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San Jose. Calgary. Tampa Bay.

Who in the world would have guessed that Lord Stanley had a 75% chance of being lifted by one of these teams?

Optimists will point out two similar traits that these teams possess: speed and youth. Previous teams rode a neutral zone trap, patience, and timely goal scoring to either the Cup finals (Anaheim, Carolina, Florida) or the Cup itself (New Jersey). This year's group is different. And while it might not lead to the boon in goal-scoring that Gary Bettman wishes for, it at least provides an exciting brand of hockey that could easily sell itself.

Everyone loves a winner. More often, everyone loves a winner's system. The New Jersey Devils' Stanley Cup victory in 1995 led to the dead puck era of the neutral zone trap-a defensive system that had one forechecker in while two forwards and the defensemen stayed in the neutral zone to force a turnover.

It's important to keep in mind that playing a trap defense doesn't necessarily mean boring hockey. If the trapping team plays a quick transition game and attacks immediately, it could mean a plethora of scoring chances. Unfortunately, most teams don't play that way.

A lot of trapping NHL teams use their defensive scheme to force a neutral zone turnover before dumping the puck back into the zone to passively attack. The idea behind this is to play a patient game and let the opponent make the mistake. This leads to 1-0 games with about five or six scoring chances per team and a lot of aimless puck-dumping.

Let's assume, for arguments sake, that Tampa Bay, San Jose, or Calgary win the Stanley Cup. These are teams that are built on an aggressive forecheck, speed, and emphasize skilled youth over expensive veterans.

When you watch the Tampa Bay Lightning play, you see a defensively sound team that sends in two players to forecheck hard. When you watch the San Jose Sharks play, you see a defensively sound team that has a quick transition game and uses creative puck control and speed to beat its opponents. When you watch the Calgary Flames play, you see a defensively sound team that uses its speed to hit the hell out of their opponent in order to create a scoring chance.

Granted, this isn't the wide-open play of the 1980's Edmonton Oilers. Coaches are too defensive-minded these days to allow that run-and-gun style to hit the ice. But the emphasis on speed, while remaining defensively aware, provides a much more entertaining product on ice. That's what the NHL ultimately wants, right?

The pessimist will look at these facts and flatly state that goal scoring hasn't improved. And that's true, but that's not the point. The fact that goal scoring remains low is related more to the defensive mindset of teams and the abilities of today's goalies. We're talking about flow and scoring chances here. We're talking about fast skating and quick transition. The new mold for NHL success may model itself after these teams. After all, they're young, they're successful, and they play an entertaining style of hockey.

While it's true that every fan loves a winner-and the Hurricanes and Panthers experienced their share of bandwagon jumpers-that doesn't mean that every fan will love the sport. So while a winning team playing a boring trap system may attract fans in the short term, it won't convert them into full-fledged hockey fans when the win-loss record goes sour. Fans need to fall in love with the game as well as the team.

That's why the Lightning, Sharks, and Flames are nothing but good news for the NHL. They show that teams built on speed, not size or overpriced talent, can be successful if their players buy into a worthy system. Of course, these teams are as susceptible to a defensive prevent shell as any other team this side of Jacque Lemaire, especially when protecting a lead. But the system that each team prides itself on is primarily focused on speed and aggressive pursuit. When you have two teams playing that way to start off a game, that's how you convert a casual sports fan to the beauty of hockey.

Can you imagine a Stanley Cup finals game that emulated the skate/shoot/hit convention of San Jose/Calgary Game 1? How better to draw new fans than by actually giving them an entertaining game to watch? An entertaining product on the ice means that off ice storylines, big stars, and popular teams become secondary for the NHL marketing team, not the primary attraction.

Last year's finals featured a mind numbing trap-dump-clear broken record between the Anaheim Mighty Ducks and the New Jersey Devils. While hockey fans may have watched with interest, they certainly weren't entertained by the quality of play on the ice. The NHL markets itself as the world's fastest game, but when the speed involves defensemen clearing a dump-in only to be stood up in the neutral zone, that speed is hardly palpable to the casual viewer.

So whether you're a fan of the Detroit Red Wings, Dallas Stars, Toronto Maple Leafs, or one of the lucky ones who supports a conference finalist, relish the games that are played these days. It could signal the end of the dead puck era and the start of the fast skate era.

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