NY Islanders legend Ken Morrow finally has company in exclusive hockey club

For 45 years, Ken Morrow had one of the coolest claims to fame in hockey history.

Now, he finally has company.

When Jaccob Slavin and the Carolina Hurricanes captured the Stanley Cup on Sunday night, Slavin joined one of the most exclusive clubs in sports. He became just the second American player ever to win Olympic gold and the Stanley Cup in the same calendar year.

Until now, Morrow stood alone.

The Islanders legend famously won gold with the 1980 United States Olympic team in Lake Placid, better known as the "Miracle on Ice" squad that shocked the hockey world. Remarkably, he then went directly from the Olympics to the New York Islanders and helped the franchise capture its first Stanley Cup just a few months later.

Not only did Morrow make history, but he did it as the Islanders began what would become one of the NHL's greatest dynasties.

"I used to joke I was a trivia question for a lot of years," Morrow told The Associated Press. "Who's the only guy that ever did that? Only player I was at that time, not just American, but the only player."

For decades, that answer remained Ken Morrow.

Eventually, a handful of Canadian stars joined the club, including Steve Yzerman, Brendan Shanahan, Jonathan Toews, Duncan Keith, Brent Seabrook and Drew Doughty.

But no American followed Morrow's path.

Until Slavin.

For Islanders fans, however, Morrow's accomplishment remains uniquely special. Winning Olympic gold is rare. Winning the Stanley Cup is even harder. Doing both in the same year is almost unimaginable.

The fact that Morrow accomplished it while helping launch four straight Stanley Cup championships only adds to the legend.

Slavin may have ended Morrow's 45-year run as the lone American in the club.

But he can never take away the fact that an Islanders legend was the first to do it.

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