2017–18 NHL season
The 2017–18 NHL season was the 101st season of operation of the National Hockey League. With the addition of a new expansion team, the Vegas Golden Knights, 31 teams competed in an 82-game regular season. The regular season began on October 4, 2017, and ended on April 8, 2018. The 2018 Stanley Cup playoffs began on April 11, 2018, and concluded on June 7, with the Washington Capitals winning their first Stanley Cup in the Finals over the Vegas Golden Knights in five games.
League business
Expansion
On June 22, 2016, the NHL confirmed that it had granted an expansion franchise in the city of Las Vegas to an ownership group led by Bill Foley, whose identity was revealed as the Vegas Golden Knights on November 22. The team plays in the Pacific Division of the Western Conference.Olympics abstention and ban
On April 3, 2017, the NHL announced that, after five Olympic tournaments in which the NHL allowed its players to participate in the event, it would not do so for the men's hockey tournament at the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea. Furthermore, the league did not include a break for the Olympics in its schedule, and scheduled its All-Star Game as usual for late-January shortly prior to the Olympics. Each team's mandatory bye week, stipulated in the league's CBA, was also scattered throughout the month of January.The restriction will apply to any player under NHL contract, including those in its affiliated minor leagues, but not to players signed to one-way contracts directly with the teams in those minor leagues nor players signed to entry-level contracts who are playing junior ice hockey. Several players had vowed to participate anyway, most notably Alexander Ovechkin and Evgeni Malkin. They did not wind up participating. The league had initially stated that minor league prospects would not be subject to the ban. As the league had little legal room to enforce a ban itself without running afoul of the National Hockey League Players' Association, the league instead colluded with the International Ice Hockey Federation, who agreed to establish a blacklist forbidding the national teams from offering invitations to players under NHL contracts.
Players with Olympic aspirations who were free agents, especially those whose NHL prospects were marginal, were advised not to sign NHL contracts and, if they wished to play professionally, sign directly with minor league clubs to maintain Olympic eligibility. Former Buffalo Sabres captain Brian Gionta and former Olympian Jarome Iginla were among those who opted not to sign NHL contracts for the season prior to the Olympics; Iginla, because of a lingering injury, would not go to the Olympics.
Salary cap
On June 18, 2017, the National Hockey League Players' Association announced that the salary cap would be set at $75 million per team for the 2017–18 season.Rule changes
The NHL Board of Governors passed some new rules that take effect this season, including:- coach's challenge of offside - the original rule was put in place after a series of highly blatant off-side calls had been missed. The rule soon became a huge time waster, often requested by coaches whose team had allowed a goal wanting a review of the exact millimeter that a skate and the puck pass the blue line. To reduce the number of coach's challenges, there is now a two-minute penalty for delay of game if the review does not result in an offside being overturned.
- no timeouts after icing - as a team that causes an icing is not allowed to change the players on the ice, coaches took to calling their 30-second timeout to allow their players to rest, getting around the intent of the "no-changes" rule. This rule change eliminates that practice.
- touching high-sticked puck by power play team - previously, if a team on the man advantage played a puck after it was high-sticked, no matter where on the ice this happened, the play was stopped and the faceoff come all the way back to their own zone. This has been adjusted slightly so that, if the infraction happens in the short handed team's zone, the faceoff would only be moved back to the neutral zone just outside the short handed team's zone.
- enforcement of slashing rules - not a rule change as such, referees are now expected to enforce the existing two-minute penalty for slashing when players chop at the wrists and hands of a puck carrier. This follows a series of injuries - including a partially chopped-off finger - for this common practice that was rarely being penalized.
- faceoff infractions - not a rule change as such, referees are now expected to enforce the existing two-minute penalty for improper stance by a player taking a faceoff. This follows an extensive period where players have not been standing with their feet properly placed within the limits of the markings by the dot, with their bodies square to the end boards.
Media rights
Since CBC and NBC also hold the rights to air the Olympics in their respective countries, Rogers did not schedule any HNIC games on CBC during those Saturdays nights, only airing games on City and Sportsnet. NBC originally decided not to air any NHL games at all during the Olympics, but later reversed course, and added three Sunday afternoon telecasts during the Olympics.
AT&T SportsNet Rocky Mountain was the inaugural regional television rightsholder for the Vegas Golden Knights. TSN re-gained regional English-language rights to the Montreal Canadiens, and extended its radio contract for co-owned CKGM. Rogers Media acquired the radio rights to the Vancouver Canucks for newly acquired 650 CISL.
