Kukla's Korner Hockey
Stanley Cup Finalists Curse
by Alanah McGinley on 02/06/09 at 03:55 PM ET
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From Ken Campbell at The Hockey News:
Over the past 11 seasons, the team losing in the Stanley Cup final has made it out of the first round of the playoffs the following year only once – the Dallas Stars got to the second round in 2001 after losing the final to the New Jersey Devils in 2000. Four finalists failed to return to the playoffs a year after their run, a number that will grow by one unless the Penguins start playing with some level of consistency down the stretch.
Some have pointed to the oft-used Stanley Cup hangover, but if that exists, why did the Ottawa Senators get out of the gate with a 15-2-0 record to start the 2007-08 season? More than a hangover, the real reason for a team’s lack of success, at least in the salary cap era, lies more in what kinds of roster decisions the team makes after going to the final.
The reason for the Penguins’ demise has been fairly easy to figure out. With the top-end players they have in their lineup, they had to give huge pay increases or risk losing them the way they did Ryan Malone. Marian Hossa not re-signing with the Penguins hurt them, but it says something about the direction an organization is headed when a player turns his back on a multi-year deal in order to go somewhere else for a one-year contract.
Filed in: NHL Teams, Pittsburgh Penguins | KK Hockey | Permalink
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