BLOG: All updates & content from Stanley Cup Final Media Day

EDMONTON, AB – We're here and we're ready to get this Stanley Cup Final going.

Players and staff from the Edmonton Oilers and Florida Panthers will speak to the media on Tuesday afternoon as part of Media Day at the Downtown Community Arena in the ICE District before the puck drops on Game 1 of the 2025 Stanley Cup Final on Wednesday night at Rogers Place.

Oilers GM & Executive VP of Hockey Operations Stan Bowman was joined by Head Coach Kris Knoblauch at the podium to begin Media Day before players were divided into two groups and separate pods to take questions from the media ahead of Edmonton and Florida's second straight meeting in the Final.

Follow along with updates and get all of the day's written and video content below:

11:00 AM: Before speaking to the media, the Oilers were on the ice for their final full practice before Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Final.

Connor Brown, who's been working his way back into the lineup after leaving Game 3 of the Western Conference Final with an upper-body injury, wasn't a participant in Tuesday's practice, and Head Coach Kris Knoblauch would later classify the winger as a game-time decision for Game 1 on Wednesday.

Captain Connor McDavid took part in the practice after a skate issue led to his early departure from Sunday's skate at Rogers Place, and today was no different after he was seen making some adjustments throughout the on-ice session alongside Oilers Head Equipment Manager Jeff Lang.

"Just a fun game Langer and I like to play," McDavid commented. "Just working through some skate stuff, trying to find the right pair."

11:45 AM: Oilers GM & Executive VP of Hockey Operations Stan Bowman and Head Coach Kris Knoblauch have arrived at the podium to get Media Day interviews started inside the Downtown Community Arena.

Coach Knoblauch will guide the Oilers into the Stanley Cup Final for the second straight year – also his second year as an NHL head coach – and attests that his team is a lot more comfortable in the setting this time around, thanks to their unfortunate experience of losing in Game 7 of last year's Final.

“I don't know how much it’s different from last year. Maybe just the fact that we're more familiar with it," Knoblauch said. "We know the routine, we know the opponents. There were a lot of unknowns last year. Now that we've been here, we're just a little more, I don't know if I would say comfortable, but we just know what the routine is.

"Do we feel we're a bit stronger, a little more confident? Yeah, maybe. But we also know the other team's probably stronger than they were last year, as well. So we're going to have to play our best to give ourselves an opportunity. But as for getting prepared, I think it's just more that we’re familiar with what today’s like and what the travel is like, and what it's going to be like going back and forth. That's about it."

• TALKING POINTS: Bowman & Knoblauch speak before the Stanley Cup Final

12:00 PM: Bowman and Knoblauch have concluded their availability, and we'll move over to the other side of the rink where Connor McDavid is set to speak to the extended group of reporters and broadcasters who've gathered around his media pod.

The captain has a greater appreciation for being back in the Stanley Cup Final this year after coming close to accomplishing a childhood dream before falling in Game 7 of last year's Final to the Panthers.

When he was younger, McDavid watched Sidney Crosby go from the disappointment of losing in 2008 with the Pittsburgh Penguins to winning the following year in 2009 to lift his first Stanley Cup, and McDavid's hoping to follow that formula in 2025.

"I think as a kid growing up, you have such an appreciation for seeing teams that win and seeing the Cup brought out," McDavid said. "Seeing Sid win after growing up and being a Sid fan was pretty cool to see. There are steps to everything, and when you're a kid, you want to just play in the NHL. You want to be successful and do all these great things, and there comes a point where it's only about winning. I think this group reached that point years ago, and we've been on the cusp ever since. It's been a few years here with this corps, and we're looking to finish the job."

Having been in this position before, McDavid feels the Oilers are better equipped to handle the emotions and challenges of playing in the Stanley Cup Final, including navigating the frenzy of Media Day.

"I would say it's just dealing with the emotion of it, just because you feel closer," he said. "There's a big circus. It can feel like it's larger than it is. At the end of the day, it's another series and we're playing another great team, and you've got to beat them before anything else happens. So they have our complete focus.

