The 2000–01 NHL season was the
84th regular season
In an organized sports league, a typical season is the portion of one year in which regulated games of the sport are in session: for example, in Major League Baseball the season lasts approximately from the last week of March to the last week of S ...
of the
National Hockey League
The National Hockey League (NHL; , ''LNH'') is a professional ice hockey league in North America composed of 32 teams25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. The NHL is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Cana ...
. With the addition of the expansion
Columbus Blue Jackets
The Columbus Blue Jackets (often simply referred to as the Jackets) are a professional ice hockey team based in Columbus, Ohio. The Blue Jackets compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern C ...
and the
Minnesota Wild
The Minnesota Wild are a professional ice hockey team based in Saint Paul, Minnesota. The Wild compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division (NHL), Central Division in the Western Conference (NHL), Western Confer ...
, 30 teams each played 82 games. The
Stanley Cup winners were the
Colorado Avalanche
The Colorado Avalanche (colloquially known as the Avs) are a professional ice hockey team based in Denver. The Avalanche compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division (NHL), Central Division in the Western Con ...
, who won the best of seven series 4–3 against the
New Jersey Devils
The New Jersey Devils are a professional ice hockey team based in Newark, New Jersey. The Devils compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference (NHL), Eastern Conference. The club w ...
. The focus of Colorado's
Stanley Cup
The Stanley Cup () is the championship trophy awarded annually to the National Hockey League (NHL) playoff champion. It is the oldest existing trophy to be awarded to a professional sports franchise in North America, and the International Ic ...
run was on star defenceman
Ray Bourque
Raymond Jean Bourque (born December 28, 1960) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player. He holds records for most career goals, assists, and points by a defenceman in the National Hockey League (NHL). He won the James Norris Memorial ...
, who was on a quest to win his first
Stanley Cup championship in his illustrious 22-year career.
League business
Expansion
Two expansion teams, the
Minnesota Wild
The Minnesota Wild are a professional ice hockey team based in Saint Paul, Minnesota. The Wild compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division (NHL), Central Division in the Western Conference (NHL), Western Confer ...
and the
Columbus Blue Jackets
The Columbus Blue Jackets (often simply referred to as the Jackets) are a professional ice hockey team based in Columbus, Ohio. The Blue Jackets compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern C ...
, joined the league at the beginning of the season, increasing the number of NHL teams to 30. The Blue Jackets would join the Central Division, while the Wild would join the Northwest Division. This divisional alignment would remain static until the
2012–13 season, while the league did not expand again until the
2017–18 season when the
Vegas Golden Knights
The Vegas Golden Knights are a professional ice hockey team based in the Las Vegas Valley, Las Vegas metropolitan area. The Golden Knights compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division (NHL), Pacific Division ...
entered the league. This was the first time the NHL would have a team in Minnesota since the
Minnesota North Stars
The Minnesota North Stars were a professional ice hockey team in the National Hockey League (NHL) for 26 seasons, from 1967 to 1993. The North Stars played their home games at the Met Center in Bloomington, Minnesota, and the team's colors for ...
moved to
Dallas, Texas
Dallas () is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the most populous city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of Texas metropolitan areas, most populous metropolitan area in Texas and the Metropolitan statistical area, fourth-most ...
in 1993, and the first time for Ohio since the
Cleveland Barons merged with the North Stars in 1978.
The
2000 NHL expansion draft was held on June 23, 2000 to fill the rosters of the new expansion teams.
Entry draft
The
2000 NHL entry draft was held on June 24 and 25, 2000, at the
Pengrowth Saddledome in
Calgary
Calgary () is a major city in the Canadian province of Alberta. As of 2021, the city proper had a population of 1,306,784 and a metropolitan population of 1,481,806 making it the third-largest city and fifth-largest metropolitan area in C ...
,
Alberta
Alberta is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province in Canada. It is a part of Western Canada and is one of the three Canadian Prairies, prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to its west, Saskatchewan to its east, t ...
.
Rick DiPietro was selected first overall by the
New York Islanders
The New York Islanders (colloquially known as the Isles) are a professional ice hockey team based in Elmont, New York. The Islanders compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference (N ...
