Staff Predictions for 2025 Stanley Cup Final

After nearly a full week of buildup, the 2025 Stanley Cup Final is finally set to get underway Wednesday night, and for the first time in 16 years, we have a rematch.

The Florida Panthers, making their third straight Stanley Cup Final appearance, are looking to win back-to-back championships and cement themselves as the NHL's newest dynasty. Standing in their way are the Edmonton Oilers, the very same team they bested in a seven-game thriller last year. Both teams have looked completely dominant over the past few weeks, and another meeting in the final is sure to produce some fireworks.

With that said, here are our staff's predictions for the Stanley Cup Final rematch.

Jon Alfano: Betting against the Panthers right now seems like a fool's errand. This Florida team may very well be even better than the one that won the Stanley Cup last year, and that thought alone should strike fear into the rest of the league.

That said, Edmonton may also be better than last year. The Oilers are getting strong contributions from their entire lineup — not just from Connor McDavid, Leon Draisaitl and Evan Bouchard — and Stuart Skinner is playing possibly the best hockey of his career right now.

This should be just as thrilling a series as it was last year, but this time, Connor McDavid and the Oilers come out on top in seven games.

Nick Horwat: Is there are stopping the Edmonton Oilers right now? After a rough first two games of the postseason, the Oilers have found their rhythm and have rolled like a freight train with no breaks. The Florida Panthers are sure to put up a fight but expect the Oilers to finally break through and end Canada’s Stanley Cup drought.

With Connor McDavid, Leon Draisaitl, and Stuart Skinner all at the top of their games and hungry for redemption, they might be nearly impossible to stop. McDavid has a chance to follow in the footsteps of icons in the game, and not only hoist the cup for the first time, but get redemption on the team that stopped them just short last year.

McDavid and the Oilers feel like a team of destiny this year. It may take all seven games, but they will bring the Stanley Cup back to Edmonton for the first time since 1990.

Tyler Major-Mcnicol: The second time around the Edmonton Oilers aren’t going to be pushed around by the Florida Panthers. Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl are going to win their first Stanley Cup.

This is very much a series worthy of seven games, and it wouldn’t be surprising if the series stretches out to the last pivotal second. Overtime feels like the most dramatic way to end any game, but overtime in a Game 7 is just on a whole other level. McDavid and Draisaitl suffered a devastating loss, and there isn’t better kerosene than a redemption rematch to ignite a fire in the superstars’ bellies.

One of these two gentlemen are going to put the puck behind Sergei Bobrovsky that wins the Oilers the Stanley Cup. Draisaitl will get his Conn Smythe, and McDavid will make a beautiful speech about his best bud, while the pair hold the Cup high after a grueling seven-game series. No. 97 threads the needle to No. 29 and the German sniper buries the Panthers, and ends Canada’s Cup drought in overtime.

McDavid gets his Cup and cements a legacy, that was already Hockey Hall of Fame-level, and Draisaitl, too.

Scott Salomon: The Panthers win in six games. Edmonton gets turned back by Sergei Bobrovsky once again. Connor McDavid does not have a great series. Brad Marchand and Aleksander Barkov lead the Panthers in points.

Max Meso: The Edmonton Oilers will be seeking vengeance against the reigning Stanley Cup Champ Florida Panthers, who are going to third consecutive final, one of the reasons why I have Edmonton winning in six games.

Although the Panthers are coming off a series where they outscored a Carolina Hurricanes team 21-10, I think they'll have a much bigger challenge against an Edmonton team that has been chomping at the bit since last year's playoffs, that has only gotten better this season with a deeper roster, a Stuart Skinner who looks to have found his best hockey yet, and the fact that an aging Bobrovsky has had trouble against this Edmonton team from last year's finals to this year's regular season.

For me, these are some of the reasons Edmonton will bring the Cup home to Canada for the first time since 1993.