NHL 24 introduced four new cards honoring European Stanley Cup captains, with Barkov earning a 99 overall card
When Aleksander Barkov accepted the Stanley Cup from Gary Bettman Monday night, it marked the first time in NHL history that the captain of the Cup-winning team heir from the country of Finland.
Reminder, all captain cards in the game have Born Leader as their zone ability.
EA Sports is paying tribute to Barkov’s amazing achievement by giving him a 99 overall captains card in NHL 24 Hockey Ultimate Team. Florida’s captain now has two max-rated cards in the game, after receiving an NHL awards-winner card for taking home the Selke Trophy.
The Finnish captain received the most second-place votes for the Conn Smythe Trophy. He recorded 22 points in 24 games on the way to aiding Florida in earning their first Stanley Cup in franchise history.
The other three European captains received 97 overall cards. Five European captains have won the Stanley Cup since 2008. The first to lead his team to the holy grail was Nicklas Lidstrӧm with the Detroit Red Wings in 2008, becoming the first European-born-and-raised captain of a Stanley Cup-winning team.
After winning the Stanley Cup three times with Detroit in 1997, 1998, and 2002, the great Swedish defenseman was named the Red Wings captain in 2006 and won his fourth Cup in 2008.
Washington Capitals Russian captain Alexander Ovechkin led his team to a Stanley Cup victory in 2018 after all the disappointing second round exits in years prior.
Ovechkin won the Conn Smythe Trophy after scoring 15 goals and 27 points and the “Summer of Ovi” commenced. He became the first Russian-born-and-raised captain to win the Stanley Cup.
Zdeno “Big Z” Chára became the first Slovak captain to win the Stanley Cup in 2011 as a member of the Boston Bruins. A Chára card this highly-rated with 96 speed, acceleration, and agility will be in high demand. Not to mention, his shooting stats can be fully maxed out.
Make sure you bookmark The Hockey News Gaming Site for more NHL 24 HUT content.