There are so many reasons for this to be a huge Stanley Cup. From the win over an established Canadian team with pedigree, to the first post lockout championship (who would have thought that the Canes would be the model for the “New NHL”), this is huge. Second year in a row for a “Southern” team, a “Small Market” getting some attention, there is every reason for this to be a great thing.

And yet…

Not me. I’m happy as hell. But I am on standby for the harbingers of doom. The ones who live in fear. Fear of the sport growing, fear of not having this be “their sport”, fear of being wrong. If the Canes don’t meet a criteria laid out by the naysayers, then it was all a bad thing. A low TV rating, a non sellout, a slow season, a key player gets traded. They will be out there, waiting down the dark alleyway, waiting for the canes to be alone, before dragging them back in the shadows and killing them slowly.

I have heard so many reasons why this is “bad for hockey.” Why “nobody cares.” That it isn’t what the “NHL wants.”

I have yet to hear one that rings true.

Great job, Canes.
Great season.