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Good morning to everyone except whoever came up with this headline. Nice try, guys, but April Fools’ Day was weeks ago. Maybe go for something more realistic next time.
So, did everyone enjoy the extra day off? There’s a good chance you needed it after the first three games of the Stanley Cup Final. Deep breaths, because Game 4 goes tonight.
Greatest Stanley Cup Final ever?
It’s a fair question, right? And as the local hockey history guy, you know I’m going to take a swing at it. Let’s do this.
Game 1 featured a ton of offense, lead changes and drama, culminating in a late winner. Game 2 took a while to heat up, then went absolutely bonkers in the final 10 minutes of regulation, leading to OT. And Game 3 might have been the wildest of all, with one of the greatest comebacks in playoff history thwarted by another sudden-death winner, this one on a total fluke in double OT.
Three games. Three different “did we all just see that?” reactions.
Is this series on track to be the best Cup Final of the cap era? The best final of any era? Maybe the best playoff series of all time, period?
The short answer: After three games, it’s too early to tell.
The slightly longer answer: The fact that we can even ask the question is pretty amazing. Being in the “best series ever” conversation after three games is like a baseball pitcher having a perfect game through five innings. Nothing truly historic has happened quite yet, but it’s not too early to start getting excited. And it’s definitely time to go out of your way to tune in.
If you missed it, I did some playoff series ranking yesterday. A bit too much, if we’re being honest. I picked the best series in NHL history for every possible combination of wins and losses that can make up a seven-game series. And that means a lot of the candidates for “best ever” are fresh in my mind. Among Stanley Cup finals, the ones you hear mentioned most often include 1994 (Rangers over Canucks), 2009 (Penguins over Red Wings) and 2024 (the Oilers’ almost-comeback against the Panthers). Outside the final, you’ve got candidates such as the Habs over the Bruins in 1979, the Rangers over the Devils in 1994, the Kings over the Leafs in 1993 and the Kings over the Blackhawks in 2014.
Can the Canes and Knights climb that mountain? One thing you’ll notice is that every one of those classic series went the full seven games. There’s no guarantee it will happen here, and obviously, if Vegas closes this out in five, the discussion is over.
But if it goes the distance? This series is checking almost all the boxes you’d want from an all-time classic. Overtime? We’ve had two already. Chaos? Plenty. Controversy? John Tortorella’s challenge in Game 2 will be debated forever if the Knights lose. End-to-end action? There have been some dry patches, but you never know when the dam is about to break. Storylines? Almost too many to count.
Really, the only thing missing so far is some old-fashioned bad blood, and we’ve still got time to get there. If anything, it feels like this series could have another level to get to, especially if and when stars like Jack Eichel and Sebastian Aho really start to make their presence felt.
We’re only in the fifth inning. But something special is happening. Let’s see where it goes.
What’s in store for Vegas-Carolina Game 4? Bedlam, we hope. (Ethan Miller / Getty Images)
🫨 Get ready for Game 4
Vegas leads the series 2-1. Let’s get you caught up.
First things first: We don’t know the Hurricanes’ starting goaltender for tonight. We saw rookie Brandon Bussi for the first time in this year’s playoffs when he relieved Frederik Andersen after two periods. At the time, it felt like a low-pressure opportunity for the kid to get his feet wet, since at 4-0 the game was already over. But then it wasn’t over, because things got wild, and Bussi standing on his head was part of it.
So, what now if you’re Carolina coach Rod Brind’Amour? Do you go back to Andersen, the veteran who looked fantastic through three rounds? Or do you trust your season to the hot hand in Bussi, in what would be the first start of his playoff career? The speculation started almost immediately after Game 3 ended, and yesterday Brind’Amour didn’t offer any hints. We should know later this morning, but Jesse Granger has a good post on how a Bussi start could mess with the Knights.
On the Vegas side, the focus has been on Saturday’s heroes: Mitch Marner running away with the Conn Smythe Trophy, Brayden McNabb’s inspiring return from taking an 87 mph slapshot to the face and Shea Theodore’s “lucky” OT winner.
As for the rest of us, we’re just waiting to find out what tonight might have in store.
(Sean M. Haffey / Getty Images)
And the award goes to …
Last week, I asked you to vote on this year’s O’Brien Trophy, awarded to the team with the worst postseason. The idea was not to look for the team that went out first, but to measure each team’s performance against expectations.
This year’s ballot options were the Ottawa Senators, Dallas Stars, Tampa Bay Lightning and Edmonton Oilers.
After 2,668 responses, 54 percent of voters picked the Oilers, who lost a six-game first-round series in a very winnable matchup against the Ducks, who weren’t even supposed to be in the playoffs.
Congratulations/sorry, Edmonton. Enjoy your trophy.
Brandon Bussi stones Mitch Marner on a penalty shot. (Ethan Miller / Getty Images)
💡 Trivia Time
Let’s keep it simple this week. One of the (many) highlights of Saturday’s madness was Mitch Marner’s penalty shot. Early in the third with Vegas up 4-0, Marner was stopped by Hurricanes goaltender Brandon Bussi, and the Carolina comeback started soon after.
If Marner had scored, he’d have been just the second player to ever score on a penalty shot in the Stanley Cup Final. Can you name the lone player to ever manage the feat?
And a helpful hint: One of the teams in this year’s Final was also involved in that lone penalty shot goal.
Answer at the end of today’s email.
What to Watch
📺 Hurricanes @ Golden Knights
8 p.m. ET on ABC / CBC / Sportsnet / TVA
You should check it out; it’s been pretty interesting so far.
