LAS VEGAS - After Carolina Hurricanes captain Jordan Staal posed for the photo with Commissioner Gary Bettman and skated off for his lap with the Stanley Cup, the question became, who would get it next?
While the other members of the leadership group, Sebastian Aho, Jordan Martinook, and Jaccob Slavin would follow soon after, batting second in the order was backstop Frederik Andersen.
An emotional postseason run, which included the loss of his longtime agent Claude Lemieux during the Eastern Conference Final, and then having to come out for the remainder of the series in Game 4 of the Stanley Cup Final, it was a nice touch from the team's leader to a very respected member of the locker room.
"I was very, very surprised. I was caught off guard, for sure," the backstop emotionally told Sportsnet in a post-game interview on the ice. "It's going to take a while to process that, for sure."
Just a small sign of the team's "care for each other" culture, it brought a gigantic smile to the face of a man who is often so even-keeled.
"Everyone goes through stuff throughout the year, and big or small, the way the team has been picking each other up and helping each other out is so special," Andersen continued.
Responsible for 13 of the team's 16 postseason wins, the 36-year-old was a key reason for the team's back-to-back sweeps to start the postseason, allowing a total of just 10 goals in the first eight games.
"He got us going here in the playoffs," Jordan Staal said of the decision post-game. "It was unfortunate for him to be out of the lineup. He wanted to keep it going, and he couldn't. I figured he'd be a great start."
Andersen aside, the unit was mostly healthy for the whole playoff run, something they credited to their veteran backstop's early postseason play.
"I'm just proud of the way he played for us. [He] gave us some great rest, obviously, early in the playoffs, and a chance to keep moving forward," Staal continued.
Revealed to reporters after the final win as a knee injury that transpired earlier in the series, Rod Brind'Amour called Andersen "a big part of getting us here."
Although not between the pipes at the final horn, the 14-season veteran was an integral part of the last five years, the group showcasing their full potential, and reaching the mountain top tonight.
"Obviously, we get to cement it tonight, and really get to prove how good of a team we are," Andersen finished. "We've known for a long time how we were fighting for each other."
