168	114
2	y – Colorado Avalanche	NW	82	44	28	10	239	205	98
3	y – Detroit Red Wings	CEN	82	43	32	7	245	202	93
4	Phoenix Coyotes	PAC	82	39	31	12	205	197	90
5	St. Louis Blues	CEN	82	37	32	13	237	209	87
6	Mighty Ducks of Anaheim	PAC	82	35	34	13	215	206	83
7	San Jose Sharks	PAC	82	31	33	18	196	191	80
8	Edmonton Oilers	NW	82	33	37	12	230	226	78
9	Calgary Flames	NW	82	30	40	12	211	234	72
10	Chicago Blackhawks	CEN	82	29	41	12	202	248	70
11	Los Angeles Kings	PAC	82	32	45	5	189	222	69
12	Nashville Predators	CEN	82	28	47	7	190	261	63
13	Vancouver Canucks	NW	82	23	47	12	192	258	58

Divisions: CEN – Central, PAC – Pacific, NW – Northwest

bold – Qualified for playoffs; p – Won Presidents' Trophy; y – Won division

Playoffs

Stanley Cup Final

The teams split the first two games, held in Dallas, then split the following two games in Buffalo. In the fifth game, Dallas shut out Buffalo to put the Sabres on the brink of elimination. Game six was held in Buffalo and it went to triple-overtime before being decided on a controversial goal scored by Brett Hull while he was in the goal crease.^[1] Joe Nieuwendyk of Dallas was awarded the Conn Smythe Trophy as the playoffs' most valuable player.

Dallas Stars vs. Buffalo Sabres
Date	Away	Score	Home	OT
June 8	Buffalo	3 – 2	Dallas	OT
June 10	Buffalo	2 – 4	Dallas
June 12	Dallas	2 – 1	Buffalo
June 15	Dallas	1 – 2	Buffalo
June 17	Buffalo	0 – 2	Dallas
June 19	Dallas	2 – 1	Buffalo	3OT

Playoff bracket

	Conference Quarterfinals					Conference Semifinals					Conference Finals					Stanley Cup Final
	1	New Jersey	3			4	Toronto	4
	8	Pittsburgh	4			8	Pittsburgh	2
	2	Ottawa	0							Eastern Conference
	7	Buffalo	4
											4	Toronto	1
										7	Buffalo	4
	3	Carolina	2
	6	Boston	4
	4	Toronto	4			6	Boston	2
	5	Philadelphia	2			7	Buffalo	4
																E7	Buffalo	2
		(Pairings are re-seeded after the first round.)
																W1	Dallas	4
	1	Dallas	4			1	Dallas	4
	8	Edmonton	0			5	St. Louis	2
	2	Colorado	4
	7	San Jose	2
											1	Dallas	4
										2	Colorado	3
	3	Detroit	4
	6	Anaheim	0								Western Conference
	4	Phoenix	3			2	Colorado	4
	5	St. Louis	4			3	Detroit	2

• During the first three rounds home ice is determined by seeding number, not position on the bracket. In the Finals the team with the better regular season record has home ice.

Awards

Presidents' Trophy:	Dallas Stars
Prince of Wales Trophy:	Buffalo Sabres
Clarence S. Campbell Bowl:	Dallas Stars
Art Ross Trophy:	Jaromir Jagr, Pittsburgh Penguins
Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy:	John Cullen, Tampa Bay Lightning
Calder Memorial Trophy:	Chris Drury, Colorado Avalanche
Conn Smythe Trophy:	Joe Nieuwendyk, Dallas Stars
Frank J. Selke Trophy:	Jere Lehtinen, Dallas Stars
Hart Memorial Trophy:	Jaromir Jagr, Pittsburgh Penguins
Jack Adams Award:	Jacques Martin, Ottawa Senators
James Norris Memorial Trophy:	Al MacInnis, St. Louis Blues
King Clancy Memorial Trophy:	Rob Ray, Buffalo Sabres
Lady Byng Memorial Trophy:	Wayne Gretzky, New York Rangers
Lester B. Pearson Award:	Jaromir Jagr, Pittsburgh Penguins
Maurice "Rocket" Richard Trophy:	Teemu Selanne, Mighty Ducks of Anaheim
NHL Plus/Minus Award:	John LeClair, Philadelphia Flyers
Vezina Trophy:	Dominik Hasek, Buffalo Sabres
William M. Jennings Trophy:	Ed Belfour and Roman Turek, Dallas Stars
Lester Patrick Trophy:	Harry Sinden

All-Star teams

First team	Position	Second team
Dominik Hasek, Buffalo Sabres	G	Byron Dafoe, Boston Bruins
Al MacInnis, St. Louis Blues	D	Ray Bourque, Boston Bruins
Nicklas Lidstrom, Detroit Red Wings	D	Eric Desjardins, Philadelphia Flyers
Peter Forsberg, Colorado Avalanche	C	Alexei Yashin, Ottawa Senators
Jaromir Jagr, Pittsburgh Penguins	RW	Teemu Selanne, Mighty Ducks of Anaheim
Paul Kariya, Mighty Ducks of Anaheim	LW	John LeClair, Philadelphia Flyers

