Islanders & NHL News: Cup Final starts tonight

Here we are. Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Final kicks off tonight at 8:00 p.m. It’s going to be a great battle between two southern teams, surely irritating Canadians—and that may be the best part.

I certainly don’t think the league should have waited this long, but alas.

On the home front, silence remains.

New York Islanders Reading

• It doesn’t seem as likely as it did in the immediate aftermath of yet another collapse, but in the event the Toronto Maple Leafs do blow it up to any degree, the Islanders could be the beneficiaries. [NY Po$t+]
• Another option would be to give Mathew Barzal back his center slot. [NY Post]
• Perhaps the Florida Panthers demonstrate that the Islanders might be closer to a Cup than they appear in the parity-laden NHL. [THN]
• This piece describes every team’s worst-value contracts from this past season. For the Islanders, it was far and away Josh Bailey, healthy-scratched parts of the regular season and all of the playoffs with a $5 million deal. Other than that, most guys were near their value—Ryan Pulock and Anders Lee were next on the list, but they were about only $1-1.5 million overpaid. [The Athletic]
• It appears we have a date set for Islanders-Rangers at MetLife Stadium: February 18, 2024(!). That would be President’s Day weekend and probably the weekend after the Super Bowl.

Stanley Cup Final

• When the Vegas Golden Knights entered the league, owner Bill Foley vowed they would win a Cup within six years. I mean, two cracks at it ain’t bad even if they don’t achieve that. [TSN]
• Sergei Bobrovsky has taken a rather unique path on his way to his first Cup Final appearance. [NHL]
• Stan Fischler writes that this Final reminds him of the 1980 Islanders in that one of these teams will win their first Stanley Cup. [THN]
• He also gives his prediction for tonight’s Game 1. [THN]
• TNT is in its second year of holding hockey rights and has hosted the NBA for years. But it has never hosted a championship series in any major sport, and now it gets its chance. [NHL]

Elsewhere

• Patrick Kane underwent a successful hip resurfacing surgery yesterday and will miss 4-6 months. [NHL | ESPN]
• New Pittsburgh Penguins President Kyle Dubas is making his top priorities the team’s goaltending, defense, and depth. Basically everything. [Sportsnet] He’ll also be interim GM through July. [TSN] He’s on the same page as Mike Sullivan, who also had a hand in selecting a new hockey head, so the Rangers can finally put that miracle dream to bed. [NHL]
• The guy who has his old job, Brad Treliving, has to determine whether Auston Matthews is going to stick around after next year. If not, he may have to deal him. [32 (13) Thoughts]
• Ottawa Senators GM—for now—Pierre Dorion wants to sign Alex DeBrincat long-term. But does the American Cat want to stick around in Canada? [TSN]
• John Gibson would like a trade from the Anaheim Ducks, but the problem is he has a sizable contract and has not been very good the last few years, although maybe a restart with a better team could change those results. [Orange County Register]
• U.S. hockey legend Hilary Knight is the first IIHF Female Player of the Year. [ESPN]
• Rod Brind’Amour sat down with the 32 Thoughts guys for a long interview. [YouTube] I’ve busted Brind’Amour’s chops the last couple of months with the playoffs, but I do want to extend my condolences to him and his family, as his father passed away this week.
• The league and players’ association reached a trial agreement that allows for some on-ice training with team staff; the Vancouver Canucks were recently fined $50,000 for it. [Sportsnet]
• Alphabet Sports Collective is bringing together hockey’s LGBTQ+ community during Pride Month. [Sportsnet]