Has a Finnish captain ever won the Stanley Cup?

The Stanley Cup is the oldest and most prestigious trophy in the NHL. Over the years, many individuals have won the trophy multiple times. Since the NHL’s inception in 1917–18, several Canadian-born players have captained Stanley Cup-winning teams. Legendary names like Jean Béliveau, Wayne Gretzky, Mark Messier, and Sidney Crosby. Jean Beliveau is the only player in NHL history who has won the Cup 17 times, including 10 as a player and seven as an executive. That all changed in 1999, when Derian Hatcher, an American defenseman, captained the Dallas Stars to victory, becoming the first U.S.-born player to do so. Other non-Canadiens names like Nicklas Lidstrom from Sweden won the Stanley Cup in 2008 for the Red Wings. Zdeno Chara from Slovakia for the Bruins in the 2010-2011.

Has a Finnish captain ever won the Stanley Cup?

Alexander Barkov became the first Finnish-born player to achieve the Stanley Cup as a captain in 2024 with the Florida Panthers. The Tampere, Finland native became the first Finnish captain to hoist the Stanley Cup, and only the 10th non-Canadian captain in NHL history to do so.

He was drafted second overall by the Panthers in 2013 and became the youngest player in the NHL that season. He won the Lady Byng Trophy in 2019 for his clean style and the Frank J. Selke Trophy in 2021 and 2024 as the NHL’s top defensive forward. In 2018, he became the Panthers’ captain and led the team to its first Stanley Cup title in 2024.