Jack Eichel, Noah Hanifin and Jaccob Slavin already joined a very exclusive club when they led Team USA to a gold medal at the 2026 Winter Olympics. At least one of them will join an even smaller club by winning the Stanley Cup just four months later.
Back in February, all three players were celebrating on the ice in Milan as teammates after ending the Americans' 46-year Olympic gold medal drought. On Tuesday night, Eichel and Hanifin (Vegas Golden Knights) will face off against Slavin (Carolina Hurricanes) in the 2026 Stanley Cup Final.
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When the dust settles, at least one of them will have achieved something even more historic and noteworthy than winning a Cup. Only eight players in history have won an Olympic gold medal and a Stanley Cup in the same year. Only one of those players is American.
The most recent players to accomplish that feat were Drew Doughty and Jeff Carter, who won gold with Canada at the 2014 Olympics before leading the Los Angeles Kings to their second Stanley Cup win in three years.
The complete list of double-dippers is littered with current or future Hall of Famers:
PlayerCountryTeamYearJeff Carter
Canada
Los Angeles Kings
2014
Drew Doughty
Canada
Los Angeles Kings
2014
Canada
2010
Canada
Chicago Blackhawks
2010
Canada
Chicago Blackhawks
2010
Brendan Shanahan
Canada
2002
Steve Yzerman
Canada
Detroit Red Wings
2002
Ken Morrow
USA
1980
That list is so short primarily because NHL players have only competed in six Olympics. The first year NHL players participated was in 1998, and there was a 12-year gap from 2014 to 2026 due to issues between the NHL and the International Olympic Committee.
Oddly enough, the only American to win a gold medal and the Stanley Cup in the same year was Ken Morrow, who did it 18 years before NHL players were in the Olympics. Morrow was a defenseman on the 1980 "Miracle on Ice" team, and he signed a professional contract with the New York Islanders shortly thereafter. Immediately, Morrow became a key part of the Islanders' dynasty that rattled off four straight Cup victories from 1980-83.
For the last 46 years, Morrow has stood alone as the only American to double-dip in the same year. He's about to get some company -- but who will that company be? Between Eichel, Hanifin and Slavin, someone will make more American hockey history.
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