LOS ANGELES – It is time for some parting thoughts on the 2021 NHL Stanley Cup Final. The season and the playoffs were not so much a marathon as they were a spring to the finish. 
We are all looking forward to a far more normal 2021-22 campaign.
Congratulations to the Tampa Bay Lightning for winning back-to-back Stanley Cups. It is only the second time in the salary cap era a team has won two championships in a row. I do not want to hear about an asterisk because of the shortened season, division realignments and the bubble. Every team in the leagues dealt with the same issues and Tampa Bay came out on top twice. The Lighting beat the Panthers, Hurricanes and Islanders. Three of the best teams in the league on their way to the Final.
I also don’t want to hear about the Lightning being 19 million dollars over the salary cap. They did not break any rule. The Chicago Blackhawks did the same thing in 2015 when they kept Patrick Kane on LTIR and acquired Andrew Brunette on their way to the Stanley Cup. Tampa is probably the only team in the NHL that didn’t need their best player to make the playoffs.
Don’t blame the Montreal Canadiens for making the Final. They battled and won three playoff series. Blame the Maple Leafs, Jets and Golden Knights for playing and coaching horribly.
Andrei Vasilevskiy is the best goaltender in hockey. He will go down as one of the five best netminders since the original expansion. Five straight series clinching shutouts including two Cup clinchers is sublime.
Nikita Kucherov is amazing. To not play all season and dominate the playoffs is ridiculous. He scored over 30 points in two consecutive post seasons. Only Gretzky and Lemieux have done that.
Jon Cooper is one hell of a coach. I liked him before he one two straight Cups. Sure, the Lightning are loaded with talent but he kept them motivated and focused which is not easy under regular circumstances let alone a pandemic. Cooper benched Captain Steven Stamkos in a playoff game this season. Few coaches have that kind of guts and respect.
The Lighting have the best defense in the NHL. Victor Hedman is the best defenseman in the league. Mikhail Sergachev and Erik Cernak don’t get enough praise because there’s only so much to go around but they would be top pair defensemen on 28 other teams in the league. Ryan McDonagh is a warrior. He’s exactly what every team in the league covets. How and why did the Rangers lose him?
Carey Price was great leading up to the Final, but the Final was not his finest hour. I don’t know if Montreal could have beat Tampa if Price was better, but he needed to be in at least two of Montreal’s losses.
It is incredible frustrating to be a fan of Josh Anderson. One shift he’s Brendan Shanahan 2.0 the next shift you don’t see him.
Cole Caufield is the next superstar in the Bleu, Blanc and Rouge if he isn’t already. He’s their best offensive forward and he’s only played ten regular season games. No NHL rookie ever had three OT points in the playoffs before he did this year.
Vladimir Tarasenko wants out of St. Louis. I have always been a Tarasenko fan. He plays like a bull and has sweet hands, but he’s been dinged up and injured a lot recently and carries a big contract. Buyer beware !!
I can’t believe the Seattle Kraken hired Dave Hakstol. I thought he was horrible as the Flyers Head coach.
Hey Canadian Government get your SH*T together. I want next season to be a regular hockey season. How can you be this far behind the United States, US politicians are morons.
All images by Jack.Lima@prohockeynews.com
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