Oilers & Panthers Are Still the Teams to Beat in the NHL – The Hockey Writers Edmonton Oilers Latest News, Analysis & More

The 2024-25 NHL season has reached the holiday break, which isn’t the halfway point, but it’s close to it. Every team has played 35 games, give or take a few, and the good teams are starting to separate themselves from the pack. There are a few unknowns but the season is starting to take shape and soon, the articles about buyers and sellers will flood all the hockey sites.

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One thing that is clear, even if it wasn’t a few weeks back is that the teams to beat are still the Edmonton Oilers and the Florida Panthers. They were in the 2024 Stanley Cup Final and early on, they looked fatigued from the deep playoff runs. The Panthers have the best record in the Atlantic Division while the Oilers have the second-best record in the Pacific Division.

Both teams look poised to meet in the Final again (their Dec. 16 rematch looked like a mini preview of what’s to come). That’s saying a lot considering how the teams around them in both the Eastern and Western Conferences have looked. The Oilers and Panthers are still the two best teams in hockey and a trip to the Stanley Cup runs through them.

Oilers & Panthers Still Have Key Pieces in Place

A common question teams ask themselves is what does a team need to win the Stanley Cup? They need star power to carry them. They must prove they can overwhelm any goaltender with the offense and run up the score. They need depth. They must forecheck and defend. And last but not least, they must win games in multiple ways.

The Oilers and Panthers check off all of those boxes. The star power is unquestioned with Connor McDavid, Matthew Tkachuk, Leon Draisaitl, Aleksander Barkov, Zach Hyman, and Sam Reinhart highlighting both rosters. It’s not just the elite talent, both teams have also proven they can do it all. They’ve won with defense and by playing physical hockey but also with speed and skill taking over games.

Along with the on-the-ice factors, the two teams have two of the best coaches in the game. The Panthers have Paul Maurice behind the bench who has brought that physical hard-hitting and structured play to the team which has allowed them to slow down opponents but also wear them down as the game goes on. The Oilers meanwhile are a balanced team under Kris Knoblauch and while they have plenty of skill on the offensive end of the ice, they play a structured brand of hockey that allows them to win low-scoring games.

It’s easy to look at this season’s Panthers team, one that’s been at the top of the standings for most of the season, and say it’s a flawed group. The same can be said about the Oilers, who stumbled out of the gate with a 6-7-1 record and looked like a team that was missing some depth skaters who left in the offseason. That said, the issues both these teams have are minor and won’t hold them back in the big picture.

Oilers & Panthers Have Fixable Issues

The Panthers have struggled on the defensive end of the ice, allowing 3.09 goals per game, a surprise considering this team is coached by Maurice. It’s understandable why. They lost Oliver Ekman-Larsson and Brandon Montour to free agency, two defensemen who combined for 7.5 defensive point shares last season, and backup goaltender Anthony Stolarz signed with the Toronto Maple Leafs. Even with a great roster from the top down, it’s hard to replace players like that, especially early on in the season.

The good thing is that they will have a defense ready for the playoffs. Gustav Forsling, Aaron Ekblad, and Niko Mikkola anchor the top two pairings but they can make a move for a depth defenseman to fix the unit. There will be a lot of second-pair defensemen on the trade block at the deadline (like Ivan Provorov and Mike Matheson) and the Panthers can make a move for one of them. If they do, the need won’t be a prominent one anymore.

The Oilers meanwhile have younger players playing bigger roles. It happened by default with Cody Ceci, Ryan McLeod, Philip Broberg, and Dylan Holloway, four integral depth skaters, all leaving in the offseason to get this team under the salary cap. It’s resulted in some early season struggles and growing pains. That said, by the end of the season, those young skaters will mature and this team will be built for a Cup run. Ty Emberson, a 24-year-old defenseman they received in the Ceci trade, is still learning the position but come playoff time, he can emerge as that second pair option and round out the unit.

The youth movement will help but the Oilers also can add a depth scorer at a reasonable price at the trade deadline to get this team to the next level. They have the top-end talent and don’t have the depth scoring, with only three skaters scoring seven goals or more through 34 games, but the Oilers can make a move to fix that.

They Know What It Takes to Get Over the Hump

It’s a cliche in hockey that teams must learn how to lose before they learn how to win (at least that’s what rebuilding teams like to sell to their fanbases). There’s some truth to that considering how the Panthers and Oilers became contenders.

