A quarterback who switches to receiver midway through college? Anquan Boldin knows a thing or two about the maneuver.

The one-time San Francisco 49er started out as a quarterback at Florida State, moved to wideout and ended up playing both in his collegiate swan song, the 2003 Sugar Bowl, a game in which he caught a touchdown in the second quarter, then threw one in the third.

When he finally settled into one position, he became such a consistent route runner and reliable target that he sits in ninth place on the NFL’s all-time catch list.

Which is why Boldin, 43, was a particularly strong match for one of the young wideouts he worked with at XPE Sports in South Florida earlier this year, Rice’s Luke McCaffrey.

This past season, two years after playing quarterback for the Owls, McCaffrey grabbed the attention of NFL scouts by hauling in one impossible catch after another and finishing with a team-high 992 receiving yards and 13 touchdowns. He stood out in the Senior Bowl in January, then aced the NFL Scouting Combine in February. His 4.02-second short shuttle — it measures how quickly a player changes direction — was the fastest for his position.

.@mccaffrey_luke notches a 4.47u

📺: #NFLCombine on @nflnetwork
📱: Stream on #NFLPlus pic.twitter.com/RkThcL1xA6

— NFL (@NFL) March 2, 2024

Boldin, however, was most impressed by another trait.

“He just wanted to learn,” he said in a recent phone interview. “A lot of guys, especially with his background, would have the attitude that, ‘You can’t tell me anything; I know it all.’ He was the complete opposite. He was the guy who sought me out, the guy who asked a lot of questions. He was the guy who was always looking for more, even when the session was over.”

McCaffrey said his late start to the position means he’s had to play catch-up. Which is why he jumped at the chance to work with Boldin, who teaches draft hopefuls the finer points of route running.

Said McCaffrey: “For me, as somebody trying to make up experience faster than other people have to, when you get somebody like (Boldin) in the room, it’s the most valuable thing in the world.”

That McCaffrey nearly reached 1,000 receiving yards in 2023 and yet still might only be at mid-ascent at his new position makes him one of the more intriguing prospects in next week’s draft, and he’s projected to be taken somewhere in the middle rounds.

The 49ers seem to be a strong contender considering their need for a young wideout, their glut of mid-round picks — including three in Round 4 — and Kyle Shanahan’s well-established fondness for the McCaffrey clan.

To review: As a boy, the 49ers coach worshiped former Denver Broncos receiver Ed McCaffrey to the point of wearing his number 87 when he became a college receiver. Shanahan invited the oldest of Ed’s four sons, Max, to 49ers training camp in 2018 and 2019. And in 2022, he traded for the second son, Christian, the NFL’s reigning Offensive Player of the Year.

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49ers’ Christian McCaffrey looks to follow his father’s Super Bowl-winning footsteps

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Now Shanahan has a chance to add the youngest, Luke, who got his start at quarterback in part because his oldest brother needed someone to throw him the ball.

Growing up in the McCaffrey household meant that you were in constant competition. And a big chunk of those competitions occurred on a golf course near the family home outside of Denver. No, they weren’t working on their short game. They played football. Every day. On the 14th fairway.

“There wasn’t a lot of flag or two-hand touch back there,” their mom, Lisa, said. “It was a lot of tackle. It was game on.”

“We didn’t grow up golfing or anything so we didn’t know the etiquette,” Luke said. “We just thought of it as our field. We didn’t think of it as a golf course. We probably added a couple of divots of our own to that course, and it wasn’t from playing golf.”

The McCaffrey boys were born roughly two years apart. To make the teams even, Luke usually was paired with Max, and the middle boys, Christian and Dylan, played on the same team. The youngest boys were the quarterbacks.

“Max is an incredible athlete and now he’s an incredible coach,” Luke said with a laugh. “He does a lot of things really well. Throwing the ball isn’t one of them. So it kind of naturally got (left) to me to be the guy that would throw the ball when it was us two on a team together.”

