I don't think the issue is easier or harder, I think the issue is that whoever wins this little tournament will be doing so in conditions that will be drastically different than the games that took place during the regular season.
The idea of an asterisk is, obviously, shorthand for a larger question of what a cup won under these circumstances would mean. If someone out there would be really excited by the Leafs winning, if the claims of it being tainted wouldn't both them, then I guess that's their prerogative. Likewise, if you think that most of what makes your favourite team winning a championship would be absent and, as a result, it wouldn't do much for you that's equally valid.
Personally, I'm not sure how I'll feel about all this. I find it pretty hard to imagine I'll be super interested in the games but I suppose we'll see.
(And, for what it's worth, I do think that if the Devils hadn't developed into a powerhouse franchise that won other cups that people would discount their '95 cup as being a freak occurrence as a result of a tainted season.)