2001 Stanley Cup Final

The 2001 Stanley Cup Final was the championship series of the National Hockey League's (NHL) 2000–01 season, and the culmination of the 2001 Stanley Cup playoffs. It was contested between the Eastern Conference champion and defending Stanley Cup champion New Jersey Devils and the Western Conference champion and Presidents' Trophy-winning Colorado Avalanche. It was Colorado's second appearance in the Finals, and the first since the team won the Cup in 1996. It was New Jersey's third appearance in the Finals and second straight appearance after winning the Cup in the previous year.

2001 Stanley Cup Final
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Total Colorado Avalanche 5 1 3 2 1 4 3 4 New Jersey Devils 0 2 1 3 4 0 1 3
Location(s)	Denver: Pepsi Center (1, 2, 5, 7) East Rutherford: Continental Airlines Arena (3, 4, 6)
Coaches	Colorado: Bob Hartley New Jersey: Larry Robinson
Captains	Colorado: Joe Sakic New Jersey: Scott Stevens
National anthems	Colorado: Jake Schroeder New Jersey: Arlette Roxburgh
Referees	Dan Marouelli (1, 3, 6, 7) Paul Devorski (1, 4) Bill McCreary (2, 4, 6) Rob Shick (2, 5) Kerry Fraser (3, 5, 7)
Dates	May 26 – June 9, 2001
MVP	Patrick Roy (Avalanche)
Series-winning goal	Alex Tanguay (4:57, second, G7)
Hall of Famers	Avalanche: Rob Blake (2014) Ray Bourque (2004) Peter Forsberg (2014; did not play) Patrick Roy (2006) Joe Sakic (2012) Devils: Martin Brodeur (2018) Alexander Mogilny (2025) Scott Niedermayer (2013) Scott Stevens (2007) Coaches: Larry Robinson (1995, player) Officials: Bill McCreary (2014)
Networks	Canada: (English): CBC (French): SRC United States: (English): ESPN (1–2), ABC (3–7)
Announcers	(CBC) Bob Cole and Harry Neale (SRC) Claude Quenneville and Michel Bergeron (ESPN/ABC) Gary Thorne and Bill Clement
← 2000 Stanley Cup Final 2002 →

Colorado defeated New Jersey in seven games to win their second Stanley Cup in franchise history. Colorado's Patrick Roy was awarded the Conn Smythe Trophy as the MVP of the 2001 playoffs. This was the first Stanley Cup Finals since 1994 that would be decided in the maximum seven games. This was also the first and, as of 2024, most recent Finals since 1989 that the number one seeds in each conference met in the Finals. This marked the only time in NHL history where two teams who occupied the same market at different times faced off against each other. The Devils were based out of Denver as the Colorado Rockies from 1976 to 1982 and the Avalanche established themselves in the city in 1995 after relocating from Quebec City.

The Avalanche would not win the Stanley Cup again until 2022.

Paths to the Finals

Further information: 2001 Stanley Cup playoffs

See also: 2000–01 Colorado Avalanche season and 2000–01 New Jersey Devils season

New Jersey Devils

New Jersey finished the regular season with 111 points and an Atlantic Division title, good for the first overall seed in the Eastern Conference. In the playoffs, they defeated the Carolina Hurricanes 4–2, the Toronto Maple Leafs 4–3 and the Pittsburgh Penguins 4–1 to advance to the Finals.

Colorado Avalanche

Colorado finished the regular season with 118 points and a Northwest Division title, good for the first overall seed in the Western Conference, and the President's Trophy as the team with the league's best regular season record. In the playoffs, they defeated the Vancouver Canucks 4–0, the Los Angeles Kings 4–3 and the St. Louis Blues 4–1 to advance to the Finals.

Game summaries

This was the second straight Finals that featured two relocated NHL teams and the first ever Finals that featured two teams playing in a city that was the previous home of one team and the present home of another. The Colorado Rockies were formerly based in Denver and were relocated to East Rutherford and renamed the New Jersey Devils prior to the 1982–83 season. The Quebec Nordiques were relocated to Denver and renamed the Colorado Avalanche prior to the 1995–96 season.

