Five reasons you should want to see the Red Wings and Maple Leafs play in the Stanley Cup finals.

5. Because Brett Hull needs to be center stage in the NHL's big top
And if Brett Hull isn't enough of a draw, how about Steve Yzerman and Chris Chelios and Sergei Fedorov and Brendan Shanahan and Luc Robitaille and Dominik Hasek and Scotty Bowman? Heck, they could just hold the Hall of Fame inductions before Game 3 and get the whole world watching.

	Domi

	Roberts

4. Because Tie Domi and Gary Roberts need to be center stage in the NHL's big top
Hockey's violence has come under the microscope this season and the Maple Leafs have been the best case study. Tie Domi and Gary Roberts play an old-fashioned style game, and it's almost certain somebody will make a controversial hit and the whole thing will blow up on two national stages. That's good. We need to rip open this NHL wound and let everybody look in, and the Leafs have as much chance of ripping it open as anybody.

3. Because Canada needs to be involved in the Stanley Cup finals
No disrespect to all the great hockey pioneers in Raleigh, N.C., but the long-lasting fan impact of having the Stanley Cup finals in the Sunbelt can take a back seat for at least one season. Ever since the Olympic training camp in September, we in the United States have been blessed to see just how much hockey means to the fans in Canada. Sure, they can sometimes get annoyingly cocky and condescending to us cake-eaters, but that's part of the fun in this rivalry. It wouldn't just be team against team, it would be nation against nation.

	Curtis Joseph Goaltender Toronto Maple Leafs Profile
	2001-2002 SEASON STATISTICS GM W L T SV% GAA 51 29 17 5 .906 2.23

2. Because Patrick Roy already has a Stanley Cup
Hey, the guy is the greatest goalie ever and nobody is going to dispute that (to dispute that, send e-mails to mheika@dallasnews.com), but think about the excitement that a Curtis Joseph-Dominik Hasek Stanley Cup finals would create. Both have incredible stories, both make incredible saves, both need the Cup to quiet critics who say their careers are not complete. Plus, you have the added sidebar that either or both goalies could leave their respective teams in the offseason. Hasek still is pondering retirement and Joseph can become an unrestricted free agent on July 1. Delicious.

1. Because wouldn't it be great to have two Original Six teams in the finals?
The last time we had two Original Six teams in the Stanley Cup finals was in 1979 when the Canadiens defeated the Rangers. It's about time for another. There's just something to visiting the history of this sport. In Toronto, you can drop in on the Hockey Hall of Fame. In Detroit, you can dine at the Hockeytown Café. In Toronto, the "honored" numbers of King Clancy and Turk Broda wave in the rafters. In Detroit, an entire wall outside the locker room is painted with award winners that date back to before the days of Gordie Howe. And what better way to decide a championship than between two cities that are within driving distance of each other? Call it a finals of destiny.

Mike Heika of the Dallas Morning News is a regular contributor to ESPN.com.