Player statistics

Scoring leaders

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

Player	Team	GP	G	A	Pts	PIM
Jaromir Jagr	Pittsburgh Penguins	81	44	83	127	66
Teemu Selanne	Mighty Ducks of Anaheim	75	47	60	107	30
Paul Kariya	Mighty Ducks of Anaheim	82	39	62	101	40
Peter Forsberg	Colorado Avalanche	78	30	67	97	108
Joe Sakic	Colorado Avalanche	73	41	55	96	29
Alexei Yashin	Ottawa Senators	82	44	50	94	54
Eric Lindros	Philadelphia Flyers	71	40	53	93	120
Theoren Fleury	Calgary Flames /Colorado Avalanche	75	40	53	93	86
John LeClair	Philadelphia Flyers	76	43	47	90	30
Pavol Demitra	St. Louis Blues	82	37	52	89	16

Source: NHL.^[5]

Leading goaltenders

Regular season

Player	Team	GP	MIN	GA	SO	GAA
Ron Tugnutt	Ottawa	43	2508	75	3	1.79
Dominik Hasek	Buffalo	64	3817	119	9	1.87
Ed Belfour	Dallas	61	3536	117	5	1.99
Byron Dafoe	Boston	68	4001	133	10	1.99
Roman Turek	Dallas	26	1382	48	1	2.08
Nikolai Khabibulin	Phoenix	63	3657	130	8	2.13
John Vanbiesbrouck	Philadelphia	62	3712	135	6	2.18
Steve Shields	San Jose	37	2162	80	4	2.22
Arturs Irbe	Carolina	62	3643	135	6	2.22
Mike Vernon	San Jose	49	2831	107	4	2.27

^[8]

Milestones

Debuts

The following is a list of players of note who played their first NHL game in 1998–99 (listed with their first team, asterisk(*) marks debut in playoffs):

• Martin St. Louis, Calgary Flames
• Jean-Pierre Dumont, Chicago Blackhawks
• Chris Drury, Colorado Avalanche
• Milan Hejduk, Colorado Avalanche
• Tom Poti, Edmonton Oilers
• Dan Boyle, Florida Panthers
• Jason Blake, Los Angeles Kings
• David Legwand, Nashville Predators
• Karlis Skrastins, Nashville Predators
• Kimmo Timonen, Nashville Predators
• John Madden, New Jersey Devils
• Eric Brewer, New York Islanders
• Sami Salo, Ottawa Senators
• Brent Johnson, St. Louis Blues
• Vincent Lecavalier, Tampa Bay Lightning
• Tomas Kaberle, Toronto Maple Leafs

Last games

The following is a list of players of note that played their last game in the NHL in 1998–99 (listed with their last team):

• Tomas Sandstrom, Mighty Ducks of Anaheim
• Ken Baumgartner, Boston Bruins
• Randy Cunneyworth, Buffalo Sabres
• Steve Chiasson, Carolina Hurricanes (death)
• Dale Hunter, Colorado Avalanche
• Craig Ludwig, Dallas Stars
• Jamie Macoun, Detroit Red Wings
• Joey Kocur, Detroit Red Wings
• Petr Klima, Detroit Red Wings
• Dino Ciccarelli, Florida Panthers
• Russ Courtnall, Los Angeles Kings
• Dave Babych, Los Angeles Kings
• Bob Carpenter, New Jersey Devils
• Craig Janney, New York Islanders
• Esa Tikkanen, New York Rangers
• Wayne Gretzky, New York Rangers
• Ron Hextall, Philadelphia Flyers
• Bernie Nicholls, San Jose Sharks
• Jim Carey, St. Louis Blues
• Peter Zezel, Vancouver Canucks
• Dave Gagner, Vancouver Canucks
• Brian Bellows, Washington Capitals
• Kelly Miller, Washington Capitals
• Michal Pivonka, Washington Capitals
• John Cullen, Tampa Bay Lightning
• Doug Lidster, Dallas Stars
• Jeff Beukeboom, New York Rangers
• Terry Carkner, Florida Panthers
• Brent Fedyk, New York Rangers
• Mike Hough, New York Islanders
• Jay More, Nashville Predators
• Dana Murzyn, Vancouver Canucks
• Warren Rychel, Colorado Avalanche
• Kjell Samuelsson, Tampa Bay Lightning (last player born in the 1950s)
• Mark Tinordi, Washington Capitals
• Tony Twist, St. Louis Blues
• Neil Wilkinson, Pittsburgh Penguins
• Trent Yawney, Chicago Blackhawks
• Paul Ysebaert, Tampa Bay Lightning
• Jamie Baker, San Jose Sharks
• Kevin Todd, Mighty Ducks of Anaheim
• Brad Shaw, St. Louis Blues

