1997-98 NHL season

The 1997-98 NHL season was the 81st regular season of the National Hockey League. Twenty-six teams each played 82 games. The Stanley Cup winners were the Detroit Red Wings, who swept the Washington Capitals in four games.

League Business
This was the first season for the Carolina Hurricanes, who were previously known as the Hartford Whalers. The Hurricanes played their home games at the Greensboro Coliseum.

This was the first season for Buffalo Sabres coach Lindy Ruff, who as of the 2006-07 season is the longest-tenured NHL coach.

The controversial "FoxTrax" puck system was last used this season as well. In August 1998, the NHL signed a five-year, $600 million rights agreement with ABC Sports/ESPN. FOX elected not to use the system in the subsequent "lame duck" season.

This was the last season the Toronto Maple Leafs were in the Western Conference.

Highlights
Jari Kurri reached 600 goals in his career, finishing with 601.

The Vancouver Canucks and Mighty Ducks of Anaheim opened the season with a two game series in Tokyo, Japan; this was the 1st time the NHL played games outside of North America.

Final standings
Note: W = Wins, L = Losses, T = Ties, GF= Goals For, GA = Goals Against, Pts = Points

Scoring leaders
Note: GP = Games Played, G = Goals, A = Assists, Pts = Points

Stanley Cup final
The 1998 Stanley Cup Finals were played in the 105th year of the Stanley Cup. The series was played between the Western Conference champion Detroit Red Wings and the Eastern Conference champion Washington Capitals. The Red Wings were led by Captain Steve Yzerman, Coach Scotty Bowman, and Goalie Chris Osgood. The Capitals were led by Captain Dale Hunter, Coach Ron Wilson, and Goalie Olaf Kolzig.

Scoring leaders
Note: GP = Games Played, G = Goals, A = Assists, Pts = Points

NHL Awards
The NHL Awards took place in Toronto, Ontario

Debuts
The following is a list of players of note who played their first NHL game in 1997-98 (listed with their first team, asterisk(*) marks debut in playoffs):
 * Joe Thornton, Boston Bruins
 * Sergei Samsonov, Boston Bruins
 * Derek Morris, Calgary Flames
 * Olli Jokinen, Los Angeles Kings
 * Brendan Morrison, New Jersey Devils
 * Sheldon Souray, New Jersey Devils
 * Zdeno Chara, New York Islanders
 * Marc Savard, New York Rangers
 * Chris Phillips, Ottawa Senators
 * Marian Hossa, Ottawa Senators
 * Daniel Briere, Phoenix Coyotes
 * Marco Sturm, San Jose Sharks
 * Patrick Marleau, San Jose Sharks
 * Pavel Kubina, Tampa Bay Lightning
 * Danny Markov, Toronto Maple Leafs
 * Mattias Ohlund, Vancouver Canucks

Last games
The following is a list of players of note that played their last game in the NHL in 1997-98 (listed with their last team):
 * Brent Sutter, Chicago Blackhawks
 * Jari Kurri, Colorado Avalanche
 * Slava Fetisov, Detroit Red Wings
 * Kevin Lowe, Edmonton Oilers
 * Andy Moog, Montreal Canadiens
 * Bruce Driver, New York Rangers
 * Pat LaFontaine, New York Rangers
 * Joel Otto, Philadelphia Flyers
 * Michel Petit, Phoenix Coyotes
 * Mike Gartner, Phoenix Coyotes
 * Al Iafrate, San Jose Sharks
 * Kelly Hrudey, San Jose Sharks
 * Jeff Brown, Washington Capitals