The 2001–02 NHL season was the 85th regular season of the National Hockey League. Thirty teams competed in an 82-game regular season. The regular season began on October 3, and the playoffs concluded on June 13, with the Detroit Red Wings defeating the Carolina Hurricanes in the Stanley Cup Finals in five games, winning their tenth Stanley Cup in franchise history.
League business Pittsburgh financial troubles The cash-strapped Pittsburgh Penguins, desperate to dump payroll, could no longer afford perennial superstar Jaromir Jagr. He would be traded, along with Frantisek Kucera, to the Washington Capitals in exchange for Kris Beech, Ross Lupaschuk, Michal Sivek, and $4.9 million. Despite Mario Lemieux's return the previous season, the absence of Jagr proved devastating to the Penguins, and they missed the playoffs for the first time since 1990. The Penguins did not return to the playoffs until 2007 after they drafted Sidney Crosby 2 years prior.
Entry draft The 2001 NHL entry draft was held on June 23 and 24, 2001 at the National Car Rental Center in Sunrise, Florida. Ilya Kovalchuk was selected first overall by the Atlanta Thrashers.
Preseason game in Europe As part of the NHL Challenge, the Colorado Avalanche played a preseason game against Swedish team Brynäs Gävle on September 16, 2001 at Stockholm Globe Arena in Stockholm.
Remembrances of September 11, 2001, attacks The 2001–02 regular season began less than one month after the September 11 attacks. The NHL honored the victims by having all players wear a patch on their jerseys, and a ribbon sticker on the back of their helmet. Red, white, and blue ribbons were painted on the ice behind each net at American arenas, and red and white ribbons were painted behind the nets at Canadian arenas. On September 20, 2001, in the middle of a pre-season game between the Philadelphia Flyers and New York Rangers with both teams tied up 2–2, nine days after the attacks, the game was stopped so that a national television address by U.S. President George W. Bush about the September 11 attacks could be broadcast on the arena video screen. After the end of the television address, the game did not resume and was declared a 2–2 tie.Hockey's Book of Firsts, p. 71, James Duplacey, JG Press, .
Uniform changes Buffalo Sabres: In the wake of the September 11 attacks, the Sabres, in a sign of solidarity, took to the ice at Madison Square Garden on October 7 wearing jerseys reading "New York" on the front. Like the New York Rangers, their opponents in that game, the Sabres, play their home games in the state of New York. Colorado Avalanche: The Avalanche introduce a third jersey, with a burgundy base and the word "Colorado" slanted across the front of the jersey. Columbus Blue Jackets: The numbers become more narrow and the names on the back shrink slightly. Edmonton Oilers: The team introduces an alternate jersey, featuring silver in place of bronze and red. The crest is their new alternate logo with an oil bolt with 5 rivets, representing the team's 5 Stanley Cup titles. Los Angeles Kings: The Kings wore two patches. On the upper right chest was the All-Star Game patch, as the Kings were the hosts of the 2002 All-Star Game. On the upper left chest is a patch with the letters "AM," for director of scouting Garnet "Ace" Bailey and scout Mark Bavis, who were killed aboard United Airlines Flight 175 in the September 11 attacks. Nashville Predators: The Predators unveil their first alternate jersey in team history, with the base a mustard yellow compared to their usual shade of gold used in the trimmings of their home and away jerseys. It also uses the team's front-facing sabre-tooth tiger head logo. New York Rangers: In the wake of the September 11 attacks, the Rangers wore ribbons on their uniforms in memory of the victims. Also in their October 7 game at Madison Square Garden against the Buffalo Sabres, both teams wore "New York" on their jerseys. For the Rangers, it was a return of sorts to the blue jerseys they wore from 1978 to 1987. Ottawa Senators: The Senators wore special stickers on their helmets marking their 10th season in the NHL. Philadelphia Flyers: The orange jersey is retired, leaving the black jersey to be worn on the road full time. However, they did wear the orange jersey once on Halloween night. The jerseys brought good luck to the Flyers that night, as they shut out the Pittsburgh Penguins, 3–0. In a show of support for New York's finest and bravest, the Flyers wore three special patches at the bottom of the back of the jersey. From left to right, they were "FDNY," the American flag, and "NYPD." The jerseys were auctioned off after the game to benefit the NHL's Twin Towers fund. San Jose Sharks: The Sharks introduce a new black alternate jersey, with minimal striping compared to their home and away jerseys and downplaying the use of teal. Tampa Bay Lightning: The team changes the font of their jerseys due to fan complaints deeming them unreadable. Also, the Lightning wore a patch to celebrate their 10th NHL season. Toronto Maple Leafs: In honor of the 75th anniversary of the St. Pats becoming the Maple Leafs, the team wears vintage St. Pats jerseys in their game against the Buffalo Sabres on March 2. During the rest of the season, they wore special stickers on their helmets celebrating the 75th anniversary of the Maple Leafs. Vancouver Canucks: A new alternate jersey is introduced, featuring a torso that changes from navy blue to maroon. The jersey features a redesigned Canuck Place patch. Washington Capitals: The Capitals wore a patch in memory of the victims of the September 11 attacks.
