National Hockey League History (Part 6)

Events in Sport

Events 501 - 594 of 594

1999-02-20 Toronto Maple Leafs play their first NHL home game at Air Canada Centre; Steve Thomas scores overtime winner in a 3-2 victory over the Montreal Canadiens

Sports History

1999-04-18 Wayne Gretzky plays his last game in the NHL, as his New York Rangers lose 2-1 to the Pittsburgh Penguins

1999-06-26 NHL Draft: Long Beach Ice Dogs (IHL) center Patrik Stefan first pick by Atlanta Thrashers

Sports History

1999-08-31 Dino Ciccarelli retires from the NHL

Sports History

1999-09-03 Mario Lemieux's ownership group officially takes over the NHL Pittsburgh Penguins; Lemieux is first player in the modern era of sports to buy the team he once played for

1999-10-01 Edmonton Oilers retire Wayne Gretzky's #99 in a pre-game ceremony before a 1-1 tie v NY Rangers, the last team for which 'The Great One' suited up in an NHL game

NHL Record

1999-10-02 Boston's Ray Bourque becomes highest goal-scoring defenseman in NHL history; 386th career goal in Bruins' 3-1 win v Carolina Hurricanes moves him 1 ahead of Paul Coffey

Sports History

1999-10-12 Pat LaFontaine formally retires from the NHL due to lingering concussion problems

Sports History

1999-10-22 NHL goaltender Grant Fuhr wins his 400th career game (vs Florida Panthers)

1999-12-03 Ottawa Senators' right wing Kevin Dineen becomes 5th player in NHL history to score 300 career goals and record 2,000 penalty minutes; picks up a misconduct penalty in 7-4 loss to NJ Devils
1999-12-17 Ray Bourque becomes just the 3rd player in NHL history to score 1,100 assists, and goaltender Byron Dafoe records his 100th NHL victory in Boston Bruin's 3-1 win over the Thrashers in Atlanta

NHL History

2000-02-15 Martin Brodeur becomes first goaltender in NHL history to get credit for a "game winning" goal as New Jersey wins, 4-2 over the visiting Philadelphia Flyers

2000-03-02 St. Louis Blues become just the 2nd team in NHL history to win 10 straight games on the road, with a 5-2 victory in Atlanta; tie mark set by Buffalo 1983-84
2000-04-02 Atlanta center Ray Ferraro scores a goal and added 2 assists as the Thrashers end an NHL record 17-game home winless streak (0-15-2) with a 5-4 win against the visiting New York Islanders
2000-12-27 Pittsburgh Penguins center and part-owner Mario Lemieux scores a goal and 2 assists in his return to the NHL after more than 3 years out with injury problems and lingering cancer issues; Penguins beat Toronto Maple Leafs, 5-0
2001-01-18 New York's Mike Richter picks up his 267th career NHL win to become the winningest goaltender in team history; passes Ed Giacomin; Rangers beat the visiting Toronto Maple Leafs, 2-1 in overtime
2001-01-21 Pittsburgh Penguins beat Chicago Blackhawks, 4-0 in first-ever NHL game featuring 2 European trained coaches; Czech Ivan Hlinka behind the bench for Pittsburgh, and Fin Alpo Suhonen, Chicago
2001-02-16 Mathieu Schneider of the Los Angeles Kings becomes the first defenseman in history to score a goal against all 30 NHL teams as LA beats Minnesota, 4-0
2001-03-01 Carolina center Ron Francis scores a goal on his 38th birthday in Hurricanes' 3-1 win over NY Islanders to become only the 2nd player in NHL history to score 50+ points for 20 straight seasons
2001-06-08 Ray Bourque plays the final game in his NHL career

Paul Coffey Retires

2001-10-03 After a 21-season career, Paul Coffey officially retires from the NHL, having won 4 Stanley Cups with Edmonton Oilers, finishing 2nd on all-time list for points by defensemen (1,531 in 1,409 games), and playing in 14 All-Star Games

2001-10-04 Boston Bruins retire future Hockey Hall of Fame defenceman Ray Bourque's #77 jersey in the NHL season opener at Boston Garden; beat visiting Mighty Ducks of Anaheim, 4-2
2001-10-04 Brendan Shanahan scores a hat trick in Red Wings 4-3 OT win at San Jose; becomes second player in NHL history to score an opening-night hat trick twice in his career

