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The Stanley Cup is the championship trophy awarded annually to the National Hockey League (NHL) playoff winner. It is the oldest existing trophy to be awarded to a professional sports franchise in North America, and the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) considers it to be one of the "most important championships available to the sport". The trophy was commissioned in 1892 as the Dominion Hockey Challenge Cup and is named after Lord Stanley of Preston, the Governor General of Canada, who donated it as an award to Canada's top-ranking amateur ice hockey club. The entire Stanley family supported the sport, the sons and daughters all playing and promoting the game. The first Cup was awarded in 1893 to Montreal Hockey Club, and winners from 1893 to 1914 were determined by challenge games and league play. Professional teams first became eligible to challenge for the Stanley Cup in 1906. In 1915, the National Hockey Association (NHA) and the Pacific Coast Hockey Association (PCHA), the two main professional ice hockey organizations, reached a gentlemen's agreement in which their respective champions would face each other annually for the Stanley Cup. It was established as the de facto championship trophy of the NHL in 1926 and then the de jure NHL championship prize in 1947.
The Colorado Avalanche are a professional ice hockey team based in Denver. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division of the Western Conference. The Avalanche are the only team in their division not based in the Central Time Zone; the team is situated in the Mountain Time Zone. Their home arena is Pepsi Center, which they share with the Denver Nuggets of the National Basketball Association. Their general manager is Joe Sakic.
Joseph Steven Sakic is a Canadian professional ice hockey executive and former player. He played his entire 21-year National Hockey League (NHL) career with the Quebec Nordiques/Colorado Avalanche franchise. Named captain of the team in 1992, Sakic is regarded as one of the greatest team leaders in league history and was able to consistently motivate his team to play at a winning level. Sakic led the Avalanche to Stanley Cup titles in 1996 and 2001, being named the most valuable player of the 1996 playoffs, and honoured as the MVP of the NHL in 2001 by the hockey writers and his fellow players. He is one of six players to participate in both of the team's Stanley Cup victories. Sakic was also named to play in 13 NHL All-Star Games and selected to the NHL First All-Star Team at centre three times.
Robert Bowlby Blake is a Canadian professional ice hockey executive and former player. He is the current general manager of the Los Angeles Kings of the National Hockey League (NHL). He was originally drafted by the Kings in 1988, appearing in the 1993 Stanley Cup Finals, winning the James Norris Memorial Trophy and serving as team captain for five seasons in his initial 11-season stint with the club. In 2001, Blake was traded to the Colorado Avalanche and was a member of their 2001 Stanley Cup championship team. It was his only Stanley Cup as a player, though he won the Cup again as a member of the Kings' front office in 2014. After a two-season return to Los Angeles, Blake signed with the San Jose Sharks in 2008, retiring as its captain after the 2009–10 season. Four years later, in 2014, Blake was elected into the Hockey Hall of Fame.
John Gillies Mark Grahame is an American former professional ice hockey goaltender who played in the National Hockey League with the Boston Bruins, Tampa Bay Lightning and Carolina Hurricanes. He won the Stanley Cup with the Tampa Bay Lightning in 2004.
Vincent François Damphousse is a Canadian former professional hockey player who played in the National Hockey League (NHL) for eighteen seasons. He played centre for the Toronto Maple Leafs, Edmonton Oilers, Montreal Canadiens and San Jose Sharks, winning a Stanley Cup championship with Montreal in 1993. He was signed as an unrestricted free-agent by the Colorado Avalanche in 2004 during the off-season, but he never played with the team due to the lockout that canceled the 2004–05 season.
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 and the Western Conference 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 Stars, four games to two.
The 1995 Stanley Cup Finals was the championship series of the National Hockey League's (NHL) 1994–95 season, and the culmination of the 1995 Stanley Cup playoffs. It was contested by the Eastern Conference champion New Jersey Devils and the Western Conference champion Detroit Red Wings. This was the first of nine consecutive finals with American-based franchises exclusively. New Jersey was making the franchise's first appearance in the Finals, while Detroit returned to the Finals for the first time since 1966. The Devils swept the series four games to none to win their first Stanley Cup, becoming the sixth team to earn a championship having joined the league in 1967 or later. It was the first of four consecutive sweeps in the finals.
