Aside from bonding with his teammates, Dallas Stars forward Tyler Seguin admitted bubble life in Edmonton for the duration of the Stanley Cup Playoffs was a grind unlike he's ever experienced.
"(It was) the biggest grind and the hardest time of our lives as professional athletes, and also the most fun," Seguin told NHL.com's Tom Gulitti. "We had so much fun - that's kind of why it's so disappointing - on this run. It's fun being on this stage. A lot of guys in this league or this business don't have that opportunity to feel this pressure, and we had a lot of fun with it, so it was great.
"But other than that, there's nothing positive you're going to take from the bubble life. It definitely (stunk) and I think we're all looking forward to seeing family and friends now."
Players reported to their respective bubbles Aug. 26, and the Stars' run ended Monday night - over two full months later - as they lost the Stanley Cup Final in Game 6 to the Tampa Bay Lightning.
Seguin finished the postseason with 13 points in 26 games. It was the third time in franchise history the Stars had reached the finals.
It was mid-afternoon on Aug. 19, and Jon Cooper looked exhausted.
He seemed spent - like he was just glad it was all over, wholly relieved the Tampa Bay Lightning had claimed a first-round Game 5 win over the Columbus Blue Jackets inside Toronto's Scotiabank Arena during the strangest NHL postseason ever. Finally, the weight was off his shoulders.
"We had 422 days to think about it, but who's counting?" Cooper, the NHL's longest tenured head coach, quipped to reporters after the 5-4 matinee.
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A series win over Columbus was no ordinary playoff triumph for Tampa. The Blue Jackets had swept the Lightning in the opening round of the 2019 postseason more than a calendar year earlier. It had been an epic upset, a psyche-rattling ouster for a team that had demolished the competition during the regular season, appearing unstoppable while winning 62 of 82 games.
But after another successful regular season, nearly five months off as the sports world stopped to tend to a pandemic, and a long, stressful run-up to the playoff bubble, Tampa emerged the postseason victor - not Columbus.
"A lot of learning went into last year," Cooper said later in the press conference. "We had to grow as a team. We didn't necessarily need to tweak how to play the game. I don't know if it was as much on structure as it was between the ears."
It was hard not to think of Cooper's insight Monday night as injured captain Steven Stamkos hoisted the Stanley Cup high over his head. Lightning players, coaches, and staff - isolated from the outside world, including loved ones, for 65 straight days split between Toronto and Edmonton - celebrated the second Cup in franchise history. The Cooper-era Lightning squad, perennial contenders and 2015 Cup Final losers, are now 2020 champions.
The Lightning capped off an incredible 25-game - which featured a 2-1 record in the round robin before series wins over the Blue Jackets, Bruins, Islanders, and Stars - with a 2-0 Game 6 victory Monday over the Dallas Stars in the Cup Final. And all under unprecedented circumstances, too: No fans, no travel, and a condensed schedule inside a closely monitored bubble, with the COVID-19 pandemic and racial injustice protests unfolding outside of it.
"It was so special to do it this year in the style that we did it," captain Steven Stamkos said postgame, before adding: "It's something we talked about at the beginning of (summer) training camp, that it's not just going to take 20 guys to win the Stanley Cup, it's going to take every single guy in this bubble, and I'm so proud of each and every one of them."
Forward Pat Maroon was less poetic, but equally effective in describing the accomplishment:"We worked our nuts off, and we deserve this," he said.
All-world defenseman Victor Hedman is the Conn Smythe Trophy winner as playoff MVP after racking up 10 goals and 12 assists in 25 games while playing 26:28 nightly against the opponent's most dynamic skaters. Top-line forwards Nikita Kucherov and Brayden Point brilliantly combined for 21 goals, including four game-winners. Stud goalie Andrei Vasilevskiy posted a .927 save percentage through all 1,708 minutes of the club's run. There's no denying Tampa's best players were their best players from start to finish.
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Amazingly, the Lightning managed to reach the mountaintop without a healthy Stamkos, who was sidelined the entire postseason aside from a magical five-shift cameo in Game 3 of the Final. But a mixture of the team's long-term core and its versatile supporting cast filled the Stamkos void, which is what made this squad unique - it was star-studded and super deep.
"The beauty of our team is everyone was chipping in," Point said. "We got contributions from anyone and everyone at different times, and that’s what makes this win so special."