Stanley Cup

2002-06-13 Stanley Cup Final, Joe Louis Arena, Detroit, MI: Detroit Red Wings beat Carolina Hurricanes, 3-1 for a 4-1 series win; Red Wings' 10th title; coach Scotty Bowman retires with record 9th title

Sports History

2002-11-02 Mark Messier plays his 1,616th NHL game, a 3-2 Rangers loss against the St. Blues, to move into 2nd place on the all-time games played list; passes Larry Murphy and ends career with 1,756 games, just 11 shy of Gordie Howe

1,200 Points for Jágr

2003-01-11 Washington right wing Jaromír Jágr scores his 10th career hat-trick and adds 4 assists for 7 points and his 1,200th NHL point in a 12-2 win against Florida; Jágr has 20+ goals in each of his 13 NHL seasons

2003-03-01 Nashville's Barry Trotz sets NHL record for most games coached with an expansion team from inception as Predators score a 5-4 OT win over Chicago; his 392nd game, Terry Crisp 391 with Tampa Bay

NHL History

2003-04-22 Patrick Roy plays his final career NHL game

2003-05-28 Patrick Roy officially announces his retirement from the NHL
2004-01-01 St. Louis head coach Joel Quenneville records his 300th NHL win with the Blues, a 5-2 victory over the Edmonton Oilers at Savvis Center, St. Louis; Quenneville is Blues coaching games and wins leader
2004-01-11 Washington Capitals' German goaltender Olaf Kölzig records his 32nd NHL career shutout in a 1-0 win against the visiting Edmonton Oilers
2004-01-13 Toronto's Tom Fitzgerald and Gary Roberts become first teammates in NHL history to play their 1,000th NHL game on the same night as the Maple Leafs beat the visiting Calgary Flames, 4-1
2004-01-21 Minnesota Wild set an NHL record for 2 fastest goals, when Jim Dowd and Richard Park score just 3 seconds apart in the final 15 seconds of a 4-2 win over visiting Chicago Blackhawks
2004-02-16 The Pittsburgh Penguins lose their 12th consecutive home game, a NHL record
2004-03-02 Pittsburgh Penguins end their NHL record 14-game home losing streak when they tie the visiting New York Islanders, 3-3
2004-09-15 NHL commissioner Gary Bettman announces a lockout of the players union and cessation of operations by the NHL head office.
2005-02-16 2004-05 NHL season is cancelled by Commissioner Gary Bettman; first time a North American professional sports league has called off a season due to labor dispute
2005-09-12 Mark Messier announces on ESPN radio that he will retire from the NHL
2005-10-05 NHL great Wayne Gretzky makes his coaching debut for the Phoenix Coyotes in 3-2 loss to the Vancouver Canucks at Rogers Arena
2005-10-05 NHL opens regular season after 10-month lockout of entire 2004-05 season; Ottawa's Daniel Alfredsson & Dany Heatley first players to score winning goals in a shoot out in NHL history; both score v Toronto goalie Ed Belfour in 3-2 OT victory
2005-10-08 NHL great Wayne Gretzky gets his first win as a coach as the Phoenix Coyotes beat the Minnesota Wild 2-1 at Jobing.com Arena, Phoenix

Sports History

2006-04-03 Steve Yzerman scores his final NHL goal (#692) against the Calgary Flames

2006-07-03 Detroit Red Wings legend Steve Yzerman officially retires from the NHL, finishing with 692 goals and 1,755 points
2006-11-01 Pittsburgh Penguins rookie Evgeni Malkin (20) scores to become the first NHL player since 1917 with goals in his first 6 games (joining Joe Malone, Newsy Lalonde and Cy Denneny) in 4-3 win over the Kings in Los Angeles

Sports History

2007-06-22 Patrick Kane is selected by the Chicago Blackhawks as the first overall pick in the 2007 NHL Entry Draft

