First of all, this is NOT a jinx. I played hockey, I am superstitious, but this is in no way a jinx. I promise you. With Phase III of the NHL's Return to Sport plan right around the corner, one naturally starts to envision the playoffs and how they'd play out.
As we all know, the Vegas Golden Knights are a damn good hockey club. They've won two different Pacific Division Championships, in three seasons, with strikingly different rosters. They have the ability to make a long playoff run. A Stanley Cup is not a far-fetched idea.
Don't get me wrong, thinking about hockey is what gets me going. It really revs me up. I love the game, I love the sounds, I love the bleeding ear drums I get sitting beneath a speaker in the press box at T-Mobile Arena. The only thing I love more is a good hypothetical.
When a team wins the Stanley Cup, their captain meets commissioner Gary Bettman at center ice, to accept the greatest prize in sports. It just so happens that the Golden Knights have yet to name a captain, in just under three seasons. Who would go get the cup, IF they won it all?
Before I get into my guesses and the bulletproof logic behind them, market research is in order. Let's roll the tape on the past nine (not 10 because 2010 still stings) Stanley Cup ceremonies to see the pass-off progression.
2011: Boston Bruins 1st: Captain Zdeno Chara accepted the Stanley Cup. 2nd: 42-year-old veteran Assistant Captain, Mark Recchi. It was his third Cup win and he retired in the ensuing offseason. 3rd: Assistant Captain Patrice Bergeron. First Cup win. 4th: Goaltender Tim Thomas. First and only Cup win.
2012: Los Angeles Kings 1st: Then-Captain Dustin Brown 2nd: 34-year-old defenseman, Willie Mitchell. First Cup win. 3rd: Veteran Simon Gagne. First Cup win. 4th: Then-Assistant Captain Anze Kopitar
2013: Chicago Blackhawks 1st: Captain Jonathan Toews 2nd: Veteran center Michal Handzus. 3rd: 38-year-old Jamal Mayers 4th: 34-year-old Michal Rozsival
2014: Los Angeles Kings 1st: Then-Captain Dustin Brown 2nd: Veteran defenseman Robyn Regehr 3rd: 31-year-old Marian Gaborik. First Cup. 4th: Then-Assistant Captain Anze Kopitar
2015: Chicago Blackhawks 1st: Captain Jonathan Toews 2nd: Veteran Kimmo Timonen. First Cup win. 3rd: Veteran center Antoine Vermette 4th: 34-year-old veteran Brad Richards.
2016: Pittsburgh Penguins 1st: Captain Sidney Crosby 2nd: 32-year-old Trevor Daley 3rd: 36-year-old Pascal Dupuis 4th: Goalie Marc-Andre Fleury
2017: Pittsburgh Penguins 1st: Captain Sidney Crosby 2nd: 35-year-old defenseman Rob Hainsey. First playoff in 900+ games, first cup win. 3rd: 40-year-old Matt Cullen 4th: Chris Kunitz
2018: Washington Capitals 1st: Captain Alexander Ovechkin 2nd: 30-year-old veteran center Nicklas Backstrom 3rd: 37-year-old veteran defenseman Brooks Orpik 4th: 31-year-old veteran defenseman Matt Niskanen
2019: St. Louis Blues 1st: Captain Alex Pietrangelo 2nd: 35-year-old veteran defenseman Jay Bouwmeester. 1,200+ games played. 3rd: The longest tenured Blue, Alex Steen. 4th: 35-year-old veteran grinder Chris Thorburn 5th: 31-year-old returning veteran winger David Perron.
So looking back, you can see a trend. The team captain gets the cup and quickly gives it to an older player, who usually won their first Cup. Hockey is built largely on respect and each of these teams have shown, by choosing to pass the cup to their elder statesmen first.
There's three problems when trying to apply this method to the Vegas Golden Knights.
1. There is no captain, there are four As. 2. The team is fairly young and the vets aren't difference makers. 3. Their most popular player is a goaltender.
Fleury has achieved a level of fanfare that only a select few have ever experienced in Las Vegas. He's bigger than Sigfried and Roy, he's bigger than Penn and Teller. Fleury has been an icon since the day he was selected to the team.
It would not be a surprise if Fleury got the Stanley Cup first, at the latest second. If there's an effort to stick to the veteran presence, Deryk Engelland and Nick Holden are the first two names that come to mind. Engelland has a connection to Vegas and wears the A when he is in the lineup, but he's an extra hand more than anything these days.
Max Pacioretty was a longtime captain who never captured a Stanley Cup, being a Montreal Canadien and all. Patches would be a great choice to get the Cup after Fleury because if the Golden Knights won it, he almost assuredly scored a bunch of goals. Paul Stastny is also an applicable option to take the Cup from Fleury. He is a difference-making, top-six veteran forward.
Another seamless progression is rolling through all of the letters. As some have done in the past, the Golden Knights could go with any combination of Engelland, Reilly Smith, Mark Stone, and Nate Schmidt. They all wear the Assistant Captain A. Of that group, it would be fun to watch Schmidt run wild around the ice with Lord Stanley's Cup.
My personal guess is Engelland taking the Cup first, if he played in the clinching game, which is something Pete DeBoer might do, if the team is up a game or two. After Engelland, I'd anticipate he passes to his longtime teammate Fleury. From there it's anyone's guess.
If I had it my way, the top four would go as follows:
1st: Reilly Smith A 2nd: Marc-Andre Fleury 3rd: Deryk Engelland 4th: Max Pacioretty/Robin Lehner (based on Lehner's usage and performance)
I'd love to see what your thoughts are on the comments! If signing up for an account is just too difficult, hit me on Twitter/Facebook/IG.