2000 Stanley Cup Finals

The 2000 Stanley Cup Finals was the championship series of the National Hockey League's (NHL) 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 Finals where two relocated teams faced each other; the other being in 2001.

Paths to the Finals

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 (in the process becoming the first team since expansion to come back from a 3-1 deficit later than the second round) to advance to the Finals.

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 Finals.

Game summaries

Despite New Jersey being a lower seed in conference play (4) than Dallas (2), 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 Finals that a defending Stanley Cup champion lost in the Finals. 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 Finals for the Stars until 2020.

This was the first Finals that featured two relocated teams competing for the Stanley Cup, as well as the first Finals in which both teams had won the Stanley Cup previously after relocation.

May 30	Dallas Stars		3–7		New Jersey Devils	Continental Airlines Arena	Recap
Darryl Sydor (1) – 13:13		First period			07:22 – Jason Arnott (5)
No scoring		Second period			02:52 – Ken Daneyko (1) 10:28 – Petr Sykora (7) 16:04 – Scott Stevens (3)
Jon Sim (1) – 07:43 Kirk Muller (2) – 07:55		Third period			02:21 – Sergei Brylin (2) 03:02 – Petr Sykora (8) 05:12 – pp – Jason Arnott (6)
Ed Belfour 12 saves / 18 shots Manny Fernandez 7 saves / 8 shots		Goalie stats			Martin Brodeur 15 saves / 18 shots

June 1	Dallas Stars		2–1		New Jersey Devils	Continental Airlines Arena	Recap
Brett Hull (10) – 04:25		First period			12:42 – Alexander Mogilny (4)
No scoring		Second period			No scoring
Brett Hull (11) – 15:44		Third period			No scoring
Ed Belfour 27 saves / 28 shots		Goalie stats			Martin Brodeur 15 saves / 17 shots

June 3	New Jersey Devils		2–1		Dallas Stars	Reunion Arena	Recap
Jason Arnott (7) – 18:06		First period			13:08 – pp – Sylvain Cote (2)
Petr Sykora (9) – pp – 12:27		Second period			No scoring
No scoring		Third period			No scoring
Martin Brodeur 22 saves / 23 shots		Goalie stats			Ed Belfour 29 saves / 31 shots

June 5	New Jersey Devils		3–1		Dallas Stars	Reunion Arena	Recap
No scoring		First period			No scoring
No scoring		Second period			18:02 – pp – Joe Nieuwendyk (7)
Sergei Brylin (3) – 02:27 John Madden (3) – sh – 04:51 Brian Rafalski (2) – 06:08		Third period			No scoring
Martin Brodeur 16 saves / 17 shots		Goalie stats			Ed Belfour 28 saves / 31 shots

June 8	Dallas Stars		1–0	3OT	New Jersey Devils	Continental Airlines Arena	Recap
No scoring		First period			No scoring
No scoring		Second period			No scoring
No scoring		Third period			No scoring
Mike Modano (10) – 06:21		Third overtime period			No scoring
Ed Belfour 48 saves / 48 shots		Goalie stats			Martin Brodeur 40 saves / 41 shots

June 10	New Jersey Devils		2–1	2OT	Dallas Stars	Reunion Arena	Recap
No scoring		First period			No scoring
Scott Niedermayer (5) – sh – 05:18		Second period			06:27 – Mike Keane (2)
No scoring		Third period			No scoring
Jason Arnott (8) – 08:20		Second overtime period			No scoring
Martin Brodeur 30 saves / 31 shots		Goalie stats			Ed Belfour 43 saves / 45 shots