.
Rule changes
The four-official system (two referees and two linesmen) become mandatory for all games. It was previously used for selected regular season games in 1998–99 and 1999–2000, but all playoff games in both of those seasons.
Preseason games in Europe
This was the first preseason of the
NHL Challenge
The NHL Challenge series allows select National Hockey League, NHL teams to travel outside North America to conduct training camp and participate in exhibition games. Although the games are played on the larger European ice surface, they are off ...
, where selected NHL teams traveled to Europe to play exhibition games against European teams. The
Vancouver Canucks
The Vancouver Canucks are a professional ice hockey team based in Vancouver. The Canucks compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division (NHL), Pacific Division in the Western Conference (NHL), Western Conferenc ...
traveled to
Stockholm Globe Arena in
Stockholm
Stockholm (; ) is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, most populous city of Sweden, as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in the Nordic countries. Approximately ...
, Sweden, to play against Swedish teams
MoDo Örnsköldsvik on September 13, 2000, and
Djurgården Stockholm on September 15.
Uniform changes
*Buffalo: New Red Alternates.
*Calgary: Previous Black Alternates become the new road uniforms.
*Carolina: Black outline added to players' names.
*Chicago: 75th-anniversary patch.
*Colorado:
2001 NHL All-Star Game Patch.
*Columbus: White Jerseys with red and blue stripes, Blue road jerseys have Red stripe. Team also wears an inaugural season patch. Alt marks are on the shoulders.
*Detroit: 75th-anniversary patch
*Minnesota: White Jerseys with red and green stripes, the Green jerseys have just the red stripe. Alt marks are on the shoulders.
*New York Rangers: 75th-anniversary patch.
*Ottawa: The team introduces a new alternate jersey—this one black with the forward-looking centurion crest.
*Pittsburgh: The Penguins introduce a new alternate jersey, welcoming back the skating penguin and introducing Vegas gold.
*San Jose: 10th Anniversary patch.
*Toronto: Alternates from 1998 to 1999 return, as well as a new TML Patch.
*Washington: Black alternates from 1999 to 2000 become new road uniforms.
Arenas
* The
Calgary Flames
The Calgary Flames are a professional ice hockey team based in Calgary. The Flames compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division (NHL), Pacific Division in the Western Conference (NHL), Western Conference. The ...
' home arena, Canadian Airlines Saddledome, was renamed
Pengrowth Saddledome as part of a new naming rights agreement with
Pengrowth Energy.
* The expansion
Columbus Blue Jackets
The Columbus Blue Jackets (often simply referred to as the Jackets) are a professional ice hockey team based in Columbus, Ohio. The Blue Jackets compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern C ...
moved into
Nationwide Arena
Nationwide Arena is a multi-purpose arena in the Arena District of Columbus, Ohio, United States. Since completion in 2000, the arena has served as the home of the Columbus Blue Jackets of the National Hockey League (NHL). It is one of two faci ...
, named after the arena's original majority owner,
Nationwide Mutual Insurance Company
Nationwide Mutual Insurance Company and affiliated companies, commonly shortened to Nationwide, is a group of large U.S. insurance and financial services companies based in Columbus, Ohio. The company also operates regional headquarters in ...
.
* The
Dallas Stars
The Dallas Stars are a professional ice hockey team based in Dallas. The Stars compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division (NHL), Central Division in the Western Conference (NHL), Western Conference. The Stars ...
played their final season at the
Reunion Arena
Reunion Arena was an indoor arena located in the Reunion, Dallas, Reunion district of downtown Dallas, Texas, United States. The arena served as the primary home of the National Hockey League's (NHL) Dallas Stars and the National Basketball Ass ...
before moving to the
American Airlines Center
The American Airlines Center (AAC) is a multi-purpose List of indoor arenas, indoor arena located in the Victory Park, Dallas, Victory Park neighborhood in downtown Dallas, Texas. The arena serves as the home of the Dallas Stars of the National ...
.
