Interesting Choices For First Handoff Of The Stanley Cup
It is every NHL player’s dream to one day hoist the coveted Stanley Cup. NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman has the honor of presenting Lord Stanley’s hardware to the captain of the winning team. Who the captain hands the trophy to next is a topic which gets a lot of discussion every season. To whom will this year’s winning captain make the first handoff of the Stanley Cup?
First Handoff of Stanley Cup in Past Years
Last year, the victorious Colorado Avalanche captain, Gabriel Landeskog, made the first handoff of the Stanley Cup to the player who had the longest tenure on the team. That was defenseman Erik Johnson, who had played for the Avs through the bad seasons and the good seasons.
When the Vegas Golden Knights last played in the Stanley Cup Finals, they lost to the Washington Capitals. Their captain, Alex Ovechkin, made the first handoff of the Stanley Cup to his long-time linemate, center Nicklas Backstrom.
Possible Choices for Florida Captain Sergei Barkov
If the Florida Panthers continue their magical run during this year’s Stanley Cup Playoffs by winning the next three games, to whom will Captain Sergei Barkov make the first handoff of the Stanley Cup? Will it be to their incredible goalie, Sergei Bobrovsky?
Additionally, he could choose 16-year veteran defenseman Marc Stall who has yet to win the Cup. Then, there’s the team’s high scorer during the playoffs, Matthew Tkachuk. Choices, choices, choices.
Possible Choices for Vegas Captain Mark Stone
If the Vegas Golden Knights grab one more victory in one of the next three games, to whom will Captain Mark Stone make the first handoff of the Stanley Cup? If I were to guess, it would be one of the original “Golden Misfits.”
It could be Alternate Captain Reilly Smith. Or, leading goal-scorer during the regular season and playoffs, Jonathan Marchessault. Similarly, he could hand to ace defensive center, William Karlsson, who has chipped in 11 clutch goals during this year’s playoffs.
Any of those three players would be a great choice. All three will be near the front of the handoff line, along with the other original “Golden Misfits,” Shea Theodore, Brayden McNabb, and William Carrier.
Go Knights Go!
Vegas Golden Knights Regular Season Team Leaders
Most Points: Jack Eichel #9
Jack Eichel earned his money this season, leading the team in scoring with 66 points. He had 27 goals and 39 assists to win the Vegas scoring crown. Chandler Stephenson gets honorable mention right behind Eichel with 65 points.
Most Goals: Jonathan Marchessault #81
Winger Jonathan Marchessault led the team with 28 goals. He added 29 assists to his scoresheet for a total of 57 points this season. Jack Eichel gets honorable mention in this category, right behind Marchessault with 27 goals.
Most Assists: Chandler Stephenson #20
Center Chandler Stephenson, one of the most underrated players in the NHL, led Vegas in the assist category with 49 on the season. He also potted 16 goals. Alex Pietrangelo gets honorable mention in this category with 43 assists, coming in second to Stephenson on the team, and leading all Golden Knights defensemen in scoring with 54 points on the season.
Best Plus/Minus: Alec Martinez #23
If you are unfamiliar with the Plus/Minus statistic, it works like this. If a player is on the ice when his team scores at even strength or while short-handed, he gets a plus. If a player is on the ice when his team gets scored on by the opposition at even strength, or while the other team is short-handed, he gets a minus. Defenseman Alec Martinez led all Vegas Golden Knights in this category at a plus-30. Jack Eichel earns honorable mention in second place with a plus-26.
Most Penalty Minutes: Keegan Kolesar #55
When Ryan Reaves left the Golden Knights, Keegan Kolesar picked up the role of protector and enforcer for Vegas. He led the team with 68 penalty minutes on the season. He also did a lot of great work on the forecheck and along the boards for the team. For a fourth-line player, he did very well on the stat sheet, adding 8 goals and 10 assists for 18 points, and was a plus-6 for the season.
Most Power Play Goals: Jonathan Marchessault #81
Not only did Jonathan Marchessault lead the Vegas Golden Knights in goals scored, he also led the team in power play goals with 9. He added 7 assists on the power play for 16 total power play points. Chandler Stephenson gets honorable mention in this category with 6 power play goals and a total of 15 power play points overall.
Most Short-Handed Goals: Reilly Smith #19
The Vegas Golden Knights scored 10 power play goals during the 2022-23 season, and winger Reilly Smith scored four of those to lead the team. William Karlsson and captain Mark Stone each added two short-handed tallies during the regular season to share honorable mentions.
Goaltending - Best Save Percentage: Laurent Brossoit #39
Although goaltender Laurent Brossoit only started 10 games during the regular season, he played very well down the stretch for the Vegas Golden Knights while both Logan Thompson (.915 sv%) and Adin Hill (.915 sv%) have been injured. Brossoit led all goalies on the team with a .927 save percentage, and did not lose any games during regulation time. He did lose three games in overtime or in shoot-outs for a sparkling 7-0-0-3 overall record. It’s a good bet he’ll start for Vegas in net when the first round of the playoffs begin.
Goaltending - Best Goals Against Average: Laurent Brossoit #39
For those Vegas goalies who started more than 25 games during the 2022-23 regular season, Adin Hill had the best goals against average at 2.50 tallies allowed per game. But in the ten games that Laurent Brossoit started, plus the one in which he came on in relief, he accumulated the best goals against average at 2.17.
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Larry Martino is the long-time afternoon drive personality on 96.3 KKLZ. The views and opinions expressed in this blog are those of Larry Martino and not necessarily those of Beasley Media Group, LLC.
