1998 Stanley Cup Final

Lore & Background

Just six days after sweeping the Philadelphia Flyers in the 1997 Finals, Red Wings defenceman Vladimir Konstantinov and masseur Sergei Mnatsakanov sustained serious brain injuries in a limousine crash. Viacheslav Fetisov was also in the limousine but not seriously injured. The Red Wings dedicated their 1997–98 season to the two injured members and wore a patch bearing their initials. When the Cup was presented, they wheeled Konstantinov onto the ice and placed the Cup in his lap, taking him on a victory lap.

Reader's Guide

The 1998 Stanley Cup Final is significant as the last sweep in the championship series, capping a four-year streak of sweeps. Detroit's back-to-back sweeps placed them alongside the Toronto Maple Leafs, Montreal Canadiens, and New York Islanders as the only franchises to achieve that feat. Coach Scotty Bowman tied Toe Blake's record with his eighth Cup as coach, a record he would later break. The series also featured Capitals head coach Ron Wilson becoming the first person to coach in both an Olympics and a Stanley Cup Final in the same year. The emotional backdrop of the Konstantinov accident gave the Red Wings' victory a poignant narrative, as the team honored their injured teammate throughout the season and during the Cup celebration. The series also saw the NHL limit Cup engraving to 52 names after Detroit requested 55.

Did You Know?

• The 1998 Final remains the most recent Stanley Cup Final to end in a sweep.
• Detroit became the fourth franchise to win the Cup in back-to-back sweeps, joining the Canadiens, Islanders, and Oilers.
• Capitals head coach Ron Wilson coached in both the 1998 Olympics and the 1998 Stanley Cup Final, but he was not the first to do so.
• Vladimir Konstantinov, whose career ended in a car accident, was engraved on the Cup via an NHL exemption.