In 2020, Hall of Famer Mike Modano wrote a letter to his younger self: “It’s Game 6. You’re up 3–2 in the series. And you’re about to head out there for triple overtime....
You’ll get the puck in the corner, you’ll shake free of Zhitnik and try to play along the wall. The puck will sort of fumble toward the net, so stay with it. He’ll be near the crease and then it’s just going to happen.
It’ll be a blur. No matter how much detail I describe it to you in, it’s going to be a blur.
You’ll be trying to get the puck and next thing you know, Hasek will be on his stomach and Hully will be screaming.
It’s not going to take two days or two weeks for it to hit you that you won the Stanley Cup — it’s going to hit you right then and there. It’s the best feeling in the world, Mike. It really is. You’re going to cry for two hours straight that night, I promise.
You’ll skate around the ice with the Cup over your head, and it’ll feel like it weighs a pound, not 35.
When you get back to the lock...