The Panthers won the Presidents’ Trophy in 2021-22 and were swept in the second round. They then had a magical run in 2023 where they were the last team to make the playoffs in the Eastern Conference and reached the Stanley Cup Final. They ran into a machine in the Vegas Golden Knights and were outplayed from the first game of the series, and lost in five games. The Panthers witnessed firsthand that a great team needs to take it up a notch not just in the playoffs but in the Final as well.

The Oilers had a similar type of playoff exit in 2022 as they were swept by the Colorado Avalanche in the Western Conference Final. They weren’t ready for the bigger stage. They made the Final in 2024 but once again, it was clear they weren’t ready and were the less experienced team in the Final. The Panthers came prepared for the series and ultimately came out on top in a hard-fought seven-game battle.

Both teams know what it takes to win but more importantly, they know that the season isn’t a sprint, it’s a marathon. The Panthers and the Oilers will struggle at times and won’t chase the best record in the NHL. Instead, they both play in one gear in the regular season, then kick things into another gear for the playoffs, and then another for the Final. It’s why in a season like this one where there isn’t a frontrunner to win the Stanley Cup, the Oilers and Panthers still have the edge.

Which Teams Could Dethrone Them?

There’s no clear-cut best team in the NHL. The Winnipeg Jets have 51 points but there are five teams within five points of them. That doesn’t mean that there aren’t a lot of good teams that will be suited for a Cup run. On the contrary, there are a few great teams on the top of both conferences ready to eliminate the Oilers and Panthers come playoff time.

The Panthers will have their hands full with the Toronto Maple Leafs if they face them in the playoffs (a big if considering their playoff history). This team is different and head coach Craig Berube has them playing two-way hockey and a physical style built to win in the playoffs. Along win the Maple Leafs, the Panthers would have a tough test against the best teams in the Metropolitan Division. The Carolina Hurricanes, New Jersey Devils, and Washington Capitals all present a unique set of obstacles for any team in a playoff series.

The Oilers also have a lot of teams that are coming after them. The Golden Knights look like a juggernaut this season and were the team that eliminated them in the 2023 second round so they could do it again. The Dallas Stars and Vancouver Canucks are looking for revenge while the Jets and Minnesota Wild have great defenses that can give the Oilers problems.

The Stanley Cup Playoffs are always unpredictable and this season will be no exception. The Eastern Conference still runs through the Panthers and the Western Conference runs through the Oilers but it’s far from a given that either team will be in the Final again.

Why an Oilers-Panthers Rematch Should Be In Everyone’s Best Interest

The 2024 Final was a memorable one, arguably the best series in over a decade if not longer. It had everything from high-scoring games to defensive battles. The Panthers took a commanding 3-0 series lead but the Oilers battled back and nearly completed the first reverse sweep in Final history since World War II. The Panthers ultimately recovered and won Game 7 2-1 to win their first title in franchise history. A rematch would have all the fireworks and then some.

This matchup also embodies a clash for both teams off the ice as well. The Panthers have turned their team and city into a destination in recent seasons with no state taxes, warm weather, and a market with minimal pressure, three things a team like the Oilers don’t have, playing a major factor. Players want to sign there. Yet, the Oilers have proven with its deep playoff runs that it’s a place where the highs are higher. To win in a hockey market like Edmonton, with more coverage and passionate fans, means more. In a unique way, Edmonton has also become a destination in recent seasons.

The Oilers have a legacy and are looking to return to the glory days. They won the Stanley Cup title five times in the 1980s and look to bring it back with talents that are almost as good as Wayne Gretzky, Mark Messier, Jari Kurri, and Paul Coffey. The Panthers are starting to look like the next modern dynasty and another title will put them in that category. The Tampa Bay Lightning reached the Stanley Cup Final three seasons in a row with back-to-back titles in 2020 and 2021 and the Panthers could become that next great team.

It’s been a while since we’ve had a rematch. The last time two teams met two times in a row was in 2008 and 2009 when the Detroit Red Wings faced the Pittsburgh Penguins. The Red Wings won the first meeting in six games as the final touch in their dynasty while the Penguins got their revenge a year later in a seven-game series. The Oilers want to do the same after coming a goal short last season, but the Panthers will have other plans if they meet.