This Day in Hockey History
1995 - New Jersey Devils win 1st Stanley Cup
The New Jersey Devils triumph in their first Stanley Cup Final appearance, completing a sweep of the Detroit Red Wings with a 5-2 victory at Brendan Byrne Arena in East Rutherford.
The Devils also set the benchmark for the lowest seed to win the title when they enter the postseason fifth in the Eastern Conference, a claim since eclipsed by the eighth-seeded Los Angeles Kings in 2012.
Claude Lemieux wins the Conn Smythe Trophy as the most valuable player in the playoffs. He led the postseason in goal-scoring with 13.
The championship marks the first of three Stanley Cup wins by the Devils between 1995 and 2003.
2000 - Islanders select Rick DiPietro 1st overall
The New York Islanders made Rick DiPietro the first goaltender selected first overall at the NHL Entry Draft.
The move didn't quite work out for the Islanders, but it wasn't the worst decision they made with regards to the Winthrop, Mass. native. Until the 2028-29 season, the club will pay annual $1.5 million installments after buying out the 15-year, $67.5 million deal they brokered with the goaltender ahead of the 2006 season.
DiPietro offered a few years of solid play, but a 2007 concussion snowballed into a string of injuries that prevented him from rediscovering his form, or the Islanders' crease.
DiPietro was released from his contract with the AHL's Charlotte Checkers early last season.
2000 - Islanders trade Roberto Luongo to Panthers
Clearing the crease for one Rick DiPietro, the Islanders trade Roberto Luongo and Olli Jokinen to the Florida Panthers for Oleg Kvasha and Mark Parrish.
General manager Mike Milbury's draft day deal came just 24 games into Luongo's career, but it was the beginning of the end of his tenure as an NHL executive.
Luongo grew into a top-flight goaltender (and a lightning rod) in five seasons backstopping a struggling Panthers team before being traded to the Vancouver Canucks.
He won 252 games in 448 appearances on the west coast, helping the Canucks reach the Stanley Cup a year after backstopping Canada to Olympic gold.
Birthdays
1945 - Wayne Cashman
1961 - Bernie Nicholls
1964 - Gary Suter
1965 - Uwe Krupp
1982 - Jarret Stoll
1990 - Michael Del Zotto