Los Gatos... De Nuevo

It seemed like it was almost an inevitable conclusion after the Florida Panthers rag-dolled their in-state rivals, the Tampa Bay Lightning, in the opening round of the 2025 Stanley Cup Playoffs. Yes, they were tested by the Toronto Maple Leafs before steamrolling the Carolina Hurricanes, and they found themselves against another familiar foe in the Stanley Cup Final. However, just like last season, it didn't matter if it was Nikita Kucherov, Auston Matthews, Sebastian Aho, Leon Draisaitl, Andrei Vasilevskiy, or Connor McDavid standing in between the Panthers and the Stanley Cup, the Panthers simply weren't going to be denied in the championship defence.

It didn't matter who opposing teams looked to shut down in their series against the Panthers because someone else always stepped up. Whether it was Matthew Tkachuk, Sam Reinhart, Sam Bennett, Aleksander Barkov, Brad Marchand, or Carter Verhaeghe, the Panthers had the right mix of chemistry, grit, desire, determination, and experience to push them through to a second-straight Stanley Cup. Sergei Bobrovsky was sensational in shutting down any Oilers scoring attempts, and his defence were quick to clear pucks or wrap up sticks. The Panthers rarely made mistakes, they were quick to recover if they did, and losses were rarely followed by another loss.

Those ingredients will almost always guarantee success, and that's why the Florida Panthers hoisted the Stanley Cup for the second time in as many seasons tonight: they played like champions.

"This is as good as the first one," Game Six star Sam Reinhart said. "We learned some lessons. We stayed on the gas, foot on the pedal, and obviously the result speaks for itself."

Speaking of having his foot on the gas, Sam Reinhart was exceptional in Game Six as he became the sixth player in league history and first since Maurice Richard in 1957 to score four goals in a Stanley Cup Final game. While some eyebrows may have been raised when he was named as one of Canada's first six players for the 2026 Olympic Games, Reinhart erased any doubt with a performance that proved he belongs in that group with Crosby, McDavid, and MacKinnon.

Sam Bennett was named as the Conn Smythe Trophy winner, and it's hard to argue when a record 13 of his 15 playoff goals came on the road. For a guy who scored a career-high 28 goals in 71 games, seeing him put 15 past goalies in 23 postseason games this season was a big part of why the Panthers were so hard to defeat. No other team was even close to having a third-line player with those stats, let alone an entire third line with those numbers. Having Bennett post a career-best scoring rate certainly helped in this Stanley Cup run.

Of course, the talk turned towards the looming free agency that Bennett will face on July 1, but he didn't seem to concerned tonight.

"It's actually been pretty easy," he told Luke Fox of Sportsnet, referring to thinking about his future. "I mean, competing for a Stanley Cup has always been my goal and my passion and what I've wanted to do. That's all I want, and it's been quite easy to just not even think about what's to come."

With another Stanley Cup parade being planned and celebrations that will likely last through the night into tomorrow, the Panthers can now focus on letting the injuries heal before they begin the process again in September. Three-straight Stanley Cup Finals appearances with two ending in celebration certainly will take their toll, but the jubilation of hoisting the Stanley Cup erases the strains, sprains, bruises, and cuts for at least a few minutes for the winners.

For the Oilers, the retooling will begin again as they claimed to have been grittier, stronger, and better defensively when it came to this season, but it ended one game sooner than it did a season ago. In both seasons, Connor McDavid watched Barkov accept the Stanley Cup from NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman, and you know that sour taste won't sit well. The Oilers will have to address some of the glaring problems seen in this playoff run once again - goaltending, defensive deficiencies in players expecting big pay days, and depth scoring - in much the same fashion as last season. Can they buy their way into a third-straight Stanley Cup Final through free agency and trades or is it time for a larger retooling? What will it take?

Those will be questions that can be answered in a few weeks, but the Oilers deserve some kudos for making it back to the Final as well. That grind is never easy, so doing it twice in two seasons is an impressive feat. I'm not going to armchair GM and say the Oilers need to change this or that, but they do deserve a little credit for being back-to-back Western Conference champions, especially when you consider some of the teams that play in the west. The Oilers can't be bridesmaids forever, and I have a feeling Connor McDavid will win a Stanley Cup or two before his time in the NHL is done. Will it be with Edmonton might be the more pressing question, but time will tell.

Tonight, though, the victors get the spoils. Congratulations to the Florida Panthers who are back-to-back Stanley Cup champions! Enjoy the summer en route a three-peat next season! Viva los Gatos!

Until next time, keep your sticks on the ice!