Who should Rangers fans root for in the Stanley Cup Final?
Decision time has arrived for New York Rangers fans who have continued to watch hockey beyond the Blueshirts’ first-round exit. After 1,312 regular season games and 83 playoff contests, we have arrived at the Stanley Cup Final. While the ratings won’t meet last year’s championship because we have two mid-markets, the hockey, which begins Saturday in Vegas, will be great, if not better.
The Eastern Conference champion Florida Panthers and the Western Conference champion Vegas Golden Knights deserve to be here after successfully surviving the Stanley Cup Playoffs’ gauntlet. It’s more fun watching when you pick a team to root for.
There’s a guide for choosing a side for the championship matchup based on your fandom. It’s not an obvious choice, as the New Jersey Devils, who defeated New York, were trounced by the Carolina Hurricanes in the second round.
The result won’t impact the Rangers’ position in the upcoming draft, 23rd. It leaves us with more to consider. There are former Rangers involved who became fan favorites before their departure. There are different philosophies of how these two teams reached the pinnacle of hockey, which the Blueshirts can take note of given the current dire state of the organization.
The Stanley Cup is the hardest trophy to win in sports. You never know what’s going to happen. It’s why, as hockey fans, we should embrace the fact we’re guaranteed to see a team lift the silver chalice for the first time and enhance our experience by taking a stand.
Florida:
The cats have a slew of former Blueshirts in Anthony Duclair and two of the Staal brothers, Marc and Eric.
Marc wasn’t highly touted or paid like his brother Eric in New York. Yet the defenseman was a stalwart over his 13 seasons in New York, where he appeared in 892 games, scored 43 goals, and had 188 points. More importantly, he was a bruiser.
The Ontario native brought the tenacity those teams needed to make those deep playoff runs. He was instrumental in the Blueshirts reaching three conference finals and the Stanley Cup final 2014. Marc appeared in 107 playoff games with the Rangers and had seven goals and 20 points, none bigger than his overtime winner in the 2012 playoffs.
Thank you No. 18 🔵⚪️🔴 #NYR pic.twitter.com/v132562UEY
— JC Graphic Designs (@JCGraphicDesign) September 26, 2020
The 35-year-old has slowed down but has been a defensive staple for Florida this postseason. Having appeared in over 11,000 games, he has a case for the Hall of Fame. All that’s missing on his resume is a coveted Stanley Cup, which he can achieve with these Panthers.
As for Eric, a cup would keep him from being forgotten in the annals of NHL history, completing an inspiring comeback story. After going unsigned in the 2021 offseason after the Montreal Canadiens refused to offer him a contract, Stall resumed his professional career by agreeing to a professional tryout deal with the Iowa Wild of the AHL, an affiliate of his former club, the Minnesota Wild. He only appeared in four games and collected two goals and five points before being released.
But when retirement was beginning to settle in, Eric and Marc were both given one more shot, as the Panthers offered them professional tryout contracts last Summer, which they accepted and haven’t looked back since. Stall is the oldest of the trio, which also includes Carolina Hurricanes center Jordan Stall, whom Florida swept out of the Eastern Conference finals last week.
At 38, this series is the last we’ll see of Eric, who will be remembered for his success in his 14 years as a Hurricane rather than New York. New York acquired Stall, and the remaining $5.75 million salary on his expiring contract was acquired from Carolina in 2016 for two second-round picks.
The center was expected to provide veteran leadership, given his previous playoff experience. Instead, he faltered, registering just six points in 20 regular season games, and was a no-show, going pointless as the Rangers were eliminated in the first round by the Pittsburgh Penguins in five games.
New York didn’t bring him back, and Staal continued to hop around over the next few seasons, which included stints with the Minnesota Wild(2017-2019), Buffalo Sabres(2021), and the Canadiens(2021 trade acquisition). Some say the 18-year veteran who’s appeared in over 13,000 games should be considered for the Hall of Fame. But just like his brother, he truly wants a Stanley Cup.
Meanwhile, Anthony Duclair isn’t likely to be mentioned in the same breath as a player potentially enshrined in hockey’s hall for his accomplishments, he could be for his impact on the Panther’s stunning playoff run.
During his 18-game stint in 2015, his rookie year, with the New York Rangers, Duclair recorded a goal and eight points, but the Rangers opted to move him for defenseman Keith Yandle at the deadline.
Since then, Duclair has spent time with the Arizona Coyotes, Chicago Blackhawks, Columbus Blue Jackets, and Ottawa Senators before landing a deal with the Panthers in the 2020 offseason. An Achilles injury took out a chunk of his 2022-23 season, but the 27-year-old has made up for it in a way with nine points in 15 playoff games.
