When the Edmonton Oilers advanced to the 2024 Stanley Cup Final, they didn’t touch the Clarence S. Campbell Bowl, awarded to the Western Conference champions.
It’s an age-old tradition, signaling that that’s not the trophy they really wanted.
They lost the subsequent series to the Florida Panthers, who had likewise avoided the Eastern Conference’s Prince of Wales Trophy. But this year, in an attempt to reverse that luck, the Oilers were sure to touch it.
The Panthers avoided it again this year, hoping to keep the luck that brought them the Stanley Cup last season.
It’s the first Stanley Cup Final rematch since 2009, where the Pittsburgh Penguins got revenge on the Detroit Red Wings, who had beaten them the season before.
It’s poetic that the league’s most dynamic duos have all had to go through Stanley Cup Final rematches to capture the Cup for the first time. That was the case with Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin in the aforementioned Penguins-Red Wings battles, just as it was for Wayne Gretzky and Mark Messier as the Oilers battled the New York Islanders in the 1980s.
Now, Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl are facing their demons in hopes of having their names etched in the 132-year-old Stanley Cup.
This is the Panthers’ third consecutive trip to the Final, a feat that the Tampa Bay Lightning accomplished in the three seasons prior to the Panthers’ runs. This marks the sixth consecutive year that a team from Florida has made it to the Final.
The 2024 Final had the furthest distance between the two participating teams in any Stanley Cup Final ever. And, of course, it went to seven games, meaning they had to make the flight four times. Both sides are hoping to avoid that much travel time this year by ending the series quickly.
That’s easier said than done, of course. These two teams have proven themselves as the best teams in hockey. The series could easily go seven games once again.
Players to watch in the 2025 Stanley Cup Final
Connor McDavid: The consensus best player in the world is doing it again. He already has 26 points and he still has an entire series left to play. If the Oilers win the Cup, it will have a lot to do with his play.
Leon Draisaitl: With a $14 million contract kicking in this summer, Draisaitl is poised to become the highest-paid player in the league next year. He won the Rocket Richard Trophy as the league’s leading goal scorer this year and he’s just one point behind McDavid in the playoffs.
Aleksander Barkov: Barkov, the defending Selke Trophy winner as the best two-way forward in the league, does it all. He scores at a point-per-game rate while leading the charge defensively for one of the best defensive teams in the world.
Matthew Tkachuk: Players like Tkachuk were built for the playoffs. He’ll make you hurt both physically and on the scoreboard. Some call him a cheap shot artist, but everyone calls him a Stanley Cup champion.
Sergei Bobrovsky: When the Panthers had a 3-0 stranglehold on the 2024 Stanley Cup Final series, Bobrovsky was the consensus Conn Smythe winner as the playoff MVP. He’d given up just four goals over the first three games, but he followed it up with 15 goals against in the next three. He redeemed himself in game seven, but he’ll look to get the job done earlier this year.
Stuart Skinner: “Consistency” is not in Skinner’s vocabulary. He’ll be a brick wall one night and allow six goals the next. If the Oilers are to have a chance at winning, Skinner will have to be at the top of his game. He had a strong Conference Final, so he’s hoping to follow it up with a similar series.
2025 Stanley Cup Final schedule
All Stanley Cup Final games start at 6 p.m. MDT and will be available on TNT, TruTV and Max. The full schedule is as follows:
- Game 1: Wednesday, June 4 in Edmonton
- Game 2: Friday, June 6 in Edmonton
- Game 3: Monday, June 9 in Florida
- Game 4: Thursday, June 12 in Florida
- Game 5 (if necessary): Saturday, June 14 in Edmonton
- Game 6 (if necessary): Tuesday, June 17 in Florida
- Game 7 (if necessary): Friday, June 20 in Edmonton