GO DEEPER

49ers mock draft: Evaluating Johnny Newton, Luke McCaffrey and the 10-player class

The position stuck. Growing up, Luke loved running quarterbacks like Denard Robinson and Lamar Jackson, and he went to Nebraska where he played for another former running quarterback, Scott Frost.

In 2021, he transferred to Rice. The Owls didn’t shine that season and neither did McCaffrey. He appeared in nine games, starting three, and completed 50 percent of his passes with two touchdowns and four interceptions.

“For various reasons, it didn’t go well here in 2021 at quarterback,” Rice coach Mike Bloomgren said. “Some of it was the cast of characters around him. And some of it was the stress he put on himself — stress to be perfect.”

The quarterback position never quite worked out for Luke McCaffrey, the youngest of the four McCaffrey brothers. (John Gutierrez / USA Today)

After the season, Bloomgren told McCaffrey he’d support any move he wanted to make. If he wanted to remain at quarterback, that was fine. There was also talk of switching to running back and even safety, a spot McCaffrey had played in high school and where he’d taken some practice snaps during the season. It didn’t matter to Bloomgren. He just wanted McCaffrey — and all the hustle, smarts and leadership that came with him — on the team.

He wound up moving to wide receiver, and perhaps not surprisingly, he was a quick study. He had 58 catches for 723 yards and six touchdowns in 2022.

“My joke coming out of spring ball that year was: Yeah, it was a pretty easy transition,” Bloomgren said. “It looks like he has a dad who played in the National Football League for 13 years.”

More noteworthy to Bloomgren, however, were the strides McCaffrey made between his first and second seasons at his new position. In Year 1, his natural athleticism, competitiveness and, yes, the knowledge passed on from his dad, carried him a long way. The next season, his drive to learn the nuances of the position was evident.

He hit up everyone on the team, from quarterback JT Daniels to the Owls’ defensive backs, for tips. He sent tape home for Ed and his brothers to dissect. He relentlessly played a hand-eye coordination game he came up with in which he’d throw a tennis ball off a wall and try to make increasingly high-degree-of-difficulty grabs. The real challenge: He’d have a teammate draped all over him, determined not to let McCaffrey make the catch.

“The best thing about a tennis ball is it’s portable,” McCaffrey said. “You can take it wherever you want — whether it’s before a meeting in the receiver room, in the weight room after the workout, whether it’s in the car.”

He played it relentlessly with his closest friend group: running back Dean Connors, fullback Geron Hargon and kicker Tim Horn. It’s no coincidence they composed a quartet.

Luke McCaffrey celebrates a touchdown with Rice fullback and close friend Geron Hargon. (Thomas Shea / USA Today)

“These guys kind of served the roles that my brothers did growing up,” McCaffrey said. “They were kind of my crew that I hung around with and we would just compete in every aspect of life and we enjoyed doing it. … I didn’t major in psychology or anything, but I’m sure there’s some sort of science behind how I grew up. That was how I learned — playing games and competing.”

The result: His statistics jumped in every category in 2023, and as the season went on, Rice’s quarterbacks trusted him in increasingly tough situations. McCaffrey ranked ninth in the nation in Pro Football Focus’ contested targets statistic with 28 on the season. His contested catch percentage on those throws — 60.7 — was second best among receivers with 25 or more such targets. The only receiver with a better one, 75 percent, was Washington’s Rome Odunze, who’s expected to be a top-10 pick next week.

“In 2023, any ball that went into his general vicinity — we all believed he was going to catch it without a doubt,” Bloomgren said.

A one-handed snag for @mccaffrey_luke 👀 @RiceFootball pic.twitter.com/2RaMkm8FuB

— NFL Network (@nflnetwork) February 3, 2024

Luke is the second McCaffrey that Bloomgren has coached. A decade ago, he was Stanford’s offensive coordinator, which meant he was on hand when Christian arrived in 2014. The McCaffrey work ethic and athleticism were evident right away with Christian. So was another McCaffrey characteristic.

During his freshman and sophomore years, Bloomgren said, Christian learned some wildcat plays. If he messed up a play call in the huddle or didn’t have the right timing on a motion, it drove him wild and would stay with him for the next couple of snaps. Luke is the same way.

