The Top 10 NHL Stories in 2011-12

The NHL season has ended, and a new season is upon us. But first, we look back at the top ten stories that defined the 2011-12 season.

10. Florida Returns to the Playoffs after 10 Years

For 11 years, Florida means futility. They fielded bad teams each and every year and were ridiculed by virtually everybody. But in 2012, the jokes were put to rest, as the Panthers won their first Southeast Division title in franchise history and ended the longest active Stanley Cup Playoff drought. New coach Kevin Dineen instilled discipline and hard work for the team, and it paid off. Despite losing to former coach Peter DeBoer and the New Jersey Devils in seven games, optimism began to bloom in South Florida.

9. Hockey Returns to Winnipeg

The former Atlanta Thrashers were sold to a Winnipeg-based ownership group and were moved to Winnipeg, putting the NHL back to the Canadian city after 15 years. Ironically, they were named the Jets, but did not adopt the original Jets'  (current Phoenix Coyotes) history. Nevertheless, the new Jets were immediately embraced in Winnipeg, and the MTS Centre was sold out in every game. Even though they missed out on the playoffs, the future appears to be bright for the Jets. 

8. Stamkos Snipes 60

It is rare that an NHL player scores 60 goals in a season. But for Steven Stamkos everything is possible. Though Tampa Bay missed the playoffs this year, Stamkos didn't miss a beat, becoming just the 20th player to score 60 goals in a season. His feat earned him the Rocket Richard Trophy at the end of the season. A lot will be expected of Stamkos next season, as the Lightning look to return to the playoffs after a sluggish and inconsistent 2011-12 that saw several players miss time due to injury.






7. The Bruins' Near-Invincible November

Despite failing to repeat as Stanley Cup champions, the Boston Bruins were able to achieve something else: a near-undefeated month. November saw Boston win earn points in each game; the only one-point game was a shootout loss on November 25 against Detroit. During the stretch, Tyler Seguin emerged as one of the elite players in the league, while Tim Thomas played superbly behind the pipes. The Bruins will bring back most of the band back next season except for Thomas, who announced he would sit out the season for personal reasons.


6. The Lokomotiv Yaroslavl Tragedy

On September 7, a Russian airline crashed into the Volga River near Yaroslavl, killing the entire Lokomotiv Yaroslavl team in the Kontinental Hockey League. Several of its players were NHL alumni, including Pavol Demitra, Ruslan Salei, Josef Vasicek, and assistant coach Brad McCrimmon. Several of the teams connected to the victims wore uniform or helmet patches during the season, while a majority of opening night games were preceded by a moment of silence for the victims.

5. 2012 NHL Winter Classic

The NHL Winter Classic was held in Philadelphia's Citizens Bank Park, and saw the New York Rangers defeat their arch-rival Philadelphia Flyers 3-2, as the winning goal was scored by Brad Richards. In the lead-up to the Classic, both teams were given access to their locker rooms, practice facilities, and even their life off the ice through the HBO 24/7 series. One of the most memorable episodes of the series saw Philadelphia goalie Ilya Bryzgalov humorously explain the universe and other aspects of Russian culture.


4. The 'Shanaban'

Former NHL player Brendan Shanahan took over as executive vice president of player safety before the season. Throughout the year, Shanahan suspended players left to right for a variety of illegal hits, body-checks and other major penalties. This was in response to high concussion rates that affected several players. He further explained the player penalties through a short 2-minute video, spawning the meme 'Shanaban' for his exploits.


3. Phoenix Makes History

The Phoenix Coyotes were once one of the NHL's struggling franchises, never winning a division title or a playoff series since leaving Winnipeg for the desert in 1996. However, in the 2011-12 season, the Coyotes were howling the competition, winning its first Pacific Division title, and advanced to the conference finals for the first. This despite lacking an owner for the past two seasons. A lot will be expected for the Coyotes next season as they try to build on that success.


2. Goals and Fights Galore in Pennsylvania

The Battle of Pennsylvania reached its boiling point during the first round of the Stanley Cup playoffs. The Flyers and the Penguins scored a total of 56 goals between them, but the Flyers won the series in six games. The most heated game of the series came in Game 3, in which three Penguins (Arron Asham, James Neal, Craig Adams) were suspended afterwards for illegal hits. During the penultimate meeting of the regular season, Flyers head coach Peter Laviolette and Penguins assistant Tony Granato were involved in a shouting tussle, further fueling the rivalry in a lead-up to the playoffs.


1. The Kings are Kings

The eighth-seeded Los Angeles Kings were given little chance of advancing deeper in the playoffs, but the way they blitzed past the competition en route to their first Stanley Cup baffled both critics and opponents alike. They took a 3-0 lead in each series, then took out the top three seeds in the West in dominating fashion, as Vancouver, St. Louis and Phoenix were shockingly defeated by the upstarts. In the Final, they stunned the New Jersey Devils in six games for their first Cup in the franchise's 45-year history.