Colorado centre Joe Sakic scored his 10th and 11th goal of the playoffs in the first and second periods of game one. The Avalanche smothered the New Jersey defense and scored five goals in the game. The Devils did not score any goals, and in the third period, after the game was 5–0, things culminated in a fistfight between the Avalanche's Chris Dingman and the Devils' Sean O'Donnell. The third period had a total tally of 44 penalty minutes accumulated by both clubs.

The second game began with goals in the first period by Colorado's Sakic and New Jersey's Bob Corkum and Turner Stevenson. The 2–1 lead by the Devils held throughout the game as they defeated the Avalanche to even the series at one game apiece.

Game three was held in New Jersey. Devils centre Jason Arnott scored an early power-play goal, but in the tenth minute, the Avalanche evened through defenceman Martin Skoula. Neither team scored any goals in the second period. Early in the third, Colorado defenceman Ray Bourque scored a power-play goal to break the tie. Five minutes later, Colorado winger Dan Hinote scored the team's third goal, and the Devils did not respond. The win by Colorado marked another road win in the series.

In the first period of game four, Colorado scored an early goal when Rob Blake shot the puck past Devils goalkeeper Martin Brodeur. Patrik Elias and New Jersey responded when he scored a short-handed goal to even the score at one goal apiece. Later in the second, Avalanche centre Chris Drury scored to give the Avalanche a one-goal lead going into the third period. But the third period belonged to the Devils: Scott Gomez and Petr Sykora each scored a goal in the third, and Brodeur stopped every puck that went his way. The New Jersey offence overwhelmed the Avalanche defense as they managed 35 shots; Colorado managed only 12 shots. New Jersey again evened the series, this time at two games apiece.

In Colorado for game five, Devils forward Patrik Elias started the scoring for the Devils as they jumped out to an early one-goal lead. Exactly seven minutes later, Colorado winger Alex Tanguay tied the game on the power-play. However, in the late minutes of the first period, New Jersey forward Alexander Mogilny scored the game's eventual winner. In the second period, Devils forward Sergei Brylin scored a power-play goal to give the Devils a two-goal lead, and in the third period, centre John Madden scored a fourth goal for insurance. The Devils won and reclaimed the home-ice advantage; they eventually won 4–1. They forced the Avalanche to try to win on the road to force a Game 7 in Denver.

Game six paralleled game one for the Avalanche. The Devils tested the Avalanche early with a barrage of shots on goaltender Patrick Roy. After stopping them all, and with two minutes remaining in the first period, Colorado defenceman Adam Foote scored an unassisted goal to give the Avalanche the lead on just their fourth shot. Early in the second period, Avalanche winger Ville Nieminen scored a power-play goal, and late in the second period, Drury scored his 11th goal of the playoffs to give the Avalanche a commanding lead entering the third period. Alex Tanguay scored the only goal of the third period and the Avalanche won to force a deciding game seven in Denver. Despite Colorado's high number of penalty minutes, the Devils were unable to put anything past Roy.

Around eight minutes into game seven, Alex Tanguay of the Avalanche scored the period's only goal. Colorado then scored two consecutive goals in the second period: another by Tanguay, his sixth of the playoffs, and a power-play goal scored by Joe Sakic, his 13th of the playoffs. Shortly after Sakic's goal, Petr Sykora and the Devils sprang into life when he scored a power-play goal. It left the Devils with only two goals to overcome, but Roy and the Avalanche would prove too much for the Devils in the third period as Colorado defensively shut the door on New Jersey to win the game and the series.

