For The 32nd Year In A Row, The Stanley Cup Is Remaining In America With The Florida Panthers Going Back-to-Back
Bruce Bennett. Getty Images.Vancouver tried in 1994, but New York said no. Calgary tried in 2004, and Tampa Bay told them to scram. Edmonton tried in 2006, but Carolina told them to beat it. Ottawa tried in 2007, but Anaheim told them to kick rocks. Vancouver tried again in 2011, but Boston told them to buzz off. Montreal tried in 2021, but Tampa Bay told them to take a hike. Edmonton tried in 2024, but Florida told them to eat shit.
And then here we are. In the year of our Lord 2025. 32 years after the Montreal Canadiens last won Lord Stanley's Cup in 1993. The Edmonton Oilers tried yet again to etch their name into the hockey history books. It was their 3rd such try since a Canadian-based NHL organization won the Cup. And for the 2nd year in a row, the Florida Panthers have successfully forced the Edmonton Oilers to eat shit.
Truly an abysmal way for the Oilers to go out. Edmonton got their shit stomped in games 3, 5 and 6. The only reason they even made it to game 6 was thanks to a miraculous comeback after getting carved up in game 4. Tonight's game was over before it even began. The fact that the Oilers went with Stuart Skinner between the pipes today proved that they had no idea what to do. This was a team that was lost. A coaching staff that was lost. Generational superstars in Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl who were lost.
Somehow, some way, it feels like the Edmonton Oilers are further away from winning a Stanley Cup now than 31 other teams in the league. They've made it to the Stanley Cup Final in back-to-back years. The Western Conference Champs for the past 2 seasons. And there's just absolutely no way that this team ever gets the job done after the way this series went down. It's over for Edmonton, and now the Florida Panthers are firmly on Dynasty Watch.
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Giving up 2 empty netters with 5 minutes still to play in regulation? Yeah, that's just a good ol' fashion shellacking.
The Florida Panthers are clearly the best team in the National Hockey League, and it's not even close at this point. 3 straight trips to the Stanley Cup Finals. Who knows how that first trip would have gone in 2023 if Matthew Tkachuk managed to stay healthy for the full series. Clearly the trade for Tkachuk sparked something in this team, and they've never looked back. They've played in the final game of the season for 3 years in a row now, and they've won it twice. They might lose a few pieces in free agency, but every player in the league is going to want to sign there in the offseason. Great team, great weather, no state income tax. The Florida Panthers need 1 more Cup to officially become a dynasty, but they have the recipe dialed in to win multiple more Cups during this run. As long as guys like Tkachuk, Barkov, Reinhart, and Bobrovsky are wearing that sweater, they are in the hunt. The only thing that could possibly stop them now is spending a little too much time at the Elbo Room.
P.S. -- Congrats to Corey Perry on becoming the first player in NHL history to lose the Stanley Cup Final 5 times in 6 seasons. Truly a historic run out of The Worm.