| League: | National Hockey League |
| Sport: | Ice hockey |
| 2001–02 NHL season | |
| Duration: | October 3, 2001 – June 13, 2002 |
| Draft: | Draft |
| Draft Link: | 2001 NHL Entry Draft |
| Top Pick Link: | List of first overall NHL draft picks |
| Picked By: | Atlanta Thrashers |
| Season: | Regular season |
| Season Champ Name: | Presidents' Trophy |
| Season Champs: | Detroit Red Wings |
| Mvp: | Jose Theodore (Canadiens) |
| Mvp Link: | Hart Memorial Trophy |
| Top Scorer: | Jarome Iginla (Flames) |
| Top Scorer Link: | Art Ross Trophy |
| Playoffs: | Playoffs |
| Playoffs Link: | 2002 Stanley Cup playoffs |
| Finals: | Stanley Cup |
| Finals Link: | 2002 Stanley Cup Finals |
| Finals Champ: | Detroit Red Wings |
| Finals Runner-Up: | Carolina Hurricanes |
| Playoffs Mvp: | Nicklas Lidstrom (Red Wings) |
| Playoffs Mvp Link: | Conn Smythe Trophy |
| Nextseason Year: | 2002–03 |
| Prevseason Year: | 2000–01 |
| Seasonslistnames: | NHL |
| No Of Games: | 82 |
| No Of Teams: | 30 |
| Tv: | CBC, Sportsnet, SRC (Canada) ESPN, ABC (United States) |
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.
The cash-strapped Pittsburgh Penguins, desperate to dump payroll, could no longer afford perennial superstar Jaromir Jagr.[1] 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 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.
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.
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.[2]
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.
The Avalanche introduce a third jersey, with a burgundy base and the word "Colorado" slanted across the front of the jersey.
The numbers become more narrow and the names on the back shrink slightly.
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.
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.
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.
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.
The Senators wore special stickers on their helmets marking their 10th season in the NHL.
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.
The Sharks introduce a new black alternate jersey, with minimal striping compared to their home and away jerseys and downplaying the use of teal.
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.
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.
A new alternate jersey is introduced, featuring a torso that changes from navy blue to maroon. The jersey features a redesigned Canuck Place patch.
The Capitals wore a patch in memory of the victims of the September 11 attacks.
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.
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.
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.[3] As a result of the tragedy, the NHL made it mandatory the following season to install protective nets above the glass behind both goals.[4]
For the second time in three seasons, no player reached the 100-point plateau.[5] 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.
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
Teams in bold qualified for the playoffs.
Teams in bold qualified for the playoffs.
See main article: 2002 Stanley Cup playoffs.
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.
The NHL Awards presentation took place in Toronto.
| First team | Position | Second team | Position | All-Rookie First Team | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Patrick Roy, Colorado Avalanche | align=center | G | Jose Theodore, Montreal Canadiens | align=center | G | Dan Blackburn, New York Rangers | |
| Chris Chelios, Detroit Red Wings | align=center | D | Rob Blake, Colorado Avalanche | align=center | D | Nick Boynton, Boston Bruins | |
| Nicklas Lidstrom, Detroit Red Wings | align=center | D | Sergei Gonchar, Washington Capitals | align=center | D | Rostislav Klesla, Columbus Blue Jackets | |
| Joe Sakic, Colorado Avalanche | align=center | C | Mats Sundin, Toronto Maple Leafs | align=center | C | Dany Heatley, Atlanta Thrashers | |
| Jarome Iginla, Calgary Flames | align=center | RW | Bill Guerin, Boston Bruins | align=center | RW | Ilya Kovalchuk, Atlanta Thrashers | |
| Markus Naslund, Vancouver Canucks | align=center | LW | Brendan Shanahan, Detroit Red Wings | align=center | LW | Kristian Huselius, Florida Panthers |
Note: GP = Games Played, G = Goals, A = Assists, Pts = Points
| Player | Team | GP | G | A | Pts | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Calgary | 82 | 52 | 44 | 96 | ||
| Vancouver | 81 | 40 | 50 | 90 | ||
| Vancouver | 72 | 36 | 49 | 85 | ||
| Toronto | 82 | 41 | 39 | 80 | ||
| Washington | 69 | 31 | 48 | 79 | ||
| Colorado | 82 | 26 | 53 | 79 | ||
| St. Louis | 82 | 35 | 43 | 78 | ||
| Washington/ Philadelphia | 80 | 14 | 64 | 78 | ||
| Dallas | 78 | 34 | 43 | 77 | ||
| Carolina | 80 | 27 | 50 | 77 |
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% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Colorado Avalanche | 63 | 3773 | 122 | 1.94 | 32 | 23 | 8 | 9 | .925 | ||
| Philadelphia Flyers | 46 | 2603 | 89 | 2.05 | 24 | 13 | 6 | 4 | .921 | ||
| Dallas Stars | 31 | 1519 | 53 | 2.09 | 15 | 6 | 2 | 2 | .921 | ||
| Montreal Canadiens | 67 | 3864 | 136 | 2.11 | 30 | 24 | 10 | 7 | .931 | ||
| Mighty Ducks of Anaheim | 53 | 3127 | 111 | 2.13 | 20 | 25 | 6 | 4 | .920 | ||
| New Jersey Devils | 73 | 4347 | 156 | 2.15 | 38 | 26 | 9 | 4 | .906 | ||
| Detroit Red Wings | 65 | 3872 | 140 | 2.17 | 41 | 15 | 8 | 5 | .915 | ||
| St. Louis Blues | 58 | 3491 | 127 | 2.18 | 34 | 20 | 4 | 5 | .902 | ||
| Boston Bruins | 64 | 3827 | 141 | 2.21 | 35 | 26 | 3 | 4 | .907 | ||
| Buffalo Sabres | 72 | 4085 | 151 | 2.22 | 31 | 28 | 10 | 4 | .915 |
The following is a list of players of note who played their first NHL game in 2001–02 (listed with their first team, asterisk(*) marks debut in playoffs):
The following is a list of players of note that played their last game in the NHL in 2001–02 (listed with their last team):
This was the fourth and final season of the league's Canadian national broadcast rights deals with CBC and Sportsnet. CBC aired Saturday night Hockey Night in Canada regular season games, while Sportsnet's telecasts included Tuesday Night Hockey and other weeknight games. Coverage of the Stanley Cup playoffs continued to primarily be on CBC, while Sportsnet aired first round all-U.S. series.
The league would then sign a multi-year deal with Sportsnet's rival TSN.
This was the third year of the league's five-year U.S. national broadcast rights deal with ESPN and ABC. ESPN and ESPN2 aired weeknight games throughout the regular season. ABC's coverage included the All-Star Game and five weeks worth of regional games on Saturday afternoons in January and March. During the first two rounds of the playoffs, ESPN and ESPN2 aired selected games, while ABC had Saturday regional telecasts. Each U.S. team's regional broadcaster produced local coverage of first and second round games (except for those games on ABC). ABC's weekend telecasts continued into the Conference Finals, while ESPN had the rest of the third round games. ESPN then aired the first two games of the Stanley Cup Finals before the rest of the series shifted to ABC.