William Scott Bowman 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 playoffs, and his 14 Stanley Cup wins ranks second most of all time for any player, coach or executive. He coached the St. Louis Blues, Montreal Canadiens, Buffalo Sabres, Pittsburgh Penguins and Detroit Red Wings. He was most recently the senior advisor of hockey operations for the Chicago Blackhawks, until stepping down in July 2022. Bowman is often regarded as the greatest coach in NHL history.
Brian Christopher Rafalski is an American former professional ice hockey defenseman. He played in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the New Jersey Devils and Detroit Red Wings, in the SM-liiga for HPK and HIFK, in the Elitserien for Brynäs IF, and in the ECHL for the Florida Everblades.
The 2001–02 NHL season was the 85th regular season of the National Hockey League. Thirty teams competed in an 82-game regular season. The regular season began on October 3, and the playoffs concluded on June 13, with the Detroit Red Wings defeating the Carolina Hurricanes in the Stanley Cup Finals in five games, winning their tenth Stanley Cup in franchise history.
The 2005–06 NHL season was the 89th season of operation of the National Hockey League (NHL). This season succeeded the 2004–05 season which had all of its scheduled games canceled due to a labor dispute with the National Hockey League Players' Association (NHLPA) over the Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) between the League and its players. The season featured the first time that all 30 of its member teams played games on the same day, which happened the first day of the season, October 5, 2005.
The 1992 Stanley Cup Finals was the championship series of the National Hockey League's (NHL) 1991–92 season, and the culmination of the 1992 Stanley Cup playoffs. It was contested by the Prince of Wales Conference and defending Stanley Cup champion Pittsburgh Penguins and the Clarence Campbell Conference champion Chicago Blackhawks. The Blackhawks were appearing in their first Finals since 1973. After the Blackhawks jumped to an early 4–1 lead in the first game of the series, Mario Lemieux and the Penguins came back to win the game, sweep the series in four games, and win their second consecutive and second overall Stanley Cup. The fourth and final game of this series was the first time a Stanley Cup playoff game was played in the month of June and at the time it was the latest finishing date for an NHL season. This was also the last Finals to be played at Chicago Stadium as it closed in 1994.
John Vanbiesbrouck, nicknamed "the Beezer" and "JVB", is an American professional ice hockey executive and former player. As a goaltender, he was inducted into the United States Hockey Hall of Fame in 2007. Vanbiesbrouck played in the National Hockey League (NHL) from 1981 to 2002 for the New York Rangers, Florida Panthers, Philadelphia Flyers, New York Islanders, and New Jersey Devils. He began his career playing major junior hockey for the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds of the Ontario Hockey League (OHL). Following a successful season with the Greyhounds, he was drafted by the New York Rangers in the fourth round, 72nd overall, in the 1981 NHL Draft. After his junior career ended, he played for the Rangers minor league affiliate, the Tulsa Oilers of the Central Hockey League. Despite the team's near collapses due to financial concerns, Vanbiesbrouck led the Oilers to a league championship and shared the league's MVP honors.
Michael Edward Keenan is a Canadian 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 wins with 96. He is noted for his early career success in coaching Team Canada to win the 1987 Canada Cup round-robin tournament in a thrilling best-of-three series finale against Viktor Tikhonov's Red Army team. He is one of three coaches to coach in a playoff Game 7 ten times, for which he won five times. Keenan was the third person to lead three different teams to the Stanley Cup Finals; only one coach has accomplished the feat since Keenan.
The 1991–92 NHL season was the 75th regular season of the National Hockey League. The league expanded to 22 teams with the addition of the expansion San Jose Sharks. A ten-day players' strike was called in April, delaying the final weeks of the regular season and the playoffs, and pushing the Stanley Cup Finals into June for the first time. The Pittsburgh Penguins repeated as Stanley Cup champions, winning the best of seven series four games to none against the Chicago Blackhawks.
Jason Williams is a Canadian former professional ice hockey winger.
Patrick Sharp is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player who played 15 seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the Philadelphia Flyers, Chicago Blackhawks, and Dallas Stars. After his retirement as a player, Sharp worked as an analyst for NBC Sports and as a color commentary for Blackhawks broadcasts on NBC Sports Chicago. He joined the Flyers in 2023 as a special adviser to hockey operations. Sharp was also a member of the University of Vermont coaching staff in 2021.