Centennial celebration
The NHL's centennial commemorations continued into the 2017–18 season, as its 100th season of play. On March 17, 2017, the NHL announced that it would hold an outdoor game at TD Place Stadium between the Ottawa Senators and Montreal Canadiens on December 16, 2017, to formally mark the 100th anniversary of their first NHL game.The Toronto Maple Leafs marked the centennial of the NHL's first game with a "Next Century Game" on December 19, 2017 against the Carolina Hurricanes; the team wore special Toronto Arenas jerseys, and season ticket holders were encouraged to donate their tickets to the MLSE Foundation to allow students to attend this matinee game. Mayor of Toronto John Tory also declared December 19 "Toronto Maple Leafs Day".
Preseason games in China
On March 30, 2017, it was announced that the Los Angeles Kings and Vancouver Canucks would play two preseason games in China; on September 21 at Mercedes-Benz Arena in Shanghai and September 23 at the Beijing Wukesong Culture & Sports Center in Beijing. These were the first NHL games played in China.Coaching changes
This was the first NHL season since the 1966–67 season in which no coaching changes took place during the regular season.Arena changes
- The Detroit Red Wings moved to Little Caesars Arena, replacing their longtime home, the Joe Louis Arena.
- The Vegas Golden Knights played their inaugural season at T-Mobile Arena in Paradise, Nevada.
- The Washington Capitals' home arena was renamed from Verizon Center to Capital One Arena.
- The Winnipeg Jets' home arena was renamed from MTS Centre to Bell MTS Place in observance of the BCE Inc. acquisition of Manitoba Telecom Services earlier in the year.
Regular season
International games
Two regular season games between the Colorado Avalanche and the Ottawa Senators were played at Ericsson Globe in Stockholm, Sweden on November 10 and 11, 2017, branded as the SAP NHL Global Series.Outdoor games
- The NHL 100 Classic was held on December 16, 2017, at TD Place Stadium in Lansdowne Park, Ottawa, featuring the Montreal Canadiens against the Ottawa Senators.
- The Winter Classic was held on January 1, 2018, at Citi Field in Flushing, New York, with the New York Rangers playing the Buffalo Sabres.
- A Stadium Series game was held on March 3, 2018, at Navy–Marine Corps Memorial Stadium in Annapolis, Maryland, featuring two of last season's playoff teams, the Toronto Maple Leafs and the Washington Capitals.
All–Star Game
Postponed game
The Florida Panthers – Boston Bruins game scheduled for January 4, 2018, at TD Garden in Boston, Massachusetts, was postponed due to the effects of the January 2018 nor'easter. The game was rescheduled for April 8, the day after the regular season was originally scheduled to end.Standings
Tie Breakers:1. Fewer number of games played.
2. Greater Regulation + OT Wins
3. Greatest number of points earned in head-to-head play
4. Greater Goal differential
Playoffs
Bracket
Statistics
Scoring leaders
The following players led the league in regular season points at the conclusion of games played on April 7, 2018.| Player | Team | ||||||
| Edmonton Oilers | 82 | 41 | 67 | 108 | +20 | 26 | |
| Philadelphia Flyers | 82 | 34 | 68 | 102 | +28 | 20 | |
| Tampa Bay Lightning | 80 | 39 | 61 | 100 | +15 | 42 | |
| Pittsburgh Penguins | 78 | 42 | 56 | 98 | +16 | 87 | |
| Colorado Avalanche | 74 | 39 | 58 | 97 | +11 | 55 | |
| New Jersey Devils | 76 | 39 | 54 | 93 | +14 | 34 | |
| Los Angeles Kings | 82 | 35 | 57 | 92 | +21 | 20 | |
| Pittsburgh Penguins | 82 | 34 | 58 | 92 | –4 | 36 | |
| Winnipeg Jets | 81 | 23 | 68 | 91 | +13 | 52 | |
| Pittsburgh Penguins | 82 | 29 | 60 | 89 | 0 | 46 |
Leading goaltenders
The following goaltenders led the league in regular season goals against average at the conclusion of games played on April 8, 2018, while playing at least 1,800 minutes.| Player | Team | |||||||||
| Arizona Coyotes | 47 | 21 | 17 | 6 | 97 | 3 | .930 | 2.24 | ||
| Vegas Golden Knights | 46 | 29 | 13 | 4 | 100 | 4 | .927 | 2.24 | ||
| Nashville Predators | 59 | 42 | 13 | 4 | 134 | 8 | .927 | 2.31 | ||
| Washington Capitals | 35 | 15 | 10 | 3 | 73 | 3 | .923 | 2.35 | ||
| Winnipeg Jets | 67 | 44 | 11 | 9 | 156 | 6 | .924 | 2.36 | ||
| Boston Bruins | 54 | 34 | 14 | 5 | 125 | 3 | .917 | 2.36 | ||
| Los Angeles Kings | 64 | 33 | 28 | 3 | 147 | 5 | .921 | 2.40 | ||
| Columbus Blue Jackets | 65 | 37 | 22 | 6 | 158 | 5 | .921 | 2.42 | ||
