It took six long years, but finally, the Vegas Golden Knights rose to the top and became the 2023 Stanley Cup Champions.
First, a shout out to Maple Leafs legends Michael Amadio and Phil Kessel.
Honestly, given that it took the Leafs 19 years to win a playoff series, I’d be lying if I said this didn’t sting one bit.
Kudos to the long-suffering Las Vegas fans. What a trip.
I’m done sarcasm, I promise.
With that in mind, the focus is now turning in earnest to what is expected to be a wild and chaotic NHL off-season. The Draft is only 15 days away. Then, free agency went back to normal on July 1st.street At the beginning of Noon Eastern.
In short, buckle up.
From a Leafs perspective, I’m not sure if it’s better or worse to watch the Panthers get obliterated by the Golden Knights in five games. To be fair, this is probably the last. At the very least, there is no doubt that Toronto can learn a lot from both representatives in the cup final. It’s grinding.
Bottom line: Defense wins championships. If there’s one lasting memory I have of this Vegas team, it’s how mobile they are and their monsters on the back end. Moreover, they had a lot of depth. Each man pulled his own weight, and together they formed one strong, cohesive unit. They were great.
Furthermore, Vegas didn’t take anything away from Adin Hill, whose unlikely appearance was a frankly incredible story this postseason. Vegas did an amazing job isolating the third net pointer after he entered the scene in the second round. This brings me to training. From chief bench Bruce Cassidy to all of his assistants to goalkeeper coach Sean Burke, they all deserve a lot of praise for this masterpiece. From the first day of the regular season, the Golden Knights have been one of the top coaching teams in the NHL. And it wasn’t even close. a point. a period. Everyone bought in.
By the way, this isn’t an indictment of Sheldon Keefe either. It’s hard to win this league. However, very noticeable throughout the season was the extent of organization, discipline and communication in Bruce Cassidy’s group. They put it all together at the right time, and rightly so, and they’ve been rewarded for it.
Let the offseason begin!