The 1990 Stanley Cup Finals was the championship series of the National Hockey League's (NHL) 1989–90 season, and the culmination of the 1990 Stanley Cup playoffs. It was contested by the Edmonton Oilers and the Boston Bruins; the Oilers won, four games to one. The series was a rematch of the 1988 Finals, albeit with the notable absence of Wayne Gretzky who was traded from Edmonton to the Los Angeles Kings during the 1988 off-season. For the Oilers, it was their fifth Cup win in seven years, and the team's only championship after trading Gretzky. This would be the last of eight consecutive Finals contested by a team from Alberta.
John Harold "Johnny" Sherf was a National Hockey League player and the first U.S. citizen to have his name engraved on the Stanley Cup in 1937.
Sergei Lvovich Nemchinov is a Russian former professional ice hockey player who played in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the New York Rangers, Vancouver Canucks, New York Islanders and the New Jersey Devils for twelve seasons, bookended by ten seasons in the Soviet Championship League with PHC Krylya Sovetov and HC CSKA Moscow, and two in the Russian Superleague with Lokomotiv Yaroslavl. Nemchinov works in the Admiral Vladivostok.
Donald William "Elbows" Awrey is a Canadian former professional hockey defenceman. He played 979 career National Hockey League (NHL) games with the Boston Bruins, St. Louis Blues, Montreal Canadiens, Pittsburgh Penguins, New York Rangers, and Colorado Rockies.
Ronald Ian Grahame is a former professional ice hockey goaltender in the National Hockey League and World Hockey Association.
The 1924 Stanley Cup Finals saw the National Hockey League (NHL) champion Montreal Canadiens defeat the Western Canada Hockey League (WCHL) champion Calgary Tigers two games to none in the best-of-three game series. It was Montreal's fourth appearance in the Final and second championship.
The 1996 Stanley Cup Final was the championship series of the National Hockey League's (NHL) 1995–96 season, and the culmination of the 1996 Stanley Cup playoffs. It was contested by the Western Conference champion Colorado Avalanche and the Eastern Conference champion Florida Panthers, two teams in the Final for the first time. Colorado defeated Florida in a four-game sweep to win their first Stanley Cup becoming the seventh post-1967 expansion team and the second former WHA team to win the Cup. Colorado's Joe Sakic earned the Conn Smythe Trophy as MVP of the 1996 Playoffs.
The 1995–96 Colorado Avalanche season was the first season of the Nordiques/Avalanche franchise after moving from Quebec City to Denver. As a result, the Avalanche were assigned to the Pacific Division of the NHL's Western Conference.
The 1976 Stanley Cup Finals was the championship series of the National Hockey League's (NHL) 1975–76 season, and the culmination of the 1976 Stanley Cup playoffs. It was contested by the defending champion Philadelphia Flyers, making their third consecutive finals appearance, and the Montreal Canadiens. This was the Canadiens first appearance in the Final since their Cup win in 1973. The Canadiens would win the best-of-seven series, four games to none.
The 1967 Stanley Cup Finals was the championship series of the National Hockey League's (NHL) 1966–67 season, and the culmination of the 1967 Stanley Cup playoffs. A best-of-seven series, it was contested between the Montreal Canadiens and the Toronto Maple Leafs. The Maple Leafs won the series four games to two. In doing so, they won their thirteenth Stanley Cup championship. To date, this is Toronto's last appearance in the Stanley Cup Finals, and they have the longest-active championship drought in the NHL at 51 seasons. The 1967 Stanley Cup Finals was also the last Stanley Cup Finals in the Original Six Era. This was also the last all-Canadian Finals series until 1986.
The 1932 Stanley Cup Finals was a best-of-five series between the New York Rangers and the Toronto Maple Leafs. Toronto would win the series in three straight to win their first Stanley Cup as the Maple Leafs.
The 2000–01 Colorado Avalanche season was the franchise's 29th season, 22nd in the National Hockey League, and sixth as the Colorado Avalanche. The Avalanche won their second Stanley Cup by defeating the defending Stanley Cup champion New Jersey Devils 4–3 in the Final. Ray Bourque would be the first and only NHL player to hoist the Stanley Cup prior to the team captain when Joe Sakic handed it to him out of respect for the future Hall of Famer.
