Overcoming early-season injuries, the Hurricanes’ defensive anchor etched his name alongside Ken Morrow as the only Americans to capture Olympic gold and the Stanley Cup in the same season.
With the winning of the Stanley Cup this week, Carolina Hurricanes Jaccob Slavin has joined some truly elite company.
The 32-year-old blueliner became just the second American player in NHL history to win both an Olympic gold medal and the Stanley Cup in the same season.
"It's been unbelievable," Slavin told NHL Network. "I mean, injuries at the beginning of the year, didn't know when I'd come back and just had to rely lean into my relationship with Christ and just trust in his timing. I look at the whole year and the word that comes to my mind is grateful. Grateful for the opportunity to win a gold medal, to represent Christ on a world stage and now with the Cup, represent him again on the biggest stage of hockey. It's amazing to win those things. It's rewarding, but at the end of the day, it's not where my joy is found. But this is amazing."
The only other player to accomplish the feat was Ken Morrow, who accomplished it in 1980, being part of both the Miracle on Ice USA team as well as the New York Islanders dynasty.
Slavin now joins the exclusive club after having a tremendous showing for Team USA at this year's Milan Cortina Olympics and then he just continued to be the top-end, shutdown defenseman the Hurricanes have relied on year after year.
"He's been my Norris candidate for a long time," said captain Jordan Staal. "He does so many little things so well and you don't really appreciate them unless you watch the game. You have to see its every shift, every play. He does so many things that we get to see a lot and we appreciate about him."
The veteran blueliner has had a tough year due to injuries, missing over half of the season, but he came through when his teams needed him, especially in the close out Game 6 shutout.
"Slavin was remarkable tonight," Staal said. "I mean, my goodness. His stick, he stopped like four or five grade-As. It was nonstop. Every shift really. He was a massive reason [Vegas] stayed at zero."
Slavin has spent his entire career with the Carolina Hurricanes, being originally drafted by the team in 2012.
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