I don't know if you can question the validity of any team that wins 4 7-game series to win a cup. All you ever hear about is how meaningless the regular season is. Any team that battles through to a Cup championship deserves their recognition.
Now if someone argues that their team had a successful season because they made it to the playoffs, that I would totally discount. As a Coyotes fan, if they happened to make it to the playoffs & win one playoff round, I certainly wouldn't be claiming that they finally broke the Jets/Coyotes playoff curse as they may have well beaten a team which never would have made the playoffs if not for the shortened season.
I do feel for GoBolts & his Lightning Brethren & Sisterhood. They really did get screwed as 'defending' Stanley Cup Champions. Their Franchise has probably lost a significant amount of revenues as well from additional sales & marketing revenues.
Now if someone argues that their team had a successful season because they made it to the playoffs, that I would totally discount. As a Coyotes fan, if they happened to make it to the playoffs & win one playoff round, I certainly wouldn't be claiming that they finally broke the Jets/Coyotes playoff curse as they may have well beaten a team which never would have made the playoffs if not for the shortened season.
I do feel for GoBolts & his Lightning Brethren & Sisterhood. They really did get screwed as 'defending' Stanley Cup Champions. Their Franchise has probably lost a significant amount of revenues as well from additional sales & marketing revenues.