| Anaheim Ducks | 60 | 31 | 18 | 7 | 139 | 4 | .926 | 2.43 | ||
| Florida Panthers | 35 | 18 | 11 | 2 | 81 | 3 | .929 | 2.47 |
NHL awards
The league's awards were presented at the NHL Awards ceremony, that was held following the 2018 Stanley Cup playoffs on June 20 at the Las Vegas Hard Rock Hotel and Casino. Finalists for voted awards were announced during the playoffs and winners were presented at the award ceremony. Voting concluded immediately after the end of the regular season. The Presidents' Trophy, the Prince of Wales Trophy and Clarence S. Campbell Bowl are not presented at the awards ceremony. The Lester Patrick Trophy is announced during the summer and presented in the fall. For the first time, the Professional Hockey Writers' Association voted to release each voters' ballot to the public after the awards ceremony.| Award | Recipient | Runner-up/Finalists |
| Stanley Cup | Washington Capitals | Vegas Golden Knights |
| Presidents' Trophy | Nashville Predators | Winnipeg Jets |
| Prince of Wales Trophy | Washington Capitals | Tampa Bay Lightning |
| Clarence S. Campbell Bowl | Vegas Golden Knights | Winnipeg Jets |
| Art Ross Trophy | Connor McDavid | Claude Giroux |
| Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy | Brian Boyle | Roberto Luongo Jordan Staal |
| Calder Memorial Trophy | Mathew Barzal | Brock Boeser Clayton Keller |
| Conn Smythe Trophy | Alexander Ovechkin | N/A |
| Frank J. Selke Trophy | Anze Kopitar | Patrice Bergeron Sean Couturier |
| Hart Memorial Trophy | Taylor Hall | Anze Kopitar Nathan MacKinnon |
| Jack Adams Award | Gerard Gallant | Jared Bednar Bruce Cassidy |
| James Norris Memorial Trophy | Victor Hedman | Drew Doughty P. K. Subban |
| King Clancy Memorial Trophy | Daniel and Henrik Sedin | P. K. Subban Jason Zucker |
| Lady Byng Memorial Trophy | William Karlsson | Aleksander Barkov Ryan O'Reilly |
| Ted Lindsay Award | Connor McDavid | Taylor Hall Nathan MacKinnon |
| Mark Messier Leadership Award | Deryk Engelland | Wayne Simmonds Blake Wheeler |
| Maurice "Rocket" Richard Trophy | Alexander Ovechkin | Patrik Laine |
| NHL Foundation Player Award | ||
| NHL General Manager of the Year Award | George McPhee | Kevin Cheveldayoff Steve Yzerman |
| Vezina Trophy | Pekka Rinne | Connor Hellebuyck Andrei Vasilevskiy |
| William M. Jennings Trophy | Jonathan Quick | Pekka Rinne and Juuse Saros |
| Lester Patrick Trophy | N/A |
All-Star teams
Milestones
First games
The following is a list of notable players who played their first NHL game during the 2017–18 season, listed with their first team.| Player | Team | Notability |
| Scott Foster | Chicago Blackhawks | Recreational goaltender who received playing time |
| Nico Hischier | New Jersey Devils | First overall pick in the 2017 Draft |
| Nathan Walker | Washington Capitals | First Australian to play in the NHL |
Last games
The following is a list of players of note who played their last NHL game in 2017–18, listed with their team:| Player | Team | Notability |
| Mike Fisher | Nashville Predators | Over 1,100 games played |
| Brian Gionta | Boston Bruins | Over 1,000 games played |
| Scott Hartnell | Nashville Predators | Over 1,200 games played |
| Rick Nash | Boston Bruins | Maurice "Rocket" Richard Trophy winner, NHL Foundation Player Award winner, over 1,000 games played, six-time NHL All-Star |
| Daniel Sedin | Vancouver Canucks | Art Ross Trophy winner, Ted Lindsay Award winner, King Clancy Memorial Trophy winner, over 1,300 games played, two-time NHL All-Star Team selection, three-time NHL All-Star |
| Henrik Sedin | Vancouver Canucks | Art Ross Trophy winner, Hart Memorial Trophy winner, King Clancy Memorial Trophy winner, over 1,300 games played, two-time NHL All-Star Team selection, three-time NHL All-Star |
| Patrick Sharp | Chicago Blackhawks | Over 1,000 games played |
| Matt Stajan | Calgary Flames | Over 1,000 games played |
| Antoine Vermette | Anaheim Ducks | Over 1,000 games played |
| Radim Vrbata | Florida Panthers | Over 1,000 games played |
| Henrik Zetterberg | Detroit Red Wings | Conn Smythe Trophy winner, King Clancy Memorial Trophy winner, NHL Foundation Player Award winner, NHL All-Star Team selection, over 1,000 games played |
Major milestones reached
- On October 18, 2017, Toronto Maple Leafs forward Patrick Marleau played his 1,500th NHL game, becoming the 18th player to do so.
