NHL Playoffs 2012: Top Candidates to Hold the Cup After the Winning Captain

It was just as predictable as it was appropriate when Joe Sakic immediately passed the Stanley Cup to Ray Bourque after the Colorado Avalanche vanquished the New Jersey Devils in 2001.

Ditto when the Chicago Blackhawks triumphed in 2010 and Jonathan Toews handed the Cup to Marian Hossa, a losing finalist with two other teams in each of the two years prior.

Anaheim Ducks captain Scott Niedermayer created an interesting twist in 2007 when he took the trophy from NHL commissioner Gary Bettman, then let his brother, Rob Niedermayer, take it next. That had undeniable sentimental value, although the veteran Teemu Selanne was also a perfectly viable candidate to be second in line and fittingly ended up being third.

Whether it is for sentimental reasons or for rewarding an otherworldly performance and whether it is Dustin Brown, Ryan Callahan or Zach Parise taking the trophy from Bettman, the remaining three teams in the 2012 playoffs each have at least three worthy candidates to hoist the Cup next.

The top 10 candidates for the honor of leading the first triumphant lap after the captain are as follows.

10. Jonathan Quick

Jonathan Quick sustained at least some of the Kings’ dignity in the earlier, acrid phases of the season, kept them afloat through their run to a playoff spot and has now elevated his stinginess through three rounds of the playoffs. That is more than enough for him to at least be third or fourth in line.

And other than Brown, Los Angeles has no comparable contender for the Conn Smythe Trophy.

9. Marc Staal

His older brothers, Eric and Jordan, each won the Cup in 2006 and 2009, respectively. A glance at the calendar is all the Staal parents need to assert that they are due to get another son’s name on the chalice this year.

Having Callahan pass the trophy directly to the third Staal brother would be the most emphatic means of stamping the latest installment in the family dynasty. In addition, it would offer him a triumphant conclusion to a rough year that began with a concussion sidelining him until the Winter Classic.

8. Simon Gagne

The 32-year-old Gagne sustained what was effectively a season-ending concussion during a Boxing Day game against Phoenix, the team his Kings just conquered to get to the finals.

He likely will not be seeing action against the Devils or Rangers, but if L.A. prevails, he ought to be healthy to partake in the celebratory skate the same way Nathan Horton did last year with the Boston Bruins.

While he did not see action in the requisite 41 games to have his name inscribed on the Cup, the Kings would surely petition and make a convincing case for an exception.

7. Bryce Salvador

A veteran of 15 professional seasons, 692 regular-season NHL games and 67 Stanley Cup playoff games, Salvador has the second-most mileage among all Devils who have yet to win a title. He packs a combination of Cup-lessness and seniority, being New Jersey’s eldest skater.

Furthermore, the stay-at-home defender has been a pleasantly surprising two-way contributor to the deepest playoff run of his career, currently boasting a 3-8-11 log through 17 games.

6. Dan Girardi

Girardi has been a regular iron horse for the Rangers for the last five-plus years, missing only two regular season games in that span. As his NHL debut was Jan. 27, 2007, he is the franchise’s longest-tenured skater other than Callahan.

Entering Friday night’s Game 6 of the Eastern Conference finals, he has done his day job on the blue line and also found time to pitch in eight assists and three goals, all of them game-winners.

5. Willie Mitchell

Mitchell debuted with the Devils in the 1999-2000 season, but was confined to two regular-season twirls and was thus ineligible for engraving when his organization won the title.

He has since changed uniforms four times and is currently the eldest member of the Kings at 35 years of age. But this will be his first appearance in the finals after 719 regular-season and 65 playoff outings.

4. Dainius Zubrus

Only Zubrus has played more NHL seasons and games without winning a Cup than the aforementioned Salvador.

If the Devils reach the finals, it will be Zubrus' first appearance on that stage since he was a rookie with the 1996-97 Philadelphia Flyers, who were swept by the Detroit Red Wings.

Zubrus has played a combined 1,149 regular-season and playoff games in the NHL, including every scheduled game with New Jersey in 2007-08, 2008-09 and this year. If the Devils win the 2012 title, he will not want to delay his gratification much longer after the buzzer.

3. Henrik Lundqvist

The only Ranger to have been actively involved with the organization since the NHL lockout, Lundqvist has been asked to carry his team to a multitude of milestones.

He started as a rookie by ending a nine-year playoff drought and now, this season, backboned a run to the club’s first Atlantic Division title since 1993-94.

Following that up with New York’s first conference final appearance since 1997, Lundqvist has toiled through four overtime tilts and 14 one-goal decisions if you don’t count empty netters. The Rangers currently face elimination with a 3-2 series deficit at the hands of the Devils, but if they rebound, no shortage of credit will be owed to the Swedish stopper.

2. Darryl Sutter

It’s plain and simple: the Kings would not be Stanley Cup finalists without Darryl Sutter.

Los Angeles was 15-14-4 on the year when Sutter debuted just prior to Christmas. Under his supervision, they went on a 25-13-11 run for a .622 winning percentage, which matched the overall 82-game success rates of Boston, Detroit and New Jersey.

But even then, upon claiming the last available playoff spot, the Kings were tasked with dethroning the reigning finalist and two-time President’s Trophy winners from Vancouver. With each head-turning achievement, the pressure has grown to follow up in the next outing.

All Sutter’s pupils have done is go on a 12-2 romp through the first three rounds, including an 8-0 road record and two series-clinching overtime victories.

1. Martin Brodeur

Yes, he’s won it three times before. But who in recent years honestly thought Brodeur would have a chance at a final hurrah with Lord Stanley?

Whether it were to happen in front of his loyal supporters at the Prudential Center or before the enemy masses at the Staples Center, it’s impossible to imagine Brodeur taking the Cup directly from Parise and not being warmly received for it. It would create an impeccable lasting image to close his career if he subsequently chose to hang up the pads.