* The expansion
Minnesota Wild
The Minnesota Wild are a professional ice hockey team based in Saint Paul, Minnesota. The Wild compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division (NHL), Central Division in the Western Conference (NHL), Western Confer ...
moved into
Xcel Energy Center
Xcel Energy Center is a multipurpose arena in Saint Paul, Minnesota, United States. Completed in 2000 and often called "The X" by fans, it is named for its locally based corporate sponsor Xcel Energy. With an official capacity of 17,954, the arena ...
, with
Xcel Energy acquiring the naming rights.
* The
St. Louis Blues's home arena, the Kiel Center, was renamed the
Savvis Center as part of a new naming rights agreement with
Savvis.
Regular season
International games
The NHL opened the season in Japan with two games between the
Nashville Predators
The Nashville Predators (colloquially referred to as the Preds) are a professional ice hockey team based in Nashville, Tennessee. The Predators compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division (NHL), Central Divisio ...
and the
Pittsburgh Penguins
The Pittsburgh Penguins (colloquially known as the Pens) are a professional ice hockey team based in Pittsburgh. The Penguins compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference (NHL), E ...
on October 9 and 10, at
Saitama Super Arena
is a multi-purpose indoor arena located in Chūō-ku, Saitama, Chūō-ku, Saitama (city), Saitama, Saitama Prefecture, Japan. It opened preliminarily on May 5, 2000, and then was officially opened on September 1 of the same year. Its maximum capa ...
in
Saitama.
All-Star Game
The
All-Star Game
An all-star game is an exhibition game that showcases the best players (the "stars") of a sports league. The exhibition is between two teams organized solely for the event, usually representing the league's teams based on region or division, bu ...
was played on February 4, at the
Pepsi Center
Ball Arena (formerly known as the Pepsi Center) is a multi-purpose indoor arena located in Denver, Colorado, United States. It is situated at Speer Boulevard, a main thoroughfare in downtown Denver, and is served by two nearby exits off Int ...
in
Denver
Denver ( ) is a List of municipalities in Colorado#Consolidated city and county, consolidated city and county, the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Colorado, most populous city of the U.S. state of ...
, the home of the
Colorado Avalanche
The Colorado Avalanche (colloquially known as the Avs) are a professional ice hockey team based in Denver. The Avalanche compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division (NHL), Central Division in the Western Con ...
.
Highlights
On December 27, 2000,
Mario Lemieux
Mario Lemieux (; ; born October 5, 1965) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player. He played parts of 17 seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the Pittsburgh Penguins between 1984–85 NHL season, 1984 and 2005–06 NHL se ...
returned from his three-and-a-half-year retirement and, in a game nationally televised on ''
Hockey Night in Canada
''Hockey Night in Canada'' (often abbreviated ''Hockey Night'' or ''HNiC'') is a long-running program of broadcast ice hockey play-by-play coverage in Canada. With roots in pioneering hockey coverage on private radio stations as early as 1923, ...
'' and ''
ESPN National Hockey Night'', registered his first assist 33 seconds into the game against the
Toronto Maple Leafs
The Toronto Maple Leafs (officially the Toronto Maple Leaf Hockey Club and often referred to as the Leafs) are a professional ice hockey team based in Toronto. The Maple Leafs compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the A ...
. He went on to add a goal and finish with three points, solidifying his return and bringing a struggling
Jaromir Jagr back to his elite status, who went on to win his fourth straight
Art Ross Trophy
The Art Ross Trophy is awarded to the National Hockey League (NHL) player who leads the league in Point (ice hockey), points at the end of the regular season. It was presented to the league by former player, general manager, and head coach Art Ros ...
, narrowly surpassing
Joe Sakic. Despite playing in only 43 games in 2000–01, Lemieux scored 76 points to finish 26th in scoring, finishing the season with the highest points-per-game average that season among NHL players. Lemieux was one of the three finalists for the
Hart Memorial Trophy
The Hart Memorial Trophy, originally known as the Hart Trophy, is an annual award for the most valuable player to his team in the National Hockey League (NHL), voted by the members of the Professional Hockey Writers' Association. The original tr ...
and
Lester B. Pearson Award.
