The Stanley Cup Final is set, with the Carolina Hurricanes taking on the Vegas Golden Knights to see who will get the honor of hoisting arguably the most historic trophy in all of sports.
With that being said, Columbus fans may be able to have some rooting interest in this game, as five former players and a former coach will be battling it out for Lord Stanley.
After joining the Knights with only eight games left in the regular season in place of Bruce Cassidy, John Tortorella will be a familiar face behind the Vegas bench for long-time Blue Jackets fans.
Known by fans as Torts, he coached the Jackets from 2015 to 2021, leading the team to a 227-166-54 record while becoming the winningest coach in franchise history.
After winning the Jack Adams Award in 2017 and coaching the team to their first series win in team history, a historic sweep of the Tampa Bay Lightning in 2019, Torts and the Blue Jackets mutually agreed to part ways in 2021.
Still, he left Columbus with their most success since the Blue Jackets joined the NHL, and established a physical, winning culture that the team could definitely use today. I know I personally will be rooting for his success as he looks to bring Vegas its second Stanley Cup.
The other former Blue Jacket that was with the team somewhat recently is Hurricanes forward Eric Robinson. He played 266 games with the Blue Jackets, the vast majority of which came from 2019 to 2023.
Robinson scored 38 goals and 44 assists during his time in Union Blue, and he was mainly utilized in a bottom-six role that complemented his speed and physicality. After a short stint in Buffalo, Robinson is playing in his second season in Carolina and is in a very similar role where his hustle, motor, and speed drive most of his impact.
He has tallied 50 points in 149 games with the Hurricanes, and has been an underrated piece of their playoff run, scoring two goals and three assists in the first three rounds of the playoffs with a +4 rating, and he too will try to bring the second Stanley Cup to his franchise, with their first coming in 2006.
Also in this matchup is William Karlsson, who was selected by Vegas after playing in 165 games with the Jackets after Columbus sent Vegas a first-round and second-round pick to take him over other young players they wanted to keep. He has five points in nine playoff games with the Knights so far.
There's also Brandon Saad, who scored 106 points across two seasons in Columbus, even being named as an All-Star during the 2015-16 season before being a critical piece in the trade for Artemi Panarin. He joined the Golden Knights in 2025, but has only played in five games so far in the playoffs so far this year.
Despite never playing a game with the Blue Jackets, it's also worth mentioning that Keegan Kolesar (drafted by the team in 2015 but traded two years later) and Mike Reilly (drafted by the team in 2011 but refused to sign with them) are on the Golden Knights and Hurricanes, respectively.
All in all, a coach and five players that have been in the Blue Jackets system are playing in this matchup, although the last two are on a technicality. Regardless, whether you love Torts' coaching style or fondly remember watching any of these players in Columbus, there may be some rooting interest in this series after all.
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