Congratulations to the Los Angles Kings for their second Stanley Cup in three seasons. They richly deserved the trophy. Congratulations also go out to Justin Williams as the winner of the Conn Smythe Trophy.
I still think that Jonathan Quick was the single most deserving LA player for the Conn Smythe. On top of all the other credentials I mentioned last week, he stopped a breakaway with under a minute left in the 1st overtime period to keep Game 5 going.
In all honesty, however, there were any of four or five Kings for whom a Conn Smythe case could have been built. That's why they won the Cup!
Apart from Williams or Quick, you could have just as easily honored Drew Doughty, Anze Kopitar or Jeff Carter. Hell, you maybe could have even made a case for defenseman Alec Martinez winning the trophy. Martinez had 3 game winning goals in the playoffs but 2 of those goals will be remembered by not only him but the entire Kings organization – he scored in overtime in Game Seven to eliminate the Blackhawks and as we all know he scored in 2nd overtime to win the Stanley Cup.
Come to think of it, both the Hawks and the Rangers will remember Alec Martinez.
The championship team always is the model that other team copy, especially when they've won multiple Cups. When you think about whichever team that you root for, compare them to the Los Angeles Kings. Ask yourself this: Does your team have four, five, or six leaders to form a leadership group? Are there multiple players you think are capable of putting together a legitimate run at the Conn Smythe Trophy come playoff time. Leadership is a problem with most teams in the NHL today. In fact, I will say it is a problem in all of professional sports. There are many thoughts on leadership (or the lack of it) – maybe it is the me generation that we live in or perhaps free agency plays a role. I personally think that the problem begins way back in minor sports.
We are not developing leaders or captains, far too often in minor sports the coach picks the “perceived… best player on the team to be captain and that is not necessarily the best choice.
Unfortunately, many professional sports teams have gone the minor sports route and have named their perceived best player as their captain. Your best player will always be your best player – your top goal scorer will always scored his goals because that is what they do and that is what they solely focus on.
A captain has to be a special kind of player. The Kings have a good captain in Dustin Brown but there are several others on that team who are every bit as qualified to wear the C. That's what makes them a team that seems to peak when it matters the most.
So once again, think about the team that you cheer for – who is the captain? I am not going to get into whether or not specific captains are good or not, but ask yourself this: If that player was not captain who else could be the captain on your team?
The cupboard is bare in far too many organizations, they pick a captain but there is no supporting cast, no one else to help him lead.
I’ll use the New York Islanders of the 80’s, winners of 4 straight Stanley Cups. Yes Dennis Potvin wore the C but they could have had multiple captains: Bryan Trottier, Mike Bossy, Clark Gilles, Bob Nystrom. they even had 2 Sutters on the team!
A captain cannot lead alone. He needs help. Leadership starts at the Draft table, it has to be considered when the brain trust is rating and ranking the upcoming draft class. It is a skill that has to be included in the discussion.