When the Carolina Hurricanes finished off the Vegas Golden Knights with 3-0 a win on the road in Game 6 of the Stanley Cup Final Sunday night, it was obvious who would win the Conn Smythe trophy.

NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman’s fun fact that captain Jordan Staal at 37 was the oldest player to ever be named the MVP of the Stanley Cup Playoffs, it provided a moment of reflection to flash back to when Staal was 20 years old and winning the Stanley Cup with the Pittsburgh Penguins, and then three years later in Pittsburgh during the NHL Draft when Bettman stepped up to the microphone, telling fans (including myself in attendance) who were booing him, as is tradition, that there was a trade every one would want to hear.

Staal, who was getting married that day, was dealt to the Hurricanes, while the Penguins received Carolina’s 1st round pick, along with Brandon Sutter and Brian Dumoulin.

Now, go back to June 14, 2026. That’s a lot longer than Hurricanes fans and NHL analysts thought it would take for this team to win their 2nd Stanley Cup in franchise history, especially since they’ve been one of the best teams over the past several seasons, but always came up short in the playoffs.

But perhaps this situation, where Staal, who is closer to 38, has a strong and historic showing during these playoffs to finally make it back to the top of the mountain after getting there with Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin and others when they were still too young to grow full playoff beards is fitting.

If you want to feel older, keep in mind that Staal was drafted 2nd overall by the Penguins on June 24th, 2006: five days after his current head coach Rod Brind’Amour, who was the Hurricanes captain then, lifted the team’s first Stanley Cup in franchise history after beating the Edmonton Oilers in Game 7.