2006-07 NHL Season Primer

The 2006-07 NHL season opened on Wednesday night with three games, including a shootout, a two-goal comeback and an overtime winner. If your hockey intelligence has lapsed over the summer, here's the info you need to get up to speed, including key dates during the season, a list of summer transactions, and new rules.

Eight Months of Hockey

The 2006-07 NHL season begins October 4. The first day of the Stanley Cup Playoffs will be April 11, and the latest date the Stanley Cup Final can end is June 11.
Key Dates on the NHL Calender
2006-07 NHL Schedule
NHL TV Broadcast Schedules

The New Addresses

Over 100 players took the free-agent leap over the summer, including three All-Star defensmen: Zdeno Chara went from Ottawa to Boston, Ed Jovanovski from Vancouver to Phoenix, and Rob Blake left Colorado for L.A. Chris Pronger joined the Anaheim Ducks in the summer's biggest trade. Roberto Luongo and Todd Bertuzzi switched sides. Steve Yzerman is among the newly retired.
Who's In and Who's Out on Every Team

The New Faces

Evgeni Malkin of the Pittsburgh Penguins is the overwhelming favorite to emerge as Rookie of the Year. But his NHL debut has been postponed by a separated shoulder. He won't be back before November.
2006-07 NHL Rookies to Watch

Looking for Work

Jason Allison and Brian Leetch are among the veterans still sniffing around for jobs as the season begins.
Available NHL Free Agents

The New Rules

The NHL is targeting divers. A player's first offense brings a warning letter from the league. The second costs $1,000. A third dive means a phone call from the league and a one-game suspension. The suspension doubles for subsequent dives. These penalties can be issued by the league even if a diving penalty was not called by the referee during the game.

The allowable curve on a stick blade increases from a half-inch to three-quarters of an inch. For many players it means they keep using the same sticks as before, but they don't have to worry about getting caught with an illegal curve.

The Anaheim Ducks

...are the consensus early favorites for the 2007 Stanley Cup. By the way, they're just "Ducks" now. The "Mighty" tag has been dropped.
NHL Season Preview

The Salary Cap

... has increased from $39 million (US) to $44 million per team.

The New Regimes

Three teams have opted for a complete makeover, hiring a new general manager and coach:
- In Boston, Peter Chiarelli was hired from the Ottawa front office as the new general manager, and Dave Lewis (Ex-Red Wings) is the new coach.
- In Los Angeles, former Sharks' GM Dean Lombardi takes over as general manager. He hired Marc Crawford, just fired by Vancouver, as the new coach.
- Retired back-up goalie Garth Snow is now the nominal GM of the New York Islanders. Ted Nolan (ex-Sabres) is the coach, hired directly by owner Charles Wang.

Other new general managers:
- Ray Shero takes over in Pittsburgh.
- Francois Giguere takes the job in Colorado.
- Coach Jacques Martin will also serve as general manager in Florida, after Mike Keenan was forced to resign just before training camp.

Other new coaches:
- Guy Carbonneau in Montreal.
- Claude Julien in New Jersey.
- Paul Maurice in Toronto.
- Alain Vigneault in Vancouver.
- Jim Playfair in Calgary.