May 26	New Jersey Devils		0–5		Colorado Avalanche	Pepsi Center	Recap
No scoring		First period			11:07 – Joe Sakic (10)
No scoring		Second period			09:35 – Chris Drury (9) 15:06 – Joe Sakic (11)
No scoring		Third period			05:36 – pp – Rob Blake (5) 17:36 – Steve Reinprecht (2)
Martin Brodeur 25 saves / 30 shots		Goalie stats			Patrick Roy 25 saves / 25 shots

May 29	New Jersey Devils		2–1		Colorado Avalanche	Pepsi Center	Recap
Bob Corkum (1) – 14:29 Turner Stevenson (1) – 17:20		First period			05:58 – pp – Joe Sakic (12)
No scoring		Second period			No scoring
No scoring		Third period			No scoring
Martin Brodeur 19 saves / 20 shots		Goalie stats			Patrick Roy 18 saves / 20 shots

May 31	Colorado Avalanche		3–1		New Jersey Devils	Continental Airlines Arena	Recap
Martin Skoula (1) – 10:38		First period			03:16 – pp – Jason Arnott (8)
No scoring		Second period			No scoring
Ray Bourque (4) – pp – 00:31 Dan Hinote (2) – 06:28		Third period			No scoring
Patrick Roy 21 saves / 22 shots		Goalie stats			Martin Brodeur 18 saves / 21 shots

June 2	Colorado Avalanche		2–3		New Jersey Devils	Continental Airlines Arena	Recap
Rob Blake (6) – 03:58		First period			No scoring
Chris Drury (10) – 13:54		Second period			03:42 – sh – Patrik Elias (8)
No scoring		Third period			08:09 – Scott Gomez (5) 17:23 – Petr Sykora (9)
Patrick Roy 32 saves / 35 shots		Goalie stats			Martin Brodeur 10 saves / 12 shots

June 4	New Jersey Devils		4–1		Colorado Avalanche	Pepsi Center	Recap
Patrik Elias (9) – 03:09 Alexander Mogilny (5) – 18:47		First period			10:09 – pp – Alex Tanguay (3)
Sergei Brylin (3) – pp – 04:39		Second period			No scoring
John Madden (4) – 18:05		Third period			No scoring
Martin Brodeur 22 saves / 23 shots		Goalie stats			Patrick Roy 22 saves / 26 shots

June 7	Colorado Avalanche		4–0		New Jersey Devils	Continental Airlines Arena	Recap
Adam Foote (3) – 18:02		First period			No scoring
Ville Nieminen (4) – pp – 02:26 Chris Drury (11) – 18:27		Second period			No scoring
Alex Tanguay (4) – 13:46		Third period			No scoring
Patrick Roy 24 saves / 24 shots		Goalie stats			Martin Brodeur 14 saves / 18 shots

June 9	New Jersey Devils		1–3		Colorado Avalanche	Pepsi Center	Recap
No scoring		First period			07:58 – Alex Tanguay (5)
Petr Sykora (10) – pp – 09:33		Second period			04:57 – Alex Tanguay (6) 06:16 – pp – Joe Sakic (13)
No scoring		Third period			No scoring
Martin Brodeur 19 saves / 22 shots		Goalie stats			Patrick Roy 25 saves / 26 shots

Colorado won series 4–3

This was the first and only Stanley Cup championship for defenceman Ray Bourque. This was the last major professional sports championship won by a Denver-based team until 2016, when the Denver Broncos won Super Bowl 50 in the 2015 NFL season. This would also be the Avalanche's last Stanley Cup title and Finals appearance until 2022, when they defeated the two-time defending Stanley Cup champion Tampa Bay Lightning in six games.

