"My brother wasn't one of his favorites. He wasn't in great form, struggled for a long time, and couldn't score a goal. And when Tortorella came in, I don't think he trusted him. He took away his ice time, even took him off the power play, and only after pressure from other guys like Eichel or Marner did he put him back, because they wanted him there," said his older brother about the only Czech participant in the final.
"As time went on and he started scoring goals, he played more and more. In my opinion, it really helped when he was put on a line with captain Mark Stone. They played more together and played well, because even though neither of them is fast, they're both strong on the puck."
Tomas, however, would do anything to win the coveted NHL title, according to his brother.
"It was tough for my brother, but he wanted the Stanley Cup. He said: Even if I have to sit here as the 13th forward, I'll stay, and I want the Stanley Cup. He accepted his role, and if they told him, 'Go run into that wall,' he would have done it," he said.
Jaroslav saw everything firsthand during the final series, which was ultimately won by the Carolina Hurricanes.
The former hockey defenseman was right behind his brother in Las Vegas. So, in the podcast discussion, which is a joint project of NHL.com/cs and Livesport, the main topic was naturally the Golden Knights.
He compared Carolina to Trinec
But the conversation also turned to the new champions and Conn Smythe Trophy winner Jordan Staal, whose brother Jared played on the same team as Jaroslav in Edinburgh in the British league.
"I'd compare Carolina's style to Trinec. Each defenseman has his own task: take the puck and stay with it as high up the ice as possible. And the forwards chase the puck right away. For Vegas defensemen, that's extremely tough. The puck bounces, takes weird deflections, they're in a tough spot. As a defenseman, I absolutely hated that," he commented on the Hurricanes' play.
Of course, the Hertl family was hoping for the opposite result in the final, which was Tomas's second in his career (the first was back in 2016 with the San Jose Sharks, and even then, he lost to the Pittsburgh Penguins). Especially since, at 32, this could have been one of the last big opportunities for the strong center to achieve the ultimate triumph.
"Time is running out for him," admitted Jaroslav Hertl. "He knows it. The NHL keeps getting faster and better, and he's not the fastest, so every year he has left, he needs to make the most of it."