"All of our energy is going into beating the Florida Panthers. There should be nothing else on anyone's mind. I think there's familiarity there. We know what to expect from their game. I think they know what to expect from ours. They're an aggressive, in-your-face and quick team."

12:12 PM: Defenceman John Klingberg has come a long way from spending a year and a half recovering from double hip surgery in November of 2023 to signing a one-year deal with the Oilers in early 2025 and playing a vital role on their blueline to help them get back to the Stanley Cup Final.

The Swedish defenceman has formed a productive partnership with Jake Walman, recording a goal and three assists with a plus-6 rating in 15 playoff games, while learning to adapt his game post-recovery to be able to contribute for a strong contender like the Oilers.

"I knew I couldn't move the way I wanted to move back in the day, and I think I learned to play a different way," Klingberg said.

"As you're getting older, you maybe slow down or whatever, and you have to learn how to play a different way. Obviously, I struggled doing it, but I think I learned from that and got experience, and that's the exciting part. What I felt like with moving on was 'Okay, if I feel like I can start moving the way I expect my body to react to everything'. I had the experience of playing injured, and together with that, I think I became a better player."

"If I just look at myself, I want to be part of something great that I am right now, and if I play fewer minutes, so be it. I just want to win. I just want to be a part of a team that's successful, and here we are."

12:17 PM: Despite the Oilers having the majority of their roster returning from last year's run to Game 7, defenceman Brett Kulak thinks they're a much different team that has the ability and emotions to deal with the challenge of navigating this year's Stanley Cup Final.

"I think every player on the team has grown a lot as a player and improved their game, so that's always a good thing," he said. "You get that from going through what we went through last year. It was a rollercoaster of a series to go down three and then win three in a row to get ourselves back in it. So all I can say is we're excited for this year, and definitely everyone's excited to start on home ice."

The experience of guys like Kulak is extremely valuable for guys like Jake Walman and Vasily Podkolzin, who will be making their first trips to the Cup Final, and the defenceman from Stony Plain believes they only need to continue to do what's made them successful over the regular season and playoffs.

"I think it's a little bit of both," Kulak said. "You've got to lean on the emotion and the energy and use that to your advantage. It's going to give you some legs and a little extra adrenaline at times in the games, but at the same time, just keep doing what you've been doing to get to this point. I think that's important.

"All the guys who are here for the first time, they're all great players, and they've all been a huge part of why we're here. So I think they need to keep doing what they've been doing."

12:25 PM: Goaltender Stuart Skinner has seen the Oilers battle through adversity once again to get back to this point – not just after their defeat in last season's Stanley Cup Final, but from a challenging regular season that required them to find different ways to win due to injuries and other factors.

"That's just a credit to our perseverance once again," he said. "It's kind of the story of the Oilers – we get knocked down, we just keep on getting back up. You've seen that in all the playoffs this year – as individuals and as a team. So to be honest, just the way that we are, we keep on moving forward. We lost the Cup last year, and we're back here again, having the opportunity to get it back, and that's pure and complete excitement."

Skinner himself has risen to the occasion in the playoffs after a tough start in Games 1 & 2 of the First Round against Los Angeles before he got a second chance in Game 3 of the Second Round versus the Golden Knights, taking over the crease from the injured Calvin Pickard before winning six of his next eight starts with three shutouts against Vegas & Dallas to help guide Edmonton back to the Stanley Cup Final.

The hometown goalie has learned to manage the emotions of the postseason better and is focused on keeping his picture small in the Stanley Cup Final, backing up the Oilers as they pursue their ambitions of lifting their franchise's sixth championship.

"That's being a goalie, right? Even this year, I can tell you guys there were a couple of games where I felt that I played amazing, but I let in five," he said. "There have been games where I felt terrible and got a shutout, so it's just the nature of being a goalie. There are so many things that can happen. So many bounces.

"Hockey is not like any other sport. There are 10 sticks out there. There are shin pads. The puck can bounce off anything, right? So no matter how I play, no matter how things kind of roll, we have to do our best in the moment for whatever the moment asks of us."

