When Dainius Zubrus speaks, the San Jose Sharks should listen.
Aside from goaltender Martin Jones, the 37-year-old is the only player on the Sharks with honest-to-goodness Stanley Cup Final experience. As he approaches the end of his career, he knows this could be his last shot at glory. In fact, it could the only shot for some of his teammates.
This will be Zubrus' third Cup Final. He's 0-for-2, and he knows how hard it is to get back to the dance. He played for the Cup as an 18-year-old rookie with the Philadelphia Flyers, and was part of Peter DeBoer's New Jersey Devils finals squad in 2012, which lost in six games to the Los Angeles Kings.
"This could be the best chance of their life," Zubrus said about his teammates, as quoted by Yahoo Sports' Sean Leahy, "and probably the best team they're going to be on ... don't waste the opportunity."
The Sharks have all the motivation in the world, especially considering Joe Thornton and Patrick Marleau will be playing in their first Cup Final game Monday night. It took them a long, long time - and thousands of games - to make it, and they don't want to go home empty-handed.
Zubrus has come as close as two wins short.
"For whatever reason, it's just very hard to get to this point and to win it," he said.
It's the journey that makes the Stanley Cup the most revered trophy in pro sports.