Arena changes The Dallas Stars moved from Reunion Arena to the American Airlines Center, with American Airlines acquiring the naming rights. The San Jose Sharks' home arena, San Jose Arena, was renamed the Compaq Center as part of new naming rights agreement with Compaq.
Regular season All-Star Game The All-Star Game was played on February 2, 2002, at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, the home of the Los Angeles Kings. It was the last NHL All-Star Game to have the North America vs. World All-Star format.
Olympics The league took a break from its season between February 14 and February 25 to allow players to participate at the men's ice hockey tournament at the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City.
Death of Brittanie Cecil During the Calgary Flames–Columbus Blue Jackets game on March 16 at Nationwide Arena, 13-year old fan Brittanie Cecil was struck in head by a deflected puck. She died from her injuries two days later. As a result of the tragedy, the NHL made it mandatory the following season to install protective nets above the glass behind both goals.
Scoring For the second time in three seasons, no player reached the 100-point plateau. In addition, for the first time since 1980, the Art Ross Trophy was not won by either Wayne Gretzky, Mario Lemieux, or Jaromir Jagr. Instead, the award went to Jarome Iginla, who scored 96 points.
Standings
The Detroit Red Wings placed first in the league standings and received home-ice advantage throughout the playoffs. This is the first season that the Calgary Flames and Edmonton Oilers both missed the playoffs.
Note: W = Wins, L = Losses, T = Ties, OTL = Overtime Losses, GF= Goals For, GA = Goals Against, Pts = Points
Eastern Conference
Teams in bold qualified for the playoffs.
Western Conference
Teams in bold qualified for the playoffs.
Playoffs
Bracket In each round, teams competed in a best-of-seven series following a 2–2–1–1–1 format (scores in the bracket indicate the number of games won in each best-of-seven series). The team with home ice advantage played at home for games one and two (and games five and seven, if necessary), and the other team played at home for games three and four (and game six, if necessary). The top eight teams in each conference made the playoffs, with the three division winners seeded 1–3 based on regular season record, and the five remaining teams seeded 4–8.
The NHL used "re-seeding" instead of a fixed bracket playoff system. During the first three rounds, the highest remaining seed in each conference was matched against the lowest remaining seed, the second-highest remaining seed played the second-lowest remaining seed, and so forth. The higher-seeded team was awarded home ice advantage. The two conference winners then advanced to the Stanley Cup Finals, where home ice advantage was awarded to the team that had the better regular season record.