“And I actually think one of the hardest things for Luke was to go to the next play as a quarterback and trying to be perfect,” he said. “And it’s virtually impossible to be perfect at the quarterback position. And I think that was a negative. Because it’s not like Luke didn’t have the talent to play quarterback. I think he was just so hard on himself to a fault.”

“And that’s a McCaffrey trait,” he continued. “It is largely a positive in terms of how critical they are on themselves and how it drives them. But there are times that it’s something they’ve got to work through.”

The neverending quest for perfection was a better fit at receiver. And it was something that Boldin and XPE founder Tony Villani quickly picked up on when McCaffrey arrived in early January.

Boldin is decidedly old school when it comes to the receiver position. He doesn’t want to see a lot of dancing and extra movement at the top of the route. His message to McCaffrey, Washington’s Ja’Lynn Polk, Central Florida’s Javon Baker, Virginia’s Malik Washington and the other would-be rookies was to make everything as clean and consistent as possible so the quarterback knows what to expect on every route.

Villani said he used video analysis to measure the consistency of all the routes a player would run. McCaffrey stood out with a 90 percent correlation.

“He was the most efficient route runner we had,” he said. “It was the consistency of how he changed directions. The quality of changing direction was what stood out — they were great and they didn’t differ from one rep to another where everyone else differed quite a bit.”

Now the question is how that collection of traits — combined with McCaffrey’s inexperience at receiver — translates to the draft. Neither 49ers general manager John Lynch nor his longtime right-hand man Adam Peters, now the Washington Commanders general manager, would tip their hand on where they thought Lisa and Ed McCaffrey’s youngest son would end up being taken.

“He’s relatively new to that position, but I don’t ever count out a McCaffrey,” Lynch said at the combine. “What I know is the kid’s got great bloodlines.”

Said Peters: “Anytime you can get a McCaffrey, you’re not gonna go wrong.”

Both noted that Christian, who plans to be in Colorado next week to watch the draft with his brother, would talk up Luke at every opportunity — in the cafeteria, before practice, whenever he could. And those who know them both well say they are very similar in how they think and how they prepare.

“I know it sounds like I’m just talking about everything good when it comes to this kid,” Bloomgren said of Luke. “But that’s who he is. He’s everything good. You want an opportunity to coach this kid. You want an opportunity to have this kid as a member of your team.”

(Top photo: Kara Durrette / Getty Images)

It was one of the more unexpected social media posts of the Premier League season.

It came from Burnley and showed a visitor to the club’s training ground smiling in front of a slogan reading: “It’s a way of life.”

This, however, was no ordinary guest: this was Usain Bolt, the eight-time Olympic gold medal winner, the holder of world records in the men’s 100m and 200m, and one of the most famous sportsmen on the planet.

The Jamaican has dabbled in the footballing world since retiring from athletics in 2017, but his visit to the struggling Premier League side was not to discuss becoming their new No 9.

Instead, Bolt was attending Burnley under-21s’ 4-3 victory over Stockport County, who were fielding Che Gardner, the son of the sprinter’s close friend Ricardo, a former footballer who made over 400 appearances for Bolton and spent 11 years in the Premier League.

Bolt and Gardner met while the latter was on international duty with Jamaica — he made 111 appearances for the country in total and is widely regarded as one of the greatest players in their history. After leaving Bolton in 2012, he did not play another senior game until announcing his retirement in May 2014.

Gardner and Bolt’s friendship has grown over the years, including a shared love of music, which has seen them work together on various projects.

“We met ages ago just from being two sportsmen from Jamaica. We both represented our country so got to know each other and we’ve remained good friends,” Gardner tells The Athletic. “He’s become closer to the family as time has gone on. In Jamaica, the way we operate, Che would consider him his uncle. He’s not his actual uncle, but it is just out of respect.”

Gardner’s son Che is a first-team scholar for Stockport County and made a brief late cameo in the game on Wednesday.

