1) bang

8) Honestly if we're talking raw experience, you have to give the edge to NEW. They may have been out of the top contention spots for a couple of seasons, but their amazing core is still in tact, and they've just been trying to find the right pieces to surround them with to grab another win. They may have a rebuild or a retool on the horizon soon, but it's hard to look at their squad and think those guys can't finish the job, because they've done it before. Texas on the other hand had a real winning pedigree in the late S50's and early S60's, but that team is entirely gone-- both in management and on the ice. The culture is still there, the history is still there, so that give the guys something to draw on even if they don't have the direct finals experience themselves. It's easier to believe you can win when there was an amazing group of guys wearing the same jerseys as you are that got it done just over a decade ago. Hell half those guys are in player development and management roles now, so they can tell you right to your face that it means something to win as a Renegade. But with all that said, in my opinion a history of winning isn't the same as actually doing it-- so I gotta give New England the edge here. (236 words)

10) This isn't a player per se but I wanted to give my flowers to Coop and Antique managing Texas. I've seen first hand the excellent job those guys are doing at gathering wonderful people together and creating a locker room that has people excited to win the cup. It's tough to build that culture when you take over a team in the depths of a rebuild, and they handled in incredibly. After all that work they find themselves in the finals and they deserve it 100%. I know they didn't get the cup this season, but I believe they'll do it soon. They're too good at their jobs to not get it done. (113 words)


TPE Earned 8/8