New Jersey won series 4–2

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

#	Nat	Player	Position	Hand	Acquired	Place of birth	Finals appearance
20	Template:Flagicon		G	L	Template:NHL Year	Carman, Manitoba	third (Template:Scfy, Template:Scfy)
21	Template:Flagicon		C	R	Template:NHL Year	Sept-Îles, Quebec	fifth (Template:Scfy, Template:Scfy, Template:Scfy, Template:Scfy)
3	Template:Flagicon		D	R	Template:NHL Year	Quebec City, Quebec	first
35	Template:Flagicon		G	L	Template:NHL Year	Etobicoke, Ontario	first (did not play)
44	Template:Flagicon		C	L	Template:NHL Year	Sudbury, Ontario	first (did not play)
2	Template:Flagicon	– C	D	L	1990	Sterling Heights, Michigan	second (Template:Scfy)
16	Template:Flagicon		RW	R	Template:NHL Year	Belleville, Ontario	third (Template:Scfy, Template:Scfy)
12	Template:Flagicon		RW	R	Template:NHL Year	Winnipeg, Manitoba	fifth (Template:Scfy, Template:Scfy, Template:Scfy, Template:Scfy)
15	Template:Flagicon		RW	R	1993	Cloquet, Minnesota	second (Template:Scfy)
26	Template:Flagicon		RW	R	1992	Espoo, Finland	second (Template:Scfy)
36	Template:Flagicon		C	R	1997	Murmansk, Soviet Union	first
6	Template:Flagicon		D	L	Template:NHL Year	Prince Albert, Saskatchewan	first
29	Template:Flagicon		RW	R	Template:NHL Year	Port Credit, Ontario	second (Template:Scfy)
24	Template:Flagicon		D	L	1991	Edmonton, Alberta	second (Template:Scfy)
9	Template:Flagicon	– A	C	L	1988	Livonia, Michigan	third (Template:Scfy, Template:Scfy)
45	Template:Flagicon		LW	L	1997	Carlyle, Saskatchewan	first
22	Template:Flagicon		C	L	Template:NHL Year	Kingston, Ontario	second (Template:Scfy)
25	Template:Flagicon	– A	C	L	Template:NHL Year	Oshawa, Ontario	third (Template:Scfy, Template:Scfy)
4	Template:Flagicon		D	R	Template:NHL Year	Lethbridge, Alberta	second (Template:Scfy; did not play)
49	Template:Flagicon		LW	L	1996	New Glasgow, Nova Scotia	second (Template:Scfy; did not play)
10	Template:Flagicon		C	L	Template:NHL Year	Peace River, Alberta	fifth (Template:Scfy, Template:Scfy, Template:Scfy, Template:Scfy)
11	Template:Flagicon		RW	R	Template:NHL Year	Park Ridge, Illinois	second (Template:Scfy)
5	Template:Flagicon		D	L	Template:NHL Year	Edmonton, Alberta	third (Template:Scfy, Template:Scfy)
17	Template:Flagicon		LW	L	Template:NHL Year	London, Ontario	first
56	Template:Flagicon	– A	D	R	Template:NHL Year	Moscow, Soviet Union	third (Template:Scfy, Template:Scfy)

