My first successful prediction on the winner in five years! I don’t recall if I was correct on the number of games it took the Devils to beat the Ducks in 2003 though. However, I did correctly guess the number of games it would take the Red Wings on May 21st. This makes me officially 1-2 on my site when I started doing a forecast.
Before going to be sleep, Somara asked, how many Cups does this make it for Detroit. I looked it up on my Flyers calendar 11. Still puts them behind Toronto and Montreal but I will cheer up my friend Paul with the follow-up that the Red Wings remain 11-12 in Stanley Cup appearances. He’s a Blackhawks fan so much like the Cubs, the universe may unravel should the trophy be hoisted in the Windy City.
What’s next? A vacation from the sport and preparation for the upcoming draft. Then the frenzy of trades, free agents and whatever around July.
I think this will be the last Cup for Detroit in a while. Chelios and Hasek will probably retire. Their core should remain, aka the Swedish National Team, yet they’re aging faster than the GM can replace them. Meanwhile, the pressure will be on for my Flyers to replicate and exceed their recent success alongside the Pens, Sharks and Canadiens. Many more teams will be undertaking complete overhauls: Leafs, Lightning and Blackhawks come to mind.