2007-10-04 Patrick Kane makes his NHL debut with the Chicago Blackhawks against the Minnesota Wild
2007-10-19 Patrick Kane scores his first NHL goal against José Théodore of the Colorado Avalanche
2007-11-02 Patrick Kane is named the NHL Rookie of the Month for October
2008-06-12 Patrick Kane receives the Calder Memorial Trophy as the NHL's rookie of the year
2009-05-11 Patrick Kane scores his first career hat-trick in the NHL playoffs against the Vancouver Canucks

Joe Sakic Retires

2009-07-09 Joe Sakic retires after 21 NHL seasons with the Quebec Nordiques/Colorado Avalanche franchise, finishing with 625 goals and 1,641 points

NHL Record

2022-11-05 Alex Ovechkin scores 787th career goal for the Washington Capitals surpassing Gordie Howe of the Detroit Red Wings, for all-time NHL record for most goals scored for a single team, in 3-2 loss to Arizona Coyotes

2022-12-13 Washington Capitals center Alex Ovechkin scores a hat trick in 7-3 away win over Chicago Blackhawks to join Wayne Gretzky & Gordie Howe as the only players in NHL history to score 800 goals
2022-12-23 Washington Capitals center Alex Ovechkin scores two goals to move past Gordie Howe on most NHL career goals list in 4-1 win over visiting Winnipeg Jets
2023-04-11 NHL Boston Bruins break record for most team points in a season at 133, in a 5-2 victory over visiting Washington Capitols; Montreal Canadiens held record of 132 since 1977
2023-04-30 Seattle Kraken become first NHL franchise to earn its first-ever playoff series win against reigning Stanley Cup champion, eliminating Colorado Avalanche in 7 games
2023-06-13 Stanley Cup Final, T-Mobile Arena, LV: Vegas Golden Knights rout Florida Panthers 9-3 to clinch 4-1 series win; franchise's first title in only 6th year in the NHL; MVP: Jonathan Marchessault (VGK forward)

Birthdays in Sport

Birthdays 501 - 600 of 715

1971-05-07 Dave Karpa, Canadian NHL defenseman (Anaheim Mighty Ducks), born in Regina, Saskatchewan
1971-05-17 Bill Lindsay, Big Fork, NHL left wing (Florida Panthers)
1971-05-20 Niklas Andersson, NHL and SEL hockey left wing, 1989-2011 (NY Islanders, Västra Frölunda), born in Kungälv, Sweden
1971-05-26 Steven Rice, Canadian NHL right wing (World Junior C'ship gold 1991, captain), born in Kitchener, Ontario
1971-05-30 Jiri Slegr, Jihlava Cze, NHL defenseman (Edmonton Oilers, Olympic gold 1998)
1971-06-23 Felix Potvin, Anjou, NHL goalie (Toronto Maple Leafs)
1971-06-29 Mike Sillinger, Canadian NHL right wing (Vanc Canucks, Anaheim Ducks), born in Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada
1971-07-04 Steve Rucchin, Canadian NHL center (Anaheim Mighty Ducks), born in Thunder Bay, Canada
1971-07-10 Adam Foote, Canadian ice hockey defenseman (Olympic gold 2002; World C'ship gold 2004; Stanley Cup 1996, 2001 Colorado Avalanche), born in Toronto, Ontario
1971-07-11 Brett Hauer, NHL defenseman (Edmonton Oilers), born in Edina, Minnesota
1971-07-15 Eric Lacroix, Canadian NHL player (LA Kings), born in Montreal, Quebec
1971-08-05 Valeri Karpov, Russian RSL and NHL hockey left wing, 1992-2005 (Anaheim Mighty Ducks, 1994-97), born in Chelyabinsk, Russia
1971-08-06 Mike Bales, Saskatoon, NHL goalie (Ottawa Senators)
1971-08-11 Aaron Miller, NHL defenseman (Colorado Avalanche), born in Buffalo, New York
1971-08-13 Marcus Ragnarsson, Swedish professional ice hockey defenseman, 1990-2020 (NHL, 1995-2004: San Jose Sharks; Philadelphia Flyers; Swedish League, 1990-95, 2004-10), born in Östervåla, Sweden
1971-08-26 Jocelyn Borgella, first person of Haitian descent to play in the NHL (Detroit Lions), born in Nassau, Bahamas

