Blazers part-owner Darryl Sydor won a Stanley Cup with Dallas and Tampa Bay, who are facing off in the 2020 Stanley Cup Final (Image Credit: CFJC Today)

By Chad Klassen

DARRYL SYDOR

Sydor reminisces on Stanley Cup wins as former teams meet in the 2020 final

Sep 24, 2020 | 5:15 PM

KAMLOOPS — Darryl Sydor was on the ice for both Stanley Cup wins and remembers them well.

The first came in 1999, when the Dallas Stars won their first and only championship. Sydor remembers the moment when Brett Hull — with one skate in the crease — beat Dominik Hasek to win the Cup in overtime.

“We came into the zone. I was the left D at the time. I actually just popped the puck down into the corner and I was about the change. I think I did a turn to change, then all of a sudden it got to the net and he scored,” said Sydor, who was 27 years old when he hoisted his first Stanley Cup with Dallas. “Those times, especially in overtime, you want to make those clean plays and not be the one to be scored on, but you still can’t play with total fear because that’s when mistakes happen.”

Sydor had come to Dallas from L.A. in a trade in 1996. He became a core member of that Cup-winning team three years later.

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“I was able to be there, traded in 1995-96 and be able to be there through a rebuild, building to a championship team,” said Sydor, a part-owner with the Blazers. “We went on to win a lot of division titles, but we just couldn’t get over the top until the last couple pieces of the puzzle was put together.”

Five years later, the then-32-year-old lifted the Cup again in Tampa Bay, winning a hard-fought seven-game series against Calgary.

“I was thrown into a situation where they had a good young team and I was a piece to a puzzle,” he said. “You didn’t want to be that odd piece. You wanted to be the right fit. I just went in and did my thing.”

When the clock hit zero in Game 7 and the Lightning won the Cup, Sydor was once again on the ice. The last few seconds were among the longest of his life.

“Calgary really put the pressure on in the latter part of the game, and we obviously want to win, so I was able to be on the ice again for that. In your head when you’ve been playing the game for a while, you know what time the game is. You start counting in your head, and it seemed like it went forever, the last few seconds.”

Sixteen years after that last Stanley Cup win with the Lightning, that former team is battling the other former Cup-winning team in Dallas. Sydor says regardless of the outcome, he has both teams to thank for two very special hockey moments.

“Time has passed and you’re always going to be on that Stanley Cup until that ring is taken off and put into the Hall, so your name’s etched for a long time. Forever.”