The key veterans still in the Stanley Cup playoffs looking for their first cup
Each season, there are always a few older veterans on teams in the Stanley Cup playoffs searching for their first championship. Entering the Conference Finals, there are a handful of great veterans to highlight on all of the four teams.
So many players play their entire career without winning the Stanley Cup, for some, winning the trophy comes right at the tail end of their career. This season, there are going to be plenty of first time winners on any team that wins, so let’s talk about some of those veterans.
The key veterans still in the Stanley Cup playoffs looking for their first cup
For this article, I am only highlighting the older players on the four conference final teams. They have to be 33 or older and have not won a championship before. Obviously every team has a ton of stars who have never won a championship before like Jason Robertson in Dallas or Matthew Tkachuk in Florida, but both of those players still have a long career ahead of them. So, let’s jump in with the veterans, starting with the Carolina Hurricanes.
Carolina Hurricanes:
The Hurricanes have a ton of veterans searching for their first championship. Brent Burns, Paul Stastny and Frederik Andersen all are looking for their first cup.
Antti Raanta is another name to think about looking for their first cup. While he was with the Chicago Blackhawks when they won in 2015, he was their third goaltender in the playoffs behind Corey Crawford and Scott Darling.
Derek Stepan is another name to think about, although he is only 32 right now. He turns 33 in June so I am putting him on the list. Stepan has played in 119 playoff games so far in his career, including long playoff runs with the New York Rangers dating back to their Stanley Cup Final run in 2014.
I really would like to see Brent Burns get his first championship. Burns has played in 105 playoff games so far dating back to the 2006-07 season with the Minnesota Wild. The furthest he made it was the 2015-16 Stanley Cup Final where the San Jose Sharks lost to the Pittsburgh Penguins. This season Burns has been stellar for the Hurricanes as their top defenseman. He is third on the team in pionts behind just Sebastian Aho and Jordan Martinhook.
Dallas Stars:
After mentioning Brent Burns, I think it is best to mention Joe Pavelski next. Pavelski is another former Shark looking for his first Stanley Cup at the age of 38 now with the Dallas Stars.
He has played in 176 playoff games going back to 2007 and has been to the Stanley Cup Final twice once with the Sharks (2016) and once with the Stars (2020). Of all the players still looking for their first Cup, Pavelski might be the one I am rooting for the most.
A few other names on the Stars to mention: Ryan Suter, Jamie Benn, Evgenii Dadonov and Luke Glendening all are looking for their first Stanley Cup as well.
Benn, the long time captain of the Dallas Stars, has played over 1000 games in the NHL, including 79 playoff games with Dallas going back to 2014. The farthest Benn has been in the postseason was the Stanley Cup Final in 2020, but now with a much deeper team and some very talented young stars on the rise, this could be his best chance at winning a cup.
Florida Panthers:
The Panthers have three veteran players all looking for their first Stanley Cup. Goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky is the first to mention as he has been the backbone of the team throughout the 10 games he has played for the team so far. Bobrovsky has played in 61 playoff games in his career and with the Conference Final starting in the next few days, his playoff games with the Panthers will become his longest tenured stretch as he currently has played in 27 playoff games in Florida and 27 in Columbus.
This has been one of Bobrovsky’s best showcases in the playoffs. His .918 save percentage in the first two rounds has been terrific, second only to his 2019 playoff run with the Blue Jackets.
This will be Bobrovsky’s first trip to the Conference Final in his career, but there are a few other players to note from the Panthers.
Marc Staal, 36, has played in 119 playoff games in his career. His best run came in 2013-14 when the New York Rangers went to the Stanley Cup Final. He is playing a big role on this Panthers blue line and is getting the opportunity to play with his brother Eric as well.
Zac Dalpe is another player to mention. The 33 year old forth liner has played in just 168 regular season games in his career after getting drafted in the second round of the 2008 NHL Draft by the Carolina Hurricanes. Yet he finds himself heading to the Conference Finals with a really good Panthers team. Dalpe has one goal so far this postseason and previously played in the playoffs back in 2015-16 with the Minnesota Wild.
Vegas Golden Knights:
The Vegas Golden Knights have no players who meet the criteria for this article. They only have three players over the age of 33 and all three of them have won the Stanley Cup before.
Alec Martinez won the Stanley Cup twice with the Los Angeles Kings, scoring some pretty big overtime goals along the way for the Kings. Additionally, Alex Pietrangelo captained the St. Louis Blues to their first Stanley Cup in franchise history back in 2019. The other player to note is 35 year old Phil Kessel who won back to back cups with the Pittsburgh Penguins. In four playoff games this season Kessel has two assists.
The next oldest player in Vegas looking for his first cup would be Jonathan Marchessault, who registered a natural hat trick in game six helping to send the Golden Knights to the Conference Final over the Edmonton Oilers.
First Time Stanley Cup Winning Franchises:
Last season, the Colorado Avalanche won their third Stanley Cup in franchise history, before that, the Tampa Bay Lightning won their second and third Stanley Cups. The league has not had a first time Stanley Cup winning franchise since the 2018-19 season when the Blues won.
This season could see another first time Stanley Cup winning franchise. The Vegas Golden Knights and Florida Panthers have never won the Cup before. Additionally the Dallas Stars and Carolina Hurricanes have only won once before.
Stars will meet Golden Knights in West Finals
Next. Dallas Stars will meet Vegas Golden Knights in West Finals. dark
This season there is not going to be a repeat Stanley Cup winner, or even the same team in the Stanley Cup Final as was the case the past few years. No matter how the Conference Final goes, there are going to be two deserving teams entering the Stanley Cup Final with a lot of players to root for.