Martin Pierre Brodeur is a Canadian–American former professional ice hockey goaltender and current team executive. He played 22 seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL), 21 of them for the New Jersey Devils, with whom he won three Stanley Cup championships and five Eastern Conference championships in 17 postseason campaigns. He also won two Olympic gold medals with Team Canada in the 2002 and 2010 Winter Olympic Games, as well as several other medals with Team Canada in other international competitions. Brodeur is widely regarded as one of the greatest goaltenders of all time. In 2017, he was named by the league as one of the "100 Greatest NHL Players", and the following year, he was elected to the Hockey Hall of Fame.
The 2002–03 NHL season was the 86th regular season of the National Hockey League. The Stanley Cup winners were the New Jersey Devils, who won the best of seven series 4–3 against the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim.
Sean Burke is a Canadian former professional ice hockey goaltender and the current director of goaltending for the Vegas Golden Knights, with whom he won the Stanley Cup with in 2023. He played 18 seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the New Jersey Devils, Hartford Whalers, Carolina Hurricanes, Vancouver Canucks, Philadelphia Flyers, Florida Panthers, Phoenix Coyotes, Tampa Bay Lightning and Los Angeles Kings between 1988 and 2007. He was born in Windsor, Ontario, but grew up in Toronto, Ontario.
Simon Gagné is a Canadian former professional ice hockey left winger. He played for the Philadelphia Flyers, Tampa Bay Lightning, Los Angeles Kings and Boston Bruins of the National Hockey League (NHL). He spent the first ten seasons of his NHL career with the Flyers (1999–2010), followed by one season with Tampa Bay (2010–11) and two with Los Angeles (2011–13), winning the Stanley Cup in 2012, before returning to Philadelphia via trade for the end of the lockout-shortened 2012–13 season. After not playing in 2013–14, Gagné signed with Boston, briefly playing for them before retiring in 2015.
The National Hockey League (NHL) conference finals are the Eastern Conference and Western Conference championship series of the NHL. The conference finals are each a best-of-seven series, and comprise the third round of the Stanley Cup playoffs. The two series are played in mid-to-late May. The winners of the Eastern and Western Conference finals receive the Prince of Wales Trophy and Clarence S. Campbell Bowl, respectively, and advance to face each other in the Stanley Cup Finals.
Stéphane Provost was a French Canadian National Hockey League (NHL) linesman.
The 1993–94 NHL season was the 77th regular season of the National Hockey League. The league expanded to 26 teams with the addition of the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim and the Florida Panthers. The Minnesota North Stars relocated to become the Dallas Stars. And the league was realigned to geographically-named conferences and divisions. The New York Rangers defeated the Vancouver Canucks in seven games to become the Stanley Cup champions. It was the Rangers' fourth championship overall, and their first in 54 seasons, since 1939–40.
Don Koharski is a retired professional ice hockey referee in the National Hockey League. He resides in Tampa, Florida, with his wife, with whom he has two sons. Starting with the 1994–95 NHL season, he wore uniform number 12, and, since the 1987–88 NHL season, he wore a helmet while refereeing NHL games.
The 1998–99 NHL season was the 82nd regular season of the National Hockey League. The league expanded to 27 teams with the addition of the Nashville Predators. The NHL also realigned to a strictly geographic six-division structure, with three per conference. The 1998–99 season marked the retirement of Wayne Gretzky, the NHL's all-time leading scorer, who played his final three NHL seasons with the New York Rangers. The Dallas Stars finished first in regular season play, and won the Stanley Cup championship over the Buffalo Sabres on a controversial triple-overtime goal by Brett Hull.
Christopher Allan Gratton is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player who last played with the Columbus Blue Jackets of the National Hockey League (NHL). He is the cousin of Josh Gratton, who had also briefly played in the NHL as a member of the Philadelphia Flyers and the Phoenix Coyotes.
