Can the Florida Panthers Repeat as Stanley Cup Champions?
Last night, the Florida Panthers successfully clinched a spot in the Stanley Cup Finals for the third straight year. They hope to hoist the Stanley Cup above their heads for the second straight year. Many have predicted the Florida Panthers could go back-to-back, seeing as they had the second-highest odds at the start of the season to win the Stanley Cup. However, do they have what it takes to repeat as champions?
In 2023, the Florida Panthers made it to the Stanley Cup Finals despite being an eighth seed in that year’s NHL Playoffs. It was a miracle they even made the playoffs that year, given they were only one point ahead of both the Pittsburgh Penguins and the Buffalo Sabres that year. Ultimately, they lost to the Vegas Golden Knights, but not to underestimate an incredible playoff run that would show resilience that has since been repeated by the Panthers squad. Last year, the Florida Panthers won the Stanley Cup despite only being the third-best team in the Eastern Conference in terms of standings points. The Panthers had 110 standings points that season, behind the New York Rangers with 114 and the Carolina Hurricanes with 111. The Boston Bruins had 109 standings points that season, fourth in the Eastern Conference.
Regular season performance does not matter to the Florida Panthers. In 2025, they were only third-best in their division and fifth-best in the Eastern Conference in terms of standings points. Now, they are in the Stanley Cup Finals for the third year in a row. The Panthers have faced tough opponents in the Stanley Cup Finals each of these last few years. In 2023, they faced the Vegas Golden Knights. Vegas was the top regular-season team in the West that year. Despite the intense disparity in season performance by the 2023 Panthers and Golden Knights, Florida managed to avoid a clean sweep. In 2024, they faced the Edmonton Oilers. Edmonton was second-best in their division that season. This was the first Finals since 1945 to see a team force a seventh game after being down 3–0, with Florida becoming the first team since that occurrence to win the title in seven games after nearly surrendering a 3–0 series lead. Both Finals were a display of great resilience by Florida, something they’ve shown this year. This year, the Panthers will either face Edmonton or the Dallas Stars, and both are tough opponents.
A lot has changed from last year to this year, including changes to the Florida Panthers roster. Vladimir Tarasenko and Oliver Ekman-Larsson are gone. Seth Jones and Brad Marchand are here. Despite notable roster changes each season, the core of Aleksander Barkov, Aaron Ekblad, Sergei Bobrovsky, Sam Reinhart, and Matthew Tkachuk has stayed strong throughout. This strong core of talent throughout each position is a big reason why Florida has had such a strong playoff presence these last several years, and also why Florida can repeat as champions no matter who their opponent is in the Stanley Cup Finals this year.
