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3 Intriguing Teams That Could Upset the Florida Panthers' 3-Peat Bid

Originally posted on Athlon Sports | By Sean Hartnett | Last updated Sep 1, 2025 4:56 PM ET

The 2025-26 Florida Panthers will have an opportunity to become members of the NHL’s most exclusive club.

Should the Cats claim a third successive Stanley Cup crown, they will join the Toronto Maple Leafs, Montreal Canadiens and New York Islanders as the only organizations to accomplish this elusive feat.

Becoming three-peat Stanley Cup champions isn't an impossible task, yet the modern day Panthers face an entirely different challenge compared to dynasties of bygone eras. The 1980-83 Islanders ascended hockey’s mountaintop and treated their fans to four consecutive Stanley Cup victory parades – and no team since has rolled off a three-peat.

Without taking away any luster from the Isles’ dominance, their championships arrived decades before the implementation of a hard salary cap and in a 21-team league that featured less parity.

Fast forward to modern day – the offseason work done by Panthers general manager Bill Zito has positioned Florida to end a 42-year wait for a Stanley Cup hat trick. Zito crucially secured the extensions of Brad Marchand, Sam Bennett and Aaron Ekblad. Keeping that essential trio together wasn’t without a fight.

The Detroit Red Wings tempted Ekblad with a heftier average annual value salary than the $6.1 million per annum deal that he eventually penned to remain in Sunrise.

Why There Hasn't Been a Recent NHL 3-Peat

Hockey is a sport of black and blues. A grueling, 82-game regular season marathon is followed by a frantic sprint to capture Lord Stanley.

After center ice handshakes and victory laps have concluded, championship dressing rooms are a mixture of adrenaline-filled celebrations and players wrapped like mummies from head to toe in ice packs and bandages.

Star forward Matthew Tkachuk played through a sports hernia and torn adductor where the muscle was torn off bone, requiring offseason surgery. Recently, David Pagnotta of The Fourth Period suggested that Tkachuk could return as soon as January.

Captain Aleksander Barkov played the Stanley Cup Final with a lacerated hand that needed to be glued together multiple times, while Sam Reinhart persevered through a Grade 2 MCL tear.

Draining playoff runs and hard miles can take a toll on a team. The Panthers have slogged through 78 postseason games over the past four seasons. Whether we’re talking about Rome or the 1980’s Islanders, all empires eventually fall. While the Panthers are equipped to continue chasing Stanley Cup rings, they’re going to be met with some fierce competition.

NHL Teams That Could Topple the Panthers in 2026

Edmonton Oilers

After forcing three overtime games in the 2025 Stanley Cup Final and pushing the Panthers to six games, the Oilers are always a threat given their three-headed monster of Connor McDavid, Leon Draisaitl and Evan Bouchard.

Edmonton enters the 2025-26 season without six players from last year’s run and will need depth signings Andrew Mangiapane and Curtis Lazar – as well as heralded prospect Isaac Howard to fuel their supplemental offense.

Toronto Maple Leafs

The departure of Mitch Marner obviously leaves big skates to fill – but Nicolas Roy, who was acquired in the sign-and-trade with the Vegas Golden Knights is exactly what the Leafs need at third line center. Roy was an instrumental piece of Vegas’ 2023 Stanley Cup championship victory over the Panthers.

General manager Brad Treliving is betting on Matias Maccelli to return to form after an injury-hit 2024-25 season. If he’s able to return to 50-point production, Maccelli could be one of the shrewdest acquisitions of the NHL offseason.

Auston Matthews and William Nylander lead this group that has long been overdue to lift Lord Stanley. Could this finally be their year?

New York Rangers

Incoming head coach Mike Sullivan brings credibility and structure after the Rangers plummeted from Presidents Trophy winners to missing the playoffs. Igor Shesterkin can stand on his head between the pipes to win games on his own.

The key was bolstering a blue line that was disorganized and porous throughout the 2024-25 season. Vladislav Gavrikov will help solidify the Blueshirts in their own end.

If Sullivan can get Adam Fox, Artemi Panarin, Vincent Trocheck, Mika Zibanejad and JT Miller clicking harmoniously, then the Rangers have as good a chance as anybody.

You could count the Oilers, Maple Leafs, Rangers, Colorado Avalanche, Dallas Stars and Vegas Golden Knights among teams that are poised to usurp the Panthers. A hot goalie, sudden injury or breakout star could be the X-factor in any playoffs.

That said, the Panthers are once again favorites given their postseason pedigree and successful offseason.

This article first appeared on Athlon Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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