NHL Franchise Boys

You win the Stanley Cup and you get a ring, but a bit of extra cash never hurts.

The Los Angeles Kings will split a pot of $3.75 million for being the Stanley Cup champs.  The bonus money comes from a pool of $13 million that’s split among all playoff participants. It’s not much, considering how much the league rakes in during the postseason, and even less given that the players don’t get a paycheck after the regular season ends, but it’s a bigger slice than it used to be. The pool was doubled as part of last year’s CBA negotiations.

The Kings, and all other teams participating, are allowed to split the money however they see fit, but each regular on the roster should see at least $100,000…more than enough to cover the charges for any incidental damage done to the Cup during the upcoming summer of partying with it…. YES, the players are responsible for repairs!

Here’s how the NHL’s total bonus pool was divvied up:
President’s Trophy winner (Boston): $500,000
First round losers (Col, Dal, SJ, StL, Col, Det, TB, Phi): $250,000 each
Second round losers (Minnesota, Anaheim, Pittsburgh, Boston): $500,000 each
Third round losers (Chicago, Montreal): $1.25 million each
Stanley Cup finalist (N.Y. Rangers): $2.25 million
Stanley Cup champion (Los Angeles): $3.75 million
Conn Smythe winner (Justin Williams): $250,000

There was rage, and some heartbreak, with plenty of bewilderment and shock to go around. Coming agonizingly close to a berth in the Stanley Cup Finals will do that to you.

The 2013-14 campaign will count as a success and the organization will now have some questions to ponder… is the team as currently constructed really a Stanley Cup contender or just a fortunate one in a weak conference? Can they fill the holes in the lineup, notably on the blueline, from within? Is the strategy to develop its youngsters working? What to do with their pending free agents? They’ll have the summer to think about that, and a good deal more, like the great McDonagh / Gomez swap of 2009… definitely the worst trade in Habs history.

Habs… congratulations on a fabulous season and thank you for an awesome playoff season… sweeping the Tampa Bay Lightning and then dispatching of the much hated Boston Bruins in a way that left Milan Lucic acting like a petulant child in the handshake line. It’s an everlasting memory and I am very proud to be a Montreal Canadiens fan… Go Habs Go!!!