The player that best springs to mind is Geoffrey Allen. Obviously it's no surprise that Allen is a previous Challenge Cup winner with Texas, a team so often connected to him as a player and as a presence, so Allen's adversity certainly didn't come in any sort of lack in skill--in fact, Allen's relative consistency has been a point of admiration among fans. The adversity that Geoffrey Allen faced came solely in the trade from Texas to Manhattan. We all knew what was going to happen when Texas got punished, and it was Allen that found himself being moved to help create space for a future he wouldn't be a part of. While Texas fans were devastated, there was no overstating the excitement that hockey fans in Manhattan felt upon hearing the news. And hell, he got the cup, didn't he? He managed to pull through the heartbreak of a trade that he experienced early on and turned it into a cup win for a dedicated Manhattan fanbase.

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Only two words. Brett Kennedy.

Yeah, his point production wasn't the greatest through the playoffs. Hell, eleven points across twenty games is far from poor point production, but for the sake of this argument, we'll call his point production below expectation. It's in the little things that Kennedy really shines. First, he was a consistent and important person who ate minutes for the team--472 minutes played, including nearly 50 minutes on the penalty kill. But bigger than that, Kennedy posted the best faceoff percentage of his team, taking 661 faceoffs and winning 52.95% of those draws. Winning draws is huge, obviously, and Kennedy's faceoff prowess allowed his team to be able to start with possession of the puck more often then not when he was taking the draw. Adding to the great possession assistance were the sixty hits he threw throughout the post-season--players were visibly worried when Kennedy stepped onto the ice and that physical presence was another huge part of his importance to the championship Manhattan team.

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There were a lot of big name young guns trying to make themselves look good and to shine through during this playoff sequence. But the two big names that I think were fighting hardest to show themselves off were Calgary's Dani Forsberg and Mike Izzy. Not a totally controversial choice, I realize, but it's hard to argue against the both of them stepping their respective games up when the game called for it. Mike Izzy's 7 points across the post-season is nothing to sniff at, but it was his physical play that really put him above others, posting a team best 61 hits across the series. Forsberg put up 15 points across the playoff series, and his knack for finding the open lane and setting up pretty plays were his biggest assets. The two of them are are bright spot in Calgary's future and this series was just one way of using a metaphorical crystal ball to see what they'll turn into.

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You don't get to the finals without having good lines, but sometimes you can't predict how they'll match up against a different threat. So for starters, put Roman Augustus on the second Calgary power play unit. Yes, he's a rookie and yes, he only put up two assists on the power play during the regular season but he was still given 84 power play minutes throughout the regular season. The kid put up nine assists in the post-season and only got one minute on the power play in any fashion. He's got a big, heavy shot and everyone needs a quarterback of some sort. Put him on the second power play unit and let the magic happen.

Second, stop double shifting the top line during 5v5. It just isn't necessary even though it's been a commonly employed strategy in Calgary's system before. If you want to give Randleman and Kurczewski more time, give them a little more time on the first line and let some of the less active players on the bench give it a go. This is a team game, but when four forwards are holding up your team, what's the point? If you absolutely have to give Randleman and Kurczewski more time, here's what it could look like.

1 Joe Kurczewski Nicholas Pedersen Randy Randleman 40
2 Shane Gagner Schnitinfritz Jagr Dani Forsberg 35
3 Alex Mack Mike Izzy Esa Anrikkanen 20
4 Alex Mack Mike Izzy Esa Anrikkanen 5

I realize all that's happened here is that the third line gets double shifted onto two, but now you've give that top line extra minutes, you've given a particularly dangerous second line some extra minutes, and the third line doesn't get any more or less time than they had in the initial lines.