The 2005–06 NHL season was the 88th season of the National Hockey League. The 2006 Stanley Cup playoffs began on April 21 2006 and ended on June 19. The Carolina Hurricanes defeated the Edmonton Oilers. This was the first Stanley Cup for the Hurricanes.

The 2004–05 season was cancelled due to a labour dispute with the NHL Players Association. The dispute was over the Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) between the league and its players.

Regular season

Final standings 
Red-shaded team won the Presidents' Trophy and home-ice advantage throughout the playoffs.

Orange-shaded team won the other conference.

Yellow-shaded teams won the other four divisions.

Green-shaded teams won the remaining ten playoff berths.

Numbers in brackets means ranking in conference. Division leaders are automatically ranked 1–3. These three, plus the next five teams in the conference standings, earn playoff berths at the end of the season.

Note: W = Wins, L = Losses, OTL = Overtime Losses, GF = Goals For, GA = Goals Against, Pts = Points

Eastern Conference

Western Conference

Tiebreaking procedures 

If two or more clubs are tied in points during the regular season, the order of the clubs is determined in the following order: 

 The fewer number of games played (i.e., superior points percentage).
 The greater number of games won.
 The greater number of points earned in games between the tied clubs.
 The greater differential between goals for and against.

Scoring leaders 

Note: GP = Games played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; +/- = Plus/Minus; PIM = Penalty Minutes

Leading goaltenders 
Minimum 1,000 minutes played.

Note: GP = Games Played; TOI = Time On Ice (minutes); W = Wins; L = Losses; OT = Overtime/Shootout Losses; GA = Goals Against; SO = Shutouts; Sv% = Save Percentage; GAA = Goals Against Average

Stanley Cup playoffs

Playoff bracket

Conference Quarterfinals

Eastern Conference Quarterfinals

Western Conference Quarterfinals

Conference Semifinals

Eastern Conference Semifinals

Western Conference Semifinals

Conference Finals

Eastern Conference Finals

Western Conference Finals

Stanley Cup Finals

NHL awards

All-Star teams

First games 
The following are players of note who played their first NHL game in 2005-06:
 Jeff Carter, Philadelphia Flyers
 Sidney Crosby, Pittsburgh Penguins
 Ryan Getzlaf, Mighty Ducks of Anaheim
 Henrik Lundqvist, New York Rangers
 Alexander Ovechkin, Washington Capitals
 Dustin Penner, Mighty Ducks of Anaheim
 Dion Phaneuf, Calgary Flames
 Cam Ward, Carolina Hurricanes

Last games 
The following is a list of players who played their last NHL game in 2005-06:
 Dave Andreychuk, Tampa Bay Lightning
 Andrew Cassels, Washington Capitals
 Eric Daze, Chicago Blackhawks
 Eric Desjardins, Philadelphia Flyers
 Tie Domi, Toronto Maple Leafs
 Jiri Fischer, Detroit Red Wings
 Tom Fitzgerald, Boston Bruins
 Brett Hull, Phoenix Coyotes
 Steve Konowalchuk, Colorado Avalanche
 Greg Johnson, Nashville Predators (statistical quirk showed he scored goal before start of a game)
 Brian Leetch, Boston Bruins
 Mario Lemieux, Pittsburgh Penguins
 Bryan Marchment, Calgary Flames
 Alexander Mogilny, New Jersey Devils
 Zigmund Palffy, Pittsburgh Penguins
 Keith Primeau, Philadelphia Flyers
 Luc Robitaille, Los Angeles Kings
 Eric Weinrich, Vancouver Canucks
 Scott Young, St. Louis Blues
 Steve Yzerman, Detroit Red Wings

References

Other websites 

 2005-06 Depth Charts and Salaries  from www.tsn.ca
 Hockey Database
 NHL.com

NHL season, 2005–06
NHL season, 2005–06
National Hockey League seasons