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As two cities celebrate and give off championship winning vibes, two teams take their rightful places in the championship Wonderland. For one, it was a 30-years in the making first, while the other completes their quest to join a rich-rich party of eras. Boston Celtics are the champions of the hardwood once again; the Florida Panthers etch their names as champions on Lord Stanley for the first time ever. Redemption is complete. The quest has been conquered. Welcome to the Wonderland.
Both the new NBA and NHL champions delivered redemption to claim titles after just recently coming short in the Final. After two years, Celtics return to the Finals to win their 18th NBA championship as the core of Jaylen Brown, Jayson Tatum, Al Horford, and Derrick White find the missing pieces to seek redemption and the ability to finally say: objective complete. They join the original "Big Three" team as the two teams to bring Boston a title in the 21st-century. Capping off their title quest in storybook fashion. Celtics were undeniable. The best team this season; ends it with a ring. Just like the 2007-08 team did for Boston.
Not too much to write on the Celtics. They dominated across the entire playoff run, beating the Mavericks in quick order to finish 16-3, including a sweep of the Pacers in the Conference Finals. As much disgust as we should have for how the playoffs went, there is no taking away from the Celtics and what they accomplished. What a unit. The system power from this unit was in full store and full-display across the playoffs with a healthy KP in the mix. Celtics were unbeatable. Brad Stevens hanging up the whistle and joining the front office was a championship winning move. What a team they put together this season. They made all the right moves, and formed a UNIT. One of the best moves was choosing Joe Mazzulla as the coach to replace Udoka. A move casuals clowned, making it all so much better. Mazzulla had himself a real solid coaching performance; he showed who can coach, and who can't coach in the Finals (regards to Jason Kidd).
It's hats off all-around. To the players; to the coaching; to the season- the Celtics earned and deserve this title. They also made me eat dirt on my pre-Finals post when I said Luka and Kyrie could, and would likely, break Tatum and Brown. It was the Celtics duo who broke the Mavericks' superstar in actuality. Instead of breaking, Jaylen Brown earned a Finals MVP, thanks to rock solid defense and some mammoth needle-moving plays. I did hit on the fact that we would know a helluva lot coming out of the Finals:
We now know who can and can't coach. We now know that the duo of Brown and Tatum was the right investment as they are now championship certified. Here comes the more blunt one: we now know where Luka stands atop the mountain. Clarity all around. More clarity is understanding how good this unit is if they can manage to roll it over. This Celtics team has a much stronger chance of going back-to-back than the previous champion, Nuggets. We have all off-season to ponder that. First, it's time for the champions of the hardwood to celebrate it up... even though it's the team that now gets to do so for the 18th time.
Panthers seek their redemption after losing in last year's Cup Final to win the franchise's first Stanley Cup in it's 30-year existence. It's been a long journey, a journey that now will result in one helluva celebration in South Florida and across Panthers Nation. The journey finally reached close heights in 2020 when the Panthers hired Bill Zito as GM. Zito went on to pick up the waiver of Gustav Forsling, signed Carter Verhaeghe after he won a Cup with Tampa, traded for Sam Bennett (1 of 2 deals with Flames), and made two other mammoth trades to acquire Matthew Tkachuk (via Flames) and Sam Reinhart (via Sabres). Two trades that were originally laughed at; then turned into diamonds in the rough.
The outlash that rung across the hockey world was unreal when Zito sent long-time Panthers forward Jonathan Huberdeau (plus a 1st) to the Flames in exchange for Tkachuk. The trade happening after Huberdeau posted a career-best 115 points was the reason for the outlash. Look how it has panned out after two seasons! Huberdeau is playing awful; and at times was the laughing stock of the year last season. In almost two full seasons (missed 4 games), Huberdeau still has yet to eclipse 115 points (107 with Flames). Tkachuk on the other hand, has turned into a star of the game as he is playing the best hockey of his career for the Panthers... he is also the perfect culture fit to be the face of a newfound 'chise. Similar situation regarding Sam Reinhart, he has since elevated into a star with the Panthers, posting career highs in each season as he only gets more elite as a scorer. Feels like the Panthers got ahold on some Compound-V! Zito hit on three major trades. Boom. Boom. Boom. Now the franchise has a Stanley Cup. Take a bow sir.
