1997–98 NHL season

Did You Know?

• The Washington Capitals moved from US Airways Arena to the MCI Center on December 5, 1997.
• The relocated Carolina Hurricanes played at Greensboro Coliseum while their new arena in Raleigh was under construction.
• The all-time record for most shutouts in a season was broken for the second straight year, with 160 shutouts recorded.

League business

The NHL approved four new teams for Nashville, Atlanta, Columbus, and Saint Paul on June 25, 1997, bringing the league to 30 teams by 2000. The Nashville Predators joined in 1998, the Atlanta Thrashers in 1999, and the Columbus Blue Jackets and Minnesota Wild in 2000. The 1997–98 season was the final one using the old four-division setup, as the league switched to a six-division geographic alignment the next year, moving the Toronto Maple Leafs from the Western to the Eastern Conference. The Hartford Whalers became the Carolina Hurricanes after moving to North Carolina, staying in the Northeast Division until the realignment. The 1997 draft, held June 21 at Pittsburgh's Civic Arena, saw the Boston Bruins pick Joe Thornton first overall.

Regular season

The 1997–98 NHL season began with a two-game series in Tokyo, Japan, between the Vancouver Canucks and the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim, marking the league's first regular-season games outside North America. A 17-day break in February allowed NHL players to compete in the 1998 Winter Olympics in Nagano, Japan. The All-Star Game, held in Vancouver, introduced a new format pitting a team of North Americans against a team from the rest of the world. A record 160 shutouts were recorded, with Dominik Hasek contributing 13, including three against the New York Rangers, and setting a league record by shutting out 11 different teams.

Only the St. Louis Blues and Detroit Red Wings averaged more than three goals per game, and Jaromir Jagr was the sole player to reach 100 points. Jari Kurri finished his career with 601 goals, reaching the 600-goal milestone. The Chicago Blackhawks missed the playoffs for the first time since the 1968–69 season.

Playoffs

The playoffs included the top eight teams per conference. Division winners got the top two seeds based on record, with the other six seeded third through eighth. Every round was a best-of-seven series. A re-seeding system was used, so in each conference the highest remaining seed played the lowest, and so on. Home-ice advantage went to the higher seed. The two conference champions met in the Stanley Cup Finals.

Broadcasting

This season marked the last time Canadian NHL broadcasts were shared between TSN and CBC’s Hockey Night in Canada. CBC handled Saturday nights, while TSN covered Monday and Thursday games, plus first-round all-U.S. playoff series, with CBC airing most of the postseason. A new deal with CTV Sportsnet then replaced TSN as the national cable partner. In the U.S., it was the fourth year of five-year contracts with Fox and ESPN. Fox broadcast the All-Star Game and increased its regional weekend telecasts to 11 afternoons. The FoxTrax puck system appeared for the final time. In August 1998, the league signed a five-year, $600 million rights deal with ABC Sports/ESPN.