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Florida Panthers Talk Dynasty After Stanley Cup Drought Continues for Canada and McDavid
The Florida Panthers Are Officially Back-to-Back Stanley Cup Champions
‘24, ‘25, Now ‘26?
If you went back in time to 1993 and told all hockey fans NHL rumors that Canada would go at least 33 more years before they win another Stanley Cup, they’d think you were crazy. But it’s true after the Florida Panthers finished off the Edmonton Oilers in Game 6 last night.
It’s a shame the final game was such a dud with Sam Reinhart scoring four goals in Florida’s 5-1 domination, because this series produced some fantastic NHL games and three overtime finishes. But the Panthers were the better team again.
“THE FANS RISE HERE IN SUNRISE, FLORIDA… THE PANTHERS BEGIN TO CELEBRATE! PANTHER PERFECTION! THE FLORIDA PANTHERS WIN THEIR SECOND CONSECUTIVE STANLEY CUP!”
Kenny Albert with the call for TNT Sports. 🏒🏆🏆🎙️ #NHL #StanleyCupFinal #StanleyCup pic.twitter.com/p7IcBHd6lC
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) June 18, 2025
A feeling that’s hard to beat 🍾 #StanleyCup pic.twitter.com/palbnvgqKm
— NHL (@NHL) June 18, 2025
Florida Man Is a Hockey Fan
Who knew Florida would become the bedrock of championship hockey in the 2020s? The Tampa Bay Lightning and Florida Panthers have combined to go 4-2 in the Stanley Cup Finals since 2020.
Incredibly, the 1992-93 Montreal Canadiens are Canada’s last team to hoist the Cup. Since then, Canada’s seven NHL teams are 0-8 in the Stanley Cup Finals while Florida teams are 5-4 with the last two repeats (2020-21 Lightning, 2024-25 Panthers).
Oh, Canada. I don’t want you to become the 51st state, but your reputation for being the best at hockey is just about over. The game has expanded, and fittingly, Florida’s Aleksander Barkov is the first European captain to repeat as a champion.
HISTORY MADE! 🇫🇮
Aleksander Barkov is the first European captain to lift the #StanleyCup in back-to-back seasons!
(via IG/nhleurope) pic.twitter.com/tGoytUFOso
— NHL (@NHL) June 18, 2025
TNT did a good job with its coverage, and they even found a way to give NBA legend Charles Barkley some airtime to break things down where he humorously compared Barkov to Dennis Rodman.
Charles Barkley breaks down what Oilers stars Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl have to do in Game 6 of the Stanley Cup Final.
He adds that the Panthers’ Aleksander Barkov reminds him of Dennis Rodman. 🏒🏀📺🎙️ #StanleyCup #NHL #NBA pic.twitter.com/3NK0CHvT88
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) June 18, 2025
Just a reminder that while Inside the NBA is moving to ESPN next season, Barkley is still a TNT employee by contract, and TNT Sports will still cover other non-NBA events, so that’s good to know.
Panthers: Not a Dynasty Yet
After appearing in their third-straight Stanley Cup and repeating as champs, the dynasty talk in NHL news has started for the Panthers, the 10th team in the last 50 years to repeat. “We gotta be a dynasty now,” said star Matthew Tkachuk in his post-game interview.
“We gotta be a dynasty now.”
Matthew Tkachuk on the Florida Panthers after winning their second straight Stanley Cup
pic.twitter.com/OHMezQBDfk— Spittin’ Chiclets (@spittinchiclets) June 18, 2025
Not so fast. Let’s make it a golden rule that you need at least three championships to be a dynasty. Once is an accident, twice is a coincidence, but three times is a pattern. They’re not there yet, but it’s an incredible run when you consider this team doesn’t have an all-time elite like Wayne Gretzky or Sidney Crosby leading them.
That’s supposed to be Connor McDavid on the other side, who loses in the Finals again and doesn’t even get the consolation prize of the Conn Smythe Trophy (playoff MVP) like he won last year. That went to Florida’s Sam Bennett, a longshot with his 15 goals.
The WNBA showed more fight last night in players attacking Caitlin Clark than the Oilers had in Game 6. Frankly, they were closer last year when they were down 3-0 and forced Game 7. But that’s what you get for not changing much and expecting a different outcome. Meanwhile, veteran Brad Marchand (10 goals) was a brilliant addition for Florida’s repeat.
After 10 years together, McDavid and Leon Draisaitl remain the best duo in NHL history to not win a championship.
Only one player in NHL history has done this:
*Won an MVP (Hart) in his career
*Won his first championship at least 10 years into his career with one teamAlex Ovechkin did that in his 13th season with Washington.
Edmonton has two players (McDavid, Draisaitl) trying to do it.
— Scott Kacsmar (@ScottKacsmar) June 2, 2025
Be glad Stephen A. Smith and Kendrick Perkins don’t care about hockey, or they’d be hearing it. You would too, Canada.