- On October 26, 2017, New York Rangers forward Rick Nash played his 1,000th NHL game, becoming the 314th player to reach the mark.
- On November 2, 2017, San Jose Sharks forward Joe Thornton scored his 1,400th career point, becoming the 20th player in league history to reach this milestone.
- On November 4, 2017, Anaheim Ducks forward Andrew Cogliano played his 800th consecutive game, becoming the 4th player in league history to reach this milestone.
- On November 15, 2017, Anaheim Ducks forward Antoine Vermette played his 1,000th NHL game, becoming the 315th player to reach the mark.
- On November 30, 2017, Vancouver Canucks forward Daniel Sedin became the 87th player in league history to score 1,000 points.
- On December 12, 2017, Carolina Hurricanes goaltender Cam Ward recorded his 300th win, becoming the 32nd goaltender to reach the mark.
- On December 13, 2017, Dallas Stars goaltender Kari Lehtonen recorded his 300th win, becoming the 33rd goaltender to reach the mark.
- On December 15, 2017, Los Angeles Kings forward Marian Gaborik played his 1,000th NHL game, becoming the 316th player to reach the mark.
- On December 18, 2017, Edmonton Oilers forward Ryan Strome scored the 10,000th goal in Oilers history.
- On December 19, 2017, Toronto Maple Leafs forward James van Riemsdyk scored the 20,000th goal in Maple Leafs history.
- On December 21, 2017, Dallas Stars head coach Ken Hitchcock became the 3rd coach in league history to reach 800th wins.
- On December 21, 2017, Los Angeles Kings forward Dustin Brown played his 1,000th NHL game, becoming the 317th player to reach the mark and the 30th to play 1,000 games with one franchise.
- On December 30, 2017, Detroit Red Wings forward Frans Nielsen recorded his 47th shootout goal, making him the all-time leader in shootout goals.
- On January 16, 2018 New York Rangers goaltender Henrik Lundqvist became the first goaltender to win 20 games in 13 consecutive NHL seasons.
- On January 17, 2018, Dallas Stars head coach Ken Hitchcock became the fourth coach in league history to coach 1,500 games.
- On January 30, 2018, Dallas Stars defenseman Dan Hamhuis played his 1,000th NHL game, becoming the 318th player to reach the mark.
- On February 2, 2018, Minnesota Wild defenseman Ryan Suter recorded his 400th assist.
- On February 9, 2018, NHL Linesman Ryan Galloway officiated his 1,000th NHL game.
- On February 17, 2018, Washington Capitals head coach Barry Trotz became the fifth coach in league history to coach 1,500 games.
- On February 22, 2018, Nashville Predators goaltender Pekka Rinne reached his 300th win, becoming the 34th goaltender to reach the mark.
- On March 1, 2018, Nashville Predators general manager David Poile won his 1,320th game as a general manager, surpassing Glen Sather for most career wins as a general manager.
- On March 12, 2018, Washington Capitals forward Alexander Ovechkin scored his 600th goal, became the 20th player in league history to reach the mark.
- On March 12, 2018, Vegas Golden Knights goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury recorded his 400th win, becoming the 13th goaltender to reach the mark.
- On March 21, 2018, Calgary Flames forward Matt Stajan played in his 1,000th NHL game, becoming the 319th player to reach the mark.
- On March 29, 2018, Chicago Blackhawks defenceman Brent Seabrook played his 1,000th NHL game, becoming the 320th player to reach the mark.
- On April 1, 2018, Washington Capitals forward Alexander Ovechkin played in his 1,000th NHL game, becoming the 321st player to reach the mark.
- On April 5, 2018, Florida Panthers goaltender Roberto Luongo played his 1,000 NHL game, becoming the 322nd player and 3rd goaltender to reach the mark.
- On April 18, 2018, Pittsburgh Penguins forward Sidney Crosby recorded his 173rd career playoff point, passing Mario Lemieux as the Penguins' all-time leading playoff scorer.
Uniforms
- Adidas became the official apparel provider of the NHL beginning with the 2017–18 season. New or otherwise refreshed jerseys for all teams were unveiled on June 20, 2017.
- The Ottawa Senators wore helmet stickers honouring former general manager Bryan Murray, who died in August 2017.
- All jerseys continued to have patches of the NHL's centennial emblem, located above or below the numbers on their right sleeves, for at least up to mid-December and the playing of the NHL 100 Classic.
- The Toronto Maple Leafs wore Toronto Arenas throwback jerseys during their game on December 19, 2017.
- The Buffalo Sabres introduced a new third jersey at the 2018 NHL Winter Classic, wearing the uniform for three additional games later in the season.