Latest news with #Cups
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
Panthers' Brad Marchand Addresses Future Immediately After Winning Stanley Cup
Panthers' Brad Marchand Addresses Future Immediately After Winning Stanley Cup originally appeared on Athlon Sports. Brad Marchand waited 14 years to lift the Stanley Cup again, and it's fair to assume he probably never thought he'd do so as a member of the Florida Panthers. Advertisement After such a long wait, Marchand wasn't about to rush into decisions about what comes next as he approaches unrestricted free agency. Just minutes after Florida's 5–1 Game 6 win over the Edmonton Oilers clinched back-to-back titles for the Panthers and Marchand's second championship — and first since leaving the Boston Bruins — the veteran forward was asked whether there's any chance he will come back to Florida next season. "We'll see what happens here soon," Marchand said. Marchand joined Florida late in the season after a deadline trade from Boston in exchange for a conditional draft pick. The winger had spent the entirety of his 16-year career in Beantown and was named team captain at the start of this season. Advertisement Truth be told, the trade turned out to be a transformative move because of his immediate impact and how it helped the Panthers become the first team since the Tampa Bay Lightning in 2020-21 to win back-to-back Cups. "You never know how things are going to play out," Marchand said. "I just wanted to come in and buy in and be part of the group and play whatever role I was put in and do it to the best I possibly can." Florida Panthers center Brad Marchand (63) speaks to head coach Paul Maurice after winning the 2025 Stanley Cup Final against the Edmonton Rassol-Imagn Images Marchand became a key piece in Florida's playoff run, finishing with 10 goals and 20 points in 23 games and as the likely runner-up for the Conn Smythe Trophy as the most valuable player of the playoffs. Advertisement The 37-year-old credited Florida's team culture for easing his transition. "They've built an incredible culture in this room. It's very easy to follow," Marchand said. "And when you do that, you just leave it all on the ice." Related: Panthers Not the Favorites in Initial 2026 Stanley Cup Odds This story was originally reported by Athlon Sports on Jun 18, 2025, where it first appeared.
NBC News
4 days ago
- Sport
- NBC News
Panthers defeat Oilers for second straight Stanley Cup title
The first 25 years of the Florida Panthers' existence was anything but synonymous with hockey success. The Panthers made the NHL postseason only five times and advanced past the second round just once, all while cycling through 10 coaches. Now, they are hockey's most dominant franchise — again. On Tuesday, Florida won its second consecutive Stanley Cup title by outlasting Edmonton in a repeat of last year's final, winning 5-1 in Game 6 to continue its nearly overnight transformation into one of hockey's most successful franchises. It was the third straight season Florida had played for a title, a run that coincides with the hiring of coach Paul Maurice. Edmonton won the series opener in overtime, only for Florida to rebound with wins in Game 2, in double overtime, and Game 3. When Edmonton evened the series with an overtime win in Game 4, Florida took a 3-2 series lead by winning in Game 5. The Panthers then closed out a series full of tight games with a blowout that began with Sam Reinhart's unassisted goal in the first period. A goal by Matthew Tkachuk pushed the lead to 2-0, and Reinhart scored the next three goals to turn the closeout opportunity into a 5-0 rout. Edmonton scored its only goal in the final minutes, well after the Panthers had already put the game away by scoring three times on Edmonton goaltender Stuart Skinner, and two more empty-net goals. Florida's Carter Verhaeghe finished with three assists. With Florida's 4-2 series win, it is the 10th franchise to win consecutive championships and the first since Tampa Bay in 2020-21. The championship extended the Panthers' run, continued the league's southern shift, and c ontinued Canada's championship drought to 32 years, with Montreal the last Canadian champion, in 1993. Since 2004, when Tampa Bay won the Stanley Cup, 10 of the past 21 champions have come from the Sun Belt, extending from Los Angeles to Florida. The four Stanley Cup titles won by the state of Florida alone in the last five years is as many Cups as Canada has produced in the last 37. To win its second Stanley Cup, Florida had to overcome a choppy regular season in which it finished with only the Eastern Conference's fifth-highest point total and fifth-best goal differential. A repeat meeting of last year's finalists was hardly a foregone conclusion, as Edmonton endured its own inconsistency while finishing with the sixth-most points in the Western Conference. Once they reached the postseason, both Florida and Edmonton pushed through behind offenses that ranked first and third in goal-scoring. Florida also owned the best goals-against average in the postseason, at just 2.5. In the postseason, the Panthers then had to overcome their weakness of squandering potential series-clinching opportunities. They were just 10-8 in such scenarios since 2023. And closing out the series also meant stopping perhaps hockey's best offensive weapon in Connor McDavid, the 28-year-old star whose long list of individual accolades during 10 years in Edmonton had not yet translated into a team championship.
