A Quest for the Stanley Cup

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 25/09/2020 (1925 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

EDMONTON — It was right after the Dallas Stars had drawn first blood in the Stanley Cup final last Saturday night when interim head coach Rick Bowness turned to his troops inside the jubilant locker room.

“All right, boys, that’s a great win. A really great win. Look after yourselves…” Bowness began, a fatherly tone to his voice. Then, a smile as he caught himself, realizing exactly where they were and how silly his words probably sounded.

“Can’t get into too much trouble here, anyways,” Bowness chuckled. “Enjoy your night.”

No, you certainly can’t, not inside the tightly secured bubble environment in Edmonton, where the Stars have been under lockdown for the past nine weeks. After the Stars downed the highly favoured Lightning in Game 1, there were no post-game shenanigans on the Tampa Bay waterfront, which might have been the normal course of events if not for the COVID-19 pandemic.

Instead, it’s a steady diet of ping pong, pool and golf simulators in a Groundhog Day existence that is being documented up close and personal by the NHL in its Quest for the Stanley Cup series on YouTube. I reviewed all four episodes on Friday, which begins with the opening round of the playoffs in early August and takes viewers right up to the end of Game 1 last weekend.

The overriding theme: Monotony and boredom might be as big a concern for players as a neutral-zone trap or ferocious forecheck.

“It’s the first time we’ve touched grass in about eight weeks,” veteran Stars forward Joe Pavelski says as his team got some much-needed fresh air at an Edmonton driving range prior to the start of the Cup final. “To get out here is good for everyone’s mental side.”

Ditto for Lightning head coach Jon Cooper, doing his hamster on a wheel impression on an exercise bike prior to his team’s skate.

“Bubble life. If you don’t do this, when you leave here you’re going to look like the bubble,” he jokes.

It’s important to remember that just because these guys are all making a great living playing a game doesn’t mean they’re immune from the typical human emotions that come with being separated from loved ones for such a long time, a fact Vegas Golden Knights goaltender Robin Lehner drives home in one episode. The veteran has been candid about his struggles with anxiety and depression and speaks about the ongoing need to stay in touch with his psychiatrist.

“It’s been a long road for me with some of the illnesses I have,” said Lehner.

There’s a mix of heavy and light moments, including plenty of behind-the-scenes looks at what life has been like and chatter between players, coaches and officials.

Here are some highlights:

• Referee Francis Charron, turning to partner Wes McCauley just before the puck drops on Game 1 the Cup final, on the physicality he figures they’re about to see. “That’s what the blue team (Tampa) will find out quick. They (Dallas) gotta (expletive) grind and hit ’em hard, so we gotta be on it.”

• Tampa forward Alex Killorn, in a scrum with a trio of Dallas players: “I can take all three of you… well, maybe not Benn,” he says, realizing tough Stars captain Jamie Benn is among them.

• In the handshake line after Dallas had just scored in overtime to eliminate Vegas to get to the Stanley Cup, Golden Knights head coach Pete DeBoer tells every Stars player to “go win it!” Bowness, in response, jokes “I’m getting old, I’m running out of time.”

• There was a similar show of sportsmanlike at the end of the Lightning-Islanders series, which Tampa won in overtime of Game 6. New York head coach Barry Trotz, the pride of Dauphin, tells Cooper “If we couldn’t get there, I’m sure glad you guys got there. Win it now. You deserve it.”

• Trotz also praises Lightning defenceman Victor Hedman, telling him in the handshake line: “You’re one of the (expletive) best, man.”

• DeBoer complains to referee Steve Kozari that Stars forward Alexander Radulov should have received an interference penalty just prior to the Stars scoring a goal in Game 5 of their series. Kozari disagrees, saying “that’s just a good, hard battle like you guys do all the time,” and motions to Winnipegger Ryan Reaves, who is sitting on the bench. “You can do that all night, buddy,” Kozari tells Reaves. “OK, lemme write that down,” Reaves says, using his hockey glove as a fake notepad.

• Hedman, showing he’s not just one of the best on the blue line, connecting on a 50-yard field goal inside Commonwealth Stadium as the Lightning get a day away from the rink in Edmonton. “We’re becoming even closer as a team,” he said of the unique environment.

• Bowness, the former Winnipeg Jets player turned coach, after rookie forward Joel Kiviranta completed his improbable hat trick to eliminate the Colorado Avalanche in overtime: “The Finns baby, the (expletive) Finns!” he shouts as he walks off the ice.

• Colorado’s Nathan MacKinnon, shaking hands with Bowness after being eliminated, tells him “we’re all cheering for you back home.” Both men are from Nova Scotia.

• While still in the Toronto hub, Cooper goes for an off-day kayak outing along the shores of Lake Ontario. “I could sit here all day. It’s either this or my room on the 20th floor.”

• On that same excursion, Lightning forward Patrick Maroon fumbles around with a fishing rod — he calls it a “fisher pole” — and then accidentally swings it and hooks the camera man.

• Edmonton barber Craig Bowa takes a little bit off the top for players inside Rogers Place, including a visit from Stars defenceman Esa Lindell just prior to Game 7 against the Avalanche. “Oh yeah, big one,” Lindell tells Bowa as they make small talk.

• Winnipegger Mark Stone, playing a golf simulator inside the Edmonton bubble. “If there was a simulation PGA Tour, you’d be on it,” a Golden Knights teammate tells him.

• Referee Kozari, whistling Radulov for a high-sticking penalty against the Avalanche, trying to calm the Stars star down as he escorts him to the penalty box. “Get in there and sit down. I’ll talk to you. Sit down. Raddy, I love you like a brother, buddy. But I had to call it,” Kozari explains.

• Boston Bruins defenceman Torey Krug, getting his daily COVID-19 test in Toronto, telling the nurse that “there’s a 60 per cent chance I’m going to sneeze” as she sticks the swab up his nose.

• Reaves, ejected for a headshot on Vancouver Canucks forward Tyler Motte during their second-round series, goes the next day with general manager Kelly McCrimmon for his hearing with the department of player safety, which resulted in a one-game ban. “I’m disappointed I put my teammates in that position. I pride myself on playing hard but playing clean. It’s just one that got away,” he says.

• Finally, a gentler side of Reaves as he leads the NHL player walkout during the second round, joining other pro sports in solidarity after yet another police shooting of an unarmed black man in the United States. A text from Tampa’s Kevin Shattenkirk to Reaves got the ball rolling.

“I told him I think it’s a powerful message if we step aside for two days. As a predominately white sport, I’m proud of them for stepping up,” says Reaves. “As one of the few black athletes, it felt like something I was probably going to have to drive.”

mike.mcintyre@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @mikemcintyrewpg