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NHL Mailbag: Stanley Cup Final, offer sheet madness, NHL free agency

By Dave Stevenson

BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS - MAY 29: Charlie McAvoy #73 of the Boston Bruins and Joel Edmundson #6 of the St. Louis Blues get tangled up during the second period in Game Two of the 2019 NHL Stanley Cup Final at TD Garden on May 29, 2019 in Boston, Massachusetts. (Photo by Patrick Smith/Getty Images)
BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS - MAY 29: Charlie McAvoy #73 of the Boston Bruins and Joel Edmundson #6 of the St. Louis Blues get tangled up during the second period in Game Two of the 2019 NHL Stanley Cup Final at TD Garden on May 29, 2019 in Boston, Massachusetts. (Photo by Patrick Smith/Getty Images) /
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More Stanley Cup Questions

I liked your thread about champions needing to be lucky. Give me the five luckiest champions of the salary cap era.

Before I begin, let me just say all champions, regardless of sport, benefit from Lady Luck. Show me a champion and I’ll show you a team that had a lot of things go right for them. Hockey is a cruel, merciless game that relies a lot on bounces and other things teams can’t control.

  1. 2005-06 Hurricanes (Needed seven games to beat the short-handed Buffalo Sabres and the Edmonton Oilers, even after the latter lost their starting goalie in the first game.)
  2. 2010-11 Bruins (Tim Thomas had an incredible postseason and Peter Chiarelli actually won a championship. Also had the highest PDO of any champion.)
  3. 2016-17 Penguins (Won the Stanley Cup without Kris Letang and they won this darn game which puts them in the top three.)
  4. 2017-18 Capitals (Everyone forgets how the Columbus Blue Jackets were a goal post in Game 3 away from putting them down 3-0 in the series. So many things went right for them down the stretch.)
  5. 2008-09 Penguins (Easy path to the Stanley Cup Final excluding the Capitals. Also, the Red Wings choked and Dan Bylsma, for the first and only time of his career, wasn’t an awful coach.)

For what it’s worth, the 2018-19 Blues might replace the 2008-09 Penguins in my top five if they win. Jordan Binnington’s been so darn terrific for them and goaltending tends to be a bit of a coin flip. The Bruins probably would too, especially since they got to face the seventh and eighth seeds in the East.

Worst Conn Smythe winner of the salary cap era? 

Without question, it’s Sidney Crosby in 2015-16. He had a decent postseason, but it certainly wasn’t up to his standards. Honestly, the Conn Smythe probably should have gone to Phil Kessel. He was their most consistent offensive force.

Plus, without Kessel, there’s no way the Penguins beat the Capitals despite Crosby and Malkin being virtually invisible the entire series. Also, Jonathan Toews was a fairly weak winner back in 2009-10.

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