As Nicolas Aube-Kubel skated the Stanley Cup toward his teammates for a team picture, his right skate fell from under him. The base of the 35-pound trophy hit the ice hard, and the Avalanche forward tried to roll over quickly, throwing up No. 1 finger and smiling at the cameras.
“I’ve known Nick for a long time, and I just laughed because I know how he is. He tends to do little things like that once in a while,” said Philippe Lecavalier, Aube-Kubel’s agent. “I thought it was hilarious. He was so good about trying to recuperate and show, ‘Hey, nothing happened here! I saved the day, I saved the Cup! Let’s get ready for the pictures.’ I thought it was fantastic.”
Though Aube-Kubel tried to hide it, the playing surface left a mark: a dent in hockey’s greatest prize. His teammates stared down at the trophy, their mouths agape in shocked smiles. Andrew Cogliano’s eyes bulged. Then everyone, including Aube-Kubel, started laughing.
When you see it… 🙈🙊 #StanleyCup pic.twitter.com/93EigCbAWC
— NHL (@NHL) June 27, 2022
Philip Pritchard, the keeper of the Cup, said in a video on the NHL’s Twitter account that while the trophy has sustained damage in the past, the Avalanche are the first team to dent it on the ice. The damage did not dampen the fun in the celebratory moments. In fact, it was a “huge source of amusem*nt” all night, according to one person who was at the team’s after-party.
10:49 ET — Avs won the #StanleyCup
11:45 ET — Avs dent the Cup
🎥 @DimFilipovicpic.twitter.com/32FRFKx9no
— The Athletic (@TheAthletic) June 27, 2022
Aube-Kubel came to the Avalanche after Philadelphia put him on waivers in November. Though he was a healthy scratch in the Stanley Cup clincher, the physical, hard-forechecking player ended up playing 14 playoff games, including two contests in the Final. Skating in a bottom-six role, he finished the postseason with a plus-2 rating, and the Avalanche had more than 50 percent of the expected goal share with him on the ice. Nothing crazy, but not bad for someone Colorado got for free off the waiver wire and a testament to the organization’s pro scouting department.
Advertisem*nt
“There’s a physicality to his game, and he doesn’t panic with the puck: He’s willing to grab it, skate it and he’s good in traffic,” coach Jared Bednar said. “His puck decisions as the year has gone on have gotten better. He’s gotten more competitive as the year has gone on. … Lots of growth in his game in the time he’s been with us.”
Added Lecavalier: “Nic was really happy to be on a team that was that good. It was going to be a challenge for him, a fight to get in the lineup every night. … I think it just helped him become a better, more complete player.”
The 26-year-old Aube-Kubel, who had 22 points in 67 games with the Avalanche this season, is a restricted free agent, and he could take on a bigger role with Colorado next season depending on which free agents leave. No matter what, he’ll always have a humorous place in team history: the one who dented the Stanley Cup.
“That’s going to be a good memory for him no matter what,” Lecavalier said. “He’s going to be able to look back in 10 years and laugh at what happened.”
That leads off 19 post-Stanley Cup Final observations. Why 19? Because it’s Joe Sakic’s jersey number.
2. Darcy Kuemper didn’t have a banner postseason — his .902 playoff save percentage was the worst for a Stanley Cup-winning netminder since 1988 — but he came through when the Avalanche needed him most. He played two excellent road games against the Lightning in Games 4 and 6, making a big save on Nikita Kucherov to keep the Avalanche ahead Sunday.
“It’s hard to soak in, that’s for sure,” he said with a grin after the game. “It’s starting to feel real, so that’s good.”
Kuemper is an unrestricted free agent, so Colorado will have to decide how it wants to approach its goaltending future this offseason, but he proved just good enough this season, even if at times there was reason for doubt.
Advertisem*nt
3. Stan and Josh Kroenke, the father and son at the head of the Avalanche ownership group, both were on the ice after Colorado finished off the Lightning.
“We played our game, and it’s so hard to process, but you’re just so proud of the group,” Josh said after the game. “The ups and downs, and to do it in this building on their ice, against the two-time defending champion, that speaks to the mental fortitude of the group.”
4. This is how Sydney Badger, J.T. Compher’s girlfriend, responded when asked to put into words how badly the Colorado forward wanted this moment: “I don’t think you can. It’s something a lot of people can’t even describe. He’s worked for this for 27 years, so I don’t think anyone can comprehend it except for them.”
Added Bob Compher, J.T.’s dad: “He’s worked his butt off. It’s just been a good year.”
5. How about this Bowen Byram stat? He played more five-on-five minutes during the Final than anyone on either the Avalanche or Lightning, and Colorado outshot Tampa Bay 79-44 in that stretch. With him on the ice, Colorado had 67.73 percent of the five-on-five expected goals share. He also perfectly fed Nathan MacKinnon for a one-timer that tied Game 6 in the second period.
Nathan MacKinnon, tie game 1-1 pic.twitter.com/nF2a6DtYfK
— Shayna (@hayyyshayyy) June 27, 2022
Byram didn’t just look like a promising young rookie. He looked like a star.
The No. 4 pick from the 2019 draft celebrated with his parents and girlfriend, Kailey Rankin, on the ice, and it took a while for the victory to set in.
“There were no seconds on the clock and I still didn’t know if we were going to win,” he said.
