NHL playoffs: The world when a team from Canada last won the Stanley Cup
SI.com’s Bryan Armen Graham presented 12 things that were true in May 2004, when the Toronto Maple Leafs made their last postseason appearance until May 1, 2013 in Boston. Let us now revisit the world as it was in May 1993, the year that the Montreal Canadiens became the last Canada-based NHL team to lift Lord Stanley’s chalice. Here are 12 truths from that storied time:
1. Gary Bettman was the NHL's new commissioner
He'd been in office for two months and had yet to be booed while presenting the Cup. (Bruce Bennett/Getty Images)
Here's more on the league’s landscape and the rest of the world for that entire year:
2. Bill Clinton was the new President of the United States
He'd been in office all of four months. (Robert Giroux/AFP/Getty Images)
3. Wayne Gretzky was a King
And he was on his way to his fifth Stanley Cup Final. (Mitchell Layton/AP)
4. The Canadiens were kings of the Wales Conference
After the Isles upset the two-time defending champ Penguins, the Habs beat the Isles to reach the Cup final. (Getty)
5. Brendan Gallagher was one year old
The Canadiens' 2013 Calder Trophy nominee was born on May 6, 1992. (Minas Panagiotakis/Icon SMI)
6. The Blue Jays were the defending World Series champs
And they were going to repeat. (Mark Duncan/AP)
7. Montreal had a Major League team
The future Washington Nationals. (Gene Puskar/AP)
8. It was last call for Cheers
The show ended its 11-year run on NBC on May 20. (Getty Images)
9. It was last call for Spuds McKenzie
The "Original Party Animal" (a female) died of kidney failure at age 9 on May 31. (AP)
10. Snoop Lion was Snoop Dogg
Snoop was a rising star, his first solo album six months away, after being featured on Dr. Dre's The Chronic. (Jeff Kravitz/Getty Images)
11. New York City was in the news
The World Trade Center had been bombed in February, and on May 8, Keron Thomas, 16, disguised himself as a motorman and took a subway train with 2,000 passengers on a three-hour ride around the city. (Getty Images)
12. A debate raged about gays in the U.S. military
Don't Ask, Don't Tell was adopted as official policy later that year. (Howard Sachs/Getty Images)
