Hurricanes' Jaccob Slavin joins Jonathan Toews, Steve Yzerman, more in rare Stanley Cup Final, Olympics history
Hurricanes’ Jaccob Slavin joins Jonathan Toews, Steve Yzerman, more in rare Stanley Cup Final, Olympics history originally appeared on The Sporting News.
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The Carolina Hurricanes made history by winning the Stanley Cup Final on Sunday night, as every member of the team is now forever a part of immortality.
For Jaccob Slavin, though, the win allows him to join an even more exclusive list. Slavin is now one of nine players to have won the Stanley Cup Final and the Olympic gold medal in the same year, an exclusive group that includes some of the best players in hockey history.
While Canada is well represented, the United States does have a few representatives that make the list even more exclusive. Slavin was now part of two different championship celebrations in a five-month span, a rare feat in this sport.
Here’s a look at all the players to win a Stanley Cup Final and Olympic gold in the same year.
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Players to win both Stanley Cup Final and Olympic gold in same year
Ken Morrow, 1980
The first person to win both Olympic gold and the Stanley Cup in the same year is also the only other American besides Slavin to do so. Ken Morrow was 24 years old when he won Olympic gold for the iconic 1980 United States team, and immediately joined the New York Islanders once the Olympics ended.
Morrow played in 18 games for the Islanders to close out the regular season and played 20 games in the playoffs to help New York win the first of four-straight Stanley Cups.
Brendan Shanahan and Steve Yzerman, 2002
In 2002, NHL players were allowed to play in the Olympics for just the second time, with Canada winning gold and the Detroit Red Wings winning the Stanley Cup Final a few months later. Yzerman and Shanahan were both key members of those teams.
Yzerman was more important for the Canadian team than Shanahan, as Yzerman produced six points to Shanahan’s one. In the NHL season, though, Shanahan led the Red Wings in points during the regular season, while Yzerman was first in playoff points with 23. Both players were also on the 1998 Red Wings team to win it all and the Canadian Olympic roster, but Canada lost in the bronze medal match that year.
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Jonathan Toews, Duncan Keith and Brent Seabrook, 2010
The Chicago Blackhawks trio of Toews, Keith and Seabrook were a huge part of the organization’s three Stanley Cups in six years. The first of those wins came in 2010 just months after the three won gold in Vancouver for Team Canada.
At just 21 years old, Toews led Canada with eight points in the Olympics, while Keith and Seabrook also played in all seven games. In the NHL, these were three of Chicago’s best players, with Toews and Keith racking up the points in both the regular season and the playoffs.
Drew Doughty and Jeff Carter, 2014
Another group of Canadians to win gold months before winning the Stanley Cup, Doughty and Carter represented the Los Angeles Kings for Team Canada. Doughty’s six points in the Olympics tied Shea Weber for most on the team, while Carter’s five points were alone in third on the squad.
The duo combined for 87 points in the NHL regular season, but Carter exploded for 25 more points in the playoffs. Doughty, meanwhile, chipped in 18 points in the postseason and led the defense for a team that won its second title in three years.
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Jaccob Slavin, 2026
Slavin now joins Morrow as the second American on this list despite not being as much of an engine in the Olympics as others. Slavin had just one point in six games for a talented Team USA, but he did play in six games to help form a very deep defense group.
For the Hurricanes, though, Slavin is crucial to the Hurricanes’ success even though he played just 39 games in the regular season. By winning the Stanley Cup, Slavin joins this list instead of Jack Eichel and Noah Hanifin, who represented Vegas on Team USA.
