The Canucks and Bruins have been assembled with long-term success in mind.
A year ago the Chicago Blackhawks were in a win-or-else situation.
The Blackhawks, who ultimately won their first Stanley Cup since 1960-61, were in serious salary cap peril and everybody in hockey knew this team would be torn apart at the end of the year - win or lose.
That is not the case with this year's finalists. Both general managers - Mike Gillis of the favored Vancouver Canucks and Peter Chiarelli of the upstart Boston Bruins - have positioned their teams such that there will be alterations following this season, but the core of the teams will remain in tact.
For the Canucks, the biggest hit could come on their blue line. Kevin Bieksa, Sami Salo, Christian Ehrhoff and Andrew Alberts are all slated to be unrestricted free agents come July 1. The Canucks have a lot of depth on defence, but losing these guys would leave a giant hole.
With all due respect, Alberts is expendable. Salo, at 35, is injury prone and some wonder if he'll hang 'em up if the Canucks are successful in winning the Cup. He still has some gas left in the tank, so it also wouldn't be too surprising if he hangs around for one last deal. Ehrhoff, 28, will certainly garner a lot of interest. He enjoyed a career regular season matching his single-season high of 14 goals and establishing a new personal best in points with 50 as the top-scoring defenceman on the Canucks. He currently ranks as the highest-scoring defenceman still playing with two goals and 11 points in 16 games.
Bieksa is an interesting study. There were times this season when it was rumoured the Canucks might have to sacrifice him at the trade deadline because of cap concerns, but it never came to that largely due to a spate of injuries to their defence crops. Now he's probably going to be the most sought-after defenceman in the off-season based on his superb all-around game. Bieksa brings toughness, leadership and offence to the table and he's right in the thick of things for the Conn Smythe trophy as playoff MVP this spring.
There is a long history of teams overpaying for available defenceman during free agent frenzy, but the 29-year-old Bieksa appears to be money in the bank.
The Canucks impending UFAs up front include Tanner Glass, Chris Higgins and Raffi Torres - all of whom are replaceable.
Conn Smythe Trophy candidate Ryan Kessler has five years remaining on his contract while the Sedins are signed for three more seasons and Alex Burrows for two more. On defence Dan Hamhuis has five years remaining while Keith Ballard has four and Alexander Edler two. Goalie Roberto Luongo is signed for eternity.
The Bruins only have four UFAs of note, forwards Michael Ryder and veteran Mark Recchi as well as defencemen Tomas Kaberle and Shane Hnidy. Recchi has said he will retire if the Bruins win the Cup. Ryder is a gifted goal-scorer who will no doubt garner attention, but his asking price (he made $4 million this season is likely to go down.
Kaberle is…what? He's a guy who used to be considered among the elite puck-moving blueliners and a dependable point producer. His play, however, has clearly fallen off. The Bruins gave up a load to get him, first-round-pick Joe Colborne, a centre, as well as a first- and second-round draft pick. He has been nothing short of a disappointment in Boston and yet, if the Bruins are to upset the Canucks, you'd think he'd have to play a significant role. That would require a marked improvement in his play.
Most of Boston's stars are signed long-term. Captain Zdeno Chara is signed through the 2017-18 season while Dennis Seidenberg has three years remaining on his contract; Andrew Ference two and Johnny Boychuk one. Up front, Patrice Bergeron is locked up through 2013-14 while Nathan Horton and Tyler Seguin have two years remaining and David Krejci one.
The year's final promises to be a great one and depending on what the two team's general managers do in the off-season, it isn't out of the question that one or both could be back in the final a year from now.