Whenever Bolt has commitments in Europe, he will try to visit the Gardner family and if possible see Che in action. In March 2023, Bolt attended an under-15 game between Blackburn Rovers — where Che was on trial — and Burnley.

He posed for a picture with Rovers’ players after the game, which was posted on the club’s official social media channels, and stayed in The Avenue Hotel in the Ribble Valley, which includes former Blackburn midfielder David Dunn as one of its owners.

“He has been a massive influence and inspiration for Che,” Gardner added. “He’s always been supportive of him. He will give him advice as much as possible, being a mentor whenever needed. Che follows many things he has told him and looks up to him. It’s great when you have people around you who have done it at the elite level.”

Bolt is a huge Manchester United supporter, but after calling time on his athletics career at the age of 30, he turned his attention to playing professional football.

There were trials at German side Borussia Dortmund and Australian A-League side Central Coast Mariners in 2018. He scored twice in a friendly for the Mariners, but despite reports of a contract being offered, he did not sign. A two-year deal with then Maltese champions Valletta was also turned down.

After admitting in early 2019 that he had given up any hope of a professional career, Bolt has become one of the headline stars of the annual Soccer Aid charity match.

Usain Bolt is a regular in football charity matches (Chris Arjoon/AFP via Getty Images)

Stockport celebrated promotion to League One after being crowned League Two champions earlier this month. The club is on an upwards trajectory and Gardner praised the work that is going on at all levels of the club having seen it first-hand through his son.

“Che’s enjoying his football, he’s growing and developing into a good human being,” says Gardner. “He’s on the right path, Stockport are doing a great job in terms of player development and you see where Che was to where he is now.

“They’re working hard to try to get the best out of all parties and he’s enjoying learning and the results are being seen as time has gone on.”

Keen to not miss out on the opportunity of recruiting Bolt, Burnley minority owner and NFL legend JJ Watt shared Burnley’s image of Bolt with his own message.

“Pleasure having you brother,” he wrote. “I guess I can settle for second fastest man to ever step foot on Burnley’s training ground. Still time to rearrange that schedule for TST. Just sayin’…”

Watt was referencing Burnley’s participation in The Soccer Tournament (TST) held in America this summer. Watt is captaining Burnley’s men’s team, while his wife, former USWNT forward and fellow minority owner Kealia, is captaining the women’s team.

Whether Bolt takes up that invitation is yet to be seen. In the meantime, Burnley are simply happy for his star power.

(Top photo: Burnley FC)

The playoffs are almost here, and while we’re still waiting on a couple of matchups, we know the 16 teams. If you root for one of them, you’re not reading this because you’re curled up in a little ball, twitching and sweating and trying not to puke. Playoffs, baby!

That leaves the rest of you, the fans of the 16 teams that spent the season being big losers strategically retooling for a brighter future. You’ve got to figure out who to root for over the coming weeks and months. You could skip that part entirely, of course, and just enjoy the playoffs as a neutral observer. You could hate-watch your team’s rivals. Or you could pick and choose, dropping in and out of whichever series looks good and cheering on whoever feels like the right choice in the moment.

Those are all valid options. But there’s another, and it’s a somewhat controversial one: You could pick a bandwagon team to ride with all spring. It’s good practice for the real thing, after all, giving you a taste of the ups and downs of following one team for as long as it can last. And when your team gets knocked out, you can feel bad for 10 minutes before shrugging and moving on to someone else.

If you’re considering a bandwagon team, I’ve got you covered. Here’s my annual look at all 16 playoff teams, ranked from the worst bandwagon options to the very best.

Why you should get on board: You’re a contrarian.

Why you shouldn’t: I’ve been doing these lists long enough that “Don’t root for the defending champs” has almost become a trope. It’s classic front-running, after all, and the rarity of repeat champions in the cap era suggests that it’s also usually futile. So yeah, in general, don’t root for the defending champ.

But these particular champs? Come on. Everyone hates the Golden Knights, the too-much-too-soon expansion team that won’t stop trading for All-Stars and skipped to the front of the line, partly by cheating the salary cap.