Full NHL schedule here. Try streaming games like these for free on Fubo.
Coast to Coast
🤝 Chris Johnston’s latest trade board is up, and there’s a shakeup at the top. We could see some fireworks this offseason, which is good because the free-agent market is looking … yeesh.
👑 Eric Stephens weighs in on the Kings hiring Peter Laviolette, and he’s not all that inspired about it.
⚽ So what’s the deal with those super-intense soccer warmups the players love so much? Here’s the inside story of sewer ball.
👶 Scott Wheeler has his latest mock draft, featuring each of the first 32 picks, while Corey Pronman lets us know what scouts are saying in his draft confidential. Money quote: “It doesn’t matter what the scouts think when you win the lottery. The GM can wipe their ass with your list.”
👔 Shayna Goldman wonders why we don’t see more college coaches jumping to the NHL, and looks at what teams can learn from this year’s contenders. Spoiler: It’s hard to win, but there is a blueprint.
🔥 Hailey Salvian continues to be all over a busy PWHL offseason; here’s a rundown of what’s happened so far, including American star Hilary Knight’s head-spinning path.
🎙️ On a special Monday edition of “The Athletic Hockey Show” Prospect Series, the guys break down what they learned from last week’s NHL Scouting Combine and discuss if players like Gavin McKenna, Ivar Stenberg, Chase Reid and Caleb Malhotra hurt or helped their case for draft night. Plus, thoughts on a wild Game 3 of the Stanley Cup Final. Watch here.
(Bruce Bennett / Getty Images)
😬 Detroit DramaIt’s getting ugly in Hockeytown
In the days after Dylan Larkin’s trade request changed everything for the Red Wings, a few things happened. First, everyone tried to figure out whether their team could get him. Then we realized that because Larkin has a no-trade clause, he has some control over the process. So, we wondered: Who’d be on Larkin’s list? And just how many teams would make the cut?
We haven’t heard directly from Larkin on the matter. But yesterday, league sources told The Athletic his list of destinations might be just three teams long: the Florida Panthers, the Vegas Golden Knights and the Minnesota Wild.
That’s … not good. For just about anybody.
I mean, in some sense, it’s good for fans in Vegas, Florida and Minnesota. It’s nice to know you’re viewed as a destination. Especially for the Wild, who aren’t typically at the front of the line for this stuff, as the Panthers and Knights always are. If stars want to play for you, you’re doing something right.
But it’s bad news for the rest of the league, especially in an age when the Panthers and Knights seem to get all the available players already. Players aren’t property, and they should have some freedom to move around. If we’re entering a new era of players driving their departures, that has its pros and cons. But if all those stars are just driving to the same small handful of destinations, that’s an issue. It’s already a problem in MLB and the NBA, and in those leagues the top players tend to want to go to the biggest markets that drive the most revenue, so there’s an argument that it’s at least good for the bottom line. That’s clearly not what’s happening here.
All of this is downright awful for fans in Detroit. These are some of the most loyal fans on the planet, sticking with a team through a decade-long playoff drought. Larkin was supposed to be the one to lead them out of it, the hometown kid who became captain. Now, he wants out. The job is apparently too much for him. The guy who was supposed to be the face of the franchise would rather go and be the fourth- or fifth-biggest name on a contender somewhere else.
There’s obviously a bit more to it than that, and we don’t know the whole story yet of why Larkin wants out. Maybe there’s some missing piece here that makes the story make sense. But for now, Larkin is getting hammered in the court of public opinion. When I criticized the three-team list yesterday, I got hundreds of replies. I could count the dissent on one hand.
That leads us to the last bit of bad news: for Larkin himself. He may figure he can ride out the reputation hit for a few months, knowing how eager the hockey world is for a redemption narrative. It worked for Matthew Tkachuk, it’s working for Marner, and it could work for Larkin, too. But the difference is that Marner was a pending unrestricted free agent and Tkachuk had one year of team control left. Their teams had to take what they could get.
Does GM Steve Yzerman have to give in here? I don’t think he does. Pierre LeBrun doesn’t think so either. With five years left on Larkin’s contract, the Wings could decide to play hardball. That probably doesn’t make sense if Yzerman has most of the league to deal with, because somebody will make him an offer that’s worth moving on from a captain who wants out. But three teams — none of whom have much to offer in the way of high picks or prospects — and that’s it? Yzerman might decide it’s not worth his time to entertain the idea and tell Larkin he’ll see him at camp. Then what?
There’s irony here, because there was absolutely a time when the Red Wings would have been the team star players were lining up to join, and the Panthers would have been the team everyone was bailing on. These things shift over time, which is a good reason not to overreact. And while larger trends might be concerning, that doesn’t mean we should dump on every individual player who wants a change of scenery. After all, players get only one career. They should use whatever leverage they have.
I’m just not sure Larkin has as much leverage here as he seems to think. If the reports are true and his initial list was really just those three teams, then he’s betting Yzerman will fold. He might be right. But if this turns into a protracted battle and Detroit fans have to choose between the captain who led them to three Stanley Cups and one who wants to quit on his team, I have a feeling I know which way they might go.
Chris Pronger in Game 1 of the 2006 Stanley Cup Final. (Jim McIsaac / Getty Images)
Trivia Answer
Though Marner was the 15th player to get a penalty shot in the Stanley Cup Final, only one was ever scored: by Chris Pronger, who did it for the Oilers against the Hurricanes in Game 1 of the 2006 Final.
(You of course already knew all of that, because you read all my articles.)