1994–95 NHL season

The 1994–95 NHL season was the 78th regular season of the National Hockey League. The teams played a shortened season, due to a lockout of the players by the owners. In addition, the NHL All-Star Game, which had been scheduled to take place January 20–21, 1995, in San Jose, California, was canceled. San Jose was eventually selected as the venue for the 1997 NHL All-Star Game.

League business

The Hartford Whalers were purchased by Peter Karmanos.

This was the last season in Quebec City for the Quebec Nordiques, as they announced that they would move to Denver after the season and become the Colorado Avalanche.

It was the first season with games televised by Fox, which they would do until the end of the 1998–99 season. It marked the first major American broadcast agreement for the NHL since 1975. Fox split Stanley Cup Finals games with ESPN.

The regular season was shortened because of a 103 day lockout, which ended on January 11, 1995. The season finally got underway nine days later.

Philadelphia Flyers

The Philadelphia Flyers are an American professional ice hockey team based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, that competes in the National Hockey League (NHL). They are members of the league's Metropolitan Division of the Eastern Conference. Part of the 1967 NHL Expansion, the Flyers were the first expansion team in the post-Original Six era to win the Stanley Cup, victorious in 1973–74 and again in 1974–75.

The Flyers' all-time points percentage of 57.7% (as of the 2014–15 NHL season) is the second-best in the NHL, behind only the Montreal Canadiens' 59.0%. Additionally, the Flyers have the most appearances in the league semi-finals (known as the conference finals since the 1981–82 season) out of all 24 expansion teams (16 appearances, winning 8), and they are second behind the St. Louis Blues for the most playoff appearances out of all expansion teams (37 out of 47 seasons).

The Flyers have played their home games on Broad Street since their inception, first at the Spectrum from 1967 until 1996, and then at the Wells Fargo Center from 1996 to the present.

New York Rangers

The New York Rangers are an American professional ice hockey team based in New York City that competes in the National Hockey League (NHL). They are a member club of the league's Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference. The team plays its home games at Madison Square Garden, located in the borough of Manhattan. The Rangers are one of three NHL franchises in the New York metropolitan area, along with the New Jersey Devils and New York Islanders. The club is also one of the oldest teams in the NHL, having joined in 1926 as an expansion franchise. They are part of the group of teams referred to as the Original Six, along with the Boston Bruins, Chicago Blackhawks, Detroit Red Wings, Montreal Canadiens and Toronto Maple Leafs. The Rangers were the first NHL franchise in the United States to win the Stanley Cup, which they have done four times, most recently in 1993–94.

History

Early years

George Lewis "Tex" Rickard, president of Madison Square Garden, was awarded an NHL franchise for the 1926–27 season to compete with the now-defunct New York Americans, who had begun play at the Garden the previous season. The Americans (also known as the "Amerks") proved to be an even greater success than expected during their inaugural season, leading Rickard to pursue a second team for the Garden despite promising the Amerks that they would be the only hockey team to play there. The new team was quickly nicknamed "Tex's Rangers".

New York

New York is a state in the Northeastern United States and is the United States' 27th-most extensive, fourth-most populous, and seventh-most densely populated state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south and Connecticut, Massachusetts, and Vermont to the east. The state has a maritime border in the Atlantic Ocean with Rhode Island, east of Long Island, as well as an international border with the Canadian provinces of Quebec to the north and Ontario to the west and north. The state of New York, with an estimated 19.8 million residents in 2015, is often referred to as New York State to distinguish it from New York City, the state's most populous city and its economic hub.

With an estimated population of nearly 8.5 million in 2014, New York City is the most populous city in the United States and the premier gateway for legal immigration to the United States. The New York City Metropolitan Area is one of the most populous urban agglomerations in the world. New York City is a global city, exerting a significant impact upon commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and entertainment, its fast pace defining the term New York minute. The home of the United Nations Headquarters, New York City is an important center for international diplomacy and has been described as the cultural and financial capital of the world, as well as the world's most economically powerful city. New York City makes up over 40% of the population of New York State. Two-thirds of the state's population lives in the New York City Metropolitan Area, and nearly 40% live on Long Island. Both the state and New York City were named for the 17th century Duke of York, future King James II of England. The next four most populous cities in the state are Buffalo, Rochester, Yonkers, and Syracuse, while the state capital is Albany.

Chicago Blackhawks

The Chicago Blackhawks (spelled Black Hawks before 1986, and known colloquially as the Hawks) are a professional ice hockey team based in Chicago, Illinois. They are members of the Central Division of the Western Conference of the National Hockey League (NHL). They have won six Stanley Cup championships since their founding in 1926, and they are the current Stanley Cup Champions. The Blackhawks are one of the "Original Six" NHL teams along with the Detroit Red Wings, Montreal Canadiens, Toronto Maple Leafs, Boston Bruins and New York Rangers. Since 1994, the club's home rink is the United Center. The club had previously played for 65 years at Chicago Stadium.

The club's original owner was Frederic McLaughlin, who owned the club until his death in 1944. Under McLaughlin, a "hands-on" owner who fired many coaches during his ownership, the club won two Stanley Cup titles. The club was then owned by the Norris family, who as owners of the Chicago Stadium were the club's landlord, and owned stakes in several of the NHL teams. At first, the Norris ownership was as part of a syndicate fronted by long-time executive Bill Tobin, and the team languished in favor of the Norris-owned Detroit Red Wings. After the senior James E. Norris died in 1952, the Norris assets were spread among family members and James D. Norris became owner. Norris Jr. took an active interest in the team and under his ownership, the club won one Stanley Cup title in 1961.