2012–13 CSC Season

The 2012–13 CSC season was the inaugural season of operation of the Conn Smythe Corner (CSC). The regular season began on January 19, 2013 and ended on April 7, 2013, with the playoffs to follow until April 28.

The season start was delayed from its original October 11, 2012 date due to a lockout imposed by the NHL franchise owners after the expiration of the league's collective bargaining agreement (CBA). The season calendar opened with the 2013 CSC Entry Draft on January 15, 2012, held online over Yahoo!.

The Original 16
In the early months of Fall 2012, CSC Commissioner Steve Lyberopoulos granted CSC franchises to sixteen cities throughout North America. They were:

League Structure
In the spirit of the league's name, four divisions were created and named after previous Conn Smythe Trophy winners: Bobby Orr, Mario Lemieux, Patrick Roy, and Mark Messier. The winner of each division would clinch a playoff spot, and the rest of the seeding would be determined based on team record.

The Draft
The first CSC Draft was held, with the draft order being randomized. The Hartford Whalers would select Evgeni Malkin with the first ever pick in the league's history.

Controversy arose before the draft, as the event was forced to be postponed to later in the night. In a statement, commissioner Steve Lyberopoulos blamed the inconvenience on Yahoo!, however the true cause remains unknown.

Waivers
In accordance to league rules concerning the establishment of a new franchise, all teams began the season with a budget of exactly $50 (USD). While monetary bids did not necessarily have to be placed on players to add them to a roster, the highest bid would win the player in the event of delayed waiver dates. As a result, teams were forced to manage their finances wisely.

Regular season
Originally planned for October 11, 2012, the lockout delay pushed the start of the 2012–13 season to January 19, 2013, with 12 games for the opening night. As a result of the shortened season, teams only played 11 games, with no focus on divisional opponents.

Postponement
Two games were affected by the Boston Marathon bombings:
 * The February 9 game between the Tampa Bay Lightning and Boston Bruins at TD Garden was postponed due to inclement weather in Boston the day of the game.
 * The April 15 game between the Ottawa Senators and Boston Bruins at TD Garden was postponed due to the bombing of the Boston Marathon earlier that day. The game was rescheduled to April 28, the day after the previous final day of the regular season.
 * The April 19 game between the Pittsburgh Penguins and Boston Bruins at TD Garden was postponed to April 20 due to the citywide lockdown as a result of the manhunt for the suspects of the bombings. As a result of the rescheduled Penguins-Bruins game, the game between the Penguins and Buffalo Sabres that was originally scheduled for April 20 was moved to April 23.

As a result of these postponements, the players scheduled to play these games were unavailable for their respective CSC franchises on these nights.