Pens Points: It's the Cup, Baby!

Good morning one and all!

I woke up today and it wasn't a dream. The Pens are Stanley Cup champs for the fourth time in franchise history. [SI]

I made a *minor* mistake of scrolling through a couple pages of Sid-related comments and it was a cesspool green with envy. Sid cements his legacy as one of hockey greats. [Globe & Mail]

As Phil Kessel lifted the Cup in triumph, his many loud critics were conspicuously silent. [CBS Sports]

The decisions on who gets the Cup first after the captain are often emotional ones and some of them linger for a long time in the fans' memories. [AP]

There was a sad reason Sidney Crosby handed off the Cup to Trevor Daley first. His mom is battling cancer and not doing well, and it meant a lot for her to be able to see this. Sending love to the Daleys. [AP]

*Underachiever was never a label that should have been attached to Sid and Geno, but the Pens stars shook it all the same. [CBS Sports]

Marc-Andre Fleury, Pascal Dupuis and Matt Cullen are much-loved members of the Penguins family. One of them knows his future, but what does it hold for the other two? [PPG]

Our happy tide came at the expense of two stars who've waited forever for a chance at the Cup. For Patrick Marleau and Joe Thornton, losing the Cup was devastating and you could see it on their faces last night. [SJ Mercury News]

Here are the top 10 saves of the Stanley Cup playoffs. [In Goal Magazine]

*We lost the great Gordie Howe. Here are just some of the remembrances of the one and only Mr. Hockey. [The Players' Tribune]

Brian Burke remembers all the nutty Gordie Howe stories - the hair, the blinks, the elk and the concrete. [SI]

So, the season is over and the offseason begins. Here is the offseason schedule, with the buyout period starting Wednesday. [General Fanager]

Some teams have already started their offseason work, with the Carolina Hurricanes signing top prospect Sebastain Aho to an entry-level deal. [NBC Sports]

*In the end, let's reminisce about the playoffs that were. This HNIC montage is perfect. [YouTube]