We started with 16 teams. Now, we’re down to two.

After one of the shorter Conference Finals rounds in recent NHL history, the Vegas Golden Knights will meet the Carolina Hurricanes in the Stanley Cup Final, with puck drop for Game 1 tonight at 8pm in Raleigh.

Vegas pulled off an incredible upset over Colorado, sweeping the Presidents’ Trophy-winning Avalanche in four games to advance to their third Final since coming into existence in 2017.

Carolina, meanwhile, was able to finally beat their reputation as a team that crumbles in the bigger moments. After sweeping Ottawa in round one and Philadelphia in round two, the Hurricanes were slow to open the Eastern Conference Final against Montreal following nearly two weeks off. But after dropping the series opener, Carolina won the next four to reach the Final for the first time in 20 years.

And no matter who ends up hoisting Lord Stanley’s fabled Cup, an ex-Penguins will be on the winning side. Here’s the three former Penguins who are competing to have their name etched into history forever.

Jordan Staal, Carolina

Of the players on this list, Staal is the longest tenured NHLer, and the longest tenured ex-Penguin.

Staal, a second overall pick by the Penguins in the same year Carolina last made the Stanley Cup Final (2006), is also the only member of this list to win a Stanley Cup before. At just 20, he played a key role in helping the Penguins avenge their 2008 defeat by toppling the Detroit Red Wings in 2009.

He was a Calder Trophy finalist in his rookie year, and earned Selke votes for the NHL’s best defensive forward in each of his six seasons as a Penguins, including a third-place finish in 2010.

In six years with the Penguins, he scored 120 goals and 128 assists (248 points). He added 23 goals and 13 assists (36 points) in 70 playoff games in Pittsburgh.

On his wedding day in 2012, Staal was traded from the Penguins to the Hurricanes for a package that consisted of forward Brandon Sutter, defenseman Brian Dumoulin, and the eighth overall pick in that summer’s draft. That pick was used to select blue liner Derrick Pouliot.

At 37, the Hurricane captain is still more than an effective center in this league. He scored 20 goals for the first time in a decade and finished the season with 36 points in 75 games.

Mark Jankowski, Carolina

A one-year Penguin and member of the Covid team back in 2021, Jankowski is looking for his first Stanley Cup.

A former first-round pick by Calgary in the 2012 draft, Jankowski took a few years to establish himself in the league. It wasn’t until the 2017-18 season where he played a full slate in the league. But after a 2019-20 campaign that saw him record just seven points in 56 games, the Flames felt comfortable moving on from the centerman.

He signed a one-year, $700K deal with the Penguins in the offseason to play a bottom-six role in Pittsburgh the following year.

In 45 games with the Penguins, he scored four goals and added seven assists (11 points). He did not appear in any of Pittsburgh’s six postseason games during their eventual first-round loss to the New York Islanders.

Stops in his career since have included Buffalo and Nashville, before arriving in Carolina. He seems to have found a home with the Hurricanes; he put up 21 points this season, the third best figure of his career and highest point total since 2018-19.

He inked a two-year, nearly $4 million total contract with the Hurricanes that starts next year.

Reilly Smith, Vegas

Despite playing for six teams over his 15-year NHL career, Smith has found a way to be on the roster for all three of Vegas’ Stanley Cup Final appearances during the team’s history.

Traded to Vegas as part of Florida’s deal with the Golden Knights, Smith was a member of the original Golden Misfits back in 2017-18, who made it all the way to the Final before Washington dispatched them in five.

He stuck in Vegas all the way until 2023, helping usher in the first Stanley Cup in Golden Knights history. That summer, when Vegas was in a salary cap crunch, Smith’s cap hit was traded to Pittsburgh as one of the first moves ever made by general manager Kyle Dubas.

Smith underwhelmed in Pittsburgh, cooling off after a hot start and finishing a 76-game season with 13 goals and 27 assists (40 points). After one year was traded to the New York Rangers for picks. The winger had a similar experience in New York, prompting the Rangers to send him back to Vegas last year at the deadline.

He arrived in time to still be on the roster when Vegas returned to the Final, scoring 16 goals and 10 assists (26 points). He has a pair of assists in six postseason matches this year.