We'll know soon enough who'll win the Conn Smythe Trophy, butwhat about the runner-ups?
If as everyone -- except the State of Florida -- expects, the Golden Knights will be crowned champions tonight.
And with the Stanley Cup, there'll be a presentation of the Conn Smythe
Trophy to the playoffs most valuable player.
Right now, it could be Vegas' amazing, out-of-nowhere goalie Adin Hill, or it could be the productive Jonathan Marchessault. Plus, there are at least three more possibilities.
Or it could be someone else.
And that -- naturally enough -- reminds me of Smythe contests during the Islanders dynasties years, More specifically, I recall the worthy runners-up who contributed so mightily to the New York Islanders Dynasty.
Let's start with the first Cup year and the deserved winner, Bryan Trottier. Trots were the first to admit that he had help, so let's take a gander at the forgotten Smythe contenders.
Of course, when Trots is mentioned, Mike Bossy has to be a runner-up since the two were coupled like a pair of LiRR passenger cars.
But who were the other significant contributors? Like Boss and Trots, it's inevitable that captain -- and top defenseman -- Denis Potvin be added to the mix.
Really, to get a better line on the "Unsungs," you have to go back to the opening 1980 series against the Kings. Truth be told, L.A. nearly upset our guys, but it was then-rookie defenseman Ken Morrow who bailed them out in a decisive overtime game that could have turned the series toward the Californians.
Morrow scored at 6:55 of OT, and the Isles climbed from there to next meet the Bruins. Now we all know that left wing Clark Gillies never won a Smythe, but he was the guy who almost single-handedly beat up the Big, Bad Bostonians.
Jethroe took out Terry O'Reilly so many times it's amazing that O'Reilly wasn't punched drunk after Clark got through with him. Meanwhile, Bobby Ny took out the equally tough John Wensink. Both Ny and Clark could have been Smythe backups.
"After beating Boston," said Ny, "we never looked back.'
They beat Philadelphia in 1980 because John Tonelli delivered the most precious of passes to Ny for the Cup-winner, but neither of the dauntless pair ever got a Smythe.
By the time the 1981 playoffs began, the Wayne Gretzky Edmonton Oilers appeared to be the major playoff obstacle to the isles. New York led the series two games to one when Game Four was tied, 4-4, after regulation time.
You might have guessed that either Bossy-Trots or Gillies popped in as the winner.
No, it was a defenseman and not Denis Potvin, either. At 5:41, the red light flashed, and the shooter was -- yet again -- Ken Morrow!
As I've recounted in the past, Tonelli and Nystrom -- in 1982 -- were most instrumental in lifting the Isles over a tough Pittsburgh team, But the rally to end all rallies was launched by another defenseman not named Potvin -- Mike McEwen.
The fourth -- Dynasty-clinching -- Cup triumph was highlighted by Bill Smith's goaltending and his well-deserved Smythe.
But it was depth that also made a difference, and two of the most prominent difference-makers were Western Canadians, Bob Bourne, and the Sutter Brothers, Brent and Duane.
Their clutch play leading to the Game Four sweep contest reminds me a lot of what I've seen during the past week of the current Cup Final.
Chandler Stephenson, Alex Martinez, Brett Howden, and Mark Stone of the Golden Knights rank among the foot soldiers who have battled so hard to bring Vegas to the lip of the Cup.
None are expected to win the Smythe, but all will be honored by their teammates.
Same as the likes of Ken Morrow, the Sutter Brothers, and Clark Gillies -- the heroic Islanders of long ago.