1971-10-05 Dan Plante, American ice hockey player (NY Islanders), born in St Louis, Missouri
1971-10-27 Mike Ricci, Canadian NHL center (Colorado Avalanche), born in Scarborough, Ontario
1971-11-05 Sergei Berezin, Russian NHL forward (Team Russia, Olympic silver 1998), born in Voskrensensk, Russia
1971-11-19 Dimitri Yushkevich, Russian NHL defenseman (Toronto Maple Leaf), born in Yaroslavl, Russia
1971-11-29 Brad May, Canadian NHL left wing (Buffalo Sabres), born in Toronto, Ontario
1971-12-09 Petr Nedved, Czech NHL center (Team Czech, Pitts Penguins), born in Liberec, Czechia
1971-12-14 Chris Therien, Canadian NHL defenceman (Philadelphia Flyers), born in Ottawa, Ontario
1971-12-18 Joe Dziedzic, NHL left wing (Pitts Penguins), born in Minneapolis, Minnesota
1971-12-18 Neil Little, Canadian NHL goalie (Philadelphia Flyers), born in Medicine Hat, Alberta
1971-12-27 Bryan Smolinski, NHL forward (Team USA, Pitts Penguins), born in Toledo, Ohio
1972-01-02 Mattias Norström, Swedish ice hockey defenceman (LA Kings captain 2001-07; World C'ship gold Sweden 1998), born in Stockholm, Sweden
1972-01-07 Donald Brashear, American NHL left wing (Montreal Canadiens), born in Bedford, Indiana
1972-01-27 Mark Lawrence, Canadian NHL right wing (Dallas Stars, NY Islanders), born in Burlington, Ontario
1972-01-30 Chris Simon, Canadian ice hockey player (Colorado Avalanche), born in Wawa, Ontario
1972-02-01 Geoff Sanderson, Canadian ice hockey left wing (NHL All Star 1994, 97; World C'ships gold 1994, 97; Hartford Whalers, Columbus Blue jackets), born in Hay River, Canada

1972-02-13 Juha Ylonen, Finnish NHL forward (Olympic bronze 1998, Phoenix), born in Helsinki, Finland

Jaromír Jágr (52 years old)

1972-02-15 Czech NHL, CZE. CLE right wing, 1990-present, 2X Stanley Cup, 5X NHL Scoring Champion, 13X All-Star (Pittsburgh Penguins, and 8 other teams; Czech Olympic gold, 1998), and team owner (HC Kladno of the Czech Extraliga (ELH), born in Kladno, Czech Republic

1972-02-17 Vladimir Vujtek, Czech NHL forward (Team Czech Olympic gold 1998, Tampa Bay), born in Ostrava, Czechoslovakia)
1972-02-24 Manon Rheaume, Lac Beauport Quebec, 1st female NHLer (Tampa Bay)
1972-03-03 Martin Prochazka, Slany CZ, NHL forward (Czech Olympic gold 1998), born in Toronto, Ontario
1972-03-14 Aris Brimanis, American NHL defenseman (Philadelphia Flyers), born in Cleveland, Ohio
1972-03-21 Boris Mironov, Russian ice hockey defenseman (Olympic silver 1998, bronze 2002; Edmonton Oilers, Chicago Blackhawks), born in Moscow, Russia
1972-03-28 Keith Tkachuk, Melrose MA, NHL left wing (Winnipeg Jets, Phoenix, USA)
1972-04-01 Darren McCarty, Canadian NHL right wing (Stanley Cup 1997, 98, 2002, 08; Detroit Red Wings), born in Burnaby, British Columbia
1972-04-13 Mariusz Czerkawski, Polish NHL right wing (Edmonton Oilers), born in Radomsko, Poland
1972-04-13 Mike Kennedy, Canadian NHL left wing (Dallas Stars), born in Toronto, Ontario
1972-05-03 Vyacheslav Kozlov, Russian ice hockey NHL forward (Detroit Red Wings), born in Voskresensk, Russia
1972-05-05 Mikael Renberg, Swedish NHL right wing (Philadelphia Flyers, TB Lightning), born in Piteå, Sweden
1972-05-05 Žigmund Pálffy, Slovak NHL right wing (NY Islanders), born in Skalica, Czechoslovakia