2001 Stanley Cup Final

2001 Stanley Cup Final

Company type	Championship series
Industry	Ice hockey
Founded	2001
Area served	North America
Products	Stanley Cup championship

2001 Stanley Cup Final

The 2001 Stanley Cup Final represented the culmination of the National Hockey League's 2000–01 season and playoffs. This championship series pitted the Eastern Conference titleholder and reigning Stanley Cup champion, the New Jersey Devils, against the Western Conference champion and Presidents' Trophy recipient, the Colorado Avalanche. For Colorado, this was their second appearance in the Final since capturing the Cup in 1996, while New Jersey made their third trip, including a consecutive Finals showing following their 2000 triumph.

The Colorado Avalanche emerged victorious over the Devils in a full seven-game series, securing their second Stanley Cup championship. Goaltender Patrick Roy was honored with the Conn Smythe Trophy as the most valuable player during the playoffs. This Final was the first to extend to seven games since 1994 and, up to 2024, remains the latest Stanley Cup Final featuring top seeds from both conferences. A unique aspect of this series was that it involved two teams connected by historical market ties: the Devils originated as the Denver-based Colorado Rockies from 1976 to 1982 before relocating, while the Avalanche became Denver’s NHL franchise after moving from Quebec City in 1995.

New Jersey Devils

New Jersey concluded the regular season with 111 points, capturing the Atlantic Division crown and securing first place in the Eastern Conference. During their playoff run, they overcame the Carolina Hurricanes in six games (4–2), edged past the Toronto Maple Leafs in a seven-game series (4–3), and dispatched the Pittsburgh Penguins in five games (4–1) to advance to the Final.

Colorado Avalanche

Finishing with 118 points, Colorado claimed the Northwest Division title and earned the top seed in the Western Conference along with the Presidents' Trophy for best overall league record. Their postseason journey included a clean sweep of the Vancouver Canucks (4–0), a tight seven-game victory over the Los Angeles Kings (4–3), and a decisive series win against the St. Louis Blues (4–1) en route to the championship round.

Game summaries

This Final was distinguished by featuring two franchises linked through city relocations: originally, the Colorado Rockies moved to New Jersey to become the Devils in 1982; meanwhile, the Quebec Nordiques relocated to Denver as the Avalanche in 1995.

In game one, Colorado’s centre Joe Sakic netted two early goals, powering a commanding 5–0 win over New Jersey. The third period included a significant altercation between Avalanche’s Chris Dingman and Devils’ Sean O'Donnell, reflecting intense physicality.

Game two saw New Jersey respond effectively with goals from Bob Corkum and Turner Stevenson, earning a narrow 2–1 victory to even the series.

Playing on home ice in game three, Colorado rallied from an early deficit with scoring contributions from defencemen Martin Škoula and Ray Bourque, alongside winger Dan Hinote, resulting in a 3–1 win that restored their series lead.

Game four featured fluctuating momentum until New Jersey’s offense surged late, with goals by Scott Gomez and Petr Sýkora overcoming Colorado’s defense and tying the series at two games apiece.

In game five, New Jersey regained home-ice advantage by delivering a decisive 4–1 victory highlighted by goals from Patrik Eliáš, Alexander Mogilny, Sergei Brylin, and John Madden.

Game six mirrored game one’s intensity as Colorado’s defense effectively neutralized New Jersey’s attack. Goals by Adam Foote, Ville Nieminen, Chris Drury, and Alex Tanguay secured a 4–0 triumph, forcing a winner-take-all seventh game.

In the decisive game seven, Colorado’s Alex Tanguay scored early and added two more goals in the second period, complemented by Joe Sakic’s power-play tally. Despite a late power-play goal by Petr Sýkora for New Jersey, Colorado sealed a 3–1 victory to claim the Stanley Cup.

With this achievement, Colorado joined an elite group as only the fifth team since 1985–86 to win both the Presidents' Trophy and Stanley Cup within a single season. The Devils became only the second defending champion in succession to fall short in their title defense.

This championship also marked defenceman Ray Bourque’s inaugural and sole Stanley Cup victory before retirement; his number 77 was retired by both Colorado and his longtime team, the Boston Bruins—making him one of just nine NHL players honored with jersey retirements by multiple franchises.

This victory represented Denver’s last major professional sports championship until the Denver Broncos captured Super Bowl 50 in 2016. Additionally, it stood as Colorado Avalanche’s most recent Stanley Cup win until their success against Tampa Bay Lightning in 2022.

Team rosters

Players with years in bold under "Finals appearance" denote seasons in which they secured the Stanley Cup.

