Biggest Losers Of The Stanley Cup Playoffs

 Although the New Jersey Devils’ loss in the Stanley Cup to the Los Angeles Kings will leave their players and Jersey natives with heavy hearts, there are a few people out there that will feel worse than the rest.

Linesman Pierre Racicot: It is the dream of every referee to officiate the finals of their respective sport. Racicot earned that opportunity, but unfortunately for him, things did not go as planned. In the second period, Kings’ right-winger Dustin Brown carried the puck into the Devils zone, with Devils’ defenseman Anton Volchenkov hot on his tail. The poor linesman must not have seen Volchankov, as he set a screen for Dustin Brown and was absolutely JACKED UP (NFL Live reference) in the process. He was not able to finish the game and a replacement ref came onto the ice for the third period.

Steve Bernier: In the first period with the score tied at zero, Steve Bernier decided to put a strong forecheck on Kings’ defenseman Rob Scuderi. Scuderi was innocently shoveling the puck down the boards and had his head down, but Bernier decided it would be a good idea to put a big hit on him anyways. Scuderi’s head went hard into the board, leaving him with a bloody nose and lip, leading to a five-minute major and game misconduct on Bernier. On the following Power Play, the Kings went on to score three goals, sucking the life out of the Devils. To make matters worse, Steve’s brother John is the backup goalie for the Kings, so he lost family bragging rights as well.

Philadelphia Flyers Management: Over the last three years, the Flyers successfully got rid of three of their star players: Mike Richards, Jeff Carter, and Simon Gagne. Although the Flyers have still been a successful franchise, all three of these “former” stars played a significant role in helping Los Angeles win their first Stanley Cup.

Jack Johnson: I hate to put him on this list because he is my favorite player, but Jack Johnson was really screwed in this entire situation. With the season coming to an end, the King realized they needed more offensive firepower to make a championship run. As a result, the young defenseman was dealt to the Columbus Blue Jackets for Jeff Carter. Johnson is still one of the best young defenseman in the league, and was a major contributor for the Kings. Instead of being a part of a championship run, Johnson is now stuck in Columbus, Ohio (worst city ever) with a terrible franchise.

Terry Murray: When Terry Murray took over the Kings, they were downright awful. Murray turned them into a respectable franchise with a strong young core. However, when the Kings started to struggle GM Dean Lombardi felt the pressure of the fans and media and fired Murray. This has to make Murray feel bad because not only did he have a team with Stanley Cup potential, but this also proved that he simply was not as good of a coach as Darryl Sutter.

-Langer