The 1998-99 NHL season was the 82nd regular season of the National Hockey League (NHL). Twenty-seven teams played 82 games each. The season lasted from October 9, 1998 to June 19, 1999.
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 four-division structure (Adams/Patrick/Norris/Smythe) abandoned in 1993-94; other than the necessary reassignment of Colorado in 1995 due to its two-thousand mile (over 3,200 km) east-west move from Quebec, the divisions' membership had remained static for six years despite the renaming and the moves of several other franchises.
As part of this realignment, the Toronto Maple Leafs moved from the Western Conference to the Eastern Conference.
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.
The Rangers had been battling for a playoff spot up until the end of the regular season when they lost to the Pittsburgh Penguins who were able to clinch the postseason berth when Jaromir Jagr scored the winning goal.
The game was also symbolic because it appeared as though Gretzky was passing the torch to Jagr, signalling a changing of the guard of the NHL's greatest superstar.
This was the final season Fox televised NHL games in the United States. It was also the final season for the Carolina Hurricanes at the Greensboro Coliseum, before moving their home games to the RBC Center for the following season.
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. Toronto also made its first post-season appearance since 1995–96 this season.
The 1998–99 season 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. Because Great Western Bank ceased to exist two seasons prior, the arena name was replaced by the team name on center ice, in anticipation of the move.
In an effort to reduce the number of disallowed goals due to the skate-in-the-crease violation, the goal crease 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.
The following is a list of players of note who played their first NHL game in 1998-99 (listed with their first team, asterisk(*) marks debut in playoffs):