A terrific Stanley Cup playoff season ended with one last hyper-dramatic double-overtime game before the Los Angeles Kings were able to claim their second Stanley Cup in three years.
As Darryl Sutter pointed out, the team was in 12th place in the Western Conference when he took over midway through the 2011-12 season. Now, they're a modern dynasty. Stunning turnaround.
The Kings may be saddled with a big contract for fourth-line centre Mike Richards ($5.75 million for six more seasons) but that's balanced out by players like Alec Martinez. He scored two straight series-winning goals in overtime and now has a Cup-winning goal on his resume. He's signed for one more season at just $1.1 million.
Or what about three-time Stanley Cup champion and 2014 Conn Smythe winner Justin Williams, who carries a stunningly reasonable cap hit of $3.65 million?
Here's a list of Vancouver Canucks that will make more money than Williams next season, all of whom have zero Stanley Cup rings:
Daniel Sedin - $7 million Henrik Sedin - $7 million Ryan Kesler - $5 million Alex Burrows - $4.5 million David Booth - $4.25 million Alex Edler - $5 million Kevin Bieksa - $4.6 million Jason Garrison - $4.6 million Dan Hamhuis - $4.5 million
The only UFAs coming off the Kings' roster this summer are Marian Gaborik, Matt Greene and Willie Mitchell.
It's nice that Willie will be bringing the Cup back home to B.C. again this summer, but I can't imagine him signing anywhere but L.A. They've done an astonishing job of creating a culture where the players have bought in and truly believe that anything is possible.
If anyone forgot that this Kings team was almost written off in the first round, Logan Couture is not shy to admit that he's still feeling the pain:
Major ouch... via @Logancouture. pic.twitter.com/16APwnOlvt
— James Mirtle (@mirtle) June 14, 2014It's not exactly a news flash, but Los Angeles and Chicago seem to be well ahead of the rest of the pack in figuring out what it takes to succeed in a salary-cap world. The Canucks have a steep hill to climb if they hope to catch up.
As our attention turns first to the buyout window, then the draft and free agency, we're still not even halfway through the Canucks' extended summer vacation. Vancouver played its last game on April 13, so yesterday was the two-month mark. We'll have more than three months from here till training camp even begins.
So, for today, both Canucks and Rangers fans can take a moment to mark the 20th anniversary of Game 7 of the 1994 Stanley Cup Final. For the Rangers, that means remembering their lone Cup win in what is now 74 years. For us, it's about one of the most heartbreaking losses, and our inaugural riot. Sigh.
Kids Say the Darndest Things
The Canucks did get a mention during Friday's CBC broadcast for a terrific, lighthearted piece on Canucks.com. Click here to check out the words of wisdom from a group of elementary school kids from Richmond, who put pen to paper to offer their best advice to Mr. Linden.
If you have some time on this wet weekend, it's well worthwhile to click through to the full gallery to see who the kids are scapegoating and what issues come up over and over. They'd like to see a lot more practice and a lot less goalie-trading.
Buyout Time
With the conclusion of the playoffs, the buyout window opens Monday. We'll find out soon enough whether or not David Booth will be part of the Canucks next year. When asked about Booth during yesterday's radio interview, Jim Benning seemed to indicate that the management group was in the process of making that determination but hadn't made a definite decision so far.
For what it's worth, he did NOT say, "David's an important part of our team and you can be sure he'll be with us in September."
From Booth's Twitter, I'd guess his mind is not on buyouts at this moment. Sounds like it's somebody's wedding day:
I've had so many blessings in my life. If you were to add them all up they wouldn't even compare to the gift I get today.
— David Booth (@D_Booth7) June 14, 2014