2012 – 13 NHL season The 2012 – 13 NHL season was the season of operation ( 95th season of play ) of the National Hockey League ( NHL ) . The regular season began on January 19 , 2013 and ended on April 28 , 2013 , with the playoffs to follow until June . The season start was delayed from its original October 11 , 2012 date due to a lockout imposed by the NHL franchise owners after the expiry of the league ' s collective Bargaining Agreement ( CBA ) . After a new labour agreement was reached between the owners and the National Hockey League Players ' Association ( NHLPA ) , training camps opened on January 13 , 2013 and a 48 - game season ( reduced from 82 games ) started on January 19 . Similar to the , the shortened regular season was limited to intra - conference competition . The season calendar opened with the 2012 NHL Entry Draft 2012 NHL Entry Draft on June 22 – 23 , 2012 , held at the Consol Energy Center in Pittsburgh . League Business . Lockout . On September 13 , 2012 , all 29 league ownership groups ( with the Phoenix Coyotes collectively owned by the NHL ) authorized commissioner Gary Bettman to lock out the National Hockey League Players ' Association ( NHLPA ) upon the expiration of the NHL collective bargaining agreement ( CBA ) on September 15 . The action marked the fifth labour dispute in twenty years for the league , following a 1992 strike , lockouts in 1994 – 95 and 2004 – 05 , as well as a referees lockout in 1993 , this is more than any of the other major professional sports leagues in the United States and Canada during this period . In preparation for the lockout , NHL teams assigned all of their eligible players to their American Hockey League farm clubs . Although Bettman acknowledged the 2005 – 12 CBA was fair , he also stated that he was demanding concessions as a result of the late 2000s recession , even though the league experienced significant growth at that time . Sports media reported on July 14 on the NHL ' s first offer to the players . The offer reportedly included : a drop in players ' share of " hockey - related revenues " from 57 per cent to 46 per cent ; a requirement that players play ten years before becoming an unrestricted free agent ( UFA ) ; a limit on players ' contracts to five years in length ; elimination of salary arbitration ; and an extension of entry - level contracts to five years from three . The NHLPA made an attempt to strike down the lockout as illegal in Alberta and Quebec ; the Quebec labour board ruled against the NHLPA on September 14 . The NHL season officially entered a lockout after the expiration of the CBA on September 15 , 2012 , prior to the planned start of the pre - season . Locked - out players immediately began signing with the Kontinental Hockey League ( KHL ) , Czech Extraliga ( ELH ) , the SM - liiga , and the Elitserien ( SEL ) , the last of which Se largely resisted signing locked - out players . The NHL canceled all regular - season games originally scheduled up to January 14 , 2013 , including the 2013 NHL Winter Classic . The 2013 NHL All - Star Game was also canceled . On January 6 , 2013 , after a 16 - hour negotiating session , the owners and players union reached a tentative agreement for a 10 - year deal . NHL owners ratified the CBA on January 9 , 2013 , followed three days later by the deal ' s ratification by NHLPA members , and the signing of a memorandum of understanding between the two parties , marking their official agreement on the labour pact . The NHL announced a 48 - game schedule , starting on January 19 , 2013 and ending on April 28 , 2013 , consisting solely of intra - conference competition . Proposed Realignment . The relocation of the Atlanta Thrashers from the American southeast to the Canadian prairies , where the franchise is now known as the Winnipeg Jets , in the summer of 2011 resulted in discussions within the league on how to realign the league ' s 30 teams . Following several months of speculation , the NHL ' s Board of Governors voted in favor of a radical realignment plan that would have reduced the six current divisions in two conferences into four conferences . The top four teams in each conference would then qualify for the 2013 Stanley Cup playoffs , while for the regular season , each team would face its non - conference opponents twice : once each at home and on the road . Conference opponents would face each other five or six times each . The plan was designed to better balance each grouping of teams by time zone , as well as to cut the costs of travel western teams face . However , on January 6 , 2012 , the league announced that the National Hockey League Players ' Association ( NHLPA ) had rejected the proposed realignment , delaying any future changes until at least 2013 – 14 . NHLPA officers expressed a desire to see a draft schedule for the realignment , which the league had not completed . The league and NHLPA then redesigned the plan , with the four conferences instead being reformed into four divisions within two conferences . Detroit and Columbus , the only two Western Conference teams in the Eastern Time Zone , were added to the Eastern Conference : Detroit moved into the current Atlantic Division and Columbus moved into the Metropolitan . The four groupings were designated as divisions , with the Eastern and Western Conference designations remaining in place . This results in all Eastern Conference teams existing entirely in the Eastern Time Zone . However , one of the Western Divisions will have all but one of the Pacific and Mountain time zone teams . That remaining Mountain time zone team is Colorado which will be with the other division centered around the Central time zone teams . On March 8 , 2013 , the NHLPA approved the league ' s realignment plan , with the league Board of Governors ratifying the realignment on March 14 . The four divisions have been organized as follows : Salary cap . The NHL announced the revised salary cap on June 28 , 2012 . The salary cap figure is in effect until the end of the current collective bargaining agreement ( CBA ) with the Player ' s Association . The salary cap for players ' salaries rose $ 5 . 