Marc Staal is a Canadian professional ice hockey coach and former defenceman who is a player development assistant for the New York Rangers of the National Hockey League (NHL). Staal played 17 seasons in the NHL for the New York Rangers, Detroit Red Wings, Florida Panthers, and Philadelphia Flyers, amassing over 1,100 games played. He is the second oldest of the four Staal brothers to play in the NHL, and the third to reach 1,000 games played, making them the first trio of brothers to each reach the mark. Of the brothers, Marc is the only defenceman and only one who never played for the Carolina Hurricanes, as well as the only brother never to win the Stanley Cup.
The 1993–94 Florida Panthers season was the Panthers' first season. Blockbuster Video magnate H. Wayne Huizenga was awarded an NHL franchise for his native Miami in 1992. The team played at the Miami Arena, and its first major stars were New York Rangers goaltender castoff John Vanbiesbrouck, rookie Rob Niedermayer, and Scott Mellanby, who scored 30 goals during the regular season.
Mike McKenna is an American former professional ice hockey goaltender. McKenna was selected in the 6th round of the 2002 NHL Entry Draft by the Nashville Predators and played in the National Hockey League (NHL) with the Tampa Bay Lightning, New Jersey Devils, Columbus Blue Jackets, Arizona Coyotes, Dallas Stars, Ottawa Senators and Philadelphia Flyers. Mckenna worked the 2022 Stanley Cup Playoffs for TNT.
The 2012 NHL entry draft was the 50th NHL entry draft. The draft was held June 22–23, 2012, at Consol Energy Center in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. It was the first time that Pittsburgh hosted the draft since the 1997 NHL entry draft. The top three picks were Nail Yakupov going to the Edmonton Oilers, Ryan Murray going to the Columbus Blue Jackets, and Alex Galchenyuk going to the Montreal Canadiens.
Radko Gudas is a Czech professional ice hockey defenceman and captain for the Anaheim Ducks in the National Hockey League (NHL). He has previously played in the NHL for the Tampa Bay Lightning, Philadelphia Flyers, Washington Capitals, and the Florida Panthers.
The 2012 Stanley Cup Finals was the championship series of the National Hockey League's (NHL) 2011–12 season, and the culmination of the 2012 Stanley Cup playoffs. The Western Conference playoff champion Los Angeles Kings defeated the Eastern Conference playoff champion New Jersey Devils four games to two, capturing the first Stanley Cup title in the team's 45-year history, dealing the Devils just their second Stanley Cup Finals defeat in five tries and first since 2001. Kings goaltender Jonathan Quick was awarded the Conn Smythe Trophy as the Most Valuable Player of the playoffs.
Jonny Murray is a Canadian National Hockey League linesman, who wears uniform number 95.
The 2015 NHL entry draft was the 53rd NHL entry draft. The draft was held on June 26–27, 2015, at the BB&T Center in Sunrise, Florida. The first three selections were Connor McDavid going to the Edmonton Oilers, Jack Eichel going to the Buffalo Sabres, and Dylan Strome going to the Arizona Coyotes.
François St-Laurent is a Canadian ice hockey referee, currently working in the National Hockey League. In the summer of 1999, during a camp held by Ron Fournier, he told Réseau des Sports that his goal was to make it to the NHL. Said to have "an exceptional talent", he became a Level VI referee in the Hockey Canada Officiating Program during a seminar in November 2001, held in Halifax, Nova Scotia.
The 2019–20 New York Islanders season was the 48th season in the franchise's history. It was their fifth season in the Barclays Center in the New York City borough of Brooklyn, which they moved into after leaving Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum in Nassau County on Long Island at the conclusion of the 2014–15 season. During the regular season, the Islanders were scheduled to play 21 home games at Nassau Coliseum but on September 23 moved seven more games from the Barclays Center, making it a total of 28 games to be played at Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum. On February 29, 2020, it was announced that the Islanders would play their last game at Barclays Center on March 22, and then would move to Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum permanently.
