2009–10 NHL season
The Stanley Cup Finals saw the Chicago Blackhawks defeat the Philadelphia Flyers in six games, for their first championship since the 1960–61 season.
The Phoenix Coyotes' holding company, Dewey Ranch Hockey LLC, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy.
In a statement, Moyes announced that he had agreed in principle to sell the team to PSE Sports and Entertainment, headed by Research in Motion co-CEO Jim Balsillie, for US$212.5 million.
Balsillie had previously made unsuccessful approaches to purchase the Pittsburgh Penguins and Nashville Predators, with the intent of relocating either team to Hamilton.
Two other potential bidders for the team emerged, Jerry Reinsdorf, owner of the Chicago White Sox and Ice Edge Holdings.
On Balsillie's offer, Judge Redfield T. Baum refused to sanction the use of bankruptcy to force relocation of a franchise on a league.
Ice Edge would still have to negotiate a lease agreement with the City of Glendale, and have its ownership approved by the NHL Board of Governors.
Reinsdorf's bid, which paid the NHL $65 million for the team, needed approval by the league board of governors.
[9] Several teams (Calgary, Minnesota, Nashville, Florida and Colorado) debuted new third uniforms this season, while Philadelphia and Edmonton made their third uniform their primary home jersey, and Chicago made the jersey they wore for the previous season's Winter Classic their new alternate.
Since 2006, Kraft Foods has sponsored a sweepstakes called Kraft Hockeyville, in which various small cities across Canada compete against each other with the hopes of winning the privilege of having an NHL pre-season game played in a local sports complex or arena, along with a hockey festival named the Stanley Cup Jamboree.
The Victoria Cup, which was held in Zürich, Switzerland, on September 29, 2009, just prior to the regular-season games, was contested between ZSC Zurich Lions and the NHL's Chicago Blackhawks.
Four teams (Blackhawks, Blues, Panthers and Red Wings) began their season in the NHL Premiere series, each playing two regular-season games in Europe.
On July 15, 2009, the NHL announced that the third installment of the Winter Classic would take place on January 1, 2010, at Fenway Park in Boston, with the Bruins hosting the Flyers.
After the game, the roster of the United States men's hockey team for the 2010 Winter Olympics was released, which included Bruins' goaltender Tim Thomas.
The Flames received their flu shots ahead of the general public, causing an Alberta health official to be fired.
[14] The Maple Leafs and the Canucks teams both had members of their staff "jump the queue" and receive flu shots ahead of the general public and were criticized in the media.
Despite being early favorites for the Stanley Cup, the Philadelphia Flyers were 13–11–1 and 10th in the Eastern Conference when John Stevens was fired on December 4, 2009.
[17] One month later, on February 3, 2010, the Blue Jackets, unhappy with their slide in the standings after a good start, fired defensive-minded Head Coach Ken Hitchcock.
Although the slide had started months previous, team management had given time to Hitchcock to resolve the situation before firing him.
After top scorer and pending free agent Ilya Kovalchuk turned down a US$101 million contract offer from the Thrashers, he was traded to the Devils on February 4.
[19] On February 5, Boston investment banker Jeff Vinik agreed to buy the Lightning from owners OK Hockey, headed by Oren Koules and Len Barrie.
[20] On February 8, Canadiens' General Manager Bob Gainey announced his retirement as GM, staying on as advisor to the club.
On April 8, 2010, the Pittsburgh Penguins defeated the New York Islanders 7-3 in the final regular season game at Mellon Arena.
The two conference winners then advanced to the Stanley Cup Finals, where home ice advantage was awarded to the team that had the better regular season record.
CBC and TSN then split the first three rounds of the playoffs, selecting the rights to individual series using a draft-like setup.
