Season structure of the NHL Season structure of the NHL The season structure of the National Hockey League (NHL) is divided into the regular season and the Stanley Cup playoffs. In the regular season, which generally runs from early October through early April, teams play 82 games which determine their standings. The three highest-placed teams in each division and two wild card teams per conference enter the playoff elimination tournament to determine the Stanley Cup champion. Since the 1995–96 season, each team in the NHL plays 82 regular season games, 41 each of home and road. In all, 1,271 games are scheduled (480 of them
Kharlamov Trophy revamped as well. With the 2016 award onward, a shortlist of the 20 best players from the NHL and KHL is compiled. It is then voted on by a selection committee composed of five groups of experts, each consisting of 13 individuals, plus the past award winners. Kharlamov Trophy The Kharlamov Trophy is an ice hockey award given to the best Russian player, of the previous season. The current winner, for the 2017-2018 season is Alexander Ovechkin. The Trophy was established by Sovetsky Sport in 2002, and is named after the legendary Soviet ice hockey player Valeri Kharlamov. Presentation of