2000–01 NHL season


The 2000–01 NHL season was the 84th regular season of the National Hockey League. With the addition of the expansion Columbus Blue Jackets and the Minnesota Wild, 30 teams each played 82 games. The Stanley Cup winners were the Colorado Avalanche, who won the best of seven series 4–3 against the New Jersey Devils. The focus of Colorado's Stanley Cup run was on star defenseman Ray Bourque, who was on a quest to win his first Stanley Cup championship in his illustrious 22-year career.

League business

Two expansion teams, the Minnesota Wild and the Columbus Blue Jackets, joined the league at the beginning of the season, increasing the number of NHL teams to 30. The Blue Jackets would join the Central Division, while the Wild would join the Northwest Division. This divisional alignment would remain static until the 2013–14 season. This was the first time the NHL would have a team in Minnesota since the Minnesota North Stars moved to Dallas, Texas in 1993, and the first time for Ohio since the Cleveland Barons merged with the North Stars in 1978.
The Dallas Stars played their final season at the Reunion Arena before moving to the American Airlines Center in 2001.
The four-official system becomes mandatory for all games. It was used only for selected regular season games in 1998–99 and 1999–2000, but was used for all playoff games in both seasons.

Uniform changes

Buffalo: New Red Alternates.
Calgary: Previous Black Alternates become the new road uniforms.
Carolina: Black outline added to players' names.
Chicago: 75th-anniversary patch.
Colorado: 2001 NHL All-Star Game Patch.
Columbus: White Jerseys with red and blue stripes, Blue road jerseys have Red stripe. Team also wears an inaugural season patch. Alt marks are on the shoulders.
Detroit: 75th-anniversary patch
Minnesota: White Jerseys with red and green stripes, the Green jerseys have just the red stripe. Alt marks are on the shoulders.
New York Rangers: 75th-anniversary patch.
Ottawa: The team introduces a new alternate jersey -- this one black with the forward-looking centurion crest.
Pittsburgh: The Penguins introduce a new alternate jersey, welcoming back the skating penguin and introducing Vegas gold.
San Jose: 10th Anniversary patch.
Toronto: Alternates from 1998-1999 return, as well as a new TML Patch.
Washington: Black alternates from 1999-2000 become new road uniforms.

Regular season

On December 27, 2000, Mario Lemieux returned from his three-and-a-half-year retirement and, in a game nationally televised on Hockey Night in Canada, registered his first assist 33 seconds into the game against the Toronto Maple Leafs. He went on to add a goal and finish with three points, solidifying his return and bringing a struggling Jaromir Jagr back to his elite status, who went on to win his fourth straight Art Ross Trophy, narrowly surpassing Joe Sakic. Despite playing in only 43 games in 2000–01, Lemieux scored 76 points to finish 26th in scoring, finishing the season with the highest points-per-game average that season among NHL players. Lemieux was one of the three finalists for the Hart Memorial Trophy and Lester B. Pearson Award.
The record for most shutouts in a season was eclipsed, as 186 shutouts were recorded.

Final standings

Eastern Conference

Western Conference

Playoffs

The 2001 Playoffs saw many surprises, most notably when the upstart Los Angeles Kings beat the Detroit Red Wings. The Washington Capitals, another Stanley Cup favorite, was knocked out in the first round by their longtime rivals, the Pittsburgh Penguins. The darkhorse Penguins made it to the Eastern Conference Final, where they were dispatched in five games by the New Jersey Devils.

