The list of players to win an Olympic gold medal and the Stanley Cup in the same year is very short. It's about to get one name longer.
From Olympic gold to championship final
Jack Eichel and Noah Hanifin of the Vegas Golden Knights will face Jaccob Slavin of the Carolina Hurricanes in the 2026 Stanley Cup Final. All three won gold with Team USA at the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milan, ending the Americans' 46-year Olympic gold drought.
The matchup already has enough history; the job is to keep the reading list shorter than the tension.
Only eight players in history have won both in the same year.
The double-dip club
NHL players have participated in just six Olympics. The first was 1998, followed by 2014 — with a 12-year gap before 2026 due to disputes between the league and the International Olympic Committee.
The most recent previous double-dippers were Drew Doughty and Jeff Carter, who won gold with Canada in 2014 before capturing the Cup with the Los Angeles Kings.
The only American to pull it off was Ken Morrow, who won gold at the 1980 Winter Olympics as a member of the "Miracle on Ice" team, then signed with the New York Islanders and immediately helped them begin a dynasty.
The waiting game
Morrow has held sole possession of that American distinction for 46 years. That changes in June — the question is simply which of the three gets there first.