2025 Stanley Cup Final Preview: Can Edmonton Keep Florida From Repeating?

The final is a rematch of last year’s series, but Edmonton has home ice this time. What they don’t have is Zach Hyman.

Florida Panthers defenseman Dmitry Kulikov (L) elbows Adam Henrique of the Oilers in front of goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky during Game 3 of the Stanley Cup Final in Edmonton, Canada, on June 13, 2024. Jeff McIntosh/The Canadian Press via AP

Exactly eight months after the 2024–25 NHL season began with an international series in Prague, Czech Republic, the season will conclude with the Stanley Cup Final starting June 4. In a rematch of last year’s final, the series pits the defending champion Florida Panthers against the Edmonton Oilers, but unlike last year, Edmonton has home-ice advantage.

That advantage is one of the many storylines hovering over the series. Here are some of the others.

A Rare Rematch

While this is the 12th rematch in Stanley Cup Final history, many of those happened during the pre-expansion era. The 2025 Stanley Cup Final is just the second rematch over the last 40 years, following the Red Wings and Penguins meeting in 2008–09. The reigning champs are 7–4 all-time in the rematches, which obviously favors the Panthers, but another statistic favors the Oilers.