Vegas:
The Golden Knights only have one former Blueshirt, 25-year-old Brett Howden. The center was acquired from Tampa Bay in the Ryan Mcdonagh trade, signaling the start of the “rebuild” in 2018.
Howden was solid in the bottom six and recorded 49 points in 178 games during his three-season (2018-2020) in New York. Injuries took a toll on him, and he wouldn’t be a part of the organization’s long-term plans.
As a result, he was dealt to Vegas in the 2021 offseason in a trade that brought back a 2022 4th-round pick which the Rangers used to select Noah Laba, who’s currently playing at Colorado University. Howden has three goals and six points in these playoffs, with his overtime winner in the Western Conference Finals being the biggest. of them all.
*HOWD* YOU LIKE THAT?!?!?!?! pic.twitter.com/bg5GbxzZ7W
— 🏆 - Vegas Golden Knights (@GoldenKnights) May 20, 2023
Next, a look at how these two clubs got here using their respective organizational philosophies and strategies. We’ll also see how the Rangers can learn from this going forward.
Vegas:
The Rangers have not hired a new bench boss since dismissing Gerard Gallant after their 4-0 defeat in game seven. The Rangers are searching for an identity and a winning philosophy, something Vegas has established through their four conference finals appearances and two Cup finals in their first six years of existence.
After missing the playoffs for the first time in franchise history last season, the Knights canned Peter Debor. Ironically, Debor found a new home with the Dallas Stars, who Vegas thrashed 6-0 in game six on Monday night to secure their berth in the Stanley Cup Finals.
They brought in Bruce Cassidy, who coached Boston for six years and made the Final in 2019. Cassidy is known as a “Barker” and no-nonsense coach. Gallant was seen as the opposite, and he only lasted two years before he. was given the boot.
In their exit interview meetings with GM Chris Drury, some Rangers players expressed their desire for direction and felt Gallant, known as a “hands-off and calm” coach, wasn’t giving it to them. Cassidy’s approach took a toll on the Bruins players, and it got to the point where 25-year-old Jake Debrusk requested a trade, only to rescind it once Jim Montgomery became the coach.
Cassidy refused to change his ways upon his arrival in Vegas, where a more seasoned group awaited his instruction. However, the “Barker” approach worked this time, and the Golden Knights took off.
Led by a healthy Jack Eichel (66 points in 67regular season games, 18 points in 12 playoff games), Vegas took the one seed in the Western Conference, blasted the Winnipeg Jets in five, ousted the Edmonton Oilers in six, and starstruck Dallas in six to reach the final. Eichel is at the forefront of a middle group that includes William Karlsson, Chandler Stephenson, Ivan Barbashev, Teddy Bluger, Brett Howden, and Nicolas Roy. Don’t forget winger Jonathan Marchessault (57 points, 76 regular season games, 17 points in 17 playoff games) or defenseman Alex Pietrangelo (54 points, 73 regular season games, nine points, 16. playoff games) either.
But it was the defensive aspect of the game and not the offensive that kept Vegas out of the playoffs last year despite the team running near the top of the league in man games lost. The Golden Knights averaged 3.20 goals per game. Goals against, however, came in at 2.98.
So, Vegas retained their scoring even with Eichel, William Karlsson, Max Pacioretty, Riley Smith, and Mark Stone having extended absences this season. Players like Phil Kessel, Nicolas Roy, Michael Amadio and Keegan Kolesar stepped up with their exceptional two-way play.
But what about that subpar defense? What about their logjam in the crease? Those were the two questions that kept an abundance of the hockey world taking them seriously. So what changed? How has Vegas righted the ship?
The answer came in the way Cassidy went about his defensive systems. Rather than pick a strategy and stick to it, they defended based on the goaltender’s weaknesses. It didn’t matter who was in the net so long as they were defensively sound. Vegas finished the regular season with 2.7 GA per 60 minutes.
Still, come playoff time, the Knights needed to rely on a netminder that could steal a game or two and be the difference in a playoff series. They thought rookie Logan Thomson, who nearly single-handily put them in the postseason last year, would be the answer, but injuries ended his season early.
So Vegas acquired a declining Jonathan Quick at the trade deadline hoping for a resurrection of his hall-of-fame self, but that dream died quickly as his struggles continued. Ultimately, Laurent Brossoit started the postseason for Vegas and played well in the round one series victory over Winnipeg but suffered a lower-body injury in game two against Edmonton.
So the team turned back to 27-year-old Adin Hill, who they acquired from the San Jose Sharks last Summer, for a 2024 4th-round pick. Hill appeared in 27 regular season games and was steady in his 27 games of work, where he accumulated a .915 save percentage, a 2.45 Goals against average, and a +0.9 Goals Saved Above Expected.
But entrusted with the starter’s net for the last 11 games, Hill has elevated his play and enters the final 7-2-1 with a .937 save percentage, a 2.07 GAA, and a +6.4 Goals Saved Above Expected. It’s safe to say Vegas has found its man.
