Stanley Cup Finals: Deja Vu All Over Again

For the second consecutive year, the Pittsburgh Penguins and the Detroit Red Wings will face off for hockey's Stanley Cup. That hasn't happened since 1984, when the New York Islanders and Edmonton Oilers met for the second time.

The National Hockey League must be thrilled. The Penguins are stocked with young talent such as Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin and Marc-Andre Fleury. The defending champion Red Wings boast veteran talent such as Marian Hossa (who used to be a Pen), Niklas Lidstrom and Chris Osgood.

The Penguins won two hard-fought series against the Philadelphia Flyers and Washington Capitals, then breezed past the Carolina Hurricanes in four games to win the Eastern Conference.

The Red Wings swept the Columbus Blue Jackets in the opening round. Then they struggled past the Anaheim Ducks and Chicago Blackhawks to take the Western Conference championship.

The last time a team won consecutive Stanley Cups, it was the Red Wings in 1997 and 1998. For them to do that this time, they need to overcome sluggish play and a long list of injuries that have brought many a team down. Failing that, Pittsburgh should win this in six games.
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In what could be the NHL's swansong season on network TV, NBC is televising every game in the series except for games three and four in prime time. Cue the crickets. For those of you who aren't blessed with having Versus on your cable system, be advised that they are showing games three and four. Pray that there isn't a sweep.
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Meanwhile back in Minnesota, Chuck Fletcher is the new Wild general manager, replacing Doug Risebrough. Fletcher comes from the front office of the Penguins, so why would he leave when the team is still in the playoffs?

Fletcher, whose father Cliff was a GM in Calgary and Toronto, came highly recommended even though he has never actually run a team before. Now that he is, Fletcher's main priorities are to get a new coach to replace Jacques Lemaire, and to keep Marian Gaborik out of the jaws of free agency. Oh, and to convince the Team of 18,000 that the Wild will no longer be the plodding, just-happy-to-be-in-the-first-round-of-the-playoffs collection of players that has sufficed since the team was founded. Times, and expectations, have changed. Shouldn't the Wild be where the Red Wings and Penguins are today?