It was one year ago on this date that the Tampa Bay Lightning claimed the Stanley Cup. In the long days since, we've missed an entire season's worth of all the things we love about the NHL. Who knows how many new records might have been set that weren't set? How many shutouts didn't get pitched? How many thrilling buzzer-beating game-winners we missed? Who knows which rookie and sophomore players would have emerged unexpectedly as new superstars, and which veterans might have had a career-defining year?
All this and more, we lost forever.
Our pal John points out that at least we know who would have been this year's Stanley Cup winners:
the Flames would have beaten the Leafs three games to one, according to the hockey world's most ingenious computer simulation technicians. These guys figured out the
individual awards, too. They're naming Brendan Shanahan the Hart Memorial Trophy winner for League's most valuable player.
See? Thanks to breakthroughs in making-believe technology, it's almost like we didn't miss a thing! So why do I still get the feeling I've been cheated?