2013-14

• Among the new rules going into effect this season is a requirement for all incoming players to wear visors. This is spurred on my the grotesque injury that Marc Staal of the New York Rangers suffered last year after he was hit in the eye with a puck. Visors remain optional for those already not wearing them. With this new rule, all helmets depicted on this site will have visors affixed to them from this point forward.

• The league realigns to two divisions per conference -- 8 teams per division in the East and 7 in the West. The top three teams in each division make the playoffs, and the next two teams in the conference with the best records make the playoffs as wild card teams.

• With the Winter Olympics taking place this season in Sochi, there's no All-Star Game.

• Outdoor hockey takes further hold with the NHL Stadium Series. The Ducks beat the Kings, 3-0, on January 26 at Dodger Stadium; the following day, the Rangers beat the Devils at Yankee Stadium, 7-3; and on January 29, also at Yankee Stadium, the Rangers beat the Islanders, 2-1. Finally, on March 1, the Blackhawks beat the Penguins, 5-1, in a snowstorm at Soldier Field. These four games were in addition to the Winter Classic (January 1 at Michigan Stadium in Ann Arbor, Michigan -- a 3-2 shootout win for the Maple Leafs over the Red Wings) and the Heritage Classic (March 2 at BC Place Stadium in Vancouver -- a 4-2 Senators win over the Canucks).

• Hockey takes a backseat to real life in Dallas on March 10th. At 6:23 of the first period of the Stars' game against the Blue Jackets in Dallas, Rich Peverley collapsed at the Dallas bench due to an irregular heartbeat. With the Blue Jackets leading 1-0, the game was stopped and ultimately called off. The game would be made up on April 9th, with the Blue Jackets (who were spotted a 1-0 lead before the puck dropped) winning, 3-1.

• The day after the end of the regular season, the Predators announced that they were not renewing the contract of Barry Trotz, the only head coach the franchise had ever known.

• It was another playoff disappointment for the San Jose Sharks, getting knocked out in the first round. This year, they made dubious history, becoming the fourth team in NHL history to lose a seven-game series that it had led three games to none. The Los Angeles Kings stormed back to win four in a row and oust the Sharks. This was actually the second time in a four-year span in which the Sharks were taken to a Game 7 after leading 3-0 -- they rebounded to beat the Red Wings in the Western semis 2011.

• The Kings took full advantage of their new playoff life, winning two more Game 7s on the road before beating the Rangers in the Stanley Cup Final in five games to win their second cup in three seasons. Three of the five games went into overtime, including the decisive Game 5. Alec Martinez scored the cup-winning goal for the Kings.