The seemingly unstoppable force turned out to be unstoppable. Despite dazzling the entire Playoff run through 3 rounds, Montreal couldn’t figure out how to handle Tampa Bay. Their only win was a hell of a fight and one other game they could have won. But close calls don’t give you wins so the Cup finals was only 5 games.

This was a brutal season for everyone. A condensced season with very few days off and then right into the unrelenting playoff schedules. Tampa was the favorite all season long and now one of the very few teams to win 2 Stanley Cups in a row. The only question is how much of this team will stay together because this team, as a whole, shows no signs of slowing down. Seattle will be playing their first season and the regular season is currently planned to start on time in October with a full 82 games, so the standard grind will be back. Way more traveling for teams (no more division bubbles) and reasonable breaks between games. Right now, there’s no reason not to believe Tampa will have another fantastic season.

The expansion draft for Seattle is next up on the 21st and then the normal entry draft about a week later. Expect to see a ton of trades after that. Many teams will have many changes in place come October, and the New York Rangers will be on top of that list. New coach, new assistant coaches will be announced soon, roster changes, then training camp to figure out who goes where.

With this break, we can all look forward to a wild NHL season starting in just a few months. A lot to keep an eye on.