2000 Stanley Cup Final


The 2000 Stanley Cup Final was the championship series of the National Hockey League's 1999–2000 season, and the culmination of the 2000 Stanley Cup playoffs. It was contested by the Eastern Conference champion New Jersey Devils against the Western Conference champion and defending Stanley Cup champion Dallas Stars. The Devils were led by captain Scott Stevens, head coach Larry Robinson and goaltender Martin Brodeur. The Stars were led by captain Derian Hatcher, head coach Ken Hitchcock and goaltender Ed Belfour.
The Devils defeated the defending champion Stars four games to two to win their second Stanley Cup in franchise history. This was the first of two Stanley Cup Final where two relocated teams faced each other; the other being in 2001.

Paths to the Final

New Jersey Devils

New Jersey entered the playoffs as the fourth seed in the Eastern Conference after finishing the regular season with 103 points. In the playoffs, they first swept the fifth seeded Florida Panthers. In the second round they defeated the third seeded Toronto Maple Leafs in six games. In the Eastern Conference finals, the Devils defeated the top seeded Philadelphia Flyers in seven games to advance to the Final.

Dallas Stars

Dallas captured the Pacific Division title and entered the playoffs as the second seed in the Western Conference after finishing the regular season with 102 points. In the playoffs, they defeated the seventh seeded Edmonton Oilers in the first round in five games. In the second round, the Stars defeated the eighth seeded San Jose Sharks, also in five games. In a rematch of the previous year’s Western Conference finals, the Stars again defeated the Colorado Avalanche in seven games to advance to the Final.

Game summaries

Despite New Jersey being a lower seed in conference play than Dallas, New Jersey's 103 points were one more than Dallas, giving them home-ice advantage in the series. The Devils won the Cup in game six on a one-timer goal by Jason Arnott in double overtime. It was their second Stanley Cup overall and first since 1995.
For the Stars, this was the first time since the New York Islanders lost to the Edmonton Oilers in the 1984 Final that a defending Stanley Cup champion lost in the Final. This happened to the Devils themselves the following year when they lost to the Colorado Avalanche. This would be the last appearance in the Stanley Cup Final for the Stars until 2020.
This was the first Final that featured two relocated teams competing for the Stanley Cup, as well as the first Final in which both teams had won the Stanley Cup previously after relocation.
This was the first of two consecutive Final series where the defending Stanley Cup champion was defeated, as the Devils themselves would make a return trip to the Final the next season, but lost in seven games to the Colorado Avalanche.

Team rosters

Years indicated in boldface under the "Finals appearance" column signify that the player won the Stanley Cup in the given year.

Dallas Stars

New Jersey Devils

Stanley Cup engraving

The 2000 Stanley Cup was presented to Devils captain Scott Stevens by NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman following the Devils 2–1 double overtime win over the Stars in game six.
The following Devils players and staff had their names engraved on the Stanley Cup
'''1999–2000 New Jersey Devils'''

Engraving notes

  • New Jersey successfully requested an exemption to engrave the names of four players who did not automatically qualify.
  • * #6 Brad Bombardir played in 32 regular season games and 1 playoff game.
  • * #15 Steve Kelly played in 1 regular season game and 10 playoff games, four of the ten in the Eastern Conference finals.
  • * #2 Ken Sutton joined the team at the NHL trade deadline from the minors. He played in 6 regular season games, but was a healthy scratch for the entire playoffs.
  • * #10 Steve Brule did not play in the regular season, but played in 1 game of the Eastern Conference finals.
  • Krzysztof Oliwa became the first Polish born and trained player to win the Stanley Cup. He played 69 regular season for the Devils, but missed the whole playoffs due to injury. Oliwa qualified for playing more than half of the regular season games.
  • Larry Robinson was promoted from assistant coach to head coach with only eight games left in the regular season to replace Robbie Ftorek. Ftorek stayed on as a scout for the rest of season and the NHL allowed his name to be included on the Stanley Cup. Robinson became the first interim head coach in NHL history to guide a team to a Stanley Cup championship.
  • 14 members were engraved with an initial and two full names.
  • #24 Willie Mitchell did not play in the playoffs. He was on the roster during the Final, but left off the Stanley Cup engraving due to not qualifying. He later won the Stanley Cup with the Los Angeles Kings in 2012 and 2014.
  • Deron Quint was not engraved on the Stanley Cup because New Jersey suspended him for failing to report to the minors for conditioning purposes. Quint wore #2 when playing for New Jersey, but his number became available when he was suspended by the team. #2 was taken by Ken Sutton later in the season.
  • Rob McLean – Still awarded a Stanley Cup Ring, and on the team picture.

    Broadcasting

In Canada, the series was televised on CBC. In the United States, this was the first year under the new joint American TV contract with the Disney-owned networks ESPN and ABC, with ESPN airing the first two games of the Cup Final and ABC broadcasting the rest of the series. Devils team broadcasters Mike Miller and Randy Velischek called the series on local radio on WABC–AM 770 in New York City. In Dallas, Stars broadcasters Ralph Strangis and Daryl Reaugh called the series on WBAP 820 AM.