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
Zdeno Chára Zdeno Chára Zdeno Chára (; born 18 March 1977) is a Slovak professional ice hockey defenceman, currently serving as captain of the Boston Bruins of the National Hockey League (NHL). He won the James Norris Memorial Trophy while playing for the Bruins in the 2008–09 season. Chára is the tallest player ever to play in the National Hockey League standing at 2.057 meters, or 6'9". He is also the second European-born and raised captain to win the Stanley Cup (in 2011), and the first born and trained in a country within the Iron Curtain. Chára was drafted in the third