September 7, 2011: 2011 Lokomotiv Yaroslavl plane crash: A plane carrying KHL team Lokomotiv Yaroslavl crashes, killing all but one player and one flight crew member. The league responds by stopping the season's first game, already in progress, and postponing the official season start.
September 12, 2011: On the day that Alexander Galimov, the only Lokomotiv player to survive the crash, dies of his injuries, Lokomotiv announces it will pull out of the KHL for the 2011–12 season. The team will play in the second-level Russian Major League this season and return to the KHL in 2012–13. In other fallout from the crash, the Czech Extraliga announces it will delay the start of its 2011–12 season from September 16 to September 18. The original start date conflicted with the funeral of Jan Marek, one of three Czechs killed in the crash.
October 6, 2011: Start of the 2011–12 NHL regular season.
Sweden defeated defending-champion Russia 1–0 in overtime to win their first title in 31 years. Russian forward Evgeny Kuznetsov was named MVP of the tournament.[1]
February 14: The Detroit Red Wings set a new NHL record for consecutive home wins at 21 straight with a 3–1 win over the Dallas Stars. The previous record of 20 consecutive wins was originally set by the Boston Bruins in 1929–30 and tied by the Philadelphia Flyers in 1975–76. The new record is 23 consecutive home wins.
June 27: The 2012 induction class of the Hockey Hall of Fame, consisting entirely of (male) players, is announced. These individuals were formally inducted on November 12 in Toronto.[3]