Zito formed the team, Did his part. The rest was on the players. They needed a little more plot for the story before achieving the grand quest. Panthers needed to overcome some more adversity before having the correct amount of championship winning pedigree. Florida sat at the gates for a small glimpse of the wonderland last season, prior to getting slayed in five games by the now former champion Golden Knights. The players lived and learned. It was the needed ingredient to make the recipe to get the Panthers to the Wonderland. The perfect learning lesson. Trading for Vladimir Tarasenko at the trade deadline helped too. This time around- it was destiny:
video via NHL//X
I love seeing a franchise snap a multi-decade long championship drought, especially a drought over the big zero. One of my favorite occurrences to come from sports. It's also damn cool seeing a coach win his first Cup after 25+ years of coaching at the highest level. Paul Maurice is a huge reason for the Panthers' resurgence. This 'chise was the literal laughing stock of the league for most of the 21st-century. Only one 100-point season from 1993-2020, they now have two in the past three seasons with Maurice having one of them as well as two Stanley Cup Finals appearances in his two seasons behind the Panthers bench. Good for Maurice. He smelled the Wonderland to no entry with the Canes; over two decades later he gets his entrance ticket with the Cats in his third overall opportunity. Awesome stuff.
In the NHL’s expansion era (since the 1967-68 season), there have now been just three teams that have followed up a Cup Final loss with a championship. The Penguins were the last squad to do it when they secured their redemption on the dominate Red Wings in '09. The age-old understanding that "you may never make it back" speaks the highest volumes in regard to the Stanley Cup (Super Bowl too). Being a runner-up in the Cup is demoralizing. You fight for over a month to make it, then you lose; knowing the chance to make it back could be slim to none. Panthers didn't fold. Again, they lived and learned. Got better. Now they are Stanley Cup champions:
via Florida Panthers//X
Now the party is on in South Florida. We got Tkachuk takin' Lord Stanley for a dip in the Atlantic, parade vibes in the Florida sun, and all out party moves with championship fever. Gotta love a zero no-mo celebration. The only thing I don't really love in regards to the aftermath of GM-7 is the winner of the Conn Smythe...
First and foremost, McJesus was absolutely phenomenal across the playoffs. Arguably a top individual playoff run of all-time. The best of the century for less debate. McDavid was unreal. The largest reason for the Oilers making the Final, and a big part of the near comeback against the Cats. Panthers were 15-5 and one game away before the Oilers marched on their three game winning streak to force an electric GM-7 behind their captain's lead. McDavid went out on his sword as he notched a whoppin' 42 points, the 4th-highest on record behind Gretzky (2x) and Mario Lemieux. McDavid's 34 assists broke the 36-year old record of Gretzky's 31 in the 1988 Cup. All this making him the obvious choice for the Conn Smythe (Playoff MVP)... if the Oilers won the Cup!
Connor McDavid became the sixth player on the losing team to win the Smythe, and the first skater since Reggie Leach did so for the Flyers in '76. Leach and McDavid are the only two skaters to achieve the feat. I am totally against it. That has nothing to do with McDavid and frankly, I am sure he agrees. All it is; is a participation trophy. I bet McDavid's insides exploded from anger as he held in his emotions when accepting it. That wasn't the trophy he wanted to hoist- rightfully so. The award should always go to a player on the winning side of the equation- in this case goalie Sergei Bobrovsky. Panthers don't win without him, which is what the award is meant for. In my opinion. McDavid didn't do enough to get his team to the Wonderland. He didn't score a single point in games six and seven. That is what matters. Again, he was beyond remarkable, but unfortunately came up short. Giving it to him just declares it a participation award. That doesn't take away his excellence as shown:
video via @BradyTrett//X
Both the Panthers and Celtics were favored by many to come out of their respected wars as champions. Celtics were the most dominant team of the NBA season, while the Panthers had the second most wins (tied with a couple) in the NHL and were dominant across the Stanley Cup. It's good to see elite teams finish elite seasons off on the right note. They each helped me hit homeruns in the ESPN Tourney Challenge as well:
I could take this time and complain about the NBA playoffs and officiating in the Stanley Cup, but I say to hell with that. We can keep this good vibes only and on a positive note. I will close out with maybe the best part of the playoffs aftermath; the legendary photo taken some decades ago that is now officially championship certified. One that will sit in the Hall of Fame of sports photos:
via someone on X
Whoever took that picture had no idea the greatness in front of him. What a photo. Hopefully he can get the thing signed double time and make some buck in a few decades. Just an unreal photo, and for those two each to win a world championship in their respected sport in the same calendar year is just wild. Sports are amazing. They bring together roots decades in the making. It's a beautiful thing. Cheers to sports. Enjoy the Wonderland:
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