Jazz Claim 2000/01 Stanley Cup
The Toronto Jazz returned to the top of the RSHA mountain after several near misses in recent history, as they knocked off the Edmonton Hunters in six games to earn the 2001 Stanley Cup title. The Jazz, winners of the 1993 Stanley Cup, were more known for their playoff heartbreaks than for playoff heroics. Following their title in ‘93, the Jazz went on to lose three championship series’, all in Game 7. The losses to Vancouver (x2) and Los Angeles saw Toronto unable to close out series leads all three times, including a catastrophic collapse from a 3-0 series lead over the Millionaires in 1996.
The Jazz entered their series with Edmonton on a second half tear of epic proportions as they went 21-3-3 down the stretch to earn the President’s Trophy, and were 8-3 in the playoffs after sweeping Boston and then coming from behind to knock off Philly in seven games. With that said, the Jazz also had the demons of Stanley Cups past in their mind as the team had gone winless in their past eight consecutive potential Cup clinching games.
After the teams split the opening two games in Toronto, the Jazz took a comfortable series lead with 5-3 and 3-2 victories on Edmonton ice. Once again, the Jazz were in the driver’s seat as they returned to Toronto with a chance to lift the cup. Jazz fans, trying their damnedest not to panic, were very much panicking after the Hunters took Game 5 by a 3-1 score to extend the series, and extend Toronto’s futility with the cup on the line. Finally, in Game 6 though, Toronto got the job done. With the franchise’s best ever player and long-time captain Wayne Gretzky suffering a first period injury, Joe Sakic and Alex Mogilny stepped up with two goals and an assist each and Martin Brodeur capped off his impressive postseason performance with 24 saves as the Jazz skated to a 6-3 victory and a 4-2 series win.
Gretzky, limping considerably following his first period injury, returned to the ice in his Jazz jersey and accepted the Stanley Cup from Commissioner Aaron Grandguillot. After his trip around the ice, he handed Lord Stanley’s mug to defenseman Doug Bodger, who was one of just a few players still with the Jazz from their 1993 title. Bodger passed it to Rob Zamuner, who also remains from the ’93 squad.
Brodeur, who sported a 12-5 record in the playoffs with a .911 save percentage and 2.32 goals against average was named the Conn Smythe Trophy winner as Playoffs MVP just hours after the league announced him as the Vezina Trophy winner as the league’s top goalie in the regular season.
The win was also the final RSHA game for veteran defensemen Eric Weinrich and Chris Chelios. For Weinrich, he skates off after earning his fifth career Cup title (two with Toronto), while Chelios waited over 1500 career games (regular season and playoffs) to finally win his first.
With the victory, the Jazz became the first team in league history to win the single season trifecta, which includes an In-Season Tourney title, President’s Trophy and Stanley Cup championship. The title also gives GM Rich Brown a second Stanley Cup ring, which means every GM in the RSHA is either a multi-time cup winner, or a zero-cup winner. None of the GM’s have won just a single title.
With another thrilling RSHA season in the books, the league now turns the page and begins looking forward to the 2001-02 season, with free agency likely just 24-48 hours away from opening.