The record for most shutouts in a season (set at 160 in 1997–98 and equalled in 1998–99) was eclipsed, as 186 shutouts were recorded.
Final standings
Eastern Conference
Western Conference
Playoffs
Bracket
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.
Awards
The presentation ceremonies were held in
Toronto
Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...
.
All-Star teams
Coaches
Eastern Conference
*Atlanta Thrashers:
Curt Fraser
*Boston Bruins:
Pat Burns and
Mike Keenan
Michael Edward Keenan (born October 21, 1949) is a Canadian-American former professional hockey coach. Previously, he served as head coach and/or general manager with several NHL teams between 1984 and 2009. He currently ranks fifth in playoff win ...
*Buffalo Sabres:
Lindy Ruff
*Carolina Hurricanes:
Paul Maurice
*Florida Panthers:
Terry Murray and
Duane Sutter
*Montreal Canadiens:
Alain Vigneault and
Michel Therrien
Michel Therrien (born November 4, 1963) is a Canadians, Canadian professional ice hockey coach. (NHL). Therrien formerly coached the Montreal Canadiens, the Pittsburgh Penguins and the Philadelphia Flyers.
Prior to his coaching career, Therrie ...
*New Jersey Devils:
Larry Robinson
*New York Islanders:
Butch Goring and
Lorne Henning
Lorne Henning (born February 22, 1952) is a Canadian professional ice hockey executive and former player. He most recently has served as a scout for the Seattle Kraken of the National Hockey League (NHL).
Career
Born in Melfort, Saskatchewan, H ...
*New York Rangers:
Ron Low
*Ottawa Senators:
Jacques Martin
*Philadelphia Flyers:
Craig Ramsay and
Bill Barber
*Pittsburgh Penguins:
Ivan Hlinka
*Tampa Bay Lightning:
Steve Ludzik and
John Tortorella
*Toronto Maple Leafs:
Pat Quinn
*Washington Capitals:
Ron Wilson
Western Conference
*Mighty Ducks of Anaheim:
Craig Hartsburg and
Guy Charron
*Calgary Flames:
Don Hay and
Greg Gilbert
*Chicago Blackhawks:
Alpo Suhonen
*Colorado Avalanche:
Bob Hartley
*Columbus Blue Jackets:
Dave King
*Dallas Stars:
Ken Hitchcock
*Detroit Red Wings:
Scotty Bowman
William Scott Bowman (born September 18, 1933) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey head coach. He holds the record for most wins in National Hockey League (NHL) history, with 1,244 wins in the regular season and 223 in the Stanley Cup ...
*Edmonton Oilers:
Craig MacTavish
*Los Angeles Kings:
Andy Murray
Sir Andrew Barron Murray (born 15 May 1987) is a British former professional tennis player and coach. He was ranked as the List of ATP number 1 ranked singles tennis players, world No. 1 in men's singles by the Association of Tennis Professio ...
*Minnesota Wild:
Jacques Lemaire
*Nashville Predators:
Barry Trotz
*Phoenix Coyotes:
Bobby Francis
*San Jose Sharks:
Darryl Sutter
*St. Louis Blues:
Joel Quenneville
*Vancouver Canucks:
Marc Crawford
Marc Joseph John Crawford (born February 13, 1961) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player and coach. He played as a forward (hockey), forward for the Vancouver Canucks in the National Hockey League (NHL). Crawford won the Stanley Cup ...
Player statistics
Regular season
Scoring leaders
''Note: GP = Games played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points''
Leading goaltenders
Wins: Martin Brodeur (42); Patrick Roy (40); Dominic Hasek (37); Olaf Kolzig (37); Arturs Irbe (37);
Shutouts: Dominik Hasek (11); Roman Cechmanek (10); Martin Brodeur (9); Tommy Salo (8); Ed Belfour (8);
GAA: Roman Cechmanek (2.01); Manny Legace (2.05); Dominik Hasek (2.11); Evgeni Nabokov (2.19); Patrick Roy (2.21)
SV%: Marty Turco (.925); Mike Dunham (.923); Sean Burke (.922); Dominik Hasek (.921); Roman Cechmanek (.921)
Playoffs
Scoring leaders
''Note: GP = Games played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points''
Milestones
Debuts
The following is a list of players of note who played their first NHL game in 2000–01:
*
Andrew Raycroft, Boston Bruins
*
Marty Turco
Marty Vincent Turco (born August 13, 1975) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey goaltender who played 11 seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL). He played nine seasons with the Dallas Stars and one season each with the Chicago Blackha ...
