Jaccob Slavin joins Ken Morrow as only Americans to win Olympic gold, NHL title in same year

LAS VEGAS (AP) — Jaccob Slavin tried not to think about the possibility. Now it is a reality.

He and the Carolina Hurricanes winning the Stanley Cup on Sunday night put him in an exclusive club. Slavin became the second American and eighth player to hoist the Cup and take home an Olympic gold medal in the same year.

Ken Morrow until now was the only U.S. player to accomplish the feat. He was on 1980 “Miracle on Ice” Olympic team and a member of the New York Islanders as it started its dynasty of four titles in a row.

“I used to joke I was a trivia question for a lot of years: Who’s the only guy that ever did that? Only player I was at that time, not just American, but the only player,” Morrow told The Associated Press last week.

All the other players to do it are Canadian: Steve Yzerman and Brendan Shanahan with Detroit in 2002; Jonathan Toews, Duncan Keith and Brent Seabrook with Chicago in 2010; and Drew Doughty with Los Angeles in 2014.

One of the original Golden Knights, William Carrier was there at the end of their inaugural 2017-18 season when they lost in Game 5 of the final on home ice to Washington. That is better remembered for Alex Ovechkin's primal yell when he lifted the Cup for the first time.

Carrier would rather remember 2023, when he was part of Vegas winning it all, beating Florida in five games. Three years later, he was celebrating in the same arena with Carolina. Asked what was different this time around, Carrier acknowledged he's “just older.”

“I’m going to enjoy every moment of it,” Carrier said. “Your first win, everything goes fast. You don’t know what’s going on. So I’m going enjoy this one with the family a lot more.”

Hurricanes goaltender Frederik Andersen played late in the Eastern Conference Final and early in the Stanley Cup Final before his agent, Claude Lemieux, died by suicide on May 28 at age 60.

Lemieux, a three-time Cup champion from his playing days, was on Andersen's mind after finally reaching hockey's mountaintop at age 36.

“He would be so proud and all that,” Andersen said. “He’s a competitor. He always wanted the best for me, and his players, and his family. It’s tough to really describe how much he has meant to me, and how cool it is to have my name on that trophy with him.”

Carolina right wing Jackson Blake was speaking with reporters when his dad rushed up and hugged him closely. Jason Blake played 13 seasons in the NHL beginning in 1998-99, but never won the Cup.

“He’s been my right-hand man through it all," Jackson Blake said. "I don’t even know why I’m crying, but it’s just unbelievable. For him to be here and my whole family to be here, so special. I have no words. When I saw him, something just hit me, so emotional. I didn’t think there were going to be any tears for me, but it’s all good. It’s worth it.”

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Whyno reported from New York

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AP NHL: https://apnews.com/hub/stanley-cup and https://apnews.com/hub/nhl