Awards The NHL Awards presentation took place in Toronto. Presidents' Trophy: Detroit Red Wings Prince of Wales Trophy: (Eastern Conference playoff champion) Carolina Hurricanes Clarence S. Campbell Bowl: (Western Conference playoff champion) Detroit Red Wings Art Ross Trophy: Jarome Iginla, Calgary Flames Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy: Saku Koivu, Montreal Canadiens Calder Memorial Trophy: Dany Heatley, Atlanta Thrashers Conn Smythe Trophy: Nicklas Lidstrom, Detroit Red Wings Frank J. Selke Trophy: Michael Peca, New York Islanders Hart Memorial Trophy: Jose Theodore, Montreal Canadiens Jack Adams Award: Bob Francis, Phoenix Coyotes James Norris Memorial Trophy: Nicklas Lidstrom, Detroit Red Wings King Clancy Memorial Trophy: Ron Francis, Carolina Hurricanes Lady Byng Memorial Trophy: Ron Francis, Carolina Hurricanes Lester B. Pearson Award: Jarome Iginla, Calgary Flames Maurice 'Rocket' Richard Trophy: Jarome Iginla, Calgary Flames NHL Foundation Player Award: Ron Francis, Carolina Hurricanes NHL Plus-Minus Award: Chris Chelios, Detroit Red Wings Roger Crozier Saving Grace Award: Jose Theodore, Montreal Canadiens Vezina Trophy: Jose Theodore, Montreal Canadiens William M. Jennings Trophy: Patrick Roy, Colorado Avalanche
All-Star teams First team Position Second team Position All-Rookie First TeamPatrick Roy, Colorado Avalanche GJose Theodore, Montreal Canadiens GDan Blackburn, New York RangersChris Chelios, Detroit Red Wings DRob Blake, Colorado Avalanche DNick Boynton, Boston BruinsNicklas Lidstrom, Detroit Red Wings DSergei Gonchar, Washington Capitals DRostislav Klesla, Columbus Blue JacketsJoe Sakic, Colorado Avalanche CMats Sundin, Toronto Maple Leafs CDany Heatley, Atlanta ThrashersJarome Iginla, Calgary Flames RWBill Guerin, Boston Bruins RWIlya Kovalchuk, Atlanta ThrashersMarkus Naslund, Vancouver Canucks LWBrendan Shanahan, Detroit Red Wings LWKristian Huselius, Florida Panthers
Player statistics
Scoring leaders Note: GP = Games Played, G = Goals, A = Assists, Pts = Points Player Team GP G A Pts Jarome Iginla Calgary 82 52 44 96 Markus Naslund Vancouver 81 40 50 90 Todd Bertuzzi Vancouver 72 36 49 85 Mats Sundin Toronto 82 41 39 80 Jaromir Jagr Washington 69 31 48 79 Joe Sakic Colorado 82 26 53 79 Pavol Demitra St. Louis 82 35 43 78 Adam Oates Washington/Philadelphia 80 14 64 78 Mike Modano Dallas 78 34 43 77 Ron Francis Carolina 80 27 50 77
Leading goaltenders
Note: GP = Games played; Min = Minutes Played; GA = Goals against; GAA = Goals against average; W = Wins; L = Losses; T = Ties; SO = Shutouts; SV% = Save percentage
Player Team GP MIN GA GAA W L T SO SV%Patrick Roy Colorado Avalanche 63 3773 122 1.94 32 23 8 9 .925Roman Cechmanek Philadelphia Flyers 46 2603 89 2.05 24 13 6 4 .921Marty Turco Dallas Stars 31 1519 53 2.09 15 6 2 2 .921Jose Theodore Montreal Canadiens 67 3864 136 2.11 30 24 10 7 .931Jean-Sebastien Giguere Mighty Ducks of Anaheim 53 3127 111 2.13 20 25 6 4 .920Martin Brodeur New Jersey Devils 73 4347 156 2.15 38 26 9 4 .906Dominik Hasek Detroit Red Wings 65 3872 140 2.17 41 15 8 5 .915Brent Johnson St. Louis Blues 58 3491 127 2.18 34 20 4 5 .902Byron Dafoe Boston Bruins 64 3827 141 2.21 35 26 3 4 .907Martin Biron Buffalo Sabres 72 4085 151 2.22 31 28 10 4 .915 Source: 2003 NHL Yearbook
Coaches
Eastern Conference Atlanta Thrashers: Curt Fraser Boston Bruins: Robbie Ftorek Buffalo Sabres: Lindy Ruff Carolina Hurricanes: Paul Maurice