Building an NHL winner? ‘Zip-a-dee-doo-dah’

Photo courtesy of NHLI via Getty Images

Mimicry goes back a long way in hockey.

Watching what the other guy does to attain success and then attempting to imitate the same plan has become an art form.

Back in the early to mid-70s, toughness was ‘in.’

Philadelphia knocked the courage out of pretty well anyone in its path on the way to back-to-back Stanley Cups in 1974 and 1975.

Subsequently, teams around the league bulked up with bad guys to get closer to a championship.

More recently, when the Chicago Blackhawks and Pittsburgh Penguins took home Stanley a combined six times in the past nine seasons, the thinking was – start from scratch and build through the draft.

Teams like Edmonton and Buffalo (and to some degree, the Leafs) followed suit.

The results have been mixed but you have to figure the Oilers are going to get around to it at some point, correct?

Connor McDavid, right?

Same with the Sabres who lucked out and will land uber-talent Rasmus Dahlin later in June at the draft to go along with Jack Eichel.

Toronto has also stocked up with young talent (a stud defenceman would help at this point).

So, that brings us to THIS Stanley Cup final.

And if you’re looking to gain traction as a copycat, what kind of cat are you herding?

Impersonating Vegas from a clinical/technical standpoint is a non-starter, for obvious reasons.

Washington’s build is kind of a blend of methods: Start with a star or two through the draft (Backstrom, Ovie and Holtby come to mind, Part I), select decent support (14 of the Caps’ players came through the draft) and sign a few key free agents (Eller, Orpik, Oshie and Niskanen come to mind, Part II).

Summation?

If you’re going to mimic someone here on a construct level based on Vegas and Washington, well, good luck finding a direct-line approach.

It’s a different story though if you look at style.

While this one is not a jaw-dropping revelation, it underlines the common strength of the Stanley Cup finalists: Both these teams can outright skate you into the ground.

Even the pluggers – Knights’ tough guy Ryan Reaves and Caps’ knuckler Tommy Wilson – are above-average skaters.

Hockey is all about the wheels.

As one NHL scout told The Hockey News: "The No. 1 priority (in the league) is skating. Even if your hockey sense or skills aren't the greatest, at least we can point you in the right direction."

I’m pretty sure Ottawa’s brass is taking note.

One of the very, very few pleasant occurrences last season for the Senators was the development of Ryan Dzingel. Probably doesn’t hurt that he’s one of the team’s fastest players.

Ditto for Thomas Chabot who not only skates well but thinks the game at a higher pace than most.

Which brings us to Erik Karlsson. If Ottawa wants to keep up with their speedier neighbours, losing Karlsson (at some point) would be a kick in the pants. A painful one, and one this organization cannot afford to stomach on so many levels.

On a Kumbaya note, the Senators do have help on the way in the blades department. Colin White, Drake Batherson (he’s improved significantly the last few years on the skates) and especially Alex Formenton can move.

Top prospect Logan Brown’s foot speed is a work, but the rest of his game is reportedly NHL-level.

The most important skill in hockey right now is skating.

While we’re not dissecting the atom over here, it’s something to keep in mind while watching two of the absolute best skating teams accelerate through the final.

Playoff tip-ins: Loving this tweet from The Hockey News’ Ryan Kennedy: “I just realized Tom Wilson and Ryan Reaves are totally gonna fight in the Stanley Cup final and I am very much looking forward to that.” . . .Vegas lovin’ Vegas? Sportsbooks in Las Vegas have the ‘home’ team favoured to beat the Caps . . . The city’s sportsbooks are in line to lose big if the Knights prevail. Prior to the season, Vegas was a 500-1 shot to win the cup (one betting establishment said it had only 13 people lay down money at that point). As the team started winning early in the season, the odds got lower, but the sheer number of bets increased. “. . . the lights might be a little dimmer and we might have to raise the price of our chicken fingers," cracked Jay Kornegay to CNN, vice president of the Las Vegas Hotel & Casino SuperBook . . . Home-ice advantage wasn’t so much of an advantage during the conference finales.Washington won the opening two games in Tampa and of course grabbed the clincher in Game 7 again in Tampa. Vegas nailed down the Game 5 series winner on the road in Winnipeg . . . The Jets turned a similar trick in their previous series when they smoked Nashville, in Nashville, in Game 7 . . . Ditto for the Knights who put away San Jose in California in their Game 6 clinching win . . . That while the Caps put away the Pens in Pittsburgh in their Game 6 to advance to the Eastern final . . . Rumour that apparently has legs (NHL Network was all over this, this week) – Nashville attempting to move P.K. Subban.