Morning Skate: NHL playoffs and ‘The Ballad of Conn Smythe’

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Lace ‘em up. Time for the Morning Skate.

Times are hard in month number four

When playoff teams come knocking on his door,

For Smythe is happy, and Smythe is free

Until teams begin chasing after the Cup of Stanley.

Smythe is rich, and Smythe doesn’t live cheap,

Which makes his annual loss so very steep.

And his favorite creature on the farm

Is the Stanley Cup he hopes will come to no harm.

But all his hopes, innocent in belief,

Are dashed every spring when the NHL turns thief.

They approach him with handshakes, a pat on the back,

Like Smythe is one of them now, a part of the pack.

The league promises him an even happier life,

If they could just take a look at the Cup that belongs to old Smythe.

The NHL seems kind, the teams sound so fair,

Smythe can’t help but trust and invite them to share.

And little then was he to know

That happiness for him would turn to woe

That in less than two months his prized Cup would be

Paraded around town by Sidney Crosby.

That was last year, and the decades before that,

By now the circle of betrayal is old hat.

Smythe is too quick to trust, too easy to sway,

And every spring, the NHL turns on him like prey.

So here we are again, with the playoffs upon us,

And soon the NHL will approach Smythe with a promise.

They know he is affable, they know he is blithe,

And so once again, will they Conn Smythe.

And here are the awards underdogs you should root for.

By the way, draft lottery odds are out. You’ll be SHOCKED to see where the Avalanche landed.

Hey, remember when Chris Kreider slid into Carey Price in the 2014 Conference Finals like Jose Bautista taking out Rougned Odor? You better believe the Canadiens do.

That’s the beauty of playoff time. If you don’t remember, you can count on the players to remind you mid-scrum.

Has another team canned its best coach so soon after a Stanley Cup?

Meanwhile, the new Kings brass outlined its goals.