They say the sequel is never as good as the original. Well, whoever coined that phrase clearly didn’t have the 2024-25 NHL Stanley Cup Final in mind. For just the 11th time since The NHL took full control of The Stanley Cup, there is a rematch in consecutive years. And this is just the fifth rematch since The Expansion Era began in 1967.
Starting Wednesday, June 4th and ending on Friday, June 20th at the latest, the Florida Panthers and Edmonton Oilers will battle for Lord Stanley’s fabled chalice. Last year, the Panthers took a commanding 3-0 series lead before the Oilers stormed back to force a Game Seven down in Florida. It was there that the Panthers clamped down and secured their first-ever Cup championship.
This year, things are set to be different. For starters, the Oilers are the ones with home ice advantage, thus a potential Game Seven would be played in Edmonton. Another thing that’s different is that the Oilers are healthy this time around, only missing Zach Hyman, who was injured against the Stars in the Western Conference Final.
The loss of Hyman is no doubt huge, but unlike last year when Edmonton was too top-heavy, the Oilers have received contributions up and down their lineup during this year’s run. So they are in a much better position to weather the loss of Hyman. Edmonton’s defense is also much improved from last year and lastly, the duo of Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl have learned their lesson from last year’s Cup Final and are ready to finally cement themselves as champions.
Meanwhile, Florida still has Matthew Tkachuk, Aaron Ekblad, Aleksander Barkov, Sam Bennett and Sam Reinhart leading the way. Florida is a formidable team, but there’s a reason why teams don’t often win back-to-back Cups anymore. The shortened summers and grinding nature of the postseason take their toll on everyone and that’s something not even the defending champs are immune to.
Ultimately, this series will come down to which team’s goaltending performs better. We’ve seen Sergei Bobrovsky and Stuart Skinner each struggle during this postseason. While each has been lights out of late, neither is infallible. Depending on which versions we get, the series will either be a lopsided affair or extremely close.
According to DraftKings, ESPN Bet and FanDuel, the Oilers are the slight favorites to win the series, usually coming in between -120 and -130 to win it all. Those aren’t heavy odds and nor should they be, but it goes with what most of the analysts are saying. This Oilers team has a different look and feel around it. They’ve learned how to win through their losses. They know what it takes to get to the top and they’re ready to take that final leap to becoming champions.
Blittner’s Blue Line is predicting a seven-game triumph for the Oilers, ending Canada’s Stanley Cup drought and giving the country its first championship since the Montreal Canadiens won it all in 1993.
In other news, there’s a lot of smoke out of Dallas that a coaching change may be in the offing. Many people took notice when Stars’ Head Coach Pete DeBoer appeared to throw goalie Jake Oettinger under the bus after Dallas’ five-game loss to the Oilers. It wasn’t totally out of character for DeBoer and Oettinger certainly handled it well publicly, but behind the scenes, it seems that a number of the Stars players are extremely displeased with the coach.
A coaching change at this time would put the Stars behind the eight ball in terms of getting ready for the draft and free agency, but if GM Jim Nill decides to make a move, there’s no doubt the few remaining available coaches on the market will jump at the chance to join the Stars’ organization.
Lastly, the Hockey Canada Trial that has been dominating headlines over the past several months is now nearing a conclusion. Both sides are expected to begin their closing arguments on June 9th. It will likely still be a while before the Judge renders a verdict, but at least the bulk of the trial is over. And regardless of whether the five players are found guilty or not (they 100% should be thrown in jail), hopefully, the hockey world can learn from this ordeal and begin to fix the problems that have festered under the surface for generations.
