We All Want to See McDavid Win It Sooner Than Later, Right?
This Saturday is Game One of the 2024 Stanley Cup Final between the Edmonton Oilers and the Florida Panthers – and I’ll admit that I want the Oilers to win the Cup.
Not because I want to see a Canadian team win the Stanley Cup for the first time in 31 years. I could care less about that. I want to see a GREAT team win, regardless of the city they represent.
And not because I don’t like the Panthers. I do like the Panthers, and I wanted them and goalie Sergei Bobrovsky to win the championship last season. I was excited that they’d get another kick at the can, er, Cup again this year.
But then the Oilers beat the Dallas Stars to advance to the Final.
So, now, my loyalty is split between Florida and Edmonton…but it is leaning hard towards Edmonton.
Don’t get me wrong: I would LOVE to see the Panthers win the Stanley Cup. I have been a fan of Panthers’ superpest Matthew Tkachuk since he was playing on the Flames. And Bobrovsky, at 35, isn’t getting any younger. The window is closing for the All-Star netminder.
On the other hand, I really want to see Connor McDavid win a Stanley Cup – and win it now!
Great players like McDavid NEED to win a Stanley Cup to cement their legacy. Sure, Cup or no Cup, he will still be in the Hall of Fame when he retires. But players like McDavid win the Stanley Cup because they make it happen. They raise their game and find a way. Not winning a Cup championship at least once in his career would put an invisible asterisk next to his name.
I’d rather see McDavid win it all now, during the pinnacle of his career, when he is the best player in the NHL – versus him winning it at age 40 in a reduced role or as a spare part on another team.
Or worse, never winning it at all.
Let’s not forget that some great players – from Marcel Dionne to Joe Thornton – have had long and illustrious careers, but never got the chance to lift the Stanley Cup.
I felt the same way about Alex Ovechkin back in 2018 as I do about McDavid now. I’m not a Capitals fan, but I wanted to see Ovie win the Cup just one time – and he did, just one time. But one time is all you need to be a champion.
As a fan of hockey, I want to see what’s good for hockey. And McDavid winning the Stanley Cup would be good – nope, great – for the sport.
Note: This article is an updated version of an editorial that originally appeared in Volume 2 – Issue 23 of the Puck Junk Newsletter. For stories like these, plus news and updates about hockey cards and collectibles, subscribe to the newsletter here.
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