Yahoo
04-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Connor McDavid ‘on a mission' to lead Oilers to first Stanley Cup championship since 1990
Connor McDavid wants to go home with the right trophy this year. The Edmonton Oilers captain was voted winner of the Conn Smythe Trophy as the most valuable player in last year's NHL playoffs. But he didn't get the hardware he really wanted – the Stanley Cup. McDavid had to settle for being the sixth player in the six-plus decades since the Conn Smythe was first awarded to win the trophy despite playing for the losing team in the Final. Advertisement McDavid led all scorers last spring with 42 points, including a playoff-record 34 assists. But none of them came in Game 7 of the Final, a 2-1 loss to the Florida Panthers. He hopes to get his name on the most famous trophy in sports this year when the Oilers and Panthers face off in a rematch. Edmonton hosts Game 1 at Rogers Place on Wednesday night and is trying to win its first championship since 1990, when the Oilers capped a run of five Cups in seven years by defeating the Boston Bruins in five games. The five-time NHL scoring champion hopes to follow the formula of NHL stars such as Sidney Crosby who've become Cup-winners after failing on their first try. Sid and the Pittsburgh Penguins were involved in the most recent of the 11 Cup Final rematches, losing to the Detroit Red Wings in six games in 2008 before beating the Wings in seven games the following year. The Crosby-led Penguins went on to win the Cup again in 2016 and 2017. McDavid, a big Crosby fan, watched No. 87 go from agony to ecstasy in a year and wants that for himself. Advertisement 'I think as a kid growing up, you have such an appreciation for seeing teams that win and seeing the Cup brought out,' he said Tuesday during Media Day. 'Seeing Sid win after growing up and being a Sid fan was pretty cool to see. There are steps to everything, and when you're a kid, you want to just play in the NHL. You want to be successful and do all these great things, and there comes a point where it's only about winning. 'I think this group reached that point years ago, and we've been on the cusp ever since. It's been a few years here with this corps, and we're looking to finish the job.' Connor McDavid 'on a mission' to bring Stanley Cup to Edmonton Stan Bowman, who joined the Oilers as general manager and vice president of hockey operations last summer, knows a thing or three about winning the Cup – he was the architect of the Chicago Blackhawks' trio of Cup-winning teams from 2010-15. He said he noticed right away that his captain had a single focus for this season. Advertisement 'The first time I talked to Connor, I went to see him in the summer after I started, and all he talked about was 'I just want to win the Cup.' That was it. We didn't talk about anything else. This is his singular focus. 'He's accomplished everything he could accomplish individually in this sport. He continues to dazzle us every game, every round. He's incredibly motivated and driven to win. You run out of superlatives to talk about him as a player and describe what he does on the ice. I think the thing he does that's equally impressive is the way he is driving our team with his determination. There's no one else you want to go into battle with than someone like that. He's our leader.' McDavid's exploits on the ice speak for themselves. But Bowman said his captain is a man on a mission. Advertisement 'Not only is he impressive with what he can do on the ice, but his focus is driving us,' Bowman said. 'You could see how bad he wanted it last year, when it didn't go Edmonton's way in Game 7. Right now, he's on a mission. I think as much as you get excited when you win – I've noticed it even from the first round, the second round, even in Dallas, he's very focused on 'we need four more wins.' Related: Stanley Cup Final preview, predictions for NHL championship between Panthers & Oilers It's hard to believe, but this is McDavid's 10th season since the Oilers made him the No. 1 pick in the 2015 NHL Draft. He's piled up a load of hardware during that time, but it's only in the past two years that McDavid and his teammates have broken through to the championship series. McDavid agrees with his coach, Kris Knoblauch, that the Oilers are better equipped to handle the emotions and challenges of playing in the Stanley Cup Final. That includes navigating the frenzy of Media Day, where he's naturally one of the most sought-after players. Credit: Sam Navarro-Imagn Images 'I would say it's just dealing with the emotion of it, just because you feel closer,' he said. 'There's a big circus. It can feel like it's larger than it is. At the end of the day, it's another series and we're playing another great team, and you've got to beat them before anything else happens — so they have our complete focus.' Advertisement 'They' are the Panthers, who are in the Final for the third straight season and looking for back-to-back championships. McDavid said he and his teammates have to have all their focus on atoning for last year's Game 7 loss in the Final. 'All of our energy is going into beating the Florida Panthers,' he said. 'There should be nothing else on anyone's mind. I think there's familiarity there. We know what to expect from their game. I think they know what to expect from ours.' Related Headlines
Time of India
03-06-2025
- Business
- Time of India
Carolina Hurricanes set to make major moves in 2025 NHL free agency
