Gang, get ready to feel very conflicted for the next couple of weeks.

The 2025 Stanley Cup Final kicks off on Wednesday evening, pitting the Edmonton Oilers against the Florida Panthers in a rematch of the 2024 final series. But unlike last year’s championship round, this year’s Stanley Cup Final has actual stakes for the Calgary Flames related to the 2025 NHL Draft.

Let us explain.

Way back in the summer of 2022, the Flames and Panthers made a trade that sent Jonathan Huberdeau, MacKenzie Weegar, Cole Schwindt and a conditional first-round pick to Calgary in exchange for Matthew Tkachuk and a conditional fourth-round pick. Due to a subsequent trade with Montreal involving Sean Monahan, the conditions surrounding the pick Florida owed the Flames became incredibly complicated, but a pick will finally transfer to the Flames from Florida to conclude the trade this year.

Long story short: the Panthers’ 2025 first-round pick is property of the Flames, and the outcome of the 2025 Stanley Cup Final will determine where that selection lands in the first round. If the Oilers win the Stanley Cup, the Florida pick will be 31st overall, while the pick would land at 32nd overall if the Panthers win.

In other words: if Edmonton wins the Stanley Cup, the Flames get a better first-round pick. (It’s only one slot better than if Florida wins, but the point still stands.)

For those just joining us, or friends from out-of-market, Edmonton is Alberta’s capital city and located three hours north of Calgary. The cities have had a rivalry dating back to when Calgary was placed on the Canadian Pacific Railway line in 1883 over Edmonton and Edmonton was subsequently named the provincial capital in 1905. Simply put, residents of the two cities don’t particularly like each other, and a common response from a Calgarian when finding out they’re speaking to someone from Edmonton is “Oh, sorry about that.”

In addition to just straightforward historical animosity between towns, many hockey fans in the Calgary area feel like Edmonton has won enough Stanley Cups, thank you very much. The Oilers have captured five Stanley Cups, most recently in 1990, and while a Canadian team hasn’t won a Cup since Montreal did it in 1993, there’s a sizable number of locals that are fine with that drought continuing if it means the Oilers lose.

However, with the Flames currently in the midst of a multi-year roster overhaul – a process which, if successful, would return to the Flames to on-ice prominence – getting a slightly better first-round pick could actually help out quite a bit. (And there’s a contingent of Flames fans that would rather not see ex-Flames Matthew Tkachuk and Sam Bennett hoist the Cup again, even if it’s at the expense of the Oilers.)

In other words, friends, get ready for an awkward couple of weeks as the Stanley Cup Final unfolds.