NHL Morning Skate: Stanley Cup Final Edition – June 2, 2023

June 2, 2023

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* Only one more sleep until Game 1 of the 2023 Stanley Cup Final, which is slated for Saturday in Las Vegas at 8 p.m. ET. It will open the first-ever Final televised on TNT, with the contest also carried on TBS and truTV in the U.S. as well as on Sportsnet, CBC and TVA Sports in Canada.

* Kelly McCrimmon and Bill Zito, who had a hand in acquiring nearly all players set to compete in the Final, look to capture a Cup after winning championships as general managers in the WHL and AHL, respectively.

* Paul Maurice and Bruce Cassidy will make the second Final appearance of their NHL head coaching career after first reaching the championship series in 2002 and 2019, respectively.

EXPANSION DRAFT, KEY TRADES/SIGNINGS LED TO FINAL BERTH FOR VEGAS, FLORIDA

Several of the Golden Knights’ core players were acquired during the 2017 NHL Expansion Draft, while trades and free agent signings account for the lion’s share of the Panthers’ roster. Click here to view the 2023 Stanley Cup Final Information Guide, which features a detailed breakdown on how each club was built (page 8-9, min. 1 GP in 2022-23 regular season or playoffs).

* Kelly McCrimmon, who had just won his second Ed Chynoweth Cup as general manager of the WHL’s Brandon Wheat Kings (also 1996), was named assistant GM with Vegas on Aug. 2, 2016, when George McPhee was at the helm.McCrimmon was promoted to the role of general manager on May 2, 2019, while McPhee remained the franchise’s president of hockey operations.

* McCrimmon had a hand in acquiring each and every Golden Knights player including 2017 NHL Expansion Draft picks William Carrier, William Karlsson, Jonathan Marchessault and Brayden McNabb as well as Reilly Smith and Shea Theodore, who were traded to Vegas on the day of the proceedings. Marchessault, Smith, Karlsson and Theodore occupy the top four spots on the franchise’s all-time playoff points list.

* Fifteen of the 25 players to dress at least one game with the Golden Knights during the 2023 Stanley Cup Playoffs were acquired since McCrimmon’s promotion was announced, including Jonathan Quick (traded March 2, 2023), Ivan Barbashev (traded Feb. 26, 2023), Adin Hill (traded Aug. 29, 2022), Jack Eichel (traded Nov. 4, 2021), Alex Pietrangelo (signed Oct. 12, 2020), Alec Martinez (traded Feb. 19, 2020) and Chandler Stephenson (traded Dec. 3, 2019). McCrimmon also hired head coach Bruce Cassidy.

Photo via @bdnwheatkings

* Bill Zito orchestrated the second trade in NHL history featuring 100-point scorers being swapped when he acquired Matthew Tkachuk from the Flames in a blockbuster deal involving fan favorite Jonathan Huberdeau being sent to Calgary on July 22, 2022. Zito also pulled off other impactful deals after Florida was swept by Tampa Bay in the 2022 Second Round, including acquiring Casey Fitzgerald, Givani Smith, Eric Staal, Josh Mahura, Alex Lyon, Nick Cousins, Marc Staal and Colin White as well as hiring head coach Paul Maurice.

* Nineteen of the 23 players to dress at least one game with the Panthers this postseason were acquired since Zito was named general manager on Sept. 2, 2020, with the only exceptions being Eetu Luostarinen (traded Feb. 24, 2020), Sergei Bobrovsky (signed July 1, 2019), Aaron Ekblad (drafted June 27, 2014) and Aleksander Barkov (drafted June 30, 2013).

* Zito was an assistant general manager for the Blue Jackets across seven seasons from 2013-14 to 2019-20, with Bobrovsky, Zac Dalpe, Anthony Duclair as well as Golden Knights teammates Karlsson and Keegan Kolesar all being members of the franchise during that span. Zito’s tenure also involved serving as general manager of the AHL’s Lake Erie Monsters when they won a Calder Cup in 2016. Vegas assistant coach Ryan Craig was the Monsters’ captain that year.

Photo via @TheAHL

MAURICE, CASSIDY GUIDED CATS, KNIGHTS TO FINAL IN FIRST SEASON WITH FRANCHISE

Paul Maurice and Bruce Cassidy were named head coach of the Panthers and Golden Knights, respectively, just over a week apart during the offseason and piloted their new clubs to the Stanley Cup Final less than a year later. The 2023 championship series will mark the seventh Final in League history where both head coaches are serving their first season with an NHL franchise, following 2016 (Peter DeBoer & Mike Sullivan), 2012 (DeBoer & Darryl Sutter), 2003 (Mike Babcock & Pat Burns), 1993 (Jacques Demers & Barry Melrose), 1991 (Bob Gainey & Bob Johnson) and 1990 (Mike Milbury & John Muckler).

* Maurice will make his second Final appearance and first since 2002, when his 35-win Hurricanes fell in five contests to the top-seeded Red Wings. The 21 years between Final appearances for Maurice are by far the longest such gap by a head coach in League history, besting the previous mark of 14 held by Pat Burns from 1989 to 2003 and Pat Quinn from 1980 to 1994.

* Cassidy is also set to make his second Final appearance and first since 2019, when his Bruins fell to Ivan Barbashev, Alex Pietrangelo and the Blues in Game 7.Pietrangelo potted the winner at 19:52 of the opening frame as St. Louis secured its first-ever title – he can become the second player in NHL history to score a Cup-clinching goal against a head coach and win a championship with that same bench boss (also Cy Denneny vs. Art Ross in 1927 & with Ross in 1929).