Bottom line: The Knights were always a fun pick for a specific type of bandwagon fan back when they were the new guys still trying to defy tradition and buck the odds. But now that they’ve won, this may be the easiest ranking in the history of this column.

Why you should get on board: It’s always fun to pick a wild card that goes on a run, and the Lightning look like a reasonable bet to do just that. And the narrative of the former champs trying to get back to the top of the mountain one more time before it all crumbles is one you could get behind.

Why you shouldn’t: Really, what’s the best-case scenario here? The Lightning pull off an upset or two, maybe even go all the way to the final, and … congratulations, you’re bandwagoning a team that’s already been there three times in four years. It’s all the risk of picking a wild-card team, without any of the fun underdog vibes.

Bottom line: There’s also the Nikita Kucherov factor, which will help or hurt depending on how much you like the idea of an MVP-level wizard who can also come across as kind of a jerk sometimes.

Why you should get on board: They’re a potential underdog, one that everyone seems to be forgetting about but that’s been building to this for years now. It’s not unheard of for teams like the Kings to emerge as contenders, and when they do everyone else is usually just a bit too late to figure out what they’re watching. You could be the one who already had their seat on the bandwagon.

Why you shouldn’t: The Kings peaked early, got some attention and then faded in the second half before finishing strong, so they fit the profile of a team that probably deserves more respect than they’re getting. But that doesn’t mean they’re not underdogs, and riding with them in a first-round matchup against a high-flying team in Dallas or Edmonton may not be your idea of fun.

Bottom line: Speaking of not all that fun, there’s also this whole thing. The Kings are going to rank high on this list some year soon, but that year is not this one.

Why you should get on board: One of the longest-suffering fan bases in the league is back in the playoffs yet again, this time with a crazy new coach to go with their crusty old GM. Nobody is picking them to win anything and their fans know it, so if you like a good “us against the world” story then you may have found your temporary home.

Why you shouldn’t: We won’t break out the dreaded “b” word, but we will point out that no playoff team other than Washington scores less than the Islanders, and their ticket to a long run probably involves riding their goaltending to a bunch of low-scoring wins. Choosing this team to bandwagon would feel just a little like having a cheat day on your diet and choosing to spend it at the salad bar.

Bottom line: If they beat the Hurricanes and go on to play the Rangers in Round 2, you have to get a Denis Potvin jersey. Just keep that in mind.

Why you should get on board: They’re a very good team with plenty of star players, including the likely MVP. And after last year’s first-round disaster against the Kraken, they should be motivated.

Why you shouldn’t: Shaky goaltending has led to a tough final stretch, meaning they’ll start the playoffs on the road against a very good Jets team in a series that’s basically a coin flip. And since they won it all in 2022, you don’t even get any underdog points for picking them.

Bottom line: For sheer fun factor, this roster is pretty stacked. But it’s a bit of a front-runner pick combined with a tough first matchup.

Why you should get on board: They were the top pick for the 2022 list, and an awful lot of what we said back then still holds. They’re a fun team, they’ve never won a Cup, and their fans have had to deal with endless negativity over the last few decades. Heck, they’d probably even welcome some bandwagon love. Oh, and they’re really good, having followed up a 2022 Presidents’ Trophy with a run to last year’s final.

Why you shouldn’t: A few weeks ago I tried to sell you on the Panthers as the NHL’s new team you love to hate, with mixed success. But yeah, between Matthew Tkachuk, Nick Cousins, Sam Bennett and others, you’re going to see them do something nasty over the next few weeks that you’ll have to pretend to defend.

Bottom line: They’re also playing the Lightning, the big brother that’s been kicking sand in their face for years. These guys can’t even villain correctly.

10. New York Rangers

Why you should get on board: They’re the best team in the league, at least according to their regular season record, and a roster stacked with talent appears to agree. But with only one Stanley Cup to show for the last 84 years, you’re hardly chasing after recent success here. If you’re looking for a bandwagon, you could do a lot worse than a big market with a great goalie and lots of star power that will get a ton of coverage.

