Trotz, Neal among Preds ties to Stanley Cup Final
On Monday, the Vegas Golden Knights and Washington Capitals will meet in Game 1 of perhaps the most unexpected Stanley Cup Final in NHL history. The expansion Golden Knights have redefined how first-year teams are judged, and the Capitals shed their label as playoff underachievers by reaching their first final in 20 years. This intriguing Stanley Cup Final doesn't lack for Predators connections. Here are the players and coaches with Nashville ties:
Barry Trotz
Of course, this must start with Trotz, who guided the Predators through their first 15 seasons before being replaced by Peter Laviolette in 2014.
In four seasons under Trotz, the Capitals have won three Metropolitan Division titles and two Presidents' Trophies. But like his team, captained by generational scorer Alex Ovechkin, Trotz carried a reputation for coming up short in the playoffs.
That no longer applies. This is Trotz's first trip past the second round, which he reached twice with the Predators. Trotz is the winningest coach in league history without a championship.
“What I’ve done in the league and where I am, I’m good with (it)," Trotz told The Washington Post earlier this month. "If you win a Cup or you don’t win a Cup, I’m not going to be defined by that. My life is way more important than the wins and losses and games. They mean nothing, really. They’re just pieces of paper with numbers on them, and that’s it.
“Obviously, to win a Cup is a goal, and there’s no question that will always be my goal, and we’ll continue that. But it’s not going to define me as a person. I think what I do with my family and just how I’ve lived my life, I don’t think that the game of hockey is going to define me one bit.”
James Neal
Less than two weeks after losing in the Stanley Cup Final with the Predators, Neal was a member of the Golden Knights. The Predators exposed the veteran forward in the expansion draft last year, which general manager David Poile referred to at the time as a "business decision." Neal, who scored 77 goals in three seasons in Nashville, had 25 for Vegas this season, his 10th consecutive season with at least 20. The Golden Knights are the first North American pro sports team (NHL, MLB, NBA or NFL/AFL) since the St. Louis Blues in 1968 to reach the championship series or game in its inaugural season.
"I'm just so excited to be back here," Neal told NHL.com. "It was so hard last year to lose it. You get that taste of winning, and you just want to come back and you want to win. You want to win. No better group of guys to do it with, and we'll see what happens."
Lane Lambert
Lambert served as a Predators assistant coach during Trotz's final three seasons before following him to Washington. He previously coached the Milwaukee Admirals for four years, overseeing the development of Predators captain Roman Josi and goaltender Pekka Rinne, among others.