New Jersey Devils

#	Nat	Player	Position	Hand	Acquired	Place of birth	Finals appearance
25	Template:Flagicon	– A	C	R	Template:NHL Year	Collingwood, Ontario	first
6	Template:Flagicon		D	L	1990	Powell River, British Columbia	first (did not play)
30	Template:Flagicon		G	L	1990	Montreal, Quebec	second (Template:Scfy)
10	Template:Flagicon		RW	R	1993	Montreal, Quebec	first (did not play)
18	Template:Flagicon		LW	L	1992	Moscow, Soviet Union	second (Template:Scfy)
3	Template:Flagicon		D	L	1982	Windsor, Ontario	second (Template:Scfy)
26	Template:Flagicon		LW	L	1994	Třebíč, Czechoslovakia	first
23	Template:Flagicon		C	L	1998	Anchorage, Alaska	first
16	Template:Flagicon		LW	R	Template:NHL Year	Jihlava, Czechoslovakia	second (Template:Scfy)
15	Template:Flagicon		C	L	Template:NHL Year	Vancouver, British Columbia	first (did not play)
22	Template:Flagicon		RW	R	Template:NHL Year	Buckingham, Quebec	fifth (Template:Scfy, Template:Scfy, Template:Scfy, Template:Scfy)
11	Template:Flagicon		C	L	Template:NHL Year	Toronto, Ontario	first
7	Template:Flagicon		D	L	Template:NHL Year	Sverdlovsk, Soviet Union	first
21	Template:Flagicon	– A	RW	R	Template:NHL Year	Montreal, Quebec	second (Template:Scfy)
89	Template:Flagicon		RW	L	Template:NHL Year	Khabarovsk, Soviet Union	first
12	Template:Flagicon		C	L	Template:NHL Year	Moscow, Soviet Union	second (Template:Scfy)
27	Template:Flagicon		D	L	1991	Edmonton, Alberta	second (Template:Scfy)
29	Template:Flagicon		LW	L	1993	Tychy, Poland	first (did not play)
20	Template:Flagicon		LW	L	1993	Winchester, Massachusetts	first
28	Template:Flagicon		D	R	Template:NHL Year	Dearborn, Michigan	first
4	Template:Flagicon	– C	D	L	Template:NHL Year	Kitchener, Ontario	second (Template:Scfy)
17	Template:Flagicon		RW	L	1995	Plzeň, Czechoslovakia	first
31	Template:Flagicon		G	L	Template:NHL Year	Providence, Rhode Island	second (Template:Scfy; did not play)
5	Template:Flagicon		D	L	1996	New Glasgow, Nova Scotia	first

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

Players

  Centres

• 10 Steve Brule^‡
• 11 John Madden
• 12 Sergei Nemchinov
• 15 Steve Kelly^‡
• 23 Scott Gomez
• 25 Jason Arnott (A)

  Wingers

• 16 Bobby Holik
• 17 Petr Sykora
• 18 Sergei Brylin
• 20 Jay Pandolfo
• 21 Randy McKay (A)
• 22 Claude Lemieux
• 26 Patrik Elias
• 29 Krzysztof Oliwa^†
• 89 Alexander Mogilny

  Defencemen

• 2 Ken Sutton^‡
• 4 Scott Stevens (C)
• 3 Ken Daneyko
• 5 Colin White
• 6 Brad Bombardir^‡
• 7 Vladimir Malakhov
• 27 Scott Niedermayer
• 28 Brian Rafalski

  Goaltenders

• 30 Martin Brodeur
• 31 Chris Terreri

^† Did not play or dress in Finals.
^‡ Did not play or dress in finals. Name engraved on Stanley Cup due to successful petition.

Coaching and administrative staff

• John J. McMullen (Owner/Chairman/Governor), Peter McMullen (Vice President), Lou Lamoriello (President/General Manager)
• Larry Robinson (Interim Head Coach), Viacheslav Fetisov (Asst. Coach), Bobby Carpenter Jr. (Asst. Coaches), Jacques Caron (Goaltending Coach), John Cunniff (AHL Coach)
• David Conte (Director of Scouting), Claude Carrier (Scout), Milt Fisher (Scout), Dan Labraatan (Scout), Marcel Pronovost (Scout)
• Bob Hoffmeyer (Scout), Barry Fisher (Head Team Physician), Dennis Gendron (AHL Asst. Coach), Robbie Ftorek (Coach/Scout), Vladimir Bure (Consultant)
• Taran Singelton (Video Coordinator), Marie Carnevale (Hockey Operations-Ass't to President-General Manager), Callie Smith (Scouting Staff Asst.), Bill Murray (Medical Trainer), Michael Vasalani (Strength-Conditioning Coordinator)
• Dana McGuane (Equipment Manager), Juergen Merz (Message Therapist), Harry Bricker (Asst. Equipment Manager), Lou Centanni (Asst. Equipment Manager)

Engraving notes

• ^‡ Four players who did not automatically qualify for their names to be engraved on the Stanley Cup were engraved at the Devils' request.
  • #6 Brad Bombardir (D) – played 32 regular season games and 1 playoff game
  • #2 Ken Sutton (D) – joined the team at the NHL trade deadline from the minors. He played 6 regular season games, but was a healthy scratch for the playoffs.
  • #15 Steve Kelly (C) – 1 regular season game and 10 playoff games, four of the ten in the Eastern Conference Finals.
  • #10 Steve Brule (C) – 0 regular season games and 1 game in the 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.

