The Wings were quickly selected as favorites to win the Stanley Cup by pundits and they went on to prove them right.[1] With so much talent on one team — including the first time three 500-goal scorers were on the same team, as well as a fourth to become in Brendan Shanahan that will eventually hit the mark during the season — they quickly got off to a great start, winning 22 of their first 27 games. After finishing with 116 points and the best record in the NHL (by 15 points), the Wings had earned the first seed in the Western Conference and met the Vancouver Canucks in the first round. After the Canucks took the first two games, it looked like the Canucks were going to sweep the Red Wings and the Red Wings were going to have their second straight early exit. Captain Steve Yzerman gave a closed-door speech to the team.[2] Only the players in the locker room knew what was said, but the Wings headed to Vancouver and won four straight games to win the series in a stunning turn of events.
After making quick work against their division rival, the St. Louis Blues, Detroit met their arch-nemesis, the second-seeded Colorado Avalanche in the Western Conference Finals, reigniting their long-storied rivalry. Throughout the series, the two adversaries engaged in a fierce back-and-forth battle within a hotly fought contest that went on doggedly for seven games, with the series being tied three times before culminating in a pivotal game seven in Detroit. With the two teams teetering on the brink of elimination, the Red Wings delivered a shell-shocking performance, overwhelming the Avalanche with an assertive offense and securing a resounding victory in the decisive game seven with a final score of 7-0. After that, the Wings fought the cinderella storyCarolina Hurricanes for the Stanley Cup, winning in game five at home. Over 1 million people showed up for the victory parade in downtown Detroit on June 17.[3]
There was no All-Star game this year as the Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City took place in February 2002 where eleven Red Wings players represented their countries. Brendan Shanahan and Steve Yzerman represented Canada; Chris Chelios and Brett Hull represented the United States; Dominik Hasek represented the Czech Republic; Sergei Fedorov, Pavel Datsyuk and Igor Larionov represented Russia; and Nicklas Lidstrom, Fredrik Olausson, and Tomas Holmstrom represented Sweden.[4]
The Red Wings sold out all 41 home games in 2001–02 as 20,058 fans packed Joe Louis Arena for every regular season and playoff game played in Detroit. The season was chronicled by Detroit Free Presssportswriter Nicholas J. Cotsonika's 2002 book, Hockey Gods: The Inside Story of the Red Wings' Hall of Fame Team.
Regular season
The Red Wings tied the Los Angeles Kings for the most power-play goals scored during the regular season with 73.[5]
Note: CR = Conference rank; GP = Games played; W = Wins; L = Losses; T = Ties; OTL = Overtime loss; GF = Goals for; GA = Goals against; Pts = Points Bolded teams qualified for the playoffs.
bold – Qualified for playoffs; p – Won Presidents' Trophy; y – Won division
Playoffs
The Detroit Red Wings ended the 2001–02 regular season as the Western Conference's first seed and played Vancouver in the first round. After losing the first two games in Detroit, the Wings rallied back to win four straight. Then the Wings made quick work of the Blues before meeting the second-seeded Colorado Avalanche in the Western Conference Finals. The Wings would beat the Avalanche in a hard-fought seven game series, winning the final game 7–0. As the final game in the series came to a close, the Neil Diamond song "Sweet Caroline" was played over the Joe Louis Arena loudspeakers, as the victorious Red Wings prepared to head off to a Stanley Cup clinching series with the third-seeded victors of the Eastern Conference, the Carolina Hurricanes. They won the series in five games, defeating the Hurricanes three to one at home in Detroit on June 13 to take home their tenth Stanley Cup.
The Red Wings were involved in the following transactions from June 10, 2001, the day after the deciding game of the 2001 Stanley Cup Finals, through June 13, 2002, the day of the deciding game of the 2002 Stanley Cup Finals.[19][20]
The Mighty Ducks were Detroit's top affiliate in the American Hockey League (AHL) in 2001–02 and were coached by Mike Babcock (who later became Red Wings coach in 2005).
^In parentheses is the player's free agency group on July 1 if applicable.[29]
^Brown was inactive during the 2001–02 season.[30] He attended Red Wings training camp in 2002 but was ultimately released and did not resume his playing career.[31]
^"JOSH DEWOLF". TSN.ca. Archived from the original on December 1, 2002. Retrieved March 6, 2023. 01-Sep-01: Signed as a free agent by the Detroit Red Wings - Cincinnati Mighty Ducks (AHL).
^"Red Wings activate McCarty - UPI Archives". UPI. October 10, 2001. Retrieved March 9, 2023. In another move, the Red Wings signed right wing Ladislav Kohn to a one-year contract
^"Doug Brown: News, Stats, Game Logs | RotoWire". www.rotowire.com. Retrieved March 13, 2023. October 6, 2002 Brown was released by the Red Wings following Saturday night's preseason game against the Blackhawks, the Detroit News reports.
^"Sports transactions". Deseret News. June 28, 2001. Retrieved March 13, 2023. DETROIT RED WINGS—Announced F Brent Gilchrist exercised his option for the 2001-02 season.
^Wharnsby, Tim (July 2, 2001). "Signings kicked off by deal for Hasek". The Globe and Mail. Retrieved March 13, 2023. Hasek then signed a three-year, $24-million (all figures U.S.) contract.
^"TRANSACTIONS". The New York Times. July 13, 2001. Retrieved March 13, 2023. DETROIT RED WINGS--Signed C Pavel Datsyuk to a two-year contract.
^"TRANSACTIONS". The New York Times. August 3, 2001. Retrieved March 13, 2023. DETROIT RED WINGS--Signed Dave Lewis and Barry Smith, assistant coaches, and D Jesse Wallin to one-year contracts.
^"TRANSACTIONS". The New York Times. August 7, 2001. Retrieved March 13, 2023. DETROIT RED WINGS--Signed D Mathieu Dandenault to a one-year contract.
^"TRANSACTIONS". The New York Times. December 29, 2001. Retrieved March 13, 2023. DETROIT RED WINGS--Signed G Manny Legace to a four-year contract extension through the 2005-06 season.
^"TRANSACTIONS". The New York Times. May 17, 2002. Retrieved March 13, 2023. DETROIT RED WINGS--Signed F Henrik Zetterberg to a three-year contract.