2014-15

• Having moved out of the City of Phoenix more than a decade ago (Glendale is, albeit, in the Phoenix metropolitan area), the Coyotes rebrand themselves as the Arizona Coyotes. Besides a very slight change in their shoulder patch, their uniform is unchanged.

• On December 2, the hockey world lost one of its greatest players of all time, as Canadiens legend Jean Beliveau passed away at the age of 83.

• One of the underlying storylines of the season was what became known as the McEichel Sweepstakes. Connor McDavid of the OHL's Erie Otters and Jack Eichel of the Boston University Terriers -- both potential NHL superstars -- are up for grabs in the 2015 Entry Draft. The NHL's draft lottery only moves up one non-playoff team, with the worst team guaranteed no worse than the second overall pick. That said, fans of the NHL's bottom-feeders were openly rooting for their teams to lose so that they would be guaranteed one or the other. Nowhere was that more evident than at Buffalo's First Niagara Center on March 26th when the fans went wild after the Arizona Coyotes beat the hometown Buffalo Sabres in overtime, 4-3. The Sabres ended up with the league's worst record, but they lost out on the first pick when the Edmonton Oilers won the draft lottery. So it looks like the Sabres will "settle" for Eichel while the Oilers will take McDavid.

• What a difference a year makes. Last season, the Bruins won the Presidents' Trophy and the Kings won the Stanley Cup. This season, both teams will watch the playoffs from the comfort of their own living rooms, with neither team qualifying for postseason play. Especially ironic for the Kings is that their record this season (40-27-15) was identical to their record from 2011-12, when they won their first Stanley Cup.

• On the last day of the regular season, Jamie Benn stole the Art Ross Trophy from the grasp of John Tavares at literally the last possible moment. Before the Dallas Stars took the ice for the last time, Tavares had a virtual stranglehold on the scoring title, finishing two points ahead of Sidney Crosby and leading Benn by three points. But Benn scored twice in the first period and added an empty-netter with 2:05 remaining in the third period of their game against Nashville to pull even with Tavares. Then, incredibly, with 8.5 seconds remaining in the game, Benn registered an assist on a goal by Trevor Dailey to pass Tavares and wrest the Art Ross Trophy from him.

• After going without a Stanley Cup title for nearly a half-century, the Chicago Blackhawks won their third Cup in six seasons with a six-game victory over the Tampa Bay Lightning. Neither team built a two-goal lead in the series until late in the third period in Game 6. The Blackhawks won the Cup on home ice for the first time since 1938. The NHL nearly ended up with egg on its face, since harsh weather caused the Stanley Cup not to arrive at the United Center until after Game 6 had ended. As for the Lightning, they faced Original Six teams in all four rounds of the playoffs.