Team rosters

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

Colorado Avalanche

#	Nat	Player	Position	Hand	Acquired	Place of birth	Finals appearance
1		David Aebischer	G	L	1997	Fribourg, Switzerland	first (did not play)
4		Rob Blake	D	R	2000–01	Simcoe, Ontario	second (1993)
77		Ray Bourque – A	D	L	2000	Saint-Laurent, Quebec	third (1988, 1990)
7		Greg de Vries	D	L	1998–99	Sundridge, Ontario	first
11		Chris Dingman	LW	L	1998–99	Edmonton, Alberta	first
37		Chris Drury	C/RW	R	1994	Trumbull, Connecticut	first
52		Adam Foote – A	D	R	1989	Toronto, Ontario	second (1996)
21		Peter Forsberg – A	C/LW	L	1992–93	Örnsköldsvik, Sweden	second (1996; did not play)
23		Milan Hejduk	RW	R	1994	Ústí nad Labem, Czechoslovakia	first
13		Dan Hinote	RW/C	R	1996	Leesburg, Florida	first
24		Jon Klemm	D	R	1991–92	Cranbrook, British Columbia	second (1996)
29		Eric Messier	LW	L	1996–97	Drummondville, Quebec	first
2		Bryan Muir	D	L	2000–01	Winnipeg, Manitoba	first (did not play)
39		Ville Nieminen	LW	L	1997	Tampere, Finland	first
27		Scott Parker	RW	R	1998	Hanford, California	first (did not play)
25		Shjon Podein	LW	L	1998–99	Rochester, Minnesota	second (1997)
44		Nolan Pratt	D	L	2000–01	Fort McMurray, Alberta	first (did not play)
14		Dave Reid	LW	L	1999–2000	Etobicoke, Ontario	second (1999)
28		Steven Reinprecht	C/W	L	2000–01	Edmonton, Alberta	first
33		Patrick Roy	G	L	1995–96	Quebec City, Quebec	fifth (1986, 1989, 1993, 1996)
19		Joe Sakic – C	C	L	1987	Burnaby, British Columbia	second (1996)
41		Martin Skoula	D	L	1998	Litoměřice, Czechoslovakia	first
40		Alex Tanguay	LW	L	1998	Sainte-Justine, Quebec	first
26		Stephane Yelle	C	L	1994–95	Ottawa, Ontario	second (1996)

New Jersey Devils

#	Nat	Player	Position	Hand	Acquired	Place of birth	Finals appearance
25		Jason Arnott – A	C	R	1997–98	Collingwood, Ontario	second (2000)
30		Martin Brodeur	G	L	1990	Montreal, Quebec	third (1995, 2000)
18		Sergei Brylin	LW	L	1992	Moscow, Soviet Union	third (1995, 2000)
22		Bob Corkum	C	R	2000–01	Salisbury, Massachusetts	first
3		Ken Daneyko	D	L	1982	Windsor, Ontario	third (1995, 2000)
26		Patrik Elias	LW	L	1994	Třebíč, Czechoslovakia	second (2000)
23		Scott Gomez	C	L	1998	Anchorage, Alaska	second (2000)
16		Bobby Holik	LW	R	1992–93	Jihlava, Czechoslovakia	third (1995, 2000)
11		John Madden	C	L	1997–98	Toronto, Ontario	second (2000)
21		Randy McKay – A	RW	R	1991–92	Montreal, Quebec	third (1995, 2000)
19		Jim McKenzie	LW	L	2000–01	Gull Lake, Saskatchewan	first (did not play)
89		Alexander Mogilny	RW	L	1999–2000	Khabarovsk, Soviet Union	second (2000)
12		Sergei Nemchinov	C	L	1998–99	Moscow, Soviet Union	third (1994, 2000; did not play)
27		Scott Niedermayer	D	L	1991	Edmonton, Alberta	third (1995, 2000)
6		Sean O'Donnell	D	L	2000–01	Ottawa, Ontario	first
20		Jay Pandolfo	LW	L	1993	Winchester, Massachusetts	second (2000)
28		Brian Rafalski	D	R	1999–2000	Dearborn, Michigan	second (2000)
4		Scott Stevens – C	D	L	1991–92	Kitchener, Ontario	third (1995, 2000)
24		Turner Stevenson	RW	R	2000–01	Prince George, British Columbia	first
2		Ken Sutton	D	L	1998–99	Edmonton, Alberta	first (did not play)
17		Petr Sykora	RW	L	1995	Plzeň, Czechoslovakia	second (2000)
34		John Vanbiesbrouck	G	L	2000–01	Detroit, Michigan	second (1996; did not play)
5		Colin White	D	L	1996	New Glasgow, Nova Scotia	second (2000)