And through a big-picture lens, the Lightning's Cup victory is just as much about what they didn't do as it is about what they did.
For starters, the organization's top decision-makers - namely owner Jeff Vinik and general manager Julien BriseBois - didn't panic after the shocking and embarrassing Columbus sweep. They didn't fire Cooper or trade away a star player. No, BriseBois instead began to workshop how he could leave no stone unturned in the 2019-20 season and reel in key contributors via free agency and at the annual trading deadline. They aimed to get harder to play against, a little tighter defensively, and add layers of support to an already deadly team.
"When I got the call from Julien and Coop, they wanted my presence in the locker room and bring a different atmosphere, bring guys together, and bring a different game to the Tampa Bay Lightning. I think I did my job," Maroon, a free agent pickup and the roster's lone Cup champion before Monday's win, said on the Sportsnet broadcast moments after lifting the trophy.
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The newcomers included defensemen Kevin Shattenkirk, Luke Schenn, and Zach Bogosian, as well as forwards Maroon, Blake Coleman, and Barclay Goodrow. No marquee names, yet all six moved Tampa closer to becoming bulletproof on paper and made BriseBois look genius - especially in the marathon postseason, when their combined efforts were needed most.
"Ultimately, at the deadline, if you are a buyer, you are damned if you do and damned if you don’t," BriseBois said in late February after giving up two first-round picks and a high-end prospect to acquire third-liners Goodrow and Coleman in separate trades. "And I decided I was going to take the risk of being damned if I do because I did."
The last Lightning player to touch the puck Sunday was Goodrow, who chased it through the neutral zone and into the Dallas end before tossing his stick into the air in jubilation at the final buzzer. Coleman, the prototypical modern energy guy, had a strong playoff performance, particularly in the early going. The pair's center, the undrafted Yanni Gourde, had his moments too. Together, they formed the famous Gnats trio - a highly effective third line.
Gourde's draft status is notable, of course, because he's not their scouts' only find. Tampa took Kucherov in the second round, Point and two-way center Anthony Cirelli are third-rounders, top-line winger Ondrej Palat is a seventh-rounder, and Tyler Johnson - one of eight players remaining from the 2015 team - is another undrafted gem. Stamkos is on the other end of the spectrum as the first overall pick in the 2008 draft and a career-long Lightning player. He's joined by Hedman, who Tampa selected in the No. 2 spot a year later.
"We've been together since Day 1," Stamkos said of Hedman. "To go through all the ups and downs, this is what you play for, to watch Heddy win that Conn Smythe, to be the best player in the world in the playoffs, and to just watch our relationship grow to where it is today, it's just love and admiration."
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Tampa built this 2020 Cup team in every which way and over several years: Through the draft, through free agency, and through trades. Drafting, developing, and then pouncing on the market at the right time. Don't lose hope, trust the process. Easier said than done, right? You can thank former GM Steve Yzerman for a large portion of those moves, but BriseBois finished the job. And despite the new faces on the ice, the Lightning stayed true to their core, their brand of hockey, and their ultimate goal. Amid a pandemic, the payoff is enormous, a huge reward, and certainly mighty fulfilling.
Just ask Cooper.
"We basically went from the outhouse to the penthouse," he said.
Tampa Bay defeated the Dallas Stars 2-0 in Game 6 on Monday to end the series. Lightning forward Brayden Point scored the game-winning goal, while goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy recorded a 22-save shutout. Forward Blake Coleman scored Tampa's second goal of the game.
The Lightning won three straight against the Stars after dropping Game 1. After losing in double-overtime in Game 5, they bounced back to control Game 6 and claim the franchise's second title.
Lightning winger Nikita Kucherov finished the postseason with a team-leading 34 points in 25 games, while Point had 33 points in 23 games. Defenseman Victor Hedman won the Conn Smythe Trophy as playoff MVP after racking up 10 goals and 22 points in 25 contests.
The Tampa Bay Lightning have rebounded in a big way after suffering last postseason's historic upset, becoming the 2020 Stanley Cup Champions.
"A heartbreak. It's easy to say now, but it is true. Sometimes in failure, you find success. It doesn't come easy," Lightning head coach Jon Cooper said, per Sportsnet. "People say, 'you never know when you're gonna go back, you never know when you're gonna go back.' But I truly believe it was the heartbreak we suffered that brought us here today."
