The Washington Capitals: Your 2018 Stanley Cup Champions

Tweet

And another National Hockey League season comes to an end, as the Washington Capitals defeated the Las Vegas Golden Knights four games to one to become Stanley Cup Champions. All I can say is, Wow. If you didn't watch it, you missed one hell of a hockey game. Fast paced, with lots of intense action at both ends of the ice, hard hitting, and lots and lots of chippiness around the net after stoppages in play. As cool as the story would have been had Las Vegas become the first expansion team to win the Stanley Cup, as I watched the series, I found myself rooting for Washington, which won it's first Championship in it's 44 years of existence, for two reasons. Team Captain Alexander Ovechkin was making his first appearance in the Stanley Cup Finals. He will be a first ballot Hall of Famer when he is eligible, and, if it weren't for Sidney Crosby, would possibly be a unanimous vote as the best player in the world at the moment. It's always nice to see guys that have tried so hard for so many years finally getting to hoist the Cup. I was also rooting for Capitals coach Barry Trotz. A highly respected, brilliant hockey mind, Trotz made his name as the first coach of the then-expansion Nashville Predators, quickly guiding that team to respectability. This was the final year of Trotz' contract as Washington's head coach, and the team has yet to offer him a new contract. If they don't, complete with a fat raise, it will be a travesty. A genuinely nice guy by all accounts, Barry Trotz definitely deserved a Stanley Cup win. Congratulations to the Golden Knights on a season for the ages, and congratulations to the Washington Capitals, your 2018 Stanley Cup Champions!