Colorado Avalanche

 | 29

#	Nat	Player	Position	Hand	Acquired	Birthplace	Finals appearance
1	Template:Country data SUITemplate:Namespace detect showall	Template:Sortname	G	L	1997	Fribourg, Switzerland	first (did not participate)
4		Template:Sortname	D	R	Template:NHL Year	Simcoe, Ontario	second (Template:Scfy)
77		Template:Sortname – A	D	L	Template:NHL Year	Saint-Laurent, Quebec	third (Template:Scfy, Template:Scfy)
7		Template:Sortname	D	L	Template:NHL Year	Sundridge, Ontario	first
11		Template:Sortname	LW	L	Template:NHL Year	Edmonton, Alberta	first
37		Template:Sortname	C/RW	R	1994 NHL Entry Draft#1994	Trumbull, Connecticut	first
52		Template:Sortname – A	D	R	1989 NHL Entry Draft#1989	Toronto, Ontario	second (Template:Scfy)
21	Template:Country data SWETemplate:Namespace detect showall	Template:Sortname – A	C/LW	L	Template:NHL Year	Örnsköldsvik, Sweden	second (Template:Scfy; did not participate)
23	Template:Country data CZETemplate:Namespace detect showall	Template:Sortname	RW	R	1994 NHL Entry Draft#1994	Ústí nad Labem, Czechoslovakia	first
13		Template:Sortname	RW/C	R	1996 NHL Entry Draft#1996	Leesburg, Florida	first
24		Template:Sortname	D	R	Template:NHL Year	Cranbrook, British Columbia  | second {{small (Template:Scfy)}}
	scope #row style #text-align left; #Template:Sortname	LW	L	Template:NHL Year	style # text align left; # Drummondville, Quebec	first
2		scope #row style # text align left; #Template:Sortname	D	L	Template:NHL Year	style # text align left; # Winnipeg, Manitoba	first {{{1}}}
39		scope #row style # text align left; #Template:Sortname	LW	L	1997 NHL Entry Draft#1997	style # text align left; # Tampere, Finland	first
27		scope #row style # text align left; #Template:Sortname	RW	R	1998 NHL Entry Draft#1998	style # text align left; # Hanford, California	first {{{1}}}
25		scope #row style # text align left; #Template:Sortname	LW	L	Template:NHL Year	style # text align left; #Rochester, Minnesota	second Template:Small (
44		scope=row style=text-align:left;#Template:Sortname	D	L		style=text-align:left;#Fort McMurray, Alberta	first {{{1}}}
14		scope=row style=text-align:left;#Template:Sortname	LW	L		style=text-align:left;#Etobicoke, Ontario	second Template:Small (
28		scope=row style=text-align:left;#Template:Sortname	C/W	L		style=text-align:left;#Edmonton, Alberta	first
33		scope=row style=text-align:left;#Template:Sortname	G	L		style=text-align:left;#Quebec City, Quebec	fifth Template:Small (
19		scope=row style=text-align:left;#Template:Sortname – C	C	L	1987 NHL Entry Draft#1987	style=text-align:left;#Burnaby, British Columbia	second Template:Small (
41		scope=row style=text-align:left;#Template:Sortname	D	L	1998 NHL Entry Draft#1998	style=text-align:left;#Litoměřice, Czechoslovakia	first
40		scope=row style=text-align:left;#Template:Sortname	LW	L	1998 NHL Entry Draft#1998	style=text-align:left;#Sainte-Justine, Quebec	first
26		scope=row style=text-align:left;#Template:Sortname	C	L		style=text-align:left;#Ottawa, Ontario	second Template:Small (

New Jersey Devils

... (Note: The table continues similarly with remaining players, maintaining the same structure and condensed details.)

#	Nat	Player	Position	Hand	Acquired	Birthplace	Finals participation
25		Template:Sortname – A	Center	Right	Template:NHL Year	Collingwood, Ontario	second (Template:Scfy)
30		Template:Sortname	Goalie	Left	1990	Montreal, Quebec	third (Template:Scfy, Template:Scfy)
18	Template:Country data RUSTemplate:Namespace detect showall	Template:Sortname	Left Wing	Left	1992	Moscow, Soviet Union	third (Template:Scfy, Template:Scfy)
22		Template:Sortname	Center	Right	Template:NHL Year	Salisbury, Massachusetts	first appearance
3		Template:Sortname	Defenseman	Left	1982	Windsor, Ontario	third (Template:Scfy, Template:Scfy )
26	Template:Country data CZETemplate:Namespace detect showall	Template:Sortname	Left Wing	Left	1994 NHL Entry Draft#1994	Třebíč, Czechoslovakia	second (Template:Scfy )
23		Template:Sortname	Center	Left	1998 NHL Entry Draft#1998	Anchorage, Alaska	second (Template:Scfy )
16	Template:Country data CZETemplate:Namespace detect showall	Template:Sortname	Left Wing	Right	Template:NHL Year	Jihlava, Czechoslovakia	third (Template:Scfy, Template:Scfy )
11		Template:Sortname	Center	Left	Template:NHL Year	Toronto, Ontario	second ( Template:Scfy )

Stanley Cup engraving

Following the Avalanche's 3–1 triumph over the Devils in game seven, the 2001 Stanley Cup was awarded to team captain Joe Sakic by NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman. In a memorable moment, Sakic passed the trophy to Ray Bourque, who was the first to skate with it, creating one of the most heartfelt scenes in NHL history.

The names of these Avalanche players and staff were inscribed on the Stanley Cup:

2000–01 Colorado Avalanche

Engraving notes

• ^{Template:Note} #2 Bryan Muir (D) participated in 8 regular season contests (after playing 10 with the Tampa Bay Lightning) along with 3 playoff appearances. Colorado secured a special exception to include his name on the trophy despite not meeting the standard criteria.
• A group of six players—Joe Sakic, Peter Forsberg, Jon Klemm, Stephane Yelle, Patrick Roy, and Adam Foote—had previously captured the Stanley Cup with Colorado in 1996.
• David Aebischer made history as the first player born and developed in Switzerland to claim the Stanley Cup.

Broadcasting

The series was televised in Canada through CBC. In the United States, the initial two games were shown on ESPN, while ABC covered the remaining matches.

See also

• 2000–01 NHL season