2013–14 CSC season

The 2013–14 CSC season was the second season of operation of the Conn Smythe Corner (CSC). The regular season began on October 1, 2013 and ended on March 23, 2014, with the playoffs to follow until April 13.

This was the first season to begin on time in the CSC's history, as the previous season was delayed until January due to a lockout. The season calendar opened with the 2014 CSC Entry Draft on September 28, 2013. In another first for the CSC, several of the league's GMs met for an in-person draft on the 12th floor of the prestigious John Molson School of Business in Montreal. To accommodate those who could not be there in person, the draft was held online over Yahoo!.

Team Movement
Two franchises were forced to move following the end of the 2012-2013 CSC season.

The 15th place New Haven Nighthawks would move to Ohio and become the Columbus Chill. After mysteriously disappearing following a 4-0 start, GM Thomas O'Shea was "removed" and replaced by Andreas Lyberopoulos, commissioner Steve Lyberopoulos' brother.

Despite making the playoffs, the Baltimore Bandits would leave Maryland in favour of Cornwall, the easternmost city in Ontario. Baltimore GM Stephen Meterissian stepped down and opened the door for BOOM 104.9FM owner Brahm Hurwitz to take charge of the club.

New Waiver Rules
Thanks to the unprecedented success of the CSC's inaugural season, team budgets were expanded to match the salary cap of the NHL. Teams were allotted $63.9 million (USD) each, a large increase from the $50 budget of the season prior.

Downgrade Waivers
A player's keeper position could now be downgraded using Downgrade Waivers. In short:

- A player is placed on downgrade waivers by his GM. Other GMs have the opportunity to claim said player if they chose to. - If the player is unclaimed, said player's keeper compensation is downgraded by a tier. - If the player is claimed, the original team loses this player for nothing. The claimed player MUST be kept, but not necessarily by the team claiming him.

League Structure
Moving forward to a new tradition, the league's four divisions began to be named after the general managers of the final four playoff teams of the prior season. 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 second CSC Draft was held on September 28th, with the draft order being determined based on the previous season's results. The higher a team's finish in the regular season, the higher the draft pick, with the two finalists picking first and second. The defending champion Montreal Wanderers would select Sidney Crosby with the first overall pick.

This season's draft was notorious for being the first draft to have a sponsor, as Thrashers GM Marco Scanlan negotiated a deal with Société des Produits Marnier Lapostolle S.A. which would cement Grand Marnier as the official liquor of the Conn Smythe Corner. Scanlan was rewarded with a 37" monitor and desktop tower for the draft.

Regular season
Beginning on October 1st, each team would play 22 matches. Each team would play each other at least once, with either five or six divisional matches depending on scheduling.

Postponements
The Carolina Hurricanes-Buffalo Sabres game originally scheduled for January 7 was postponed due to the 2014 North American cold wave. It was rescheduled for February 25.

The Philadelphia Flyers postponed their game against the Hurricanes from January 21 to 22 due to the city of Philadelphia declaring a snow emergency. This resulted in the Hurricanes postponing their match with the Ottawa Senators from January 24 to 25 due to a rule stating that a team may not play games on three consecutive days.

The Dallas Stars postponed their March 10 game versus the Columbus Blue Jackets after Dallas player Rich Peverley, who had a history of heart problems, collapsed while on the players' bench midway through the first period, with Columbus leading 1–0. The game was abandoned at that point. This game was rescheduled for April 9. The game ran for 60 minutes, with Columbus leading 1–0 to start the game with a goal credited to Nathan Horton and assists credited to Matt Calvert and James Wisniewski. All other statistics were expunged. In the rescheduled game, the Blue Jackets won 3–1. This mirrors the actions taken by the league during a game between the Detroit Red Wings and Nashville Predators on November 21, 2005.

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

Milestones
The Atlanta Thrashers, Cal Golden Seals, and Montreal Wanderers would each set the record for wins in a single season with 16. The record would stand until the 2015-2016 CSC Season, when the SEA Metropolitans would win 17 matches.

The Montreal Maroons set the record for losses in a single season with 17. This record would not last long, however, as QC Athletic Club would lose 19 matches the next year.

The only teams that would make the playoffs for the second consecutive season were the Cleveland Barons, QC Athletic Club, and defending champion Montreal Wanderers.

Controversy arose during Championship week, played between the Atlanta Thrashers and Cal Golden Seals. Because the match was played on the final week of the NHL season, several players involved in the matchup were rested. Many fans and GMs alike speculated that the Golden Seals would have likely won what was a close matchup. As a result, beginning in the 2014-2015 CSC Season, the regular season would be shortened by one week so that the finals could be played a week earlier.

The postseason would also bring about the fist tie in CSC history. In the 3rd place matchup, the Cleveland Barons and Montreal Wanderers would each score 417 points, more than either team in the finals. While in the regular season a tie would be awarded to each team, the Wanderers were granted the victory due to having won the regular season matchup against the Cleveland.