Here's Rod Brind'Amour speaking to Emily Kaplan as his team passed around the Stanley Cup: "It's nice to have those super players, but we've got 'em in different ways, and it shows."

And hey, they said all along that what the Carolina Hurricanes lacked for years, as they lost in several second rounds and conference finals, was a finisher. A super player, if you will.

It's hard to get that kind of guy. Especially in this league, impactful offensive difference makers just don't hit the free agent market. And they so often gravitate to the Tampas, Floridas, Vegases, and New Yorks that your odds of getting one if you're outside of those markets are basically nil.

So when Nikolaj Ehlers went to the Carolina Hurricanes last summer, it was a bit of a surprise. How did they do it? They didn't overpay, really — especially when you consider what happened last night. And hell, they didn't even make him the highest-paid forward on their roster. But he was exactly what they needed, just like everyone thought.