One year after the Florida Panthers defeated the Edmonton Oilers to hoist the Stanley Cup at the end of a dynamic, dramatic, seven-game thriller, both teams are back to do battle once again.
Panthers general manager Bill Zito has put on a masterclass in team building over his five-year tenure which now includes three straight Cup Final appearances. His ability to lock up his core with timely, team-friendly extensions and knack for complementing it with a smart combination of big swings and low-risk signings has turned the Panthers into a powerhouse.
Edmonton, too, brings the same high-skill core to the Cup Final, with a few new faces. Most notable is the one steering the ship in the front office, as Stan Bowman took over for Ken Holland last summer. The roster Bowman inherited is rich in top-end skill and depth, too, and his moves since taking over last July show a commitment to both.
Both teams enter this year’s Final with the same core, the same coach, the same starting goalie, and the same overall style of play. And with the same highest stakes, it’s a rematch in the truest sense. But alongside all of these familiar foes, there are a few new faces entering the picture, too. With that in mind, we’re looking at how both the Panthers and Oilers fortified, adjusted, and added to their respective rosters to get back to the game’s biggest stage.
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With the Stanley Cup within reach, the Edmonton Oilers and Florida Panthers are set to battle once again for hockey’s ultimate prize. Watch every game of the Final on Sportsnet and Sportsnet+.
Biggest off-season signings focused in-house to keep offensive cores intact
Both the Panthers and Oilers entered the summer of 2024 with clear directives to lock up key parts of their respective cores.
In Florida, Zito faced a pivotal off-season with two of his top-six forwards due new deals and a third extension-eligible. First came the signing of leading goal-scorer Sam Reinhart to an eight-year pact on July 1. Then he put pen to paper on a six-year contract for RFA Anton Lundell July 3 before closing out the off-season just prior to puck-drop with an eight-year extension for Carter Verhaeghe. A summer that started off with uncertainty atop the lineup ended with all five of Florida’s leading scorers from the 2024 playoff run signed long-term — a recipe to run it back that proved successful.
In Edmonton, the focus was a little more singular… and a bit existential, too, with one half of the Oilers’ leading duo, Leon Draisaitl, eligible for an extension. Locking up Draisaitl was priority No. 1 for incoming GM Stan Bowman, and the eight-year pact signed in September was not only a win for Bowman and the Oilers but a major vote of confidence from Draisaitl that he’s all in on Edmonton and feeling confident Connor McDavid is, too.
Oilers’ busy summer of bottom-six signings pays off
Through 16 games in three rounds of playoff action, every single Oilers forward has scored at least one goal. All but three Panthers have done the same. The remarkable depth on both sides of this matchup is just one of the many reasons these clubs are set to square off yet again.
Look at the bottom six of both the Oilers and Panthers, and you’ll see summer signings at work. Among the many July 1 deals in Edmonton were the re-signings of contributors like Adam Henrique, Mattias Janmark, Corey Perry, and Connor Brown — those four count for a combined $6.85 million AAV this season and an impressive 19 goals in these playoffs.
While reeling in free agent forward Viktor Arvidsson hasn’t yielded as much production as expected, he and fellow free agent signing Jeff Skinner as well as summer trade target Vasily Podkolzin and waiver pickup Kasperi Kapanen, have contributed a combined 16 points from the bottom six and have given head coach Kris Knoblauch plenty of options as he navigates lineup changes.
Florida’s depth defence for hire thriving (again)
When you get to the Cup Final, other teams come calling. Zito knows this well, particularly on the blue line. Each of the past two off-seasons have seen defensive leaders price themselves out of Florida and cash in elsewhere — see Radko Gudas to Anaheim after the 2023 run, and Brandon Montour to Seattle last July after hoisting the Cup. But Zito always has a plan. His ability to seek motivated blue-liners coming off down seasons, sign them to low-risk deals and set them up for success is pretty impressive. Look at Oliver Ekman-Larsson, who signed a one-year pact with Florida after being bought out by the Canucks, rehabilitated his career with a Stanley Cup run and turned it into a lucrative contract in Toronto where he’s been a really solid part of the Maple Leafs’ blue line.
Is Nate Schmidt next? Schmidt’s one-year, $800,000 signing with the Panthers flew under the radar last July after the Jets bought him out, but he’s found his footing in Florida and even flexed his offensive know-how early in the post-season. Slotted in alongside the physical Niko Mikkola in the third pairing, Schmidt has been a steady presence.
The Oilers’ mid-season signing of John Klingberg follows a similar mould, with Edmonton bringing in the veteran with a low-risk one-year deal and in return getting some solid post-season production as he’s really hit his stride alongside fellow newcomer Jake Walman.
Big swings at Trade Deadline fitting right in
Both the Oilers and Panthers made targeted moves around this year’s trade deadline, with both adding pieces on the blue line and on offence — and both shopping in Boston for the latter.
The Oilers acquired winger Trent Frederic to round out their bottom-six, while the Panthers pulled off the surprise of the deadline when they landed Bruins captain Brad Marchand as the clock ticked down to zeros on Deadline Day. Marchand has fit in seamlessly in Florida from the start, was integral in the Panthers’ second-round defeat of the Maple Leafs, and currently ranks fourth on the team in points with 14.
Florida pulled off the higher-impact trade on the blue line, too, with the major acquisition of Seth Jones to help fill the season-long void left by Montour’s summer departure. Jones is finding his offence, and while Montour’s presence (and his production) is hard to replicate, the former Blackhawk is poised to be a big part of Florida’s defensive core moving forward. Edmonton, meanwhile, brought in Jake Walman to suit up in the bottom pair and his contributions have been noticeable. His six playoff points — including three helpers in his last two games — rank him second among d-men behind only Evan Bouchard.