, Dallas Stars
*
Eric Belanger, Los Angeles Kings
*
Andreas Lilja, Los Angeles Kings
*
Lubomir Visnovsky, Los Angeles Kings
*
Marian Gaborik, Minnesota Wild
*
Lubomir Sekeras, Minnesota Wild
*
Rick DiPietro, New York Islanders
*
Martin Havlat, Ottawa Senators
*
Miikka Kiprusoff, San Jose Sharks
*
Brad Richards
Bradley Ray Richards (born May 2, 1980) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey centre (ice hockey), centre. Richards was drafted in the third round, 64th overall, by the Tampa Bay Lightning in the 1998 NHL Entry Draft and played for the Li ...
, Tampa Bay Lightning
*
Henrik Sedin
Henrik Lars Sedin (born 26 September 1980) is a Swedish ice hockey executive and former centre who played his entire 17-season National Hockey League (NHL) career with the Vancouver Canucks from 2000 to 2018. He additionally served as the Canuc ...
, Vancouver Canucks
*
Daniel Sedin
Daniel Hans Sedin (born 26 September 1980) is a Swedish ice hockey executive and former winger who played his entire 17-season National Hockey League (NHL) career with the Vancouver Canucks from 2000 to 2018. Born and raised in Örnsköldsvik ...
, Vancouver Canucks
Last games
The following is a list of players of note who played their last NHL game in 2000–01, listed with their team:
Broadcasting
Canada
This was the third season of the league's Canadian national broadcast rights deals with
CBC CBC may refer to:
Media
* Cadena Baja California or Grupo Cadena, a radio and television broadcaster in Mexico
* Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, Canada's radio and television public broadcaster
** CBC Television
** CBC Radio One
** CBC Music
** ...
and the renamed
Sportsnet
Sportsnet is a Television in Canada, Canadian English-language Discretionary service, discretionary sports broadcasting, sports specialty channel owned by Rogers Sports & Media. It was established in 1998 as CTV Sportsnet, a joint venture betw ...
(the latter was sold by
CTV after acquiring rival
TSN). 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.
United States
This was the second year of the league's five-year U.S. national broadcast rights deal with
ESPN
ESPN (an initialism of their original name, which was the Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by the Walt Disney Company (80% and operational control) and Hearst Commu ...
and
ABC. ESPN and
ESPN2
ESPN2 is an American multinational pay television network owned by ESPN Inc., a joint venture between the Walt Disney Company (which owns a controlling 80% stake) and Hearst Communications (which owns the remaining 20%).
ESPN2 was initially ...
aired weeknight games throughout the regular season. ABC's coverage included the All-Star Game and then five weeks worth of regional games on Saturday afternoons between March and April. 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.
See also
*
2000 in sports
*
2000 NHL entry draft
*
2000 NHL expansion draft
*
2000-01 NHL transactions
*
2001 in sports
2001 in sports describes the year's events in world sport.
Alpine skiing
* 2000–01 FIS Alpine Ski World Cup, Alpine Skiing World Cup
** Men's overall season champion: Hermann Maier, Austria
** Women's overall season champion: Janica Kostelić, ...
*
51st National Hockey League All-Star Game
*
NHL All-Rookie Team
*
NHL All-Star Game
The National Hockey League All-Star Game () is an exhibition ice hockey tournament that is traditionally held during the regular season of the National Hockey League (NHL), with many of the League's star players playing against each other. The ga ...
*
Lester Patrick Trophy
The Lester Patrick Trophy has been presented by the National Hockey League and USA Hockey since 1966 to honor a recipient's contribution to ice hockey in the United States. It is considered a non-NHL trophy because it may be awarded to players, ...
References
*
*
Notes
External links
Hockey Databasenhl.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:2000-01 NHL season
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