Although no New York-area teams made it to the Stanley Cup Final this year, the Empire State will still have a large impact on hockey's grandest stage. Twelve players from the Boston Bruins and St. Louis Blues have connections with the New York metro area in some way, so local fans still have plenty of reasons to tune in.
Boston Bruins
The Bruins have one of the largest collections of American-born hockey players of any team in the NHL. Not surprisingly, several of them have called New York home for at least part of their careers.
The most notable ex-New Yorker in the Final has got to be Zdeno Chara. Originally drafted by the New York Islanders in 1996, Chara was traded to Ottawa after just four years in Nassau. Since then, he's become a surefire Hall of Famer, and captained the Bruins to a championship in 2011. He's the only player on this list with a previous championship ring.
Sticking with former Islanders, Jaroslav Halak has rebounded from a rough finish last year to becoming a big part of the Bruins this year. While he hasn't played in the postseason yet as Tuukka Rask's backup, he went 22-11-4 with five shutouts in a solid regular season for the B's.
Marcus Johansson spent parts of two years with the Devils and remains a top-nine winger on the Bruins. He has three goals and nine points in this year's playoffs, and has lots of experience after several deep runs with the Capitals.
Defenseman John Moore played for both the Rangers and Devils over a six-year span, but now finds himself a Bruin. He's only played in five playoff games this year, but his big slapshot is always an x-factor. He was on the Rangers team in 2014 that lost in the Final.
Lee Stempniak is a journeyman, plain and simple. He's played for 10 teams, including the Rangers and Devils. He's also had two stints with the Bruins and started his career with the Blues. Despite all the frequent flyer miles, Stempniak has never played in a Stanley Cup Final.
Two other depth pieces on the Bruins had quick stops with the Rangers - Paul Carey, who played 60 games last year, and Steven Kampfer, who was a Blueshirt from 2017-2018. Neither has played much in the playoffs (Kampfer has played two games, Carey zero), but both had cups of coffee in the Big Apple.
Gritty winger Chris Wagner has carved out a niche on the Bruins' fourth line, something that he couldn't quite do as an Islander last year. He scored one goal over 15 games last year, but has scored 12 goals and 17 points for the Bruins this season while playing crucial penalty-kill minutes.
These last two guys haven't ever played for any New York teams, but they still have local connections. Defenseman Charlie McAvoy grew up in Long Beach, New York, while defenseman Connor Clifton was born in Long Branch, New Jersey. Both played junior hockey in New Jersey before moving on to New England for college and the pros.
St. Louis Blues
While the Bruins have 10 players with New York ties on their roster, the Blues only have two. St. Louis native Pat Maroon was a deadline add for the Devils last year and chipped in three goals during the playoff push.
And while he hasn't played any postseason games, ex-Ranger Michael Del Zotto is on the Blues' roster and would earn a ring if the Blues were to win it all. Del Zotto has bounced around recently, but his best years came early in his career for the Rangers.
No matter which team wins the Stanley Cup, several familiar faces have chances to come home with some hardware. For New York hockey fans, it's a small consolation after a year that ended short of expectations.