1993-94

• The Minnesota North Stars move to Dallas, becoming the Dallas Stars. Even though the Twin Cities eventually got a replacement franchise with the Minnesota Wild, former owner Norm Green is still persona non grata in the region to this day.

• The NHL welcomes two new teams -- the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim and the Florida Panthers.

• The divisions undergo a slight realignment, and their names are changed to reflect geographical locations. Gone are Patrick, Adams, Norris and Smythe -- in their places go Northeast, Atlantic, Central and Pacific. Furthermore, the Wales Conference becomes the Eastern Conference, and the Campbell Conference becomes the Western Conference. The winners of the conference finals still receive the Prince of Wales Trophy and the Campbell Bowl, respectively.

• On March 23, Wayne Gretzky scores his 802nd career goal, surpassing Gordie Howe as the NHL's all-time leading goal scorer. Luc Robitaille and Marty McSorley assisted on the goal, which came against Kirk McLean and the Vancouver Canucks.

• The playoff format is changed. Teams are now seeded in relation to their conference standing as opposed to their divisional standing, with the top eight teams per conference gaining playoff berths. The division winners are given the top seeds, and the non-winners are seeded according to their regular season records.

• The New York Rangers end a 54-year Stanley Cup drought, outlasting the Vancouver Canucks in seven games to win their first Stanley Cup since 1940. At the end of the seventh game at Madison Square Garden, one fan holds up a sign that reads, "Now I can die in peace." The Rangers' win leaves the Detroit Red Wings as the team with the longest Stanley Cup drought.