Friday night, the Stanley Cup Finals ended in a thrilling fashion, with two very talented teams playing hard against each other. One year after the same two teams met in the finals, the result was reversed, as the Pittsburgh Penguins shrugged off losing the first two games, and then a 3-2 series deficit (along with a 5-0 blowout loss) to come back and take two hard-fought 2-1 games from the Detroit Red Wings.
Plenty of sports fans believe in gods for their particular sport. If there are hockey gods, they've definitely got to be having a good time with Red Wings winger Marian Hossa. Hossa made it to the Finals last year with Pittsburgh, only to lose on home ice and watch Detroit parade with the Cup. This year, he switched to Detroit, only to watch the Penguins lift the Cup inside of Joe Louis Arena. They say you should dance with the one that brought you, and you have to wonder if Hossa is regretting his decision to jump ship after last season.
Still, how talented and deep were the Penguins? Their stars were kept from getting goals the last two games, and Sidney Crosby spent most of Game 7 sitting on the bench. Somehow, the Penguins were still able to take the game from the more experienced Wings. Now begins the off-season for all thirty teams in the league, preparing for the draft, and getting ready for October, when the race to take the Cup out of Pittsburgh begins.
One name that may appear on that Cup is that of new Wild GM Chuck Fletcher, since he was part of the Penguins organization until a mere three weeks ago. Well, rumors are flying that Fletcher may have secured himself another prize, as reports are starting to come out that the Wild may be on the verge of hiring only the second coach in franchise history. The name associated with the rumors? Todd Richards, a former Golden Gopher who has recently been an assistant coach with the San Jose Sharks. Even though the Sharks got bounced in the first round, they did happen to secure themselves the President's Trophy for most points in the season. Meanwhile, Richards has experience leading AHL teams to the Calder Cup Finals, and should be eager for his shot to take that success to the NHL level. The Wild are still probably a couple of years and a few major acquisitions away from being a Stanley Cup threat, but they certainly look like they might be getting on the right track.
Now to see if former Wild head coach Jacques Lemaire ends up behind another bench, or if he ends up shifting into consulting. After all, the New Jersey Devils are in the market, and Lemaire does have a history with that franchise.
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