Ulf Bo Samuelsson is a Swedish-American former professional ice hockey defenceman who formerly served as assistant coach of the Florida Panthers of the National Hockey League. He played several seasons in the NHL with the Hartford Whalers, Pittsburgh Penguins, New York Rangers, Detroit Red Wings, and Philadelphia Flyers. He is a two-time Stanley Cup champion, winning with the Penguins in 1991 and 1992, and the first European-born player to have 2,000 career penalty minutes.
Robert John Scuderi is an American former professional ice hockey defenseman, currently serving as an assistant coach for the National Hockey League's Nashville Predators.
James Edward Nill is a Canadian former ice hockey player and the current general manager of the Dallas Stars of the National Hockey League (NHL). Nill played in the NHL throughout the 1980s with the St. Louis Blues, Vancouver Canucks, Boston Bruins, Winnipeg Jets, and Detroit Red Wings, retiring in 1990. Prior to making his NHL debut Nill also played for Canada at the 1980 Winter Olympics. He worked as a scout for the Ottawa Senators before joining the Red Wings in an executive role in 1994, staying with the team before moving to take up the general manager role with Dallas in 2013.
The National Hockey League (NHL) endured a tumultuous period of history between 1992 and 2017. It grew from 22 teams at the start of this period to 30 at the end, as the league expanded across the United States. Repeated labour conflicts interrupted play in 1992, 1994–95, 2004–05 and 2012–13; the second lockout caused the entire 2004–05 NHL season to be canceled, the first time in North American history that a sports league has canceled an entire season in a labour dispute. Nine franchises were added between 1991 and 2000, comprising the San Jose Sharks, Ottawa Senators, Tampa Bay Lightning, Florida Panthers, Mighty Ducks of Anaheim, Nashville Predators, Atlanta Thrashers, Columbus Blue Jackets and the Minnesota Wild. In addition to expansion teams, five franchises have relocated during this time: the Minnesota North Stars became the Dallas Stars (1993), the Quebec Nordiques became the Colorado Avalanche (1995), the Winnipeg Jets became the Phoenix Coyotes (1996), the Hartford Whalers became the Carolina Hurricanes (1997), and the Atlanta Thrashers became the second franchise known as the Winnipeg Jets (2011). In 1999, Wayne Gretzky retired from hockey.
Antti Niemi is a Finnish former professional ice hockey goaltender. During the 2009–10 season as a member of the Chicago Blackhawks, he became the first Finnish goaltender to win the Stanley Cup, and has also played for the San Jose Sharks, Dallas Stars, Pittsburgh Penguins, Florida Panthers, and Montreal Canadiens.
The 2010–11 Dallas Stars season was the 44th season for the National Hockey League franchise that was established on June 5, 1967, and 18th season since the franchise relocated to Dallas to start the 1993–94 NHL season. Despite having a winning record, the Stars failed to qualify for the Stanley Cup playoffs for the third consecutive season. The Stars posted a regular season record of 42 wins, 29 losses and 11 overtime/shootout losses for 95 points, only two points behind the defending Stanley Cup champion Chicago Blackhawks for the last playoff spot.
The 2012–13 NHL season was the 96th season of operation of the National Hockey League (NHL). The regular season began on January 19, 2013, and ended on April 28, 2013, with the playoffs to follow until June. The Chicago Blackhawks defeated the Boston Bruins in six games to win the Stanley Cup.
Olli Määttä is a Finnish professional ice hockey defenceman for the Utah Hockey Club of the National Hockey League (NHL). He was drafted in the first round, 22nd overall, by the Pittsburgh Penguins in the 2012 NHL entry draft. Määttä has also played for the Chicago Blackhawks, Los Angeles Kings and Detroit Red Wings.
Jan Rutta is a Czech professional ice hockey defenceman for the San Jose Sharks of the National Hockey League (NHL). Originally an undrafted player, he won back-to-back Stanley Cups with the Tampa Bay Lightning in 2020 and 2021. Rutta has also previously played for the Chicago Blackhawks and Pittsburgh Penguins.
Stephen Johns is an American former professional ice hockey defenseman. He played with the Dallas Stars of the National Hockey League (NHL). Johns was selected by the Chicago Blackhawks in the 2nd round of the 2010 NHL Entry Draft.
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