Congratulations to the LA Kings for their Stanley Cup win. An 8th seed winning the Cup gives every playoff team in the future the example they need to realize its anyones championship to win if you get in. There is such a small difference now between the best teams and the teams which just barely make the playoffs. It also shows you how close this league is and how close it will continue to be. Montreal was last in the East and missed the playoffs by 14 points. That amounts to just 1 win in each month of the regular season. That's the tiny difference between making it and finishing last.
Now the bad. I fear that the Kings will now suffer through exactly what Tampa did when they won the cup. If you remember back, the Lightning won the cup and hoped to ride their success to a repeat the following year. They had hoped to capitalize on the excitement in their market to sell more season tickets and sponsorships. Tampa never got the bang they were hoping for because the following year the NHL locked out the players and the entire season was lost.
The LA Kings may well end up in the same boat. Their first Cup win in 44 years and they may not get the bang they deserve. No ability to carry over the buzz on the LA sports scene. No ability to convert the excitement into seat and sponsorship sales for next season if the NHL and the NHLPA again go to war over the CBA. That agreement expires in September and many are predicting a long delay to the start of the season or possibly the cancellation of another season. Either would kill the Kings chance to take full advantage of their Cup Victory.
Congratulations to the Kings and I hope to you get all the rewards a franchise is supposed to receive from winning the Cup.
See you at the rink.
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