The Stanley Cup Final saw three of the first five games go to overtime. The Edmonton Oilers won both their games in comeback fashion, trailing 3-1 in Game 1 and 3-0 in Game 4. Aside from the Game 3 and Game 5 blowouts, this series has been as close as it gets.
All this to say, there was a lot of hype and excitement heading into this series, and the action is living up to it. Lord Stanley’s Cup will be in Sunrise on Tuesday night for Game 6. Either the Florida Panthers will hoist it for the second year in a row, or the Cup will head back to Edmonton for Friday night’s winner-take-all game. Until then, it’s worth looking at some of the storylines heading into the week.
In this column, we’ll look at:
- The Panthers presumptive dynasty (do they fit the criteria if they win the Cup again?)
- Brad Marchand’s fascinating career arc
- What can the Oilers do to win this series?
- Calder Cup Check-In
- Quick Hits: Making sense of the offseason rumors.
Let’s dive in with the team that’s in control of this series. The Panthers have a 3-2 series lead and are on track to win the Cup again.
Panthers Dynasty: The Comps & Why it’s Special
If the Panthers win again, yes, they will be a modern dynasty. It will be back-to-back titles and three appearances in the Final in a row. The Tampa Bay Lightning did that earlier in the decade, a reminder that the Cup, oddly enough, goes through the state of Florida (which is a discussion of its own, especially when it comes to luring talent to an income tax-free state).
Long-time hockey fans will quickly point out how back-to-back titles don’t make a team a dynasty. The rule is that a team must win three in a row, like the New York Islanders of the 1980s or the Montreal Canadiens of the 1970s. The keyword is “modern” dynasty.
Those teams won in an era with fewer teams, less player movement, no salary cap, and different rules. The Panthers winning two in a row in this era carries just as much weight.
With this in mind, what is the team comparable to the Panthers? The Lightning look like the easy group to point to but oddly, the team that comes to mind is the Detroit Red Wings from the late 1990s. Like the Panthers, they were a sleeping giant, and when they finally won in 1997, they became the team to beat in the NHL, winning it all four more times in the next 11 seasons. The Panthers have finally figured out how to take advantage of their market and have a roster built to win. It makes them a team to watch for years to come.
The Panthers aren’t significantly more talented than the field, and they weren’t this season. The Toronto Maple Leafs had a roster built to go toe to toe with them, and the Oilers have one as well. What stands out about this team is that they play with Game 7 and the Final in mind. They wear teams down, and by the time the final games come around, they have enough in the tank while the opponent is out of gas. It’s how they pulled away with a dominant Game 5 victory.
So, the Panthers are built to win and win for a long time. Is there anything that will stop them? Yes, it’s the inevitable contracts that are coming. They must pay either Sam Bennett or Brad Marchand this offseason, and Sergei Bobrovsky is a free agent after next season.
Paying the stars will eventually force them to become a top-heavy group. Some of the star forwards are already under contract but the upcoming free agents will force them to move on from some key depth skaters, and it will be the beginning of the end of the dynasty years (it’s how the Lightning slowly declines from juggernaut to a good team in the Eastern Conference). Until then, the sky is blue in Florida, and another Cup is on the way unless the Oilers find a way to flip this series.
Marchand’s Revitalized Career
Think back to the Second Round in 2017 against the Tampa Bay Lightning, where Brad Marchand was licking players and being a noticeable nuisance on the ice. Think back to those days and imagine Marchand being well-liked by the hockey world. It’s impossible, yet here we are in 2025.
Marchand went from being despised by everyone to being liked by everyone. It’s not something anyone expected, and it’s hard to find similar arcs in hockey or sports, for that matter. The names that come to mind are George Foreman, Alex Rodriguez, and Tom Brady. Yet, Foreman and Rodriguez had their comebacks after they retired. Brady and Marchand have eerily similar paths as they went from New England to Florida, where they rediscovered this joy for the game, and the fans finally saw them for who they were.
That trade changed the perception of Marchand around the hockey community. He’s still the same player and the seeds for his personable side were planted in Boston, where he was known for his work and volunteering off the ice. He’s still a pest (or a rat) on the ice but now fans are seeing the human side of him.
