Co-hosts Dan Rosen and Shawn P. Roarke talk all about the reasons why the Panthers were able to repeat as Stanley Cup champions and how they ended up running away from the Oilers in the Final after three of the first four games were decided in overtime.
From the dominance of their depth, specifically their third line, to the steadiness of goalie Sergei Bobrovsky, the way they force teams to, as Oilers forward Connor McDavid said, keep "banging our heads against the wall," to the consistency of their top-six and defense group, Rosen and Roarke break it all down to showcase why the Panthers are still champions.
They also take the listener through their thoughts on why the Panthers can do it again next season and why they can even if they don't re-sign all three of their major pending unrestricted free agents -- Sam Bennett, Brad Marchand and Aaron Ekblad.
The co-hosts also go through the challenges the Oilers face heading into the offseason, including the big questions: Will they sign McDavid to a long-term contract and what will that look like? Is Stuart Skinner the goalie who can help them win the Stanley Cup?
An episode of about 30 minutes is all about the Stanley Cup Final, the Panthers and Oilers, and the futures of both teams.
Rosen and Roarke also plan to reconvene in Los Angeles to preview the 2025 Upper Deck NHL Draft and what will be coming after in free agency and trades. The draft will be held Friday and Saturday at L.A. Live's Peacock Theater in Los Angeles. The first round will be held Friday (7 p.m. ET; ESPN, ESPN+, SN, TVAS), with rounds 2-7 on Saturday (Noon ET; NHLN, ESPN+, SN, SN1).
The "NHL @TheRink" podcast presented by SKIP is free and listeners can subscribe on all podcast platforms. It is also available on NHL.com/multimedia/podcasts and the NHL app.
