Playoff runs elusive for some NHL veterans

Playoff hockey deep into spring is a brand new expertise for some NHL veterans.

An extended profession within the league doesn’t assure plenty of post-season video games.

Retired defenceman Jay Bouwmeester didn’t get in an NHL playoff recreation till his eleventh season in 2013 on the age of 30, though he did win a Stanley Cup six years later.

Toronto Maple Leafs defenceman Mark Giordano is the embodiment of playoff persistence on this 12 months’s post-season.

At 39, Giordano is enjoying in a second spherical for the primary time in his profession.

“I’m most likely the No. 1 poster boy for you don’t get alternatives on a regular basis in playoffs and getting by rounds,” stated Giordano, whose playoff beard is liberally speckled with gray.

“It’s not a simple league to get there.”

The Leafs have been down 0-3 of their second-round sequence with the Florida Panthers heading into Wednesday’s Sport 4.

The one time the Calgary Flames reached the second spherical throughout Giordano’s nearly 15-year tenure there, he couldn’t play due to his injured bicep in 2015.

“You get caught in a rebuild, then you definately’re 5 years out. Earlier than you realize it, you’ve been within the league for 10 years,” Giordano stated. “It goes by fast.

“Then you definitely begin pondering, ‘Man, I’m not gonna have a possibility, ever.’”

Taken by the Seattle Kraken within the growth draft, the 2019 Norris Trophy winner was traded to his hometown Toronto within the spring of 2022.

Maple Leafs defenceman Luke Schenn was unaware his teammate was within the deepest playoff run of his profession at nearly 40 years of age.

“I didn’t even know that, however he’s clearly been a professional for a very long time,” Schenn stated.

“It’s good to see a man like that lastly get rewarded team-wise and get a possibility to advance a bit of farther. He’s had an unbelievable profession.”

A few 30-year-olds within the second-round sequence between the Edmonton Oilers and Vegas Golden Knights — tied 1-1 heading into Monday’s Sport 3 — didn’t wait so long as Giordano to get a much bigger chew of the post-season, however nonetheless bided their time.

Oilers ahead Nick Bjugstad, who was acquired from Arizona on the commerce deadline, rode a playoff wave into new second-round territory.

“As I become old, you notice how a lot more durable it’s to make the playoffs and win a spherical,” Bjugstad stated. “All of us have our sights on a much bigger objective, so it doesn’t cease right here.

“Within the second, after profitable the sequence the opposite night time, there’s 20 or half-hour once you go ‘it lastly occurred’ and then you definately transfer on and notice there’s one other sequence to win and one other one and one other one.

“It’s a protracted course of. It’s simply enjoyable to be part of that problem and climb a mountain with these guys.”

Bjugstad attributes timing, luck and discovering a distinct segment with the proper crew for his playoff breakthrough.

“It’s for positive discovering your home and your position, which I really feel like has occurred as I’ve gotten older,” stated Bjugstad. “Somewhat little bit of luck generally.

“I used to be lucky to get the decision I used to be going to the Oilers. A lucky bounce for myself.”

Knights goaltender Laurent Brossoit is a playoff starter for the primary time in his profession at 30 after earlier stints with the Oilers and Winnipeg Jets.

“I believed it could come faster than this, however actually it couldn’t have occurred at a greater time,” he stated.

“Via my profession I wouldn’t say I used to be ever able to take a crew and be accountable because the starter, to take a crew deep within the playoffs, and so I’m pleased that when I’ve bought this chance, it’s been after I was most prepared mentally and bodily and health-wise and all that.”

Dallas Stars defenceman Luke Glendening, 34, is into the second spherical for the primary time in his profession. The Stars path 2-1 of their sequence towards the Kraken.

Leafs defenceman Jake McCabe, 29, made his playoff debut this 12 months in his ninth season as a full-time NHLer.

“I’ve been ready a very long time for this,” McCabe stated.

— With recordsdata from Joshua Clipperton

This report by The Canadian Press was first printed Might 8, 2023.

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