A Dynasty in the Making
The Florida Panthers are making the case to be counted among the league's elite teams.
With the clock striking zero on the third period last night, the 2024-25 NHL season came to a close, with the Florida Panthers defeating the Edmonton Oilers to hoist the Stanley Cup.
Deja vu, anyone?
I won’t go into a major in depth analysis of Game six itself…you can read or watch plenty of those all over the internet from people much more interesting than me.
Instead, I wanted to look at the series as a whole, talk about some of the takeaways, and opine about Florida’s state as a potential dynasty.
Are we looking at the start of a new NHL dynasty?
Back in 2015, upon defeating the Tampa Bay Lightning for their third Cup win in five years, Gary Bettman proclaimed the Chicago Blackhawks to be a dynasty.
The actual definition of what makes up an NHL dynasty is pretty open for interpretation and will certainly change depending on who you ask. The Hall of Fame lists nine dynasties on their website here, which a keen eye will notice does not include the Blackhawks from 2010-2015. A consensus definition seems to be a team that wins three straight Stanley Cups. And others find that definition inadequete.
I’d agree that three cups straight do not define an actual dynasty, just as I’d agree that the Blackhawks of 2010-2015, while a very good team, do not equate to a dynasty. Look no further than the teams that the Hall of Fame itself gives this honor:
The ‘83-’90 Edmonton Oilers were a team unlike anything we’ve seen in the years since, maybe with **possible** exception to the late-90’s to late-oughts Red Wings. Possessing talent like Gretzky, Messier, Paul Coffey, Jari Kurri, and Grant Fuhr, the Oilers dominated the 80’s and won five Cups in that era, with a 20-6 Cup final record in that time. This came right on the heals at the fall of another NHL dynasty, the ‘79-’83 New York Islanders, who won four in a row.
Looking at the last team to win back-to-back Cups, the Tampa Bay Lightning won in 2020 (4 games to 2) and 2021 (4 games to 1), and then lost in 2022 to Colorado in six games. While they were met with the claim that the dynasty was denied, two Cup wins in three straight trips to the final is nothing to brush off. It is also important to note that the team has been very successful both prior to 2020 and since their loss in 2022.
Revisiting the aforementioned Red Wings of the mid-90’s, this was a team consisting of numerous Hall of Fame players (Steve Yzerman, Sergei Fedorov, Brendan Shanahan, and many more). In 1995, the Red Wings made their first Cup Final appearance since 1966, losing in a sweep to the New Jersey Devils despite being heavily-favored to win.
In the lockout-shortened 95-96 season, the Red Wings finished with 70 points (out of a possible 98), good enough for the Presidents’ Trophy, ultimately losing in the Western Conference Finals to the eventual Cup-winning Quebec Nordiques Colorado Avalanche. This was also Detroit’s second-straight trip to the NHL’s final four.
Also side note: If you’re not old enough to remember this series, I must urge you to watch highlights of it. This was the start of an insane rivalry between the Avs and Wings, and a true classic of a series. It would not be the last time these two met in the playoffs in this era.
The Red Wings would go on to not only win two straight Stanley Cups in 97 (against Philadelphia) and 98 (Washington), but would win both in decisive fashion- a series sweep against both teams. Neither of these opponents were particularly easy either- the Flyers were themselves having an insanely good year with the infamous Legion of Doom line of Lindros, LeClair, and Renberg leading the charge. The Capitals were bolstered by the likes of Peter Bondra and Olie Kolzig in net.
But that’s just how good that Red Wings team was.
Despite losing in the conference semi-finals to the Avalanche again in both 99 and 2000, and a first-round loss to Los Angeles in 2001, the Red Wings returned to the Final to win in 2002, this time a 4-1 series win against the Carolina Hurricanes. Many key players in the core from the 98-winning team remained with them until 2002 (Shanahan, Fedorov, Yzerman, Kris Draper, Darren McCarty, Kirk Maltby, Igor Larionov, Nicklas Lidstrom), and were joined by new faces like Luc Robitaille, Brett Hull, and Chris Chelios. It was also the first Cup-final appearance for future Red Wings greats Pavel Datsyuk and Tomas Holmstrom.
