By Lucas Camacho
With all the action going on in other sports, from MLB heating up and the NFL starting mandatory minicamps (and the absurd notion that Aaron Judge and Patrick Mahomes are the top of their respective sports), people may have forgotten about the championships going on. One such championship came to an end, as the Florida Panthers repeated as Stanley Cup champions by beating the Edmonton Oilers 5-1 in Game 6 of the final on Tuesday night, becoming the NHL’s first back-to-back winners since Tampa Bay in 2020 and ’21 and the third team to do it this century.
For a series that went to overtime three times, this was a boring way to end a series (unless you’re a Florida Panthers fan). Watching the look of defeat on the Oilers’ faces as the clock wound down in the final period was a somber sight indeed. Sam Reinhart scored four goals, becoming just the fourth player in league history to get that many in a game in the final. His third to complete the hat trick sent rats, along with hats, flying onto the ice (for those wondering about the rats, it’s a thing for Florida Panthers fans).
At the other end of the ice, Sergei Bobrovsky stopped 28 of the 29 shots he faced, closing the door on a rematch with the same end result. The only goal came from fellow Russian Vasily Podkolzin in garbage time, long after the outcome was decided (like when the Chiefs scored late in the 4th quarter even though they were already done in the Super Bowl against the Eagles).
So, as I did with the NFL teams during their playoffs, let me break down where the teams go from here. Let’s start with our neighbors from the north, the Edmonton Oilers. First off, Los Angeles Kings fans are more than happy to see these guys lose after being eliminated from the Playoffs by the Oilers for FOUR consecutive seasons. Of course, for the Oilers fans, this is agony. The last time they won the cup was two years after trading the Great One himself, Wayne Gretzky, to the Kings. So what went wrong? Everything was going well until Game 3. The Oilers split the first two games, with the reality they could have taken a 2-0 lead or possibly been down 0-2. What Game 3 exposed was the frequency with which the Oilers were prone to allowing multi-goal periods. Entering Game 6, the Oilers had allowed more than two goals in seven of the first 13 periods of the Stanley Cup Final. It was a contrast from the defensive performances they had against the Vegas Golden Knights and the Dallas Stars, and it led to their downfall. Comebacks are exciting, but you can’t do it every single time (just ask the Chiefs).
As for the champs, the first thing they should do is take the advice I gave the Eagles when they won the Super Bowl: enjoy it. Have a parade, they’re fun (ask the Dodgers), and savor your accomplishments. After the party high wears off, then it’s back to work. I know hockey isn’t exactly my natural milieu (social environment if you don’t know what that means), but I don’t see too many flaws on the Panthers. There weren’t many moments in the postseason where Florida didn’t look in control of its own destiny. Although, there was a time we were worried during the Panthers’ second-round series against the Toronto Maple Leafs when they fell behind 2 games to none and then had to rally to win the series in seven games. Florida also showed its vulnerabilities at times in the Cup Final against the Edmonton Oilers, particularly in a Game 4 collapse where they led 3-0 in the first period and went on to lose in overtime. When the Panthers struggled, it was mainly due to a lack of scoring depth showing up, a rare occurrence for them as the playoffs rolled along. But more often than not, Florida received enough contributions for all four lines to make up for its deficiencies. And that’s why they’re champions again, and why they may do it again next year…provided everyone stays healthy.
LOCAL TEAMS NEWS
So now that the NHL season is over, what do the local teams do? Well, the Kings have already hired a new GM: former Detroit Red Wings and Edmonton Oilers GM Ken Holland. He’s already made it clear that his isn’t going to just blow up the Kings and start over, and he’s even keeping most of the personnel under the last GM. Again, hockey isn’t my natural milieu, but I do know doing the same thing with the same people and hoping for a different result is the definition of insanity. Hopefully he can do more than just more of the same…or its going to be a long season.
As for the Ducks, they are already hard at work. They already made the first major trade of the offseason well before the Panthers defeated the Oilers. They made a trade with the New York Rangers for veteran Chris Kreider and a 2025 fourth round pick in exchange for prospect Carey Terrance and a 2025 third round pick. Kreider adds another veteran to help the Ducks foster and nurture their homegrown young core. It also gives them with another goal scorer that can help give the Ducks some offensive juice. One thing is for sure, the Ducks rebuilding efforts may finally start paying off.
