Tkachuk, Panthers brace for Stanley Cup Final rematch against 'very hungry' Oilers

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. -- As Matthew Tkachuk went down the handshake line at the end of the 2024 Stanley Cup Final, a closely contested series between the Florida Panthers and Edmonton Oilers that went to Game 7, he had a message for his opponent.

He said it to Connor McDavid, to Stuart Skinner, perhaps to others, when he congratulated them on a hard-fought best-of-7 series the Panthers once led 3-0 before the Oilers almost came all the way back.

"We'll see you in the Finals next year, Stu," Tkachuk said to Skinner. "You guys are too good."

Just less than a year later, those two teams are back in the Stanley Cup Final, a rematch between the champion Panthers and the runner-up Oilers that begins with Game 1 at Rogers Place in Edmonton on Wednesday (8 p.m. ET; CBC, TVAS, SN, TNT, truTV, MAX).

It wasn't just something Tkachuk said, not a platitude.

"I believed that it was going to be us two again," Tkachuk said. "I think we're the two best teams in the League. And if everything would go right, it would probably be us two again in the Finals. I have that confidence in our team and they were the best team that we played last year in the playoffs. I stand by that. I believed it at the time. And here we are again."

It's an experience the Panthers can use. The Oilers too.

"You think about it all summer," Tkachuk said. "You think about this moment of getting back with a chance to compete for the Stanley Cup again. And we're the two lucky teams that get to do it. I mean it's so hard, too, and very few players are able to get a chance at one, even, so if you would have asked both of us in the middle of the summer if we have a chance to play for the Stanley Cup again, a rematch, we would both race to sign that paper.

"It's here. They're an unbelievable team. It's going to be a great battle. They're, I'm sure, champing at the bit to get another chance at it."

Though there are a lot of similarities between the teams that faced off last season, it's not entirely the same. And there's no guarantee the outcome will be either.

"I think from a personnel standpoint, I think there are some new pieces and some key pieces on each team that weren't there last year," Tkachuk said. "… It is a rematch, and there's a lot of similar faces, but there's some fresh blood on both sides that are going to be very hungry and going to be difference-makers in this series."

It was something Florida coach Paul Maurice noted, too, that both teams are better than they were last season, better in ways specific to what the teams needed to improve upon. And they have.

"I'm going to say that both teams are deeper this year," Maurice said. "So, that's a change for them, for us. I think they are further along in their defensive structure and we're actually a little further along in our offensive structure. And when you look at the strengths clearly last year, you'd say their offensive game was elite. They put up eight on us one night, so they can score some goals, but our defensive structure's pretty good too.

"Those were our strengths and then we just added to what might have been perceived as our weaknesses. We've gotten better at those, so both teams are better. Both teams are deeper. Both teams I think have made improvements on what would be their weaknesses, but they've maintained their core strength in doing so."

Tkachuk will play his third straight Cup Final with the Panthers, having won one of the previous two. He has been an All-Star and helped bring Florida Panthers hockey to the top of the NHL. He has played international hockey and become a star.

He is still just 27 years old.

"I'm just super lucky, I think," said Tkachuk, who has 16 points (five goals, 11 assists) in 17 playoff games this season, including two goals and five assists in the five-game Eastern Conference Final win against the Carolina Hurricanes. "I feel like I'm not even halfway through my career and I've been fortunate enough with so many great things that have happened and been blessed.

"I think my life changed, obviously, when I got traded here and everything's just been -- it was incredible before when I was playing in Calgary, and it's just been a whole different beast down here with things that have happened. Hoping to check another box here in a few weeks."

Though the Panthers have been in Florida this week since securing their return to the Cup Final, they were able to do something that was especially meaningful to Tkachuk. The inaugural Gaudreau Family 5K Walk/Run and Family Day was at Washington Lake Park in Sewell, New Jersey, on Saturday, honoring the lives of Johnny Gaudreau and Matthew Gaudreau, who died Aug. 29, 2024, when they were struck by an alleged drunk driver who was charged with two counts of death by auto, while riding bicycles near their home in Salem County.

Brady Tkachuk was able to be there in person, but Matthew, who was Johnny's teammate with the Calgary Flames for six seasons, was not. Yet with the early end to the conference final, the Panthers gathered to walk a 5K from Florida, supporting the family from afar.

"This kind of just happened, really last second, because we were planning on potentially being in Carolina for a Game 7 today or whenever it was," Tkachuk said. "I know that once we won the second round, the girls and the families were talking about potentially doing something on the day to raise money and honor the Gaudreau brothers. Once we won in five, we were able to partake."

They all did.

"Everybody was out there, which I thought was amazing," Tkachuk said. "I got to walk around Holiday Park [in Fort Lauderdale], got to raise some money for the foundation and just to honor them, I think is really special. And it means a lot to me and [Sam Bennett] and guys that played with him and knew him. Very special and I know they're very appreciative. I was just very happy that we were able to do it."