10 storylines for 2024 Stanley Cup Final  | NHL.com (2024)

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The Florida Panthers are back in the Stanley Cup Final for a second straight season, and Connor McDavid and the rest of the new generation of Edmonton Oilers are in it for the first time.

The Panthers have never won the Stanley Cup in two appearances in the Final, including losing in five games to the Vegas Golden Knights last season.

The Oilers haven't won the Stanley Cup since 1990, when Mark Messier and Craig Simpson were still wearing navy blue and orange.

Messier will be working this Final for ESPN. Simpson will be broadcasting it for Sportsnet.

They're not part of the storyline this time around.

McDavid is for the first time.

The Panthers are, again.

Here are 10 storylines for the 2024 Stanley Cup Final, which begins Saturday with Game 1 at Amerant Bank Arena in Sunrise, Florida (8 p.m. ET; ABC, ESPN+, SN, CBC, TVAS).

1. McDavid finally makes the Final

McDavid officially became part of the Oilers on June 26, 2015, when as an 18-year-old he was selected with the No. 1 pick in the 2015 NHL Draft. That draft took place at Amerant Bank Arena, where he will lead the Oilers into his first Stanley Cup Final game on Saturday.

It's an understatement to say McDavid, now 27 years old, has done a lot in advance of his first Cup Final appearance.

He has 982 points (335 goals, 647 assists) in 645 regular-season games, including seven 100-point seasons. In fact, he can become the first player in NHL history with seven 100-point seasons before winning the Stanley Cup for the first time.

The Oilers captain had 100 assists this season and can become the second player in NHL history to win the Cup after reaching the century mark in the regular season, joining Wayne Gretzky, who did it four times as the Oilers captain (1984, 1985, 1987, 1988).

He can also become the first player in NHL history to win the Cup for the first time after winning the Art Ross Trophy as the League's regular season leading scorer five times.

McDavid leads the League in postseason scoring this year with 31 points (five goals, 26 assists) in 18 games, including 10 points (three goals, seven assists) in the Western Conference Final. He had a goal and an assist in Edmonton's series-clinching 2-1 win in Game 6 against the Dallas Stars on Sunday.

It was all a prelude to McDavid's first chance to win the Stanley Cup. He's here and it could be his time.

DAL@EDM WCF, Gm6: McDavid opens scoring with incredible PPG in 1st period

2. Panthers back for another crack at it

The Panthers are the sixth team in the NHL's expansion era (beginning 1967-68) to return to the Stanley Cup Final after losing in the championship round the previous season.

The last to do it was the Pittsburgh Penguins in 2009. They lost to the Detroit Red Wings in six games in the 2008 Cup Final but won the rematch in six games the following season.

Before Pittsburgh, it was Edmonton in 1984 after losing to the New York Islanders in 1983, the Boston Bruins in 1978 after losing to the Montreal Canadiens in 1977, and the St. Louis Blues, who were in the Cup Final three straight times from 1968-70 and lost each time.

The Panthers lost in five games to the Golden Knights last year, but they were a beat-up bunch by the time they got there and it got worse in the series against Vegas. This time around, the Panthers are healthy and Game 1 will come a week after they closed out the New York Rangers in Game 6 of the Eastern Conference Final.

They're fresh, hungry and experienced. It could be the combination that brings the Cup to South Florida for the first time.

3. Canada's Cup again?

1993.

That year is sunk in the minds of hockey fans across Canada. The Montreal Canadiens won the Stanley Cup in 1993, and no Canadian-based team has won it since.

Now 31 years later, the Oilers are the seventh Canadian-based team to reach the Cup Final since the Canadiens won the Cup in 1993, joining the Vancouver Canucks in 1994, Calgary Flames in 2004, Oilers in 2006, Ottawa Senators in 2007, Canucks in 2011 and Canadiens in 2021.

Maybe this is the year Canada claims the Stanley Cup again.

4. Tkachuk, Bennett and their Alberta history

There's no doubt the sight of the Oilers, of McDavid and Leon Draisaitl, bothers forwards Matthew Tkachuk and Sam Bennett more than most players on the Panthers.

Tkachuk and Bennett for years played against the Oilers in the Battle of Alberta during their time with the Flames; Tkachuk from 2016-22 and Bennett from 2015-21.

Tkachuk had 23 points (nine goals, 14 assists) in 28 games against the Oilers when he played for the Flames. Bennett had 10 points (four goals, six assists) in 27 games.

Tkachuk played against the Oilers in the second round of the 2022 playoffs. He had a hat trick in Game 1, a wild 9-6 win for Calgary, but the Oilers won the next four games to take the series.

Draisaitl had 17 points in that series. McDavid had 12.

Here's a chance for redemption, even if that series may seem like a lifetime ago for Tkachuk.

Sam Bennett joins NHL Tonight

5. Knoblauch's turn

Oilers coach Kris Knoblauch is trying to become the eighth coach in NHL history to lead his team to the Stanley Cup championship after taking over the team in-season.

The Oilers fired Jay Woodcroft on Nov. 12 after going 3-9-1 in their first 13 games. Knoblauch, who was coaching with Hartford of the American Hockey League, was hired to replace Woodcroft and he helped turn the Oilers season around.