Final

Playoff bracket

Awards

The presentation ceremonies were held in Toronto.
AwardRecipientRunner-up/Finalists
Stanley CupColorado AvalancheNew Jersey Devils
Presidents' Trophy
Colorado AvalancheDetroit Red Wings
New Jersey Devils
Prince of Wales Trophy
New Jersey DevilsPittsburgh Penguins
Clarence S. Campbell Bowl
Colorado AvalancheSt. Louis Blues
Art Ross Trophy
Jaromir Jagr Joe Sakic
Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy
Adam Graves N/A
Calder Memorial Trophy
Evgeni Nabokov Martin Havlat
Brad Richards
Conn Smythe Trophy
Patrick Roy N/A
Frank J. Selke Trophy
John Madden Mike Modano
Joe Sakic
Hart Memorial Trophy
Joe Sakic Jaromir Jagr
Mario Lemieux
Jack Adams Award
Bill Barber Scotty Bowman
Jacques Martin
James Norris Memorial Trophy
Nicklas Lidstrom Ray Bourque
Scott Stevens
King Clancy Memorial Trophy
Shjon Podein N/A
Lady Byng Memorial Trophy
Joe Sakic Nicklas Lidstrom
Adam Oates
Lester B. Pearson Award
Joe Sakic N/A
Maurice "Rocket" Richard Trophy
Pavel Bure Joe Sakic
Vezina Trophy
Dominik Hasek Martin Brodeur
Roman Cechmanek
William M. Jennings Trophy
Dominik Hasek N/A
Lester Patrick Trophy
Gary Bettman, Scotty Bowman, and David PoileN/A

All-Star teams

Coaches

Eastern Conference

Regular season

Scoring leaders

Note: GP = Games played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points
PlayerTeamGPGAPts
Jaromir JagrPittsburgh815269121
Joe SakicColorado825464118
Patrik EliasNew Jersey82405696
Alexei KovalevPittsburgh79445195
Jason AllisonBoston82365995
Martin StrakaPittsburgh82276895
Pavel BureFlorida82593392
Doug WeightEdmonton82256590
Zigmund PalffyLos Angeles73385189
Peter ForsbergColorado73276289

Leading goaltenders

Wins: Martin Brodeur ;
Shutouts: Dominik Hasek ;
GAA: Roman Cechmanek ;
SV%: Marty Turco

Playoffs

Scoring leaders

Note: GP = Games played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points
PlayerTeamGPGAPts
Joe SakicColorado Avalanche21131326
Patrik EliasNew Jersey Devils2591423
Milan HejdukColorado Avalanche2371623
Petr SykoraNew Jersey Devils25101222
Alex TanguayColorado Avalanche2361521
Rob BlakeColorado Avalanche2361319
Brian RafalskiNew Jersey Devils2571118
Mario LemieuxPittsburgh Penguins1861117
Chris DruryColorado Avalanche2311516
Bobby HolikNew Jersey Devils2561016
Alexander MogilnyNew Jersey Devils2551116

Milestones

Debuts

The following is a list of players of note who played their first NHL game in 2000–01:
The following is a list of players of note who played their last NHL game in 2000–01, listed with their team:
PlayerTeamNotability
Jesse BelangerNew York Islanders1-time Stanley Cup champion with the Montreal Canadiens.
Ray BourqueColorado Avalanche1-time Stanley Cup champion with the Avalanche, 16-time NHL All-Star, 4-time James Norris Memorial Trophy winner, Calder Memorial Trophy winner, King Clancy Memorial Trophy winner, Lester Patrick Trophy winner, over 1600 games played.
Paul CoffeyBoston Bruins4-time Stanley Cup champion with the Edmonton Oilers and Pittsburgh Penguins, 14-time NHL All-Star, 3-time James Norris Memorial Trophy winner, over 1400 games played.
Rene CorbetPittsburgh Penguins1-time Stanley Cup champion with the Colorado Avalanche.
J. J. DaigneaultMinnesota Wild1-time Stanley Cup champion with the Montreal Canadiens.
Kevin HatcherCarolina Hurricanes5-time NHL All-Star, over 1100 games played.
Garry GalleyNew York Islanders2-time NHL All-Star, over 1100 games played.
Tony GranatoSan Jose SharksBill Masterton Memorial Trophy winner, 1-time NHL All-Star.
Kris KingChicago BlackhawksKing Clancy Memorial Trophy winner.
Kirk McLeanNew York Rangers2-time NHL All-Star.
Joe MurphyWashington Capitals1-time Stanley Cup champion with the Edmonton Oilers.
Larry MurphyDetroit Red Wings4-time Stanley Cup champion with the Pittsburgh Penguins and Red Wings, 3-time NHL All-Star, over 1600 games played.
Ron SutterCalgary FlamesOver 1000 games played, the last active Sutter brother to play in NHL.
Petr SvobodaTampa Bay Lightning1-time Stanley Cup champion with the Montreal Canadiens, Olympic gold medalist, over 1000 games played.

Hat Tricks