Stanley Cup engraving

The 2001 Stanley Cup was presented to Avalanche captain Joe Sakic by NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman following the Avalanche's 3–1 win over the Devils in game seven. Although the normal tradition is the captain skates with the cup first, in a gesture of class by Sakic, he kept the cup under his waist and handed it to Bourque, who skated with it first in one of the most emotional moments in Stanley Cup finals history.

The following Avalanche players and staff had their names engraved on the Stanley Cup

2000–01 Colorado Avalanche

Players

  Centres

• 19 Joe Sakic (C)
• 21 Peter Forsberg* (A)†
• 26 Stephane Yelle
• 28 Steven Reinprecht*
• 37 Chris Drury*

  Wingers

• 11 Chris Dingman
• 13 Dan Hinote*
• 14 Dave Reid
• 23 Milan Hejduk
• 25 Shjon Podein
• 27 Scott Parker †
• 29 Eric Messier
• 39 Ville Nieminen
• 40 Alex Tanguay

  Defencemen

• 2 Bryan Muir ‡
• 4 Rob Blake
• 7 Greg de Vries
• 24 Jon Klemm
• 41 Martin Skoula
• 44 Nolan Pratt †
• 52 Adam Foote (A)
• 77 Ray Bourque (A)

  Goaltenders

• 1 David Aebischer
• 33 Patrick Roy

* Played both centre and wing.
† Did not play or dress in the Final.^[a]
‡ Exemption granted to engrave the name of a player who did not automatically qualify.^[b]

Coaching and administrative staff

• E. Stanley Kroenke (Owner/Governor/Chairman), Pierre Lacroix (President/General Manager), Bob Hartley (Head Coach)
• Jacques Cloutier (Goaltending Coach), Bryan Trottier (Asst. Coach), Paul Fixter (Video Coach)
• Francois Giguere (Vice President of Hockey Operations), Brian MacDonald (Asst. General Manager), Michel Goulet (Vice President of Player Personnel)
• Jean Martineau (Vice President-Communications & Team Service), Pat Karns (Athletic Therapist), Matthew Sokolowski (Asst. Athletic Therapist)
• Wayne Flemming (Equipment Manager), Mark Miller (Equipment Manager), Dave Randolph (Asst. Equipment Manager)
• Paul Goldberg (Strength-Conditioning Coach), Gregorio Pradera (Massage Therapist), Brad Smith (Pro Scout)
• Jim Hammett (Chief Scout), Garth Joy (Scout), Steve Lyons (Scout),
• Joni Lehto (Scout), Orval Tessier (Scout), Charlotte Grahame (Director of Hockey Operations)

Engraving notes

• #2 Bryan Muir (D) – played in 8 regular season games (previously ten games for the Tampa Bay Lightning) and 3 playoff games. As he did not automatically qualify,^[b] Colorado successfully requested an exemption to engrave his name.
• Six players also won the Stanley Cup with Colorado in 1996: Joe Sakic, Peter Forsberg, Jon Klemm, Stephane Yelle, Patrick Roy and Adam Foote.
• David Aebischer was the first player born and trained in Switzerland to win the Stanley Cup.

Broadcasting

In Canada, the series was televised on CBC. In the United States, ESPN aired the first two games while ABC broadcast the rest of the series.

See also

• 2000–01 NHL season

Notes

1. 1. 21 Peter Forsberg (C/LW) missed the rest of the season due to a ruptured spleen that occurred in the second round of the playoffs. He underwent a splenectomy on May 10, 2001.^[1]
2. Automatic qualification for a player's name to be engraved on the Stanley Cup: Playing in (for a goaltender, dressing for) at least one Stanley Cup Final game or at least half of regular season games for the Stanley Cup winning team.