2001-02

• The 9/11 attacks mark a tragic start to the season. Two of the victims have NHL connections -- Garnet "Ace" Bailey and Mark Bavis. Both worked as scouts for the Los Angeles Kings, with Bailey serving as director of pro scouting. Bailey was also a nine-year NHL veteran, playing for the Bruins, Red Wings, Blues and Capitals. He also played one year for the Edmonton Oilers in the WHA, taking future superstar Wayne Gretzky under his wing. The Kings wore an "AM" patch in Ace's and Mark's memories. The Rangers and Capitals also wore memorial patches.

• On March 16, tragedy starts to unfold in Columbus. In a game between the Columbus Blue Jackets and the Calgary Flames, a shot by Columbus' Espen Knutsen is deflected over the glass and into the stands, hitting 13-year-old Brittanie Cecil in the head. She's taken to a hospital for what was originally routine observation. However, the flying puck caused a vertebral artery to tear, resulting in clotting and swelling of the brain that would claim Cecil's life two days later. She's the first -- and to date, only -- fan to be killed at an NHL game as a direct result of an on-ice play. The NHL mandates netting above the glass at each end of the rink starting the following season.

• The Detroit Wings beat the Carolina Hurricanes in five games to win their third Stanley Cup in six years. With the win, Red Wings coach Scotty Bowman goes out a winner -- he retired immediately after the Final. And I do mean immediately -- he filed his retirement papers between the time the final horn sounded and the time Commissioner Gary Bettman presented the Cup to Steve Yzerman.