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Paul Maurice, Head Coach of the Florida Panthers (Amy Irvin / The Hockey Writers)

4 Lessons the Canadiens Can Learn From the 2025 Stanley Cup Conference Finalists

Originally posted on The Hockey Writers
By William Bourget | Last updated May 21, 2025 10:35 AM ET

Halfway into the Stanley Cup Playoffs, there are only four teams remaining. The Edmonton Oilers will face the Dallas Stars in the Western Conference Final, while the Carolina Hurricanes will face the Florida Panthers in the Eastern Conference Final. A rematch in the West while the Panthers participate in their third straight conference final.

For a young Montreal Canadiens team, there is a lot to learn from the last four teams alive. Lessons that are going to be important to build a championship-winning team. Those four teams have had sustained success for years. The Panthers have been in the Stanley Cup Final for the last two years and won in 2024. The Stars have lost the last two Western Conference Finals. Edmonton lost to the Colorado Avalanche in 2022 but won in 2024. Finally, the Hurricanes lost to the Panthers in 2023.

The Importance of Depth

Depth is such an important part of a team’s playoff success. When you look at the remaining four teams, depth played a key part in their success. The Stars dealt with injuries in the first two rounds. Miro Heiskanen has only played three games, while Jason Robertson also missed the whole first round. Those are two crucial pieces for the Stars. The Texas team won their three games that ended in overtime. The goalscorers were Colin Blackwell, Tyler Seguin and Thomas Harley. In the playoffs, at least eight Stars recorded at least five points.

The Oilers also needed depth. During Stuart Skinner’s tough start to the playoffs, Calvin Pickard came in relief and won each of his six starts, helping the Oilers get past the Los Angeles Kings and get the edge against the Vegas Golden Knights. A total of 24 players played for Edmonton, goalies included, while they still wait for Mattias Ekholm to make his 2025 Playoff debut.

This Panthers squad screams depth. Brad Marchand is playing on what is considered Florida’s third line. Yet Eetu Luostarinen and Marchand led the team in points through two rounds. Eleven players also recorded at least five points. The Panthers won with their depth last year and still are. Finally, the Hurricanes are also relying on their depth. Sebastian Aho and Seth Jarvis were the only two players with a point per game through the team’s first ten playoff games. They rely on their depth to win games.

Experience Behind the Bench

All four coaches remaining have crucial experience behind the bench. Paul Maurice has over 1,900 games coached in the regular season and an extra 150 in the playoffs. He also led the Panthers to two straight Stanley Cup Finals, finally getting his name on the Cup in 2024. Peter DeBoer also has his share of experience. The coach who never lost a Game 7 has the most playoff experience of the remaining four coaches with 174 games. Since 2016, DeBoer has coached in five Western Conference Finals with the San Jose Sharks, Golden Knights and Stars.

Rod Brind’Amour and Kris Knoblauch don’t have quite the same coaching experience, but they both have coached in some important games. Brind’Amour won at least one playoff round in his first seven seasons as a head coach in the NHL. It is his second Eastern Conference Final with the Hurricanes. On the other hand, Knoblauch led the Oilers to the Stanley Cup Final in his first year with Edmonton in 2024. He will try to lead Edmonton to its first championship since 1990.

Martin St. Louis may not have the same coaching résumé – yet – but that doesn’t mean he can’t build one. Like Maurice, who only lifted the Stanley Cup in his second straight Final appearance after years of coaching experience, success often comes with time, patience, and the right foundation. St. Louis is still early in his coaching career, but he’s laying the groundwork.

Drafting Well

The last four teams have been built on some excellent drafts. You need more than excellent drafts; you also need to make some good trades or sign some important players in free agency, but the foundations of the remaining four teams have been built on solid NHL Entry Drafts.

The Oilers’ scoring leaders in the playoffs (Connor McDavid, Leon Draisaitl, Evan Bouchard and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins) were all drafted by the team. Edmonton obviously added some important pieces around those four guys, but the foundations were built on draft day. The Stars represent that. While their core was getting older, Dallas drafted brilliantly. Jake Oettinger, Thomas Harley, Heiskanen, Robertson, Roope Hintz and Esa Lindell were all drafted by the Stars. Heiskanen was the only top 15 pick out of those guys.

The Hurricanes’ first line and scoring leaders in the playoffs were all drafted in Carolina. Other than Aho, Jarvis and Andrei Svechnikov, Jaccob Slavin was also drafted by the team. Let’s not forget that Carolina still has a solid pipeline with prospects such as Alexander Nikishin, Bradly Nadeau and Scott Morrow. Finally, the Panthers drafted Aleksander Barkov, Anton Lundell and Aaron Ekblad, who are all important pieces for Florida. They also acquired several players that helped them become successful.

For the Canadiens, the foundation of success will also lie in their ability to consistently draft well and develop a core through the NHL Entry Draft. While trades and free-agent signings are essential for complementing a team, it’s the draft picks that truly set the foundation. Look at players like Cole Caufield, Juraj Slavkovsky, Lane Hutson and Kaiden Guhle, these are the building blocks the Canadiens will rely on to form a competitive team. Just like the Oilers, Stars, Hurricanes, and Panthers, Montreal’s long-term success will depend on the development of these young players into the franchise cornerstones.

The Importance of Special Teams

Special teams truly need to be special once in the playoffs. The remaining four teams have all had success in this facet in the first two rounds. Through two rounds, the three best penalty kill percentages were the Hurricanes (93.3%), the Panthers (89.5%) and the Stars (86.1%). The Oilers were the exception there. Their penalty kill was only effective 66.7% of the time, and it was the reason for their struggles at times during these playoffs. In the first round against the Kings, they gave up five goals total on the penalty kill in their two losses.

On the power play, each of the remaining four teams has scored on at least 20% of their opportunities. Even the Hurricanes, who had the 25^th-best power play in the regular season, bumped their power play percentage to 28.1% in the first two rounds.

Montreal’s special teams were quite decent during the playoffs. The Canadiens scored on 33.3% of their opportunities with the man advantage while they kept a decent 76.9% success rate down a man. Special teams are always crucial to a team’s success, even more so when it comes to the playoffs.

As the Canadiens continue to build their team for future success, there are several valuable lessons to take from the four remaining teams in the 2025 Stanley Cup Playoffs. Depth, experience behind the bench, smart drafting, and special teams are all integral to sustained playoff success, as demonstrated by the Oilers, Stars, Hurricanes, and Panthers.