Trading deadline

• Trading Deadline: March 23, 1999 ^[9]
• March 23, 1999: Nashville traded RW Blair Atcheynum to St. Louis for a sixth-round pick in the 2000 Entry Draft.
• March 23, 1999: Calgary traded D Chris O'Sullivan to NY Rangers for D Lee Sorochan.
• March 23, 1999: Detroit traded G Kevin Hodson and San Jose’s second-round pick in the 1999 Entry Draft (previously acquired) to Tampa Bay for LW Wendel Clark and Detroit’s sixth-round pick in the 1999 Entry Draft (previously acquired).
• March 23, 1999: Washington traded C Dale Hunter and a third-round pick in the 2000 Entry Draft to Colorado for a second-round pick in the 1999 or 2000 Entry Draft.
• March 23, 1999: Florida traded D Rhett Warrener and a fifth-round pick in the 1999 Entry Draft to Buffalo for D Mike Wilson.
• March 23, 1999: Calgary traded RW Greg Pankewicz to San Jose for future considerations.
• March 23, 1999: Los Angeles traded C Yanic Perreault to Toronto for C Jason Podollan and a third-round pick in the 1999 Entry Draft.
• March 23, 1999: Edmonton traded RW Kevin Brown to NY Rangers for LW Vladimir Vorobiev.
• March 23, 1999: Tampa Bay traded G Bill Ranford to Detroit for a conditional draft pick.
• March 23, 1999: Chicago traded D Chris Chelios to Detroit for 1999 and 2001 first round draft picks (D Steve McCarthy and G Adam Munro)
• March 23, 1999: Montreal traded C Vincent Damphousse to San Jose for a fifth-round pick in the 1999 Entry Draft and a conditional draft pick or picks in the 2000 Entry Draft.
• March 23, 1999: Vancouver traded C Peter Zezel to Anaheim for future considerations.
• March 23, 1999: Los Angeles traded D Steve Duchesne to Philadelphia for D Dave Babych and a fifth-round pick in the 2000 Entry Draft.
• March 23, 1999: NY Rangers trade D Stan Neckar to Phoenix for D Jason Doig and a sixth-round pick in the 1999 Entry Draft.
• March 23, 1999: NY Rangers trade D Ulf Samuelsson to Detroit for a second-round pick in the 1999 Entry Draft and a third-round pick in the 2000 Entry Draft.
• March 23, 1999: Toronto traded D Jason Smith to Edmonton for a fourth-round pick in the 1999 Entry Draft and a second-round pick in the 2000 Entry Draft.
• March 23, 1999: Buffalo traded C Derek Plante to Dallas for a second-round pick in the 1999 Entry Draft.
• March 23, 1999: Washington traded LW Craig Berube to Philadelphia for future considerations.
• March 23, 1999: Tampa Bay traded D Sami Helenius to Colorado for a conditional draft pick.
• March 23, 1999: Phoenix traded C Jean-Francois Jomphe to Montreal for future considerations.
• March 23, 1999: Chicago traded RW Nelson Emerson to Ottawa for RW Chris Murray.

See also

• List of Stanley Cup champions
• 1998 NHL Entry Draft
• 1998 NHL Expansion Draft
• 49th National Hockey League All-Star Game
• National Hockey League All-Star Game
• 1998 in sports
• 1999 in sports

References

• Diamond, Dan, ed. (2000). Total Hockey. Kingston, NY: Total Sports. ISBN 1-892129-85-X. 
• Dinger, Ralph, ed. (2011). The National Hockey League Official Guide & Record Book 2012. Toronto, ON: Dan Diamond & Associates. ISBN 978-1-894801-22-5. 
• Dryden, Steve, ed. (2000). Century of hockey. Toronto, ON: McClelland & Stewart Ltd. ISBN 0-7710-4179-9. 
• Fischler, Stan; Fischler, Shirley; Hughes, Morgan; Romain, Joseph; Duplacey, James (2003). The Hockey Chronicle: Year-by-Year History of the National Hockey League. Lincolnwood, IL: Publications International Inc. ISBN 0-7853-9624-1. 

Notes

External links

• Hockey Database
• http://nhl.com/

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1998–99 NHL season Atlantic New Jersey NY Islanders NY Rangers Philadelphia Pittsburgh Northeast Boston Buffalo Montreal Ottawa Toronto Southeast Carolina Florida Tampa Bay Washington Central Chicago Detroit Nashville St. Louis Northwest Calgary Colorado Edmonton Vancouver Pacific Anaheim Dallas Los Angeles Phoenix San Jose See also Draft Expansion Draft All-Star Game 1999 Stanley Cup playoffs 1999 Stanley Cup Finals