2000-2001 NHL season
| 2000–01 NHL season | |
|---|---|
| League | National Hockey League |
| Sport | Ice hockey |
| Duration | October 4, 2000 – June 9, 2001 |
| Number of games | 82 |
| Number of teams | 30 |
| Regular season | |
| Presidents' Trophy | Colorado Avalanche |
| Season MVP | Joe Sakic (Avalanche) |
| Top scorer | Jaromir Jagr (Penguins) |
| Playoffs | |
| Eastern champions | New Jersey Devils |
| Eastern runners-up | Pittsburgh Penguins |
| Western champions | Colorado Avalanche |
| Western runners-up | St. Louis Blues |
| Playoffs MVP | Patrick Roy (Avalanche) |
| Stanley Cup | |
| Champions | Colorado Avalanche |
| Runners-up | New Jersey Devils |
The 2000–01 NHL season was the 84th regular season of the National Hockey League. Thirty teams each played 82 games. The Stanley Cup winners were the Colorado Avalanche, who won the best of seven series 4–3 against the New Jersey Devils. The focus of Colorado's Stanley Cup run was on star defenseman Ray Bourque, who was on a quest to win his first Stanley Cup championship in his illustrious 22-year career.
Two expansion teams, the Minnesota Wild and the Columbus Blue Jackets, joined the league at the beginning of the season, increasing the number of NHL teams to 30. The Blue Jackets would join the Central Division, while the Wild would join the Northwest Division. This divisional alignment would remain static until the 2013–14 season. This was the first time the NHL would have a team in Minnesota since the Minnesota North Stars moved to Dallas, Texas, and the first time for Ohio since the Cleveland Barons coincidentally merged with the North Stars.
The Dallas Stars played their final season at the Reunion Arena before moving to their new home in 2001.
On December 27, 2000, Mario Lemieux returned from his three-and-a-half-year retirement and, in a game nationally televised on Hockey Night in Canada, registered his first assist 33 seconds into the game against the Toronto Maple Leafs. He went on to add a goal and finish with three points, solidifying his return and bringing a struggling Jaromir Jagr back to his elite status, who went on to win his fourth straight Art Ross Trophy, narrowly surpassing Joe Sakic. Despite playing in only 43 games in 2000–01, Lemieux scored 76 points to finish 26th in scoring, finishing the season with the highest points-per-game average that season among NHL players. Lemieux was one of the three finalists for the Hart Memorial Trophy and Lester B. Pearson Award.
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