9 million ( USD ) to $ 70 . 2 million per franchise . The salary floor , the minimum which franchises must spend rose to $ 54 . 2 million . As part of the newly agreed upon CBA , the salary cap for teams will be $ 64 . 3 million per franchise , with a floor of $ 44 million . Change of Venue . On October 24 , 2012 , the New York Islanders announced that the team had signed a 25 - year lease with the Barclays Center in Brooklyn , starting in 2015 after the team ' s current lease for the Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum expires . The arena , originally constructed as the home for the National Basketball Association Brooklyn Nets , will be expanded to meet NHL standards . Rule Changes . With the ratification of the new collective bargaining agreement , several rule changes took effect this season . Regular Season . Originally planned for October 11 , 2012 , the lockout delay pushed the start of the 2012 – 13 season to January 19 , 2013 , with twelve games for the opening night . Each team played eighteen games within its division ( four or five games for each team ) and thirty games against teams in the other division ( three games for each team ) ; no interconference games were played during the regular season . The regular season is shortened from 82 games down to 48 , canceling 41 . 5 percent of the full regular season . Winter Classic . The 2013 NHL Winter Classic was scheduled to feature the Detroit Red Wings hosting the Toronto Maple Leafs at Michigan Stadium ( the largest stadium in North America ) in Ann Arbor , Michigan , but it was canceled due to the labour lockout . All Star Game . Originally scheduled to take place January 27 , 2013 , in Columbus , Ohio , the All - Star Game was canceled as a result of the on - going lockout . European Premiere Games . In past seasons , selected NHL teams began their season with exhibition games and the first two regular season games in European cities . In March 2012 , the NHL announced that it has decided not to start the season with games in Europe , because of the upcoming Collective Bargaining Agreement negotiations and the surrounding uncertainty , With the NHL not playing games in Europe , Russia ' s Kontinental Hockey League ( against which the NHL has played [ http : / / several interleague competitions ] ) was instead to come to the United States , with the NHL ' s blessing ; the KHL was to feature two games between Dynamo Moscow and SKA Saint Petersburg at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn on January 19 and 20 , 2013 . However no agreement between the KHL and the Barclays Center had been signed , and the KHL announced the two games would be held in Russia ; due to the NHL lockout , the signing of a 25 year lease with the New York Islanders , and pleas from the teams ' fans to keep the games in Russia . Two games were affected by the Boston Marathon bombings : Standings . Due to the lockout , each team played 48 games this season , all within their conference . Divisions : " AT " – Atlantic , " NE " – Northeast , " SE " – Southeast bold – Qualified for playoffs , y – Won division , z – Won best record in conference Divisions : " CE " – Central , " NW " – Northwest , " PA " – Pacific bold – Qualified for playoffs , y – Won division , p – Won Presidents ' Trophy ( best record in NHL ) Playoffs . Because of the lockout and delayed start of the shortened regular season , the playoffs did not begin until April 30 . The last possible date of Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Finals was then scheduled for June 28 . 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 is determined based on regular season points . As the Presidents ' Trophy winners , the Blackhawks will have home ice advantage in this year ' s Finals . Each best - of - seven series follows a 2 – 2 – 1 – 1 – 1 format : the higher - seeded team plays at home for games one and two ( and games five and seven , if necessary ) , and the lower - seeded team is at home for games three and four ( and game six , if necessary ) . NHL Awards . Awards are presented during the NHL Awards television specials on June 14 – 15 , 2013 . Finalists for voted awards are announced during the playoffs and winners are presented at the awards specials . Voting concluded immediately after the end of the regular season . The President ' s Trophy , the Prince of Wales Trophy and Campbell Bowls are not presented at the awards specials . The Lester Patrick is announced during the summer and presented in the fall . NHL Network U . S . and NHL Network Canada aired the first part of the awards presentation on June 14 , while NBC Sports Network and CBC aired the second part on June 15 preceding Game 2 of the 2013 Stanley Cup Finals . Players Statistics . Scoring Leaders . The following players lead the league in points following the conclusion of the regular season . " GP = Games played ; G = Goals ; A = Assists ; Pts = Points ; + / – = Plus - minus ; PIM = Penalty minutes " Leading Goaltenders . The following goaltenders lead the league in goals against average following the conclusion of the regular season while playing at least 1200 minutes . " GP = Games played ; Min = Minutes played ; W = Wins ; L = Losses ; OT = Overtime / shootout losses ; GA = Goals against ; SO = Shutouts ; SV % = Save percentage ; GAA = Goals against average " Milestones . First Games . The following is a list of notable players who played their first NHL game in 2013 , listed with their first team : Last Games . The following is a list of players of note who played their last NHL game in 2012 – 13 , listed with their team :