Left off the Stanley Cup

• #24 Willie Mitchell (D) – Played in two regular season games. He was recalled for the playoffs, but did not make any playoff appearances. He later won the Stanley Cup with the Los Angeles Kings in 2012 and 2014. New Jersey did not request an exemption to have his name engraved.
• Deron Quint (D) – Played 50 regular season games for Phoenix, and four games for New Jersey (joined in a March 7 trade for Lyle Odelein) 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 (Consultant) – Still awarded a Stanley Cup Ring, and on the team picture.

Aftermath

Both the Devils and Stars would remain competitive in 2000–01 NHL season. The Devils finished the regular season with 111 points (a franchise record that stood until 2023) and an Atlantic Division title, and entered the playoffs with the first seed in the Eastern Conference. The Stars earned 106 regular season points, good for another Pacific Division title and the third seed in the Western Conference. However, there would be no Finals rematch. The Devils did earn a return trip after eliminating the Carolina Hurricanes, Toronto Maple Leafs, and the Pittsburgh Penguins to win a second straight Eastern Conference title. The Stars defeated the Edmonton Oilers in six games in the first round, but were swept by the St. Louis Blues in the second round. Game 2 of this series was the final game played at Reunion Arena; the Stars would move to the American Airlines Center the next season.

The Colorado Avalanche would end up representing the Western Conference in the 2001 Stanley Cup Finals. In a back-and-forth affair, the Devils took a 3-2 series lead and were one win away from repeating as champions, but lost games 6 and 7, giving Colorado the Cup. The Devils' loss marked the second straight year that the defending Stanley Cup champions lost in the Finals.

During the 2001–02 NHL season, both Larry Robinson and Ken Hitchcock were fired after poor starts to their respective teams' seasons (although Robinson would be brought back as an assistant later that season); the Stars would end up missing the playoffs entirely, while the Devils were elminiated in the first round by the Carolina Hurricanes. During that season, the Devils' and Stars' paths would cross again, but this time via a midseason trade. The Devils traded Randy McKay and 2000 Game 6 hero Jason Arnott to the Stars for Jamie Langenbrunner and Joe Nieuwendyk. The latter two would play a key role in the Devils winning another Stanley Cup in 2003, when they defeated the then-Mighty Ducks of Anaheim in the Finals. The Mighty Ducks' surprise trip to the Finals came partially at the expense of the Stars, who fell to Anaheim in six games in the second round.

Both the Devils and Stars were eliminated in the first round of the 2004 Stanley Cup playoffs. What followed was a season-long lockout. The lockout, combined with several rule changes that directly affected the Devils' physical, defensive style of play, and an aging core, brought challenges to the Devils. Although they would remain a playoff team for the remainder of the decade, they failed to replicate their late 1990s-early 2000s dominance, with them not advancing past the second round of the playoffs for the remainder of the 2000s. In 2011, they missed the playoffs for the first time since 1996. In 2012, they made it back to the Stanley Cup Finals, where they lost to the upstart Los Angeles Kings. From here they declined, missing the playoffs ten of the next twelve seasons and entering an extended rebuild. By the early-to-mid 2020s, they regained relevance, led by young stars such as Jack Hughes and Nico Hischier.

The Stars appeared in the playoffs every season after the lockout until 2008. They then missed the playoffs six of the next seven seasons.

In 2020, the Stars would appear in the Stanley Cup Finals for the first time since 2000, where they would lose in six games to the Tampa Bay Lightning.

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 Finals 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.

See also

• 1999–2000 NHL season
• 2000 Stanley Cup playoffs
• List of Stanley Cup champions