2001–02 NHL season


The 2001–02 NHL season was the 85th regular season of the National Hockey League. Thirty teams each played 82 games. The Stanley Cup winners were the Detroit Red Wings, who won the best of seven series 4–1 against the Carolina Hurricanes.

League business

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 they drafted Sidney Crosby in 2005.
The Dallas Stars moved their home games from Reunion Arena to American Airlines Center.
The NHL honored the victims of 9/11 by having all players wear a patch on their jerseys, a ribbon sticker on the back of their helmet, as well as a red, white and blue ribbon painted on the ice behind each net,. 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. A message from United States President George W. Bush about the 9/11 attacks was broadcast on the arena video screen. After the message, the game did not resume and was declared a 2–2 tie.

Uniform Updates

The NHL honored the victims of 9/11 by having all players wear a patch on their jerseys, a ribbon sticker on the back of their helmet, as well as a red, white and blue ribbon painted on the ice behind each net,.
Buffalo: In the wake of the unspeakable tragedy of September 11, 2001, the Sabres, in a sign of solidarity, took to the ice at Madison Square Garden on October 7 wearing jerseys with "New York" on the front -- appropriate since Buffalo, after all, is in the state of New York.
Colorado: The Avalanche introduce a third jersey, with the word "Colorado" slanted across the front of the jersey.
Columbus: The numbers become more narrow and the names on the back shrink slightly.
Edmonton: 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 for the team's 5 Stanley Cup titles.
Los Angeles: 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 on September 11, 2001.
Nashville: The Predators unveil a mustard yellow alternate jersey.
New York Rangers: In the wake of September 11, 2001, 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 1978-1987.
Ottawa: The Senators wore special stickers on their helmets marking their 10th season in the NHL.
Philadelphia: The orange jersey is retired, leaving the black jersey to be worn on the road full time. In a "spooky" kind of way, the Philadelphia Flyers took to the First Union Center ice on Halloween night 2001 wearing the orange jerseys that were thought to have been retired in the offseason. 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: The Sharks introduce a new black alternate jersey.
Tampa Bay: Team has a font change due to fan complains deeming them unreadable. Also, the Lightning wore a patch to celebrate their 10th NHL season.
Toronto: 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: 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: The Capitals wore a patch in memory of the victims of the 9-11 terrorist attacks.

Regular season

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.

Final 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">Eastern Conference (NHL)">Eastern Conference

Teams in bold qualified for the playoffs.

Western Conference">Western Conference (NHL)">Western Conference

Teams in bold qualified for the playoffs.

Playoffs

Final

The Final was contested by the Western Conference champion Detroit Red Wings and the Eastern Conference champion Carolina Hurricanes. It was Detroit's twenty-second appearance in the Final, their last appearance being a win in 1998. It was Carolina's first appearance in the Final in franchise history. Detroit defeated Carolina in five games to win their tenth Stanley Cup championship in franchise history.

Playoff bracket

Awards

The NHL Awards presentation took place in Toronto.

All-Star teams

Player statistics

Scoring leaders

Note: GP = Games Played, G = Goals, A = Assists, Pts = Points
PlayerTeamGPGAPts
Jarome IginlaCalgary82524496
Markus NaslundVancouver81405090
Todd BertuzziVancouver72364985
Mats SundinToronto82413980
Jaromir JagrWashington69314879
Joe SakicColorado82265379
Pavol DemitraSt. Louis82354378
Adam OatesWashington/
Philadelphia		80146478
Mike ModanoDallas78344377
Ron FrancisCarolina80275077

Leading goaltenders

Note: GP = Games played; Min - Minutes Played; GA = Goals Against; GAA = Goals Against Average; W = Wins; L = Losses; T = Ties; SO = Shutouts
PlayerTeamGPMINGAGAAWLTSO
Patrick RoyColorado Avalanche6337731221.94322389
Roman CechmanekPhiladelphia Flyers462603892.05241364
Marty TurcoDallas Stars311519532.0915622
Jose TheodoreMontreal Canadiens6738641362.113024107
Jean-Sebastien GiguereMighty Ducks of Anaheim5331271112.13202564
Martin BrodeurNew Jersey Devils7343471562.15382694
Dominik HasekDetroit Red Wings6538721402.17411585
Brent JohnsonSt. Louis Blues5834911272.18342045
Byron DafoeBoston Bruins6438271412.21352634
Martin BironBuffalo Sabres7240851512.223128104

Source: 2003 NHL Yearbook

Coaches

Eastern Conference

Debuts

The following is a list of players of note who played their first NHL game in 2001–02 :
The following is a list of players of note that played their last game in the NHL in 2001–02 :
Trading deadline: March 19, 2002.