The season start was delayed due to a lockout of players imposed by the NHL franchise owners.
After a new labour agreement was reached between the owners and the National Hockey League Players' Association (NHLPA), a 48-game season started on January 20.
The season ended when the New Jersey Devils swept the heavily favored Detroit Red Wings for their first Stanley Cup win.
On October 1, 1994, the NHL initiated a lockout of the National Hockey League Players' Association (NHLPA).
The NHL wanted to levy a luxury tax, a financial penalty that is assigned by the league, on salaries that were higher than the average.
However, the National Hockey League Players' Association (NHLPA) viewed that as a variation on a salary cap and refused to accept it.
[3] Under the leadership of executive director Bob Goodenow, the NHLPA position was that it would be open to a small tax, however the bulk of the financial goals could be achieved through revenue sharing.
However, large market teams such as Toronto, Detroit, the New York Rangers, Dallas, and Philadelphia eventually broke with the league, as they feared that an extended lockout would outweigh the benefits from getting a salary cap and did not want to be the first league in North America to forfeit an entire season just to help out their small-market colleagues.
TSN continued to televise regular season weeknight games, primarily on Mondays and Thursdays.
Fox's deal marked the NHL's first major American broadcast network agreement since the 1974–75 season.
American regional sports networks could still carry their teams' first and second-round games, but they could no longer televise local coverage beyond those rounds.