• As stated previously, a new uniform supplier takes hold as Fanatics officially takes over for Adidas as the NHL's official uniform supplier. Aside from the shoulder losing the dimples, the jersey construction is nearly identical.

• Just before the start of training camp, tragedy struck the NHL family as Blue Jackets All-Star Johnny Gaudreau was killed along with his brother while cycling in New Jersey. A drunk driver hit them from behind as he was trying to pass a vehicle that had slowed and moved to the left to pass them. The Gaudreau brothers were killed one day before their sister was scheduled to get married. The outpouring of support was tremendous, especially in Columbus and Calgary, where Gaudreau spent the first eight seasons of his career.

• A new franchise enters the league as the temporarily-named Utah Hockey Club makes its debut. While the team is stocked from players from the former Arizona Coyotes, the new Utah franchise will not share any of the former franchise's history.

• Less than two years after leading the Bruins to the most wins in a single season in NHL history, the team fired Jim Montgomery on November 19th, 20 games into the season. Montgomery didn't stay unemployed for very long. Just five days later, he was signed to a five-year contract as the head coach of the Blues after that team fired Drew Bannister before he could coach a full season (he was tapped as the interim coach last season after the firing of Craig Berube and was named the full-time head coach in the off-season).

• The All-Star Tournament was replaced this season with the 4 Nations Face-Off, featuring teams comprised of NHL players from the United States, Canada, Sweden and Finland. The February 15th matchup between the U.S. and Canada started with three fights in the first nine seconds of the game. The U.S. won that game, 3-1. Five days later in Boston, Canada punched back, winning the game and the championship in overtime, 3-2.

• On April 6, what seemed like an unbreakable record was shattered. Alex Ovechkin scored his 895th career goal, passing Wayne Gretzky as the NHL's all-time goal king. Ovechkin scored his 895 goals in the exact same number of games that Gretzky took to score his 894 goals.

• The mighty have fallen, and in a big way. Just two years after the Bruins achieved the greatest regular season in NHL history, only to choke in the first round of the playoffs, the team hit rock bottom, finishing in last place in the Atlantic Division and with the fourth worst record in the NHL.

• Joining the Bruins watching the playoffs from the comforts of their own living rooms are the Blackhawks, Rangers and Red Wings, marking the first time ever that all four U.S.-based Original Six teams missed the playoffs. It's also the Red Wings' ninth straight season missing the playoffs. Speaking of which, the Sabres extended their record playoff drought to a 14th consecutive season.