The peak of professional hockey is the NHL. The pinnacle of the NHL is winning the Stanley Cup. The highest point of the sport as a whole is winning a gold medal for your country at the Winter Olympics.
Only a select few have won an Olympic gold medal and the Stanley Cup in the same year. In 1980, defenseman Ken Morrow was the first to accomplish the feat.
Morrow, a member of the United States Hockey Hall of Fame, helped the U.S. men’s hockey team to an upset over the Soviet Union in the “Miracle on Ice” at the 1980 Winter Games in Lake Placid, New York, en route to winning gold and then led the New York Islanders past the Philadelphia Flyers in the 1980 Stanley Cup Final three months later.
The Stanley Cup victory marked the first of four straight titles for Morrow and the Islanders.
With the 2026 Winter Olympics in full swing, take a look at the players who have won an Olympic gold medal and the Stanley Cup in the same year below:
2014
Jeff Carter and Drew Doughty (Canada/Los Angeles Kings)
2010
Duncan Keith, Brent Seabrook and Jonathan Toews (Canada/Chicago Blackhawks)
2002
Steve Yzerman and Brendan Shanahan (Canada/Detroit Red Wings)
1980
Ken Morrow (USA/New York Islanders)
Check out the ESPN Olympics hub page and ESPN NHL hub page for more updates and news.