Despite mistakes, primarily in the goaltending department, which included dealing Marc-Andre Fleury following his Vezina trophy season in 2021, Kelly McCrimmon and George McPhee have built a perpetual contender in Vegas that should be back in 2023-24. As it turned out, all they needed to be a contender again was a return to health and a fresh perspective behind the bench.
Led by star-studded head athletic trainer Jim. Ramsy, who was mysteriously let go by the organization after 29 years with them, the Rangers were one of the healthiest teams in the league throughout the season. So if Chris Drury is taking notes, hiring a “Barker” behind the bench seems to be the right fit regarding who the next coach will be. Vegas kept their players but changed the coach and are now in the Stanley Cup Final.
Florida:
Fellow contributor Matthew Tricomi nailed it in his assessment of the Florida Panthers and how the Rangers could learn from them.
Florida won the President’s trophy last season but was swept in the second round of the playoffs at the hands of the two-time defending Stanley Cup champions, Tampa Bay Lightning.
The offense led by 24-year-old Jonathan Huberdau, who had a 110-point season, went dry, and the best season in franchise history ended with a whimper. Later that Summer, GM Bill Zieto decided to make one of the biggest trades in NHL history. Vegas chose to keep its core, but Zieto didn’t. Some have. called for Drury to follow suit.
Zieto dealt Huberdau and standout defenseman Mackenzie Weegar to the Calgary Flames for 24-year-old superstar Mathew Tkachuk. Then, both franchise-changing talents were given eight year extensions.
Tkachuk has been otherworldly, posting 21 points this postseason and scoring 3 of the four game-winning goals in Florida’s Eastern Conference Final series against the Carolina Hurricanes. If not for the superb play of his goaltender, he would be the runaway favorite for the Conn Smythe Trophy.
That netminder is Sergei Bobrovsky. The goaltender has turned back the clock to his Vezina days of 2013 and 2017. Before this postseason he’d yet to reach the heights his seven-year $70 million contract he signed with Florida on July 1, 2019, demanded. It reached the point where rookie Alex Lyon was entrusted to start the Panther’s playoff opener against the record-setting Boston Bruins over a healthy Bobrovsky. But he hasn’t looked back since he regained the starters net with his team trailing 3-1 in that first-round series against the presidents trophy-winning Boston Bruins.
The 34-year-old entered backstopped Florida in their series-clinching game five with 50 saves on 52 shots before Nick Cousins’s overtime goal eliminated the Toronto Maple Leafs, and propelled the Panthers to the Eastern Conference Final.
Bobrovsky continued his stellar play in the Eastern Conference Final, recording a sensational .966 save percentage in the series, which included a quadruple overtime affair. Bobrovsky is 11-2 on the playoffs with a 2.21 GAA, a .935 save percentage, and a playoff-best +19.7 Goals Saved Above Expected. His brilliance and the team shining as underdogs have captivated the hockey world.
Then there’s head coach Paul Maurice, who Florida also brought in last Summer. The longtime 25-year bench boss immediately set the tone at his June 20, 2022, introductory press conference. “Why would we pull back a team offensively that has that kind of talent with so much offensive talent,” the coach with a reputation for being defensive-minded said. “But it has to be smart.”
The stats tell the story. Last season, Florida ranked 21st in Dump-Out Rate(23.2%),compared to 4th(27.7%) in 2023. They were last in Dumping the Puck into the offensive in 2022 (44%) compared to 12th(51.8%) in 2023. Their success has continued in the playoffs, and the results have finally followed the process.
Akin to Cassidy, Maurice is a “Barker” and wants things done his way, which looks correct. Watching Florida’s transformation should make Drury think twice about moving core pieces. An experienced coach is what the Rangers need.
Who am I rooting for?:
Having gone through it, Florida. You don’t have to agree with me, but I’ll explain. From a Rangers fan perspective, this series will serve Chris Drury well. Both teams required changes in philosophies to reach this point.
However, Vegas didn’t need a hot goalie; Florida did. With a generational goaltender already in place in Igor Shesterkin, a Panthers win will show how close the Rangers are to winning a Stanley Cup. What they need are the right coach and fine pieces.
Vegas has six players (William Karlsson, Jonathan Marchessault, Reilly Smith, William Carrier, Brayden McNabb and Shea Theodore) from the 2018 team that made it to the Stanley Cup final in their inaugural season before falling to the Washington Capitals. They’ve been dominant all season.
The underdog Panthers are here for the first time since 1996. An abundance of the players on the roster has never won a Stanley Cup. Should these Blueshirts make it there next season, they’ll be in that position. The Panthers are what the Rangers could’ve been this season had they played better. Let that fuel them for 2023-24.