2002 Stanley Cup playoffs 2002 Stanley Cup playoffs The 2002 Stanley Cup playoffs, the championships of the National Hockey League began on April 17, 2002. The Detroit Red Wings defeated the Carolina Hurricanes on June 13, 2002, four games to one, to win their tenth championship in their history. The Hurricanes were in the Stanley Cup Final for the first time in their 23-year history, which includes their tenure as the Hartford Whalers. Red Wings defenseman Nicklas Lidstrom was awarded the Conn Smythe Trophy as the MVP of the playoffs. It was the ninth championship for Red Wings coach Scotty Bowman, who announced his
Captain (ice hockey) (2011) and Alexander Ovechkin (2018). Mark Messier was the first NHL player to win the Stanley Cup as captain of two different teams: the Edmonton Oilers in 1990 and the New York Rangers in 1994. Sidney Crosby became the youngest captain in the NHL to win the Stanley Cup in 2009 at 21 years 10 months. The youngest captain to lead his team to the Stanley Cup in the history of the trophy is Mike Grant of the 1895 Montreal Victorias, who was 21 years and 2 months at the time. Dirk Graham became the first NHL captain of African