1998–99 NHL season
The 1998–99 NHL season was the 82nd regular season of the National Hockey League. The league expanded to 27 teams with the addition of the Nashville Predators. The Dallas Stars finished first in regular season play, and won the Stanley Cup championship over the Buffalo Sabres on a controversial triple overtime goal by Brett Hull. League business. With the addition of the expansion Nashville Predators, the NHL realigned this year to a strictly geographic six-division structure (three per conference), erasing the last vestiges of the traditional Adams/Patrick/Norris/Smythe four-division structure abandoned in 1993–94 . Other than the reassignment of Colorado to the Western Conference in 1995 due to its move from Quebec, the divisions' membership had remained static for five years although several franchises had relocated. As part of this realignment, the Toronto Maple Leafs moved from the Western Conference to the Eastern Conference. This put three of the Original Six teams in the Northeast Division (Boston, Montreal, and Toronto), and the three original cities of the NHL in the Northeast (Montreal, Ottawa, and Toronto). The Maurice "Rocket" Richard Trophy for the most goals by a player in a season made its debut this  year. The first winner was Teemu Selanne of the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim. Regular season. The 1998–99 season marked the retirement of Wayne Gretzky, the NHL's all-time leading scorer, who played his final three NHL seasons with the New York Rangers. This was the final season that Fox televised NHL games in the United States. It was also the final season for the Toronto Maple Leafs at Maple Leaf Gardens, before moving to the Air Canada Centre in February and marked Toronto's first post-season appearance since the 1995–96 season. 1998–99 was also the final year that  the Carolina Hurricanes played at Greensboro Coliseum; they moved to the brand-new Raleigh Entertainment and Sports Arena in Raleigh for the next season. The Colorado Avalanche played their fourth and final season at McNichols Sports Arena and would move to Pepsi Center the following season. The Los Angeles Kings played their final season at the Great Western Forum after 32 seasons before moving to the Staples Center for the next season. In an effort to reduce the number of disallowed goals due to the skate-in-the-crease violation, the goal crease shape and size was significantly reduced. In  spite of this, goaltenders and defensive systems continued to dominate the league, as only two teams, the Toronto Maple Leafs and the New Jersey Devils, averaged more than three goals scored per game. In addition, no player reached the 50-goal plateau. A total of 160 shutouts were recorded for the second-straight regular season. Playoffs. Stanley Cup Finals. The teams split the first two games, held in Dallas, then split the following two games in Buffalo. In the fifth game, Dallas shut out Buffalo to put the Sabres on the brink of elimination. Game six was held in Buffalo  and it went to triple-overtime before being decided on a controversial goal scored by Brett Hull. Joe Nieuwendyk of Dallas was awarded the Conn Smythe Trophy as the playoffs' most valuable player. Player statistics. Scoring leaders. "Note: GP = Games played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points" Source: NHL. Leading goaltenders. Regular season Milestones. Debuts. The following is a list of who played their first NHL game in 1998–99 (listed with their first team, an asterisk(*) marks debut in playoffs): Last games. The following is a list of who played their last game in the NHL  in 1998–99 (listed with their last team):