12:39 PM: Leon Draisaitl has seen him & his teammates operate with a different level of maturity over another long season following last year's run to Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Final. That's resulted in the players and coaches feeling like this run has been a lot more normal and routine compared to last year.

"I think a little bit more patient. We're more patient and more. More trusting in our game," Draisaitl said. "We seem to have an understanding of when to pounce and when to do the right moves and do the right. Make the right plays and the plays that are needed in certain. Certain moments and just maturity. A little bit more mature in those moments. I think that's something that, you know, I thought we've done a really good job of so far."

Coupled with the Oilers getting contributions from their entire roster, including players like Evander Kane and John Klingberg coming back to make an impact in the playoffs after extended time out due to injuries, their group has been coming together at the right time to mount another piush for the Stanley Cup.

"I would say that our puck movement back there is probably better than it was last year, and that's no knock on [Cody Ceci] or [Vincent Desharnais]. They were amazing. We almost won it, and they did a heck of a job," Draisaitl said. "We've always been very healthy going into the playoffs, and everybody knew their roles.

"This year, it was obviously different with Kaner coming back, not having played, and Freddy being hurt not having played in a while. Connor, myself, Hyman – there were lots of guys that hadn't played in a while, so it took us a little bit of time to understand what we are, but I think we did a really good job figuring out what team we are as quickly as we could."

12:46 PM: Defenceman Mattias Ekholm feels lucky to be able to have the opportunity to compete for the third time in the Stanley Cup Final during his career after only returning from injury in the deciding Game 5 of the Western Conference Final.

Coupled with the added motivation of returning to the Final to face the Panthers for the second straight year with the Oilers, the Swedish blueliner is ready to get rolling at the most important time of the year in hopes of finishing the job that was started last year in Edmonton.

"I think it's the ultimate revenge kind of matchup too with them coming into our building for the first couple games," Ekholm said. "Focus is on Game 1 as of right now, but it doesn't really matter who's on the other side. When that shiny silver thing is on the line, you're going to want to win."

12:50 PM: Flanked by his son Griffin, veteran Corey Perry said this is one of the reasons why he continues to fight to win a second Stanley Cup in his career.

"To have him here, he knows everybody in the league. He knows what positions they play, who's their leading scorer and all those things, because he's watching the highlights every single morning and playing mini sticks at the same time before school," Perry said. "This is why I'm still playing too, is to have an opportunity for him to feel and touch the Stanley Cup. It's something that I want to give him."

The 40-year-old has seven goals and three assists in 16 playoff games in 2025 and is making his fifth trip to the Final in the last six years.

"It gets tougher each and every summer, but at the same time, it puts that fire inside you and keeps it burning," he said. "We have that opportunity again this year to rewrite that script, and that's what we're trying to do."

12:51 PM: Ryan Nugent-Hopkins has been there for the best and the worst of this journey with the Edmonton Oilers.

The club's longest-tenured player of 14 seasons is now in his second straight Stanley Cup Final after only making the playoffs once in his first eight seasons before making six straight trips to the playoffs from 2020-25 – three of those runs coming to an end at the hands of the eventual Stanley Cup champion.

"I think those were fun years for me as a young kid coming into the league, but it could be frustrating at times when the team's not having success," he said. "But you learn a lot as a young player about how hard it is to win in this league and how important the little things are, so it's been a ton of fun to see our team evolve and put together some runs and getting to the ultimate goal two years in a row now. Coming up short last year just gives a little extra motivation to get the job done."

VIDEO

• MEDIA DAY | Bowman & Knoblauch
• MEDIA DAY | Connor McDavid
• MEDIA DAY | Brett Kulak
• MEDIA DAY | John Klingberg
• MEDIA DAY | Leon Draisaitl
• MEDIA DAY | Ryan Nugent-Hopkins
• MEDIA DAY | Stuart Skinner
• MEDIA DAY | Corey Perry
• MEDIA DAY | Mattias Ekholm

WRITTEN

• TALKING POINTS: Bowman & Knoblauch speak before the Stanley Cup Final