It Already Feels Different
It's a New Season

Empty Netters recently posted a video of Game 5 of the 2008 Stanley Cup Finals. If you're in the mood for a hockey fix, as I was, that high-quality video is definitely a potential cure.

That said, as I fast-forwarded just to key in on some beautiful moments from a Pittsburgh perspective, it occurred to me that watching this game already felt different. For one, I knew the outcome, and not just the outcome of the game. I knew the Red Wings would win Game 6 in Pittsburgh. More than that, though, I knew Marian Hossa would depart for the Red Wings in the offseason. And I knew, too, that players who were a key part of that team: Ryan Malone, Gary Roberts, and the back-up goalie who played a huge role in the regular season if not the actual postseason games, would not be Penguins in the upcoming season.

And I didn't have the hours I made available to watch that game a couple months ago--when I didn't care about the three hours (barely, sort of) of sleep I got due to an early morning appointment but really didn't care about the four to five hours of sleep I missed by staying up until the beautiful end to that contest. Because, really, when you know the outcome--well, it's not the same as watching a 3OT playoff game the first time, that's all there really is to it.

Yet the video is still great, still grand, and yeah, not to be too over-the-top, but it's still got those glimpses of playoff glory. And yet watching, all I felt was, this is just a little too fresh. Too fresh because I can't expect this same team to materialize on the ice for training camp within a few weeks.

The same team won't be gathering for training camp. Oh, the stars are still there, all kids, all a year older, and all with the experience of having come to the very cusp of clasping the Cup, who now know what it takes to get to the Finals, even what it takes to win a triple overtime game in the Finals, but who haven't yet experienced the sheer magnificence of a Cup win in all its glorious grandeur. And basically what I felt as I stared at the video is only a little different than what I feel when I watch a video of that wonderful quadruple overtime win in 1996 or Game 1 of the 1992 Stanley Cup Finals. It was great. It was wonderful. But it is in the past. And to be blunt, it's history.

Last season is now in the history books. And watching Game 5 of the 2008 Cup Finals, it occurred to me, there will first be 82 regular season games for the Penguins, none of which will go beyond a 5 minute overtime and a shootout. And there will be a different team, different players...

And yet, the bittersweetness of that victory. The thrill of silencing the Red Wings faithful screaming they wanted the Cup--if only for a night. The wonder of that night. And the hope that next season will bring greater glimpses. And, perhaps, eventually, at season's end, celebration of a championship.

But it will be with a different team. With different players comprising that team.

In the meantime, we can enjoy that Game 5 video. So long as we don't expect to see Game 5 exactly replayed next season. Because it's now in the past, and yes, indeed, relegated to where the past belongs: history.

And very soon, the season begins anew.