It's probably safe to say there weren't many Bruins checking in on the festivities. After being eliminated in the opening round, the 2011 champs didn't have a lot of interest in watching who would succeed them. And when they did see the Kings hoist the Cup on Monday, it was bittersweet at best.
"Personally I didn't watch much of the playoffs once we were eliminated," center Chris Kelly said Wednesday during a conference call to discuss the agreement he reached in principle to stay in Boston for four more years. "I find it a little difficult to watch. Like Gregory [Campbell] said, it's the part of the season that everybody wants to be a part of and I watched LA raise the Cup the other night and it almost makes you kind of get that sick feeling. You know, it stings a little bit knowing that that was us a year ago and how great that felt. You want that taste back."
Campbell was also on Wednesday's conference call after signing a new three-year deal with the Bruins. After never getting the chance to experience playing in the postseason before coming to Boston in a trade with Florida before the 2010-11 season, it is the chance for more playoff action that made Campbell want to stay with the Bruins.
And having had that opportunity the past two years, Campbell wasn't ready to go back to being a spectator once the Bruins' run ended so early this spring.
"Well unfortunately, I've done far too much watching in my career," Campbell said. "And that's why last year, not only winning it, put that aside, but just being a part of the playoffs, that's where every player wants to play, and it's the absolute most fun time to play. So, it's difficult."
Like Kelly, Campbell didn't enjoy seeing another team raise the Cup that now bears his name and the names of the rest of the 2011 Bruins on it.
"I think the other thing that hits home too is seeing another team lift the Stanley Cup," Campbell said. "And it's like we considered it ours for a year and we worked so hard to get it and now that it's not ours anymore. I think it really hits home and kind of allows us to get that hunger back and hopefully strive for it again this year."
Being eliminated so quickly is painful, but does have its advantages. In addition to reigniting the burning desire to claim that Cup again in the coming season, it also gave the Bruins some much needed time to rest and recharge after the whirlwind of the previous two years.
"When you do win though, it really does take a toll on your body, but more so I believe mentally," Campbell said. "It's almost like two seasons become one long season. And so, unfortunately this year was cut short earlier than anyone of us expected or wanted to, but from our side of things I think you have to look at the positives and kind of regroup and be ready for next year. I mean, last year when we came into the season we were still – and rightfully so – we were still celebrating and on such a high from winning. And there are 29, 28 other teams that have been preparing for three-four months to win the Stanley Cup. And it's almost like, 'It's here already.'"
The grind of a long playoff run followed by a short offseason helps explain why no team has won back-to-back Cups since Detroit in 1997-98. Since the owners' lockout wiped out the 2004-05 season, no team has even made it to more than one Cup Final, let alone in consecutive years, outside of the back-to-back clashes between the Red Wings and Penguins in 2008 and 2009.
Kelly, who reached the Final in 2007 with an Ottawa team that has not won a playoff series since, understands how much a Cup run can take out of a team, though it's a price he's more than willing to pay again.
"It is nice to have the extended offseason to kind of mentally prepare and heal whatever bumps and bruises you have," Kelly said, "but I think at the end of the day, if you're playing into June, you and your team have done something right. I think that's what everyone strives for. And I think that's the reason why Gregory and I signed back in Boston, is for that opportunity to consistently play in the month of June."
After all, playing hockey in June, and being in the parades that follow, sure beats watching them.
Photo courtesy of Flickr/slidingsideways
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