And to think it all started with Dairy Queen. Whether he was eating a Blizzard or not is up for debate (he probably wasn’t, considering eating one usually makes it impossible to move for a day). However, Marchard leaned into it and made sure to make it a talking point in multiple interviews. The company endorsing him was the cherry on top. Marchand is also leading the Panthers to the Cup with six goals in the Final, and it’s putting a bow on a Hall of Fame career.
His great play is also coming at a great time. Marchand can win the Conn Smythe and then head to free agency, and even at 37 years old, he can get paid big time. Either he can stay in Florida, where the fit is great, or head to Toronto in what would be a full-circle moment. Both options give him a chance to end his career on a high note.
Oilers Have Their Backs to the Wall, How Will They Turn Things Around
Connor McDavid scored in Game 5, his first goal of the series. After taking over the Final a year ago, he’s been good but not dominant so far. The question is whether the goal is a sign of things to come and something special, or if it’s too little and too late.
The Oilers have come up short on the offensive end with only two goals in the recent game and eight in the last three games. They need McDavid to get hot and go on a scoring run if they hope to win this series.
Along with McDavid, the Oilers need their depth to step up. The bottom six have given them nothing so far, and a goal or two will go a long way in the next game or two. The Oilers entered this series without Zach Hyman, and it shows as they lack that scoring presence on the wing who made the rest of the forward unit look better.
The other key for the Oilers is goaltending. Kris Knoblauch’s shown he knows when to pull Stuart Skinner and turn to Calvin Pickard to turn a game or a series around. The question is whether he can turn to Skinner again after pulling him in Game 4 to save the season. Knoblauch can return to his starter but a bad Game 6 or Game 7, if the Oilers make it that far, ends their season.
With the Oilers down 3-2 in the series and one loss away from losing in the Final again, they look done. Then again, the Oilers have looked done before. So, don’t count them out until the final horn sounds.
Calder Cup Final Check-In
For this week’s column, the Calder Cup Final is bumped up a spot. It deserves the recognition since it has provided plenty of action so far. The first two games in Charlotte didn’t disappoint.
Game 1 was about as wild as it gets. It was 2-0 before the Abbotsford Canucks tied up the game at three to force overtime. Then the Charlotte Checkers won the game in overtime with a quick shot off the faceoff. But they didn’t. After the review, the referees overturned the goal, and the game went on. Then in the second overtime, Danila Klimovich fired the puck to the back of the net to give the Canucks the 4-3 win.
Game 2 was also wild. The two teams traded goals in the first period, and it was 2-2 after 20 minutes. Then there was nothing, unless you like defense. The game went to overtime, only this time the Checkers made the most of a power play where Michael Benning fired home the game winner.
Through two games, the storyline is straightforward. The Checkers will apply pressure and get pucks to the net. The Canucks will rely on Arturs Silovs to save them, which he has so far, with 90 saves on 96 shots through two games. The question is whether the Checkers will eventually break Silovs or not, and it’s what will decide the series.
Quick Hits: Making Sense of the Offseason Rumor Mill
- The New York Rangers traded Chris Kreider to the Anaheim Ducks. The two impressions from this are that the Ducks are looking to end the rebuilding phase and push for a playoff spot (Pat Verbeek will probably get fired if that doesn’t happen) and the Rangers are looking to move pieces around to make a splash of some kind.
- Jason Robertson’s name has floated around ever since the Dallas Stars were eliminated from the playoffs. He’s a free agent next summer, making this offseason a good time to trade him for the most value. Ultimately, it doesn’t look like a move they’ll make, considering the Stars are still in the Cup conversation and he’s a big reason why. On top of that, they still will look to extend him first before making calls.
- There are reports that Mitch Marner is all but gone from the Maple Leafs. These reports aren’t confirmation but any fan can connect the dots and assume he’ll head elsewhere. Yes, Marner is looking to win but the team that offers him the most money will land him regardless of their contention status (so, don’t be surprised by that 7×14 deal from the Pittsburgh Penguins or Anaheim Ducks).
- Everyone is hyper-focused on Marner. Yet, this free agency class has a great second tier worth monitoring. Brock Boeser, Nikolaj Ehlers, and Aaron Ekblad will head to free agency and be high-value signings. So, make sure your team is in on them.