Many would argue that this is still not a dynasty. While I did not grow up a Red Wings fan (I got to watch them dismantle my beloved Flyers in 97), I would be of the opinion that four cup finals appearances, three wins, and a pedigree that impressive would make up a dynasty.
So, with appearances in three straight years, two straight cups, and some incredibly successful regular seasons behind them, are the Panthers the next NHL dynasty?
It’s too early to tell, but there are a lot of comparisons that can be drawn between Florida and that era Detroit Red Wings. A strong leadership core? Check. Depth on both sides? Check. Goaltending? Definitely. And solid coaching too (although I’ll stop short of comparing Paul Maurice…even with all his success…to the great Scotty Bowman).
The Panthers certainly have all the ingrediants for a potential dynasty run though. While this era of hockey is quite different from the 90s-early-2000s (with the salary cap being a major factor now), Florida sits in as good a position to win next year as they did in each of the past two.
PuckPedia shows a team with $19 million in projected cap space, with pending UFA’s Brad Marchand (who they’d be stupid not to try to resign), Sam Bennett (samesies), and Aaron Ekblad (would be a good idea, but this is a wildcard from what I understand). It’s not likely they will be able to retain all three players (while also signing a backup to Bobrovsky and filling other depth needs), it is certainly possible that two of them return…I’d think they would target Ekblad and Bennett for the sake of age (Marchand is 37). It is possible that someone takes a discount to stay with this team…as The Hockey Guy noted in his breakdown of Game six, players will take discounts if they want to win.
With the right moves, Florida is absolutely poised to win again very soon. This could be a scary-good team for quite a long time, and it’s very possible they become the tenth team featured on the Hall of Fame’s website honoring dynasties.
Series Review
I’ll admit something: I wasn’t particularly excited about this series.
Last year, I was more excited to see the showdown, and I was happy to see players like Aleksander Barkov and Sergei Bobrovsky finally achieve success. Barkov remains one of my favorite players to watch even now.
This season, I had my hopes set on a few other teams. It would’ve been nice to see Toronto finally overcome that hump, Winnipeg go the distance, or Minnesota upset Vegas. Unfortunately, none of that would happen and we all got Florida and Edmonton again.
Unlike last year, where the Panthers went up 3-0, only to allow Edmonton to tie it before winning in seven games, the Panthers never really felt out of control. Even after losing game one, it seemed like they just took a deep breath and took the series back. Something told me Florida was winning the series from the beginning…and especially after the Panthers’ 6-1 win in game three.
Shot totals don’t tell the full story here. Edmonton outshot Florida in every game of the series except game four. Even in last night’s game six win, they still managed to outshoot Florida. Scoring chances however favor Florida in every game but game two.
This is a true comparison of a good team (Edmonton) to a great team (Florida). Edmonton is a good team consisting of a couple of the best players in the league. Florida is a great team consisting of a bunch of great players. Edmonton’s lack of depth and inconsistent goaltending were no match for Florida.
In the end, it wasn’t a series that will go down in the annals of hockey history as a classic, but it was enjoyable enough. I am happy that Barkov got himself another cup. I feel like that man has been overlooked by the league for so long, but quietly puts in a champion’s effort every season. I think having a second cup will solidify him as a future Hall of Famer.
And kudos to Reinhart for netting four goals in the deciding game.
I just hope the Oilers finally come to their senses and get a better supporting cast for McDavid and Draisaitl. Because this ain’t it.
But this is also the team that thinks Darnell Nurse is a $9.25mil defender too.
*shrugs*
Final Thoughts
Corey Perry has been to the cup finals five of the last six seasons (2020, 21, 22, 24, 25) with four different teams (Dallas, Montreal, Tampa, Edmonton) and lost all of them. I am ok with this.
I am also ok with Evander Kane losing…because that slash on Tkachuk at the end of game six was bush-league crap. And he skipped the handshake line at the end. He’s not exactly known to be a real stellar guy in general, so I’m ok with him losing also.
Yes, we all have to accept that Brad Marchand won another cup. And admit to ourselves that he actually played a hell of a playoff for Florida. Realistically, I had him pegged as the Conn Smythe winner.
Speaking of Conn Smythe, Bennett (also known for his own bit of jackassery on the ice) is deserved of the award.
I swear he's not sponsoring this post, but THG has a great video discussing the Panthers' potential to be a dynasty.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GBFuCQSpv3w