The Stanley Cup Stays South Of The Border - Again

The last time a Canadian team won the Stanley Cup was in 1993: the Montreal Canadiens. Since then, hockey’s Holy Grail has had 18 years of living south of the border, far away from it’s historical home. It has taken residence in New York, Detroit, and Chicago, all relatively acceptable as they were in the “Original Six”. But it has also made an appearance in Tampa Bay, Carolina, and Anaheim, locales that are probably more worthy of football than hockey.

Speaking of the Original Six, I will be the first to admit: when I was a kid, I used to be a fan of the Boston Bruins. That was back in an era when they won their last Stanley Cup – 1972. Those were the days of the Phil Esposito, Derek Sanderson, Wayne Cashman, Bobby Orr, and Gerry Cheevers.

Fast forward to 2011. The Bruins were in the Stanley Cup Final, looking for their first win since 1972. Their opponent this year was the Vancouver Canucks, owners of the league’s best record in the regular season. It was an epic series, going to a Game 7 finale. But if you are a Canadian waiting for the Cup to head north once again, the wait will last at least one more year.

History was working both for and against the Canucks. They had never won a Stanley Cup in their 40+ years of existence. But they were the league’s best team this year, entering the playoffs with a 10 point lead on the next closest team in the regular season. They had a solid scoring punch in the Sedin brothers, and an Olympic gold medal winning goalie in Robert Luongo.

The Canucks rolled out to a 2 – 0 series lead. That is, in itself, almost a guarantee to win the Finals. Only 3 teams since 1966 have overcome that kind of deficit. But it went to a game 7. Trouble? No worries there. Home teams have a 12 – 3 record in Game 7 in the Stanley Cup Finals. History is still on their side, yes?

No. The Canucks got routed 4 – 0 on their own ice in Game 7. It was a dismal ending. After Game 2, Luongo was shelled for 18 goals in 5 games. He was a husk of his former Olympic self, and the Bruins (especially Brad Marchand) seemed to really get into his head. And as for the Sedin brothers, has anyone seen them? Are they still playing hockey? They were absent in the Finals.

The Bruins, however, won 3 Game 7s in the playoffs behind goalie Tim Thomas. That is a first in NHL history. The Bruins simply played like they wanted it more than the Canucks.

As a Bruins fan of old, I was pleased to see them finally win one. It’s been a long wait for a proud hockey town that has a fan base deserving of another Cup. But I am also a fan of another proud hockey town, Toronto. Where I grew up, you had to pledge your allegiance to either the Toronto Maple Leafs or the Montreal Canadiens. Having always despised the Habs, the Leafs became the de facto number one choice.

The Toronto Maple Leafs now have the longest active Stanley Cup Finals drought – now standing at 43 years. Their last Stanley Cup victory was on May 2, 1967, beating those dreaded Montreal Canadiens. The closest they have been since is the Western Conference Finals in 1993 and 1994. The most memorable of those was in 1993. Wayne Gretzky scored a hat trick in Game 7 in Toronto for a 5 – 4 win. Yes, that one hurt. I remember it far too vividly.

It’s now been 19 years since a Canadian team won the Stanley Cup. Maybe the Leafs will be the ones to turn the tide around and bring the Cup back to it’s northern home.

Photo credits: Wikipedia