2024 Stanley Cup Final Preview

It's here, folks! The greatest finale in sports has arrived!

The Stanley Cup Final is always such a spectacular phenomenon. I always love the Final regardless of who is in it; I love it so much that I often have to remind myself that it's the end--the end of a spectacular season of the greatest sport in the universe. 32 teams begin their quest, but only 16 of them can qualify for the big dance. When the dust settles after nearly two months, two teams remain in the battle for the greatest trophy in all of sports, the Stanley Cup.

And here are the teams:

Florida Panthers

So the Florida Panthers are here. Again. The Panthers looked to prove that last year wasn't just a happy accident. The aftermath of Cinderella runs is always interesting, as the following year determines whether the team's legit, or if that year was just an amazing one-off. Sure enough, last year wasn't a one-off. The Panthers received much better placement than their position as the overall #16 seed last year. They won the Atlantic Division for the second time in three years, and in their run, they needed five games to oust the Tampa Bay Lightning (Atlantic Semifinals), and needed six to eliminate the Boston Bruins (Atlantic Final) and the Presidents' Trophy-winning New York Rangers (East Final).

Like last year, Matthew Tkachuk is leading the way with 19 points (5 G/14 A) in 17 games; seriously, the Flames got fleeced in that deal. Carter Verhaeghe and Aleksandar Barkov each have 17 points, though the latter has nine goals, which leads the team. Sam Reinhart (the team's best kept secret) only has 12 points, but eight of them are goals. This run has also seen Sam Bennett relish his current role as an antagonist, while also racking up 10 points in 12 games. In net, Sergei Bobrovsky has been spectacular--a 12-5 record, a 2.20 GAA, a .908 SV%, and a shutout (Game 1 of the ECF).

With the Panthers' appearance, this is the fifth straight year that the Sunshine State will participate in the Cup Final--in fact, the state of Florida has played in every Final in the 2020s. The NHL hasn't seen anything like this since the province of Alberta participated in eight straight Cup Finals between 1983-1990.

Speaking of that province...

Edmonton Oilers

Well, well, well. Look who's finally reached the ultimate pinnacle. I remember when the Edmonton Oilers had one of the worst records in the league earlier this season. We all had fun, didn't we? However, we all had to have known that the Oilers would get the last laugh. A 17-game winning streak in midseason, owning the Kings in the playoffs again, winning a Game Seven on the road to reach the Final Four, and actually winning the Western Conference Final over the Dallas Stars. The Oilers are in the Cup Final. More notably, Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl are in the Cup Final, finally.

Speaking of the duo, they are leading the pack as usual, but it's not like past postseasons. In each of the Oilers' last two postseasons, the duo averaged two points per game. That's not the case this year, but it is close. McDavid has 31 points (5 G/26 A), while Draisaitl has 28 points (10 G/18 A). This means that the help has come for the Oilers, and boy has it! Evan Bouchard has exploded with 27 points--only six goals, but three of them are game winners. Zach Hyman only has 18 points, but fourteen of them went in the net, I think he may be on pace to score twenty! And then, there's the elder statesman of the Oilers: Ryan Nugent-Hopkins. RNH has been with the team since 2011, been through all of the tough times and is finally in the Cup Final in his 13th year. He has 20 points in this run, six of them are goals, and four of them were on the power play.

A crazy fun fact--with this appearance, Corey Perry became the first player to play in five Finals with five different teams. He won his lone Cup with the Anaheim Ducks in 2007, and he's reached the Final with the Stars (2020), Canadiens (2021), Lightning (2022), and now the Oilers. This is the Oilers' eighth appearance in the Cup Final, the second since the dynasty ended, and their first since 2006. On a larger scale, this is the seventh Final to feature a Canadian team since the Cup drought started, and it's the Oilers' second chance to end Canada's drought.

This year's Stanley Cup Final continues a recent trend of featuring teams looking to win their first-ever Stanley Cup. This is the sixth Final in nine years to feature at least one team who hadn't won a Cup, with 2018 and 2023's Finals actually guaranteeing a first-time champion. Three of the last six Finals have crowned first-time champions. Will this year be the fourth? The Panthers are one of 11 teams who haven't won a Stanley Cup. Will they reduce that number to 10? A Canadian team hasn't won a Stanley Cup since 1993. Will the Oilers end that drought? The Oilers are tied with the Pittsburgh Penguins for the most Stanley Cups won by non-Original Six teams. Will that tie be broken? Will they win their sixth Cup, and their second post-Great One?

A lot of questions, right? They will all be answered in a matter of days.

This year's Stanley Cup Final will air on ABC, as it's their turn under the current rotation with Turner Sports; ABC also aired the 2022 Final. The Final will also air on Sportsnet in Canada, and it will start on Saturday, June 8 in Sunrise, Florida--the first time in franchise history that the Panthers will have home-ice advantage in the Final. This will be quite a finale for this season, and it will gain a lot of good attention. This year's Stanley Cup Final will definitely be one that we puckheads will remember for years to come.