2009 Stanley Cup Final

Lore & Background

The Detroit Red Wings entered the 2008–09 season as defending champions, having signed head coach Mike Babcock to a three-year extension. They added Marian Hossa, who turned down a $49 million offer from the Penguins, and goaltender Ty Conklin, who had played for Pittsburgh the previous season. Detroit won the Central Division with 112 points, then swept the Columbus Blue Jackets, defeated the Anaheim Ducks in seven games, and beat the Chicago Blackhawks in five to reach the Final for the sixth time in 14 seasons.

The Pittsburgh Penguins, reigning Eastern Conference champions, struggled early in the season. After 57 games they held a 27–25–5 record and were five points out of a playoff spot. The organization fired head coach Michel Therrien and replaced him with Dan Bylsma, head coach of their AHL affiliate. Under Bylsma, the team went 18–3–4, including a 10–1–2 March. Before the trade deadline, they acquired Chris Kunitz and Bill Guerin. The Penguins earned the fourth seed in the Eastern Conference with 99 points, then defeated the Philadelphia Flyers in six games, the Washington Capitals in seven, and swept the Carolina Hurricanes to reach the Final.

Game one saw Detroit win 3–1, with goals off unusual bounces, including a shot that deflected off the end boards and off goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury's leg. Game two was another 3–1 Detroit victory, featuring a controversial no-goal call on Sidney Crosby's shot that rolled along the goal line. Pittsburgh won game three 4–2, cutting the series deficit in half. The series ultimately went to seven games, with the Penguins prevailing.

Reader's Guide

The 2009 Stanley Cup Final is historically significant as the last time, until 2025, that the same two teams met in the Final in consecutive years. It marked the first time a Russian-born player, Evgeni Malkin, won the Conn Smythe Trophy as playoff MVP. The series also represented the last Final played entirely within the Eastern Time Zone until 2021; after the NHL's 2013 realignment, all Eastern Time Zone teams were placed in the same conference, making such a matchup impossible except during the temporary 2020–21 realignment due to COVID-19 travel restrictions. The Penguins' victory ended a 17-year Cup drought for the franchise, while the Red Wings' loss prevented them from becoming the first repeat champion since the 1997–98 Detroit team. The series featured notable roster moves, including Marian Hossa signing with Detroit after playing for Pittsburgh in the 2008 playoffs, and the mid-season coaching change that revitalized Pittsburgh under Dan Bylsma.

Did You Know?

• Evgeni Malkin became the first Russian-born player to win the Conn Smythe Trophy.
• Until 2021, this was the last time the same two teams met in the Stanley Cup Final in back-to-back years.
• Until 2021, this was the last Final played entirely in the Eastern Time Zone.
• Pittsburgh fired head coach Michel Therrien after 57 games and replaced him with Dan Bylsma, who led the team to an 18–3–4 record.