2009 - 10 NHL season The 2009 – 10 NHL season was the 92nd season of the National Hockey League ( NHL ) and the 100th season since the founding of the predecessor National Hockey Association ( NHA ) . It ran from October 1 , 2009 with four games in Europe , until April 12 , 2010 , with the Stanley Cup playoffs to follow , all the way up to early June 2010 . A mid - season break from February 15 to February 28 occured to allow participation of NHL players in the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver . Because of the Winter Olympics break , there was no NHL All Star Game for 2010 . League business . Events . The 2009 NHL Entry Draft was held June 26 - 27 , 2009 at the Bell Centre in Montreal , Quebec . The Colorado Avalanche retired the # 19 of Joe Sakic at their home opener on October 1 . New uniforms . Several teams ( Florida , Calgary , Minnesota , Nashville and Colorado ) debuted third uniforms this season , while Buffalo and Philadelphia made their third uniforms their primary home jerseys , and Chicago made the jersey they wore for last season ' s Winter Classic their new alternate . In addition , NHL officials had new uniforms , which debuted at last season ' s All - Star Game . Preseason . The 2009 – 10 preseason for most teams started on September 14 , 2009 . 2009 Kraft Hockeyville . Since 2006 , Kraft Foods has sponsored a sweepstakes called " Kraft Hockeyville " , in which various small cities across Canada compete against eachother with the hopes of winning the privilege of having an NHL preseason game played in a local sports complex or arena , along with a hockey festival named the " Stanley Cup Jamboree " . The 2009 winner was the city of Terrace , British Columbia . The preseason matchup was between the hometown favorite Vancouver Canucks and the New York Islanders . Regular season . Salary cap . The salary cap was just a minor increase for 2009 – 10 season . It was set at $ 56 . 8 million , which is $ 100 , 000 higher than in 2008 – 09 season . The salary floor was at $ 40 . 8 million . Premiere in Europe . The NHL started the season with the NHL Premiere series ; four teams ( Detroit Red Wings , Chicago Blackhawks , Florida Panthers and St . Louis Blues ) each playing two regular - season games in Europe . Detroit played St . Louis in Stockholm , Sweden at Ericsson Globe and Chicago and Florida played in Helsinki , Finland at Hartwall Areena on October 2 and October 3 . This is the second - straight season that the NHL played in Sweden , and the third year for the Premiere series beginning the NHL season in Europe . Victoria Cup . The IIHF has announced that the Zürich ZSC Lions will be the challenger to the NHL ' s Chicago Blackhawks in the 2009 Victoria Cup game to be held in Zürich , Switzerland on September 29 , 2009 , just prior to the regular - season games . The Blackhawks will also play an exhibition game against HC Davos while in Zürich . Winter Classic . On July 15 , 2009 , the NHL announced that the third installment of the Winter Classic will take place on January 1 , 2010 , at Fenway Park in Boston , Massachusetts with the Boston Bruins hosting the Philadelphia Flyers . Because the NHL will not host an All - Star Game in the 2009 - 10 season , this will become the league ' s showcase event . Olympics . The NHL will not hold an All - Star Game this season . Instead , many of the league ' s players will participate in the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver , British Columbia , Canada . The Olympic ice hockey tournament is scheduled to be played from February 16 to February 28 , 2010 . This will mark the first time since the NHL allowed its players to compete in an Olympics that a Winter Olympics will be held in an NHL market , as well as the first to use an NHL - sized ice rink ( as opposed to the bigger one normally used for international play ) . General Motors Place , the Vancouver Canucks ' home arena , will be known as " Canada Hockey Place , " for being the primary ice hockey venue . The temporary arena name change reflects the fact that the International Olympic Committee does not sell or promote naming rights for its competition venues . The Olympics will also affect the Canucks , as they will be faced with the longest road trip in NHL history , having to play 14 straight road games from January 27 to March 13 , 2010 so that GM Place could be prepared for the Olympics . One example of this is that the ice surface and dasher boards will need to be redone to reflect said banning of selling or promoting said naming rights . Stanley Cup playoffs . Playoff seeds . After the regular season , the standard of 16 teams qualified for the playoffs . The Washington Capitals won the Presidents ' Trophy for having the best record in the league , at 121 points . Division champions maintain their relative ranking during the entire playoffs while the remaining teams get reseeded below them after each round . Playoff bracket . In each round , the highest remaining seed in each conference is matched against the lowest remaining seed . The higher - seeded team is awarded home ice advantage . In the Stanley Cup Finals , home ice was determined based on regular season points . Each best - of - seven series follows a 2 – 2 – 1 – 1 – 1 format : the higher - seeded team played at home for games one and two ( plus five and seven if necessary ) , and the lower - seeded team was at home for games three and four ( and if necessary , game six ) . This was determined on April 11 . These playoffs featured what has frequently been referred to as the greatest comeback in American professional sport , as the Flyers emerged from trailing 3 games to 0 against the Boston Bruins , and then trailing 3 goals to 0 in game 7 , only to win game 7 and the series 4 - 3 .