Tampa Bay had one of the most dominant regular seasons of all-time during the 2018-19 season. They accrued 128 regular-season points and entered the playoffs as a heavy Cup favorite.
The Lightning were then shocked in the first round, where they got swept by the Columbus Blue Jackets. The club became the first Presidents' Trophy winners to lose four straight first-round games in the modern era.
Tampa Bay has remained a top contender in recent years but hasn't been able to capture a title. They lost in the Stanley Cup Final in 2015 and in the conference finals in 2018.
Victor Hedman, who was named the winner of the Conn Smythe Trophy and has been with the team since 2009, recognized the hard work it took for the team to get their hands on the Cup.
"It’s been a grind. It’s not easy. It hasn’t been easy," Hedman said, according to The Athletic's Craig Custance. "But it’s all worth it now, for sure. That’s the bottom line. We’re Stanley Cup champs."
The Tampa Bay Lightning's celebration with the Stanley Cup will likely look different than usual.
The team will host a boat parade along the city's Riverwalk and Hillsborough River at 5 p.m. on Wednesday to celebrate the Cup win. Fans are encouraged to gather safely along the Riverwalk.
"The Stanley Cup is once again coming home to Tampa, and we could not be more proud of the Tampa Bay Lightning for embodying the resilient, fighting spirit of the Tampa Bay community and for bringing the Cup home," Tampa Bay mayor Jane Castor said.
"Despite every challenge this past year, Tampa continues to ensure that our comeback is even greater than any setback. Thank you to our team for working hard, playing hard, and giving our community something to celebrate. We cannot wait for Stanley to get than tan."
There will also be a celebration at Raymond James Stadium at 7:30 p.m. on Wednesday, with socially distant pod seating available.
This victory marks the second time the Lightning have claimed the Stanley Cup, last winning in 2004.
Tampa Bay Lightning defenseman Victor Hedman claimed the Conn Smythe Trophy as the most valuable player of the Stanley Cup Playoffs following his club's title-clinching victory over the Dallas Stars on Monday night.
Hedman led all blue-liners with 10 playoff goals and ranked fifth among all skaters with 22 postseason points.
The 29-year-old entered Game 6 leading all skaters still competing in postseason ice time, averaging over 26 minutes per contest.
Hedman scored seven of his 10 markers at even strength, and three of his goals were game-winners.
The imposing rearguard was a finalist for the Norris Trophy as the NHL's top defenseman in 2019-20 after racking up 55 points in 66 regular-season games while averaging 24:04 in ice time. He won that award in 2018.
The NHL won't replicate its two-bubble format for the full 2020-21 campaign, but it may explore a hybrid concept.
The idea of utilizing four-to-six bubble environments next season "has been kicked around on a preliminary basis," reports TSN's Frank Seravalli. Seravalli adds that the bubbles would ideally be located in cities where fans are allowed in arenas.
At least one bubble would be in Canada in this scenario, and an all-Canadian division is a "distinct possibility" given current restrictions on cross-border travel, according to Seravalli.
The concept would also reportedly see players on a rotation, spending two weeks inside the bubble and then one week at home with their families before re-entering. Teams would play roughly 12 games per month.
Such an idea would face several hurdles, most notably the fact the NHL must likely conclude the 2020-21 season before NBC, the league's rightsholder in the U.S., begins covering the Olympics in Tokyo on July 22. The league would likely have to cut its season to 48 or 60 contests under the hybrid concept as a result.
Seravalli notes the NHL would also face the possibility of reintroducing potentially infected individuals into a protected environment.
The league and the National Hockey League Players' Association are reportedly likely to schedule a meeting next week to open talks regarding logistics for next season.
NHLPA executive director Donald Fehr has said players don't want to spend an entire campaign in quarantine.
"Certainly not for a season, of course not," Fehr told The Associated Press' Stephen Whyno on Sunday. "Nobody is going to do that for four months or six months or something like that.
"Whether we could create some protected environments (where) people would be tested and they'd be clean when they came in and (that) lasted for some substantially shorter period of time with people cycling in and out is one of the things I suspect we will examine."
Under the reported hybrid concept, teams would begin the season in bubbles and eventually host limited-attendance games in their home arenas. The league would then have more facilities operating at full capacity for the postseason.
NHL commissioner Gary Bettman said earlier in September it's possible the league takes such an approach, though he added "there's still too much we don't know." He also noted any attempt to guess when next season will begin is "nothing more than speculation."
