Are you ready to learn some harsh lessons, class? It's time to learn what the Vegas Golden Knights can do to win the Stanley Cup again. Las Vegas does deserve another title to its name, you know.
That means looking back at a painfully disappointing 2024-25 season and seeing what went wrong. Sure, you had your fun watching your rivals lose yet another Stanley Cup Final. But what good does it do if you don't win it all?
Therefore, let's cheat off the Florida Panthers and check out the answers on their tests. Certainly, there are three things they're doing that are working. Don't worry. They'll never know you were peaking, nor will the teacher.
That could mean spending less in key spots. That could also mean carrying a more aggressive approach in your game. Whatever it is, these three lessons will be paramount to building a sustainable team that wins the 2026 Stanley Cup. Get your pencils and notebooks ready, class! It's time to learn!
1.) Be agitating as all hell
Watching the Florida Panthers, you saw a team that consistently got under the skin of the Edmonton Oilers. It didn't matter if Brad Marchand was measuring the height of Viktor Arvidsson or if Matthew Tkachuk was making subtle jabs. The Panthers were loose and the Oilers were rattled. We're talking about 21.17 penalty minutes a game in the Stanley Cup Final.
Believe it or not, Edmonton was the aggressor in the second-round series, consistently getting under Vegas's skin. That included Evander Kane bullying the Golden Knights on a regular basis.
Watching Steve Dangle's recent episode made one thing clear: the rules don't apply as much in the Stanley Cup playoffs as the regular season. Players get away with more and the Panthers abused that to their advantage. That's not saying that the Golden Knights should abandon their disciplined play altogether. It just means they must play with a chip on their shoulders.
2.) Hit more people and press more
On that note, the Panthers brought a suffocating, defensive style that backed the Oilers into a corner. Paul Maurice heavily emphasized a forechecking style that caused Edmonton to rely on a near-perfect quality of hockey.
The result? More turnovers and scoring opportunities for Florida. Players like Conn Smythe winner Sam Bennett and Brad Marchand used this to their advantage, pressing the Oilers until they broke.
Believe it or not, this is a similar style to how the Golden Knights won their first Stanley Cup. They consistently pressed opponents into making mistakes, leading to odd-man rushes and breakaways. This Mark Stone shorthanded goal in the clincher (against who else but the Panthers?) is a prime example.
3.) Fill in the lower lines with cheaper talent
Let's look at the Panthers' fourth line from Game 6 as an example. What do you notice from these three players?
Player | Cap Hit |
|---|---|
A.J. Greer | $850,000 |
Tomas Nosek | $775,000 |
Jonah Gadjovich | $775,000 |
You'll notice the Panthers utilize cheaper talent on the fourth line. It's part of why they're entering the offseason with $19 million in cap space heading into the summer.
That's the type of lesson Kelly McCrimmon is looking to take to heart, specifically with Nicolas Hague. The restricted free agent is predicted by many to make north of $4 million AAV, making life challenging for the Golden Knights. That's why using cheaper talent to fill your lower lines is key.
These players can always be replaced and carry the load off the salary cap. Instead of paying $4 million for a bottom-pairing defenseman, you're paying roughly $775,000 for a player like Kaedan Korczak. The same goes for players like Brandon Saad and Victor Olofsson. Why re-sign them when a player like Tanner Pearson can be brought back for under $1 million?