Stanley Cup Champions

Wow. Just... just wow. What a team. What a run. What an accomplishment.

I think the Stanley Cup is the hardest championship to win in all of sports. I know I'm not alone in that, I'm just saying. The Penguins started the regular season on October 4th of last year and didn't finish the season until June 14th of this year. That's eight months. And that's after their 2007-08 season stretched from the middle of October to the beginning of June.

Basically, when the 2009-10 season starts, they'll have played 16 out of the past 24 months. And there are offseason training camps and mini-camps in there, just like football. Hell, the NHL Draft is today. They really have to cram a lot of stuff into a pretty short period of time, which makes it so that there's not much of a layoff. I'm all in favor of that.

I'd be all in favor of the Pens winning the Cup every year. If nothing else, that means I only need to fill about six weeks every year until training camp starts (yes, you heard that right, training camp starts in six weeks). I'm not abandoning the Pirates, I'm just saying that they can't be counted on to be competitive, so to only have to suffer through a month and a half of non-competitive games every year is a great feeling.

But, ultimately, I think that a body can only take the strain and the wear and tear of so many hockey games piled right on top of each other until it breaks down. The physical and mental attrition involved is far greater than football, greater than baseball (although it's mostly physical attrition where hockey holds the edge), and slightly greater than basketball.

Purely from a physical and mental standpoint, the Cup is the hardest trophy to win on a consistent basis. Playing eight months out of the year, over a hundred games every season, year after year, it takes its toll on you physically, mentally, and emotionally. As I said before, I was spent heading into Game 7. I don't know how the players did it.

At any rate, enjoy it. We should be back again, with the core group of Malkin, Crosby, Fleury, and Staal. I think it's possible (and kinda scary) that none of those guys has fully reached their potential. I've heard that a player (in any sport) peaks between the ages of 26-30. The good news is that all these guys could potentially get better than they are now. The bad news is that they might hit their peak when they're on another team.

I also think that Staal has a very bright future. He has too many physical attributes and things going for him to fail unless he makes it happen. And I don't think that Malkin and Crosby will let him fail. Hey, he's not even 20 yet. He's 6'4". Some people take a while to get used to their body. My brother grew eight inches between his 15th and 16th birthdays. I think he was 30 before he fully got accustomed to his body. We saw flashes of what he can do. He's got so much speed, so much talent, and he's so big, that it's easy to imagine him eventually being better than the two stars on the Pens. He has certain attributes that you can't teach that Malkin and Crosby don't have. For that reason, his ceiling is much higher. In football terms, he's kind of like a receiver with the speed of Bob Hayes and the height of Harold Carmichael. That's quite a weapon.

But, as I said, enjoy this moment. This experience was unique. This team was unique. They may win it all again next year or the year after that, but it will be a different group of guys and there will be a different feel to every series and it will feel different when they hoist the Cup.

Remember how different the Super Bowl XLIII win felt than the Super Bowl XL win? (The Steelers won both of those Super Bowls, btw).

It's kind of depressing, but kind of poetic and beautiful to think that this win, that moment in time, is unique in all aspects. Byslma is now a different coach than he was 48 hours ago. Sid and Geno are different players. After the parade, we'll move onto the coming season, where Hossa will sign, whether or not we'll be able to retain Guerrin (we're trying to), and how the Pens will build on their success.

So, just to review the season that was:

1. In February, we were in 10th place and in danger of being eliminated from playoff contention.
2. Bylsma took over and we won 18 of our next 25. Ended up as the fourth seed.
3. We overcame a ferocious Flyers team, a 2-0 hole against an explosive Capitals team, and smoked an overmatched Hurricanes team.
4. We overcame the Joe Louis Arena, a 2-0 hole again, and won Game 7 of a series (again) on the road.

From 10th place to hoisting the Cup in four months. Not too shabby at all.

Almost as impressive as the fact that the parade on Monday could've been held in Hamilton, Ontario or Kansas City if things had played out differently. That's the biggest Cinderella story of them all.