Milwaukee, WI—A pair of Admiral Alumni will face-off when the Stanley Cup Finals get underway on Saturday night between the Tampa Bay Lightning and the Dallas Stars.
Alexander Radulov of the Stars will look to become the 17th player to skate for the Admirals and then capture The Cup, while Tampa Assistant Coach Todd Richards hopes to make to be the first coach to do it since Lane Lambert won with Washington in 2018.
Patric Hornqvist, who won back-to-back Cups with the Pittsburgh Penguins in 2016 and 2017, was the most recent player to accomplish the feat.
Radulov has tallied eight goals and six assists for 14 points in 21 games with Dallas this post season, after finishing with 34 points (15g-19a) in 60 games during the regular season. The Nizhny Tagil, Russia native only played 11 games with the Ads during the 2006-07 season and averaged nearly two points per contest as he potted six goals and dished out 12 assists before earning a permanent role with Nashville.
After a successful 13-year playing career, Richards received his start behind the bench with the Admirals, serving as an assistant coach from 2002-2006. He helped guide the Admirals during one of the most successful eras in team history as the team captured the Calder Cup in 2004 and then returned to the Finals again in 2006. Since leaving Milwaukee Richards has been a head coach for the Minnesota Wild and Columbus Blue Jackets and has been an assistant with the Lightning since 2016.
The Stanley Cup Finals kick off from the NHL Bubble in Edmonton on Saturday night and can be watched in the US on NBC.