Edmonton was the best team in the NHL after Knoblauch took over, going 46-18-5 for a .703 points percentage. Now they're 12-6 in the playoffs and Knoblauch has a chance to do something only seven other coaches in NHL history have done.

The last coach to lead his team to the Stanley Cup after taking over the team in-season was Craig Berube with the St. Louis Blues in 2018-19. He took over the foundering Blues on Nov. 19, 2018, and turned them into Stanley Cup champions.

Mike Sullivan did exactly what Knoblauch is trying to do, moving from the AHL to the Stanley Cup in the same season. Sullivan was coaching with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton of the AHL to start the 2015-16 season. He got the Penguins head job in December of 2015 and won the Cup.

Darryl Sutter did it with the Los Angeles Kings in 2011-12, Dan Bylsma with the Penguins in 2008-09, Larry Robinson with the New Jersey Devils in 1999-00, Al MacNeil with the Canadiens in 1970-71 and Dick Irvin with the Toronto Maple Leafs in 1931-32.

6. Maurice hoping third time's a charm

Panthers coach Paul Maurice is back in the Stanley Cup Final for a third time.

Maurice brought the Carolina Hurricanes to the Cup Final in 2002 but lost in five games to the Red Wings. He got back last year with the Panthers but lost in five games.

Among the coaches who have never won the Cup, Maurice is fifth all-time in playoff games coached with 130.

He is second all time in regular-season games coached with 1,848. First is Scotty Bowman (2,141), who won the Cup nine times.

There are nine coaches in NHL history who have lost in the Stanley Cup Final at least three times, but Sid Abel (four) Frank Patrick (three) and Billy Reay (three) are the only three of the nine who never won the Cup.

Maurice certainly doesn't want to join that list.

7. Skinner's task

Oilers goalie Stuart Skinner was at his best this postseason against the Stars in the conference final, going 4-2 with a 1.91 goals-against average and .922 save percentage, stopping 142 of 154 shots on goal.

But the Panthers will pose an altogether different threat because of their shot volume.

Florida's 33.2 shots on goal per game are the most of the four teams that played into the conference final round.

If not for Igor Shesterkin, the Panthers may have swept the Rangers. New York's goalie was outstanding in the conference final with a 2.25 GAA and .935 save percentage, facing 33.3 shots per game and averaging 31.2 saves per game.

That may be the level Skinner has to take his game to defeat the Panthers. He hasn't had to get there yet in these playoffs.

The Stars averaged 25.7 shots on goal per game against the Oilers in the conference final.

The Los Angeles Kings averaged 29.0 per game against Edmonton in the first round and Skinner faced an average of 18.0 shots per game in his five starts against the Vancouver Canucks in the second round.

Goalies, coaches, and intangibles comparisons

8. Bobrovsky going for a legacy clincher

Sergei Bobrovsky is missing the Stanley Cup from what is an otherwise potential Hall of Fame resume.

The Panthers goalie has won the Vezina Trophy as the League's best goalie in the regular season twice, in 2012-13 and 2016-17. He has played in 700 regular-season games and has 396 wins to go along with a 2.59 GAA and .915 save percentage in his career.

Next season, Bobrovsky should become the 14th goalie in NHL history to win at least 400 games. Of the 13 already in the 400-win club, three never won the Cup (Roberto Luongo, Henrik Lundqvist and Curtis Joseph).

Bobrovsky wants no part of that club, but he'll likely cement himself as a future Hall of Famer by winning the Cup this year.

9. Barkov looking to make history

Aleksander Barkov is getting his second chance to do something no Finnish-born player has done. If the Panthers win the series, Barkov will be the first Finnish-born player to captain his team to a Stanley Cup championship.

There have been 123 Finnish-born players, 107 skaters and 16 goalies, who have played at least one game in the Stanley Cup Playoffs. Fifteen of them have won the Cup, including Jari Kurri winning it five times with the Oilers, but none were the first to receive it as the captain of his team.

If the Panthers win the Cup, there's a chance that Barkov can also become the first Finnish-born player to win the Conn Smythe Trophy as the most valuable player of the playoffs. He has 17 points (six goals, 11 assists) in 17 games in the postseason thus far.

Barkov is also the longest-tenured member of the Panthers, in his 11th season since they selected him with the No. 2 pick in the 2013 NHL Draft.

He is Florida's all-time leader in regular-season games played (737), goals (266), assists (445) and points (711). He is also the Panthers' all-time leader in playoff games played (64), assists (37) and points (54).

10. Next challenge is greatest for Forsling and Ekblad

Gustav Forsling and Aaron Ekblad have been arguably the best defense pair in the playoffs.

Their toughest test is yet to come.

Florida's top defense pair has so far shut down some of the best players in the League, from Nikita Kucherov in the first round to David Pastrnak in the second round and both Mika Zibanejad and Chris Kreider in the conference final.

None of them scored a goal at even strength in their series against the Panthers largely because they were shut down by Forsling and Ekblad, who always take the hardest assignments.

Well, they're going to have their hands full with McDavid, and potentially Draisaitl too.

That will be an ongoing story within the story of the series, and if Forsling and Ekblad can do the job as well, or at least as close to as well as they did against Kucherov, Pastrnak, Zibanejad and Kreider, you can probably assume who will be lifting the Stanley Cup when it's all said and done.

It's THE matchup to watch in the Stanley Cup Final.