Carolina Hurricanes set to make major moves in 2025 NHL free agency (Image Source: Getty Images) The NHL offseason is almost here. As the 2025 Stanley Cup Final is about to begin, many teams are looking to improve. But one team is gaining attention for its bold plans. After another tough playoff run, they are ready to make big changes. Their general manager recently made strong comments that sparked a lot of interest. Now, fans are wondering what moves this team will make next. Carolina Hurricanes aim to spend big after playoff exit Following the Eastern Conference Final defeat on May 27, 2025, Carolina Hurricanes general manager Eric Tulsky met with the media at PNC Arena in Raleigh, North Carolina. Tulsky unveiled the team's summer strategy during the presentation. He said, 'If there's any chance to get better, we're going to take it.' Tulsky added that the team has full approval to spend money to improve the roster. Carolina has a strong group of players already. But they have extra salary cap space going into the 2025–26 season. The NHL salary cap is expected to be $92.4 million. Tulsky said the Hurricanes are ready to use their space wisely. 'There's no guarantee we can find ways to spend all that money,' Tulsky said. 'But we're going to spend all summer trying.' by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Esta nueva alarma con cámara es casi regalada en General Pacheco (ver precio) Verisure Undo This comment showed that Carolina is serious about signing new talent. The Hurricanes have lost in the Eastern Conference Final two years in a row. Now, they want to break through and win the Stanley Cup. Also Read: I nsider reveals Carolina Hurricanes and Chicago Blackhawks preparing massive offers for Mitch Marner Eric Tulsky says Carolina Hurricanes want to win now and later Eric Tulsky made it clear that winning is the main goal. 'Our goal is to win a Cup,' he said. 'And our goal is to win more Cups after that and keep going.' He said the team wants to stay strong for many seasons. 'We're trying to build a team that can compete year after year,' Tulsky told the media. 'But competing isn't enough. We want to win.' As of now, Tulsky has not said which players the team is targeting. But with money to spend and a strong base of players, the Hurricanes could be one of the busiest teams in this free agency period. This summer, all eyes will be on Carolina to see what they do next.
Yahoo
03-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Five things to know about the Oilers-Panthers Stanley Cup final rematch
The Oilers will face the Florida Panthers in the Stanley Cup final for the second straight year, starting with Game 1 in Edmonton on Wednesday. The Panthers won last season's showdown in seven games to collect their first-ever NHL title. Here are five things to look for in the rematch: SO CLOSE The Oilers looked down and out in last season's Cup final before rallying from 3-0 down to force a Game 7. And the decisive game came down to the slimmest of margins, with Sam Reinhart's second-period goal standing as the winner in a 2-1 Florida triumph. Had the Oilers managed to complete the comeback, they would have been the first Canadian team to win a Stanley Cup since 1993 and just the fifth team — and second in a Cup final — to come back from a 3-0 series deficit. Advertisement --- HIT PARADE The Panthers have built their identity around being a hard-hitting team. With the likes of Sam Bennett, Eetu Luostarinen and Brad Marchand patrolling the ice, the physical Panthers lead the playoffs in both hits (812) and penalty minutes (279). The Oilers can also throw the body and sit second in hits with 648. But they will have to make up for the loss of Zach Hyman against Florida. Hyman led the playoffs with 111 hits before undergoing surgery on an unspecified injury. --- GOING DEEP Bennett leads the playoffs with 10 goals, but the Panthers have had offensive contributions throughout their lineup. Nineteen players on their roster have scored in the post-season, and their defence is responsible for 15 goals in 17 games. But while the Panthers are known for their depth, 19 players have also scored for Edmonton during this playoff run. Not bad for a team once considered too reliant on superstars Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl. Advertisement --- ELDER STATESMEN The Panthers picked up some playoff grit and veteran savvy when they acquired Marchand, the former Boston Bruins captain, at the trade deadline. Marchand, who turned 37 earlier this month, helped the Bruins win the Stanley Cup in 2011 and is heading into his fourth final. Impressive, except when stacked against 40-year-old Edmonton forward Corey Perry. He is heading into his fifth final in six years. While he has come up short in his last four Cup finals, he helped Anaheim win it all in 2007. --- DYNASTY DAYS The state of Florida has been the undisputed epicentre of NHL success for the last six years. Between the Panthers and the Tampa Bay Lightning, teams from the Sunshine State have appeared in six straight Stanley Cup finals, winning three so far. But the combined success of the Panthers and Bolts hasn't quite reached the level of the high-flying Oilers of the 1980s, led by Wayne Gretzky, Mark Messier and other stars. Between 1982-83 and 1989-90, the Oilers won five Cups and were runners-up another time, creating one of the NHL's legendary dynasties. This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 30, 2025. The Canadian Press
