HabsWorld Predicts: Stanley Cup Final

It’s finally here! The 2025 Stanley Cup Final is about to begin. The HabsWorld writing team has provided their predictions on who they expect to win this series.

Edmonton Oilers vs Florida Panthers

David Woodward predicts: Oilers in 7 games
Terry Costaris predicts: Oilers in 7 games
Kevin Leveille predicts: Oilers in 6 games
Norm Szcyrek predicts: Oilers in 6 games
William Shoukri predicts: Oilers in 7 games
Allan Katz predicts: Oilers in 7 games
Brian La Rose predicts: Panthers in 6 games

(David) As a Canadian, my desire for the Cup to return to Canada may well be tainting my judgment but a thirty-three-year drought has to end sometime. Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl are on a mission and they have a nice supporting cast this trip to the Final. While the Panthers are a heavy physical team, it is the Oilers that lead the playoffs in hits. Of course, one must give the nod to the Panthers in the area of intimidation and raw brutality. Nonetheless, the Oilers are a physical team as well.

As a rather senior hockey fan, this series reminds me of the 1976 Final between Philadelphia’s Broad Street Bullies and our beloved Habs. Winners of the Cup in 1974 and 1975, the Flyers’ style of play included a level of intimidation that could be best described as a series of assaults worthy of incarceration. Those Philadelphia teams (and their success) threatened to transform the NHL into a form of roller derby on ice skates. Enter our 1976 Habs who could play any style. When Larry Robinson laid a beating on Dave Schultz in that series, Philadelphia’s championship streak was over and the NHL was saved.

Of course, the Oilers will need Stuart Skinner to continue to play over his head for Edmonton to prevail. The Oilers must also at least manage the antics of Bennett, Tkachuk, and company during the series. This scribbler does, however, anticipate that McDavid will rise to the occasion in the big moments and carry home his first Stanley Cup.

(Terry) On paper, these are two evenly matched opponents in very different ways, making this a coin toss of a prediction. In terms of intangibles, though, I have to give the edge to Edmonton.

They were soooo close to hoisting the Cup last year.

The Oilers are the hungrier team this go-round. They’re going to squeeze blood from a stone.

I realize that Florida has a winning mindset but I just can’t imagine it being on par with the determination that the Oilers will display.

This series will be games of inches, and the inches will favour Edmonton.

My prediction then is Edmonton in 7 – with a slight possibility of this series going to 6 games.

(Kevin) If last year’s seven-game almost historic comeback effort wasn’t enough for you, here we go again for Round Two featuring these two teams. While the Panthers would appear to be the favourites, I think the Oilers pull it off and finally bring back the Cup to Canada. On paper, the Oilers are the better offensive team while the Panthers hold a significant edge defensively. I think there are two factors that push me to call the Oilers here.

Firstly, I think Edmonton has really bought in defensively, so much so that Stuart Skinner appeared to be a more than capable netminder against both the Golden Knights and the Stars in previous rounds. So long as Skinner remains at .900 or above in save percentage, the Oilers have a real shot.
The second factor is more of an intangible. I think the Panthers rely on cheap tactics and their reputation as a team that relies on those tactics to get a psychological advantage.

Much was made about the way in which the Panthers dispatched the Hurricanes in Round Three, but I honestly look at it like the Hurricanes eliminated themselves in that series. In Game One of that series, the Hurricanes came out and attempted to play dirty and to run Bobrovsky. That isn’t their game at all, and it showed. By the time they went back to playing hockey, the series was over. The Oilers made that mistake last year and after their almost comeback, I think they know that if they stick to their brand of hockey, they can handle the Panthers, and THAT mindset is not one the Panthers have faced so far this postseason.

(Norm) With a Panthers-Oilers rematch from last year’s Stanley Cup Final, this series has a lot on the line for both teams. Florida disposed of both the Lightning and Hurricanes in five games this postseason to show their dominance, but Edmonton also defeated Dallas and Vegas in the same number of games. Aleksander Barkov leads the way for Florida with seventeen points, followed by Matthew Tkachuk with sixteen. This veteran team is hopeful to be the next team from the state of Florida to win back-to-back championships.

Edmonton’s superstar forward Connor McDavid leads his squad with twenty-six points to lead the NHL, followed right behind by Leon Draisaitl with twenty-five. Although losing forward Zach Hyman after a postseason-ending injury that will require surgery, the Oilers will get back forward Connor Brown who missed the last two games of the Dallas series. Watch for Evander Kane to really shine in this Final, after playing hurt in last year’s Final and missing all of this regular season after multiple surgeries. I really like Edmonton’s combination of elite skill up front and overall depth. This year, that combination will be enough for them to win Lord Stanley’s Cup.

(William) My continued underrating of the Panthers has been disproven at every corner, but I have to stick with my gut. On paper, I think Florida has the better roster; they’ve also got more experience and play a style more conducive to the postseason. That said, I think Connor McDavid is finally being given the support he needs. Corey Perry has turned back the clock, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins is playing the best hockey of his career, and Leon Draisaitl has created one of the best second lines in hockey with Evander Kane on his wing. The goaltending is still the shakiest part of this team, but it feels like something special is brewing in Edmonton. Special teams should play a significant factor in this series. Edmonton’s penalty kill has been abysmal, and their power play lethal. If Edmonton does win this series, it will be a detractor for the statement “defence wins championships,” as the Oilers turn to their offensive duo to lead the way.

(Allan) In the last round of predictions, I was the only writer who chose Edmonton over Dallas. It wasn’t just HabsWorld, it was everywhere. From Vegas to the basements of all the internet’s “hockey experts”, Dallas was the team for many of the same reasons Florida is being seen as the favorite. Losing Hyman is not a positive development but with what has been solid goaltending, two superstars, and a winning defensive effort, more people are beginning to see this might be the year for Canada’s Stanley Cup drought to end and for the Oilers to finally make it to the top of the mountain. Despite the fact that the Habs will be winning the Cup from 2028 to 2032 it still would be nice to end the unforgivable famine. If Edmonton’s defensive powers maintain themselves, Florida is going to have a tough time winning despite their formidable talents. McDavid, Draisaitl, Nugent-Hopkins, Bouchard, Skinner, and of course former Montreal Canadiens; the incredible Corey Perry and the dependable Brett Kulak will not be denied.

(Brian) Well, someone has to pick Florida, don’t they?  Boiled down to its simplicity, I ask myself this.  Are the Panthers better than last year’s Cup-winning group?  I would say yes.  Are the Oilers better?  It’s largely the same defensive group and while they added two veteran forwards in the summer (Viktor Arvidsson and Jeff Skinner), they’ve both been frequent scratches.  I don’t think they’re much worse but I don’t think they’re better either.  I don’t trust either goalie and the cores are the cores so with Florida winning it last year and having the more-improved group this time around, I’ll give them the edge.