Though only 21, Byram had a long road to this moment, suffering three concussions in the 2021 calendar year. He played only 49 of 138 Avalanche games the past two regular seasons, dealing with frequent setbacks and stepping away for three months during the 2021-22 regular season.
Advertisem*nt
“He went through so much, and he deserves it so much,” Rankin said after watching him hoist the Cup. “We never knew if he’d get back to this point.”
6. Nazem Kadri certainly savored the win.
Nazem Kadri: "Everyone that thought I was a liability in the playoffs can kiss my ass."
Never change.
— James Mirtle (@mirtle) June 27, 2022
7. Kadri, who scored the overtime winner in Game 4, might have played the final three games of the Stanley Cup Final, but that doesn’t mean he was feeling great. He had multiple fractures in his thumb and said in a TV interview that he needed a trainer’s help to tie his skates. And with the season over, he finally could be upfront about the pain he was in.
“It was pretty brutal,” Kadri said. “Even on that overtime goal. Catching passes, it was a struggle. I just tried to fight through it. I knew the end result was what we wanted, and I wanted to be a part of it that bad.”
Kadri said they turned a six-week recovery timeline into two weeks, but he wasn’t able to get much velocity on his shots.
“I was throwing a bunch of muffins on net, hoping for deflections and rebounds,” he said. “You have to strategize a little differently. We made it work.”
8. Bobby Orr tweeted out his appreciation for Cale Makar’s abilities:
Congratulations @Cmakar8 for a wonderful season! I couldn’t be happier for you and all your teammates @Avalanche
— Real Bobby Orr (@RealBobbyOrr) June 27, 2022
9. Valeri Nichushkin battled to play in Game 6. He played through a foot injury and couldn’t get his skate on without medical assistance, according to a league source. Once he was in his skate, it was a question of playing through the pain, which he was able to do for nearly 23 minutes of ice time.
Valeri Nichushkin played through a foot injury last night and couldn’t get his skate on without medical assistance, according to a league source. Once he had the skate on, it was a question of playing through the pain, which he was able to do for nearly 23 minutes of ice time. pic.twitter.com/VFTaWzhVgU
— Peter Baugh (@Peter_Baugh) June 27, 2022
10. Nichushkin seemed to enjoy the night as much as anyone:
Valeri Nichushkin is living pic.twitter.com/IbjClLZ5p7
— Peter Baugh (@Peter_Baugh) June 27, 2022
11. The winger also shared a long embrace with Andrei Vasilevskiy postgame. The two have known each other for a decade, having played together with Russia’s U18 team in 2011-12.
12. As players’ families started walking onto the ice, Jack Johnson spent 10 minutes begging security to let Justin Spiro, one of his best friends growing up, join him on the ice. Eventually, his pleas worked.
Advertisem*nt
“Guy was skating up to everyone in a blazer trying to get a different answer to the question,” Spiro said. “Just says a lot about the guy that he spent so much time relentlessly doing that. I told him five times not to worry about it — go celebrate. I didn’t even ask to go on the ice. He is the best.”
13. Johnson said his children are back in Denver with their grandmother. “The kids had an idea what Dad was doing,” Johnson said.
He added that the little ones plan to eat ice cream out of the Cup when they get the chance.
14. Nico Sturm said it was easier for the team to play on the road in Game 6 than it was to play at home in Game 5. Perhaps it was because, instead of being in a building where everyone came in expecting a celebration, Colorado could just play its game in an opposing venue.
“I felt like we were in control today,” Sturm said. “The whole game. It felt totally different from the home game. It felt like there was way less pressure. We controlled it. And even when there were 10 minutes left, honestly I didn’t get nervous at all, compared to the home game, where the whole day I was like, ‘Holy f*ck, we can do it today. We can do it today.’ Today it was like, ‘Let’s just go win this road game.’”
15. My fellow St. Louisian Pat Maroon left Amalie Arena with a Bud Light. I appreciated seeing him represent our city.
16. Steven Stamkos went out of his way to thank one of the arena workers on his way out of the building, which was nice.
17. MacKinnon grew up looking up to Sidney Crosby. Here’s what his idol and friend told The Athletic’s Pierre LeBrun after watching him win his first Stanley Cup: “I am really happy for Nate. I know how much it means to him and his family. I have seen how hard he’s worked to achieve this and glad that he’s got rewarded and gets to experience everything that comes with winning. It’s special.”
Advertisem*nt
18. With their 16th postseason victory, the Avalanche reached 72 wins on the year, tying the 1976-77 Canadiens, 1983-84 Oilers and 1995-96 Red Wings for most in a season (regular-season and postseason combined). They capped their dominant season with a 16-4 playoff record.
19. The order of the Stanley Cup handoffs: Gabriel Landeskog to Erik Johnson to Andrew Cogliano to Nathan MacKinnon to Jack Johnson to Nazem Kadri to Andre Burakovsky to Darcy Kuemper to Mikko Rantanen to Darren Helm to Devon Toews to Valeri Nichushkin to Pavel Francouz to Cale Makar to J.T. Compher to Josh Manson to Artturi Lehkonen to Nico Sturm to Samuel Girard to Logan O’Connor to Nicolas Aube-Kubel to Ryan Murray to Kurtis MacDermid to Bowen Byram to Alex Newhook to Jacob MacDonald to Jayson Megna to Justus Annunen to Jared Bednar.
(Photo: Mark J. Rebilas / USA Today)