Why you shouldn’t: The Rangers have been a fascinating team to watch this year, with at least some statistical evidence showing that they may not be as good as their record suggests they are, especially at the even strength that makes up most of how crucial playoff games are played. Then again, we’ve been having that argument for years, and they just keep winning.

Bottom line: Hey, do you feel like the first-place team in the league’s biggest U.S. market still somehow doesn’t get enough attention? Guess what: You do now, so don’t think too hard about it.

Why you should get on board: We say it every year, but it remains true — if you can get past the fact that it’s the Leafs, you’ve got a good team with lots of exciting offensive players, trying to snap a historic drought for one of the sports world’s most loyal fan bases. Remember how much fun it was when the Chicago Cubs finally won the World Series? It would be kind of like that.

Why you shouldn’t: You can’t get past the fact that it’s the Leafs. (Or you can, but you don’t see a path out of the Atlantic for a team with shaky goaltending and a history of postseason failure, which works too.)

Bottom line: There are three types of hockey fans: Insufferable Leafs fans, insufferable fans of other teams whose brains have been broken by the Leafs and fans who can’t understand what the big deal is. Only that third group is eligible here, but if that’s you, there are worse choices. But also better ones.

Why you should get on board: They’re arguably the league’s best second-half story, somehow turning a canceled team outing to a concert into a playoff push that just never stopped. They’ll be underdogs in every series, but have one of the league’s best goalies so they’ll always have a puncher’s chance. They hired a GM with no front-office experience and let him make a bunch of weird moves, and I think we can all agree this copycat league would be more fun if other teams had to follow that strategy.

And remember, they made their only final appearance in 2017 as a wild-card team, so there’s a recent-ish precedent here.

Why you shouldn’t: The U2 thing is cool now, but check back in the conference final if the Predators are still around and you’re hearing about it for the 400th time.

Bottom line: For the record, if you choose the Predators and they make the final, you pretty much have to take a roadie to Nashville.

Why you should get on board: They’re an excellent team that’s a year removed from a record-breaking season and didn’t take much of a step back this year despite losing their beloved franchise player to retirement. Since last year ended with a shocking first-round loss, they still have plenty to prove and don’t feel like an obvious front-runner pick. And while they’re an Original Six team with all the over-the-top pomp and circumstance that involves, they’ve won one Cup since 1972.

Also, David Pastrnak wears weird clothes to the game sometimes, if that’s your thing.

Why you shouldn’t: Brad Marchand. The Jack Edwards farewell tour, which his fans will love but your mileage may vary. Pat Maroon hogging all the Stanley Cups and never letting anyone else have a turn.

Bottom line: Look, I’m a bitter old man with a heart of stone, and even I love the goalie hugs. With Linus Ullmark probably getting traded in the summer, wouldn’t you love to see one last hug as the Cup is being passed around?

(Check back after the first few games of the Leafs series for my column on why goalie hugs should be banned.)

6. Washington Capitals

Why you should get on board: You like underdogs? You don’t get a bigger underdog than this, at least in the parity era. The Capitals were supposed to be rebuilding, with just about nobody picking them as a playoff team heading into the season, or even heading into April. You only bothered to learn their goalie’s name two weeks ago. They earned the last wild-card spot on their season’s final night, despite losing more games than they won and posting the worst goals differential on any postseason team since 1991. Their reward for all that will be a matchup with the Rangers, in a series nobody will think they can win. MoneyPuck has them with 0 percent Cup odds, which I’m not sure I’ve ever seen before. If you believe in no guts no glory, this is your team. Do it. Do it!

Why you shouldn’t: They’re not good.

Bottom line: Oh settle down, Capitals fans, you know it’s true. And it doesn’t matter because all the regular season is for is getting in. They’re in. Now anything can happen, and that’s the beauty of it. DO IT!

(You can pick a new team when they’re out by next weekend, it’s fine.)

Why you should get on board: They were my top pick last year, and not much has changed since. If anything, the Zach Hyman story might make them even more likable. Other than that, go back and read last year’s piece, all the arguments pretty much still apply.

Why you shouldn’t: They added Corey Perry to a team that already includes Evander Kane, so they’re clearly in “anything goes as long as we win” mode. That’s not necessarily a bad place to be if you’re a die-hard fan, but it might give bandwagoners some pause.

Bottom line: You deserve a little bit of cheering for Connor McDavid instead of being terrified of him, as a treat.

Why you should get on board: They’ve spent all year as one of the best teams in the league, but nobody outside of Vancouver seems to actually think they’re good, meaning you get the rare opportunity to bandwagon a top contender while also playing the “nobody believes in us” card. Beyond that, the Canucks are just a flat-out fun team, with all sorts of firepower and some interesting characters. And at 54 years and counting without a Cup, it’s fair to say they’re due.

Why you shouldn’t: Canucks fans have been waiting forever for a Cup, and they’ve been through some legitimate heartbreak along the way, so if they ever do get there, they may not take kindly to any bandwagon fans trying to crowd in on their glory. That’s reasonable, and part of being a good bandwagon fan is knowing your place, but keep it in mind.

Bottom line: Wait, 54 years without a Cup? Didn’t some other team have a famous drought like that, one that ended against … the Canucks? That team could even be the favorite to be waiting for the Canucks in the final. This feels like fate lining up, right? Oh man, I think I just spoiled this year’s playoffs, sorry everyone …

3. Carolina Hurricanes

Why you should get on board: Because the top of these rankings is really Western Conference heavy, and let’s be honest, nobody really wants to stay up that late.

Oh, and also the Hurricanes are a very good team, quite possibly the best in the conference. They have fun players, are well-coached and have a forward-thinking front office. They also have one of the best Old Guy Without A Cup stories of the year in Brent Burns, and an inspiring comeback from Frederik Andersen.

Why you shouldn’t: At some point, Rod Brind’Amour is going to say something that’s going to make you feel bad about your workout habits.

Bottom line: Also, a Hurricanes championship would make Montreal fans mad, which is a plus.

2. Winnipeg Jets

Why you should get on board: One year ago, we all figured they were done for, an inevitable rebuild starting years too late. Today, they’re finishing off a fantastic season, they have the presumptive Vezina winner in net, they were aggressive at the deadline and their coach is the ultimate OGWAC. And they’re doing it all in front of one of the best fan bases in the league, one that has a super-cool playoff tradition but has never seen their Jets get past the third round, and oh yeah, had no team at all for 16 long years.

Also, and Jets fans might not like me mentioning this but it has to be said: All your favorite players have the Jets on their no-trade list. That means that the Jets are building a contender with one hand tied behind their back. A deep run would be extra impressive under those circumstances, and it might also change a few minds.

Why you shouldn’t: They probably have to go through Colorado and Dallas to get out of the Central, which is quite possibly the ugliest playoff path that any team in the league is facing. There’s a very good chance this ends both badly and quickly.

Bottom line: Oh, and the franchise itself is in danger. But don’t let that guilt you into anything, go ahead and cheer for them to lose their team again, it’s not like it makes you a bad person.

1. Dallas Stars

Why you should get on board: They’re an incredibly skilled and entertaining team, they have a very good shot at winning the Stanley Cup, they haven’t won this century so it’s not quite a front-runner pick, and Joe Pavelski may be the single best OGWAC story in the league. Mix in alternate-OGWAC Ryan Suter, plus Matt Duchene’s comeback season, plus Mason Marchment trying to win the Cup that eluded his late father, plus not one but two fun rookie stories, and the Stars are just about the perfect bandwagon pick.

Why you shouldn’t: They’ve been known to cheat to win the Stanley Cup, or so it has been explained to me. Also, they were my pick to win both in October and earlier this week, so if they do then I’ll be even more insufferable than usual.

Bottom line: The Stars have so much going for them that it’s almost annoying, which I suppose could also be a reason to turn on them. But there’s no reason to overthink this one — in a league with a handful of very solid options, the Stars are the best of the bunch.

(Photo of Mark Stone and Connor McDavid: Ethan Miller / Getty Images)