Tampa Bay Lightning general manager Julien BriseBois revealed Saturday that team captain and longtime franchise fixture Steven Stamkos plans to become a free agent Monday.
"As of now, we've both agreed to go to July 1," the GM said, per NHL.com's Dan Rosen via his colleague, Mike Zeisberger.
BriseBois added that he didn't extend an increased offer to Stamkos despite trading away defenseman Mikhail Sergachev and forward Tanner Jeannot to clear cap space earlier in the day, according to ESPN's Greg Wyshynski.
The Bolts executive explained that he went to Stamkos' agent after making the Sergachev trade, and both sides agreed on this outcome, per the Tampa Bay Times' Eduardo A. Encina.
Tampa Bay is reportedly targeting Carolina Hurricanes winger Jake Guentzel, another potent scorer who's also a pending unrestricted free agent.
Stamkos is one of the highest-profile pending UFAs in this year's class.
The 34-year-old forward excelled this past season, racking up 40 goals and 41 assists over 79 games. His average ice time of 18:14 was his lowest since 2016-17, and he failed to drive possession at five-on-five with an expected goals for percentage of 48.04, according to Natural Stat Trick. However, the Lightning did control over 50% of the scoring chances (50.15) with Stamkos on the ice in those situations.
Stamkos has played his entire 16-year career with the Lightning, who drafted him first overall in 2008. He's helped them make numerous playoff runs, including back-to-back Stanley Cup championships in 2020 (though he played just one postseason game that year) and the abbreviated 2021 campaign.
The Markham, Ontario-born veteran is a two-time "Rocket" Richard Trophy winner who buried a career-high 60 goals in 2011-12. He's been exceptional in recent years, too, having established personal bests of 64 assists and 106 points in 2021-22.
Stamkos also tested the free-agent waters in 2016, garnering interest from the Detroit Red Wings, Buffalo Sabres, and Toronto Maple Leafs before re-signing with Tampa Bay on the eight-year, $68-million pact that expires Monday.
The Edmonton Oilers signed backup goaltender Calvin Pickard to a two-year contract extension worth $1 million per season, the club announced Friday.
Pickard grabbed the Oilers' No. 2 netminding job and played well amid Jack Campbell's struggles this past season. Pickard went 12-7-1 with a .909 save percentage in 23 games (20 starts) in the regular season.
The 32-year-old also played three games and started two during Edmonton's second-round series against the Vancouver Canucks, which his club won in seven. Pickard went 1-1 with a .915 save percentage in those contests, prevailing in Game 4 but losing Game 5.
Pickard spent the 2022-23 campaign with the Oilers' AHL affiliate, the Bakersfield Condors. He signed a two-year, two-way pact with Edmonton in July 2022. That deal carried a cap hit of $762,500, according to CapFriendly.
The journeyman puck-stopper spent time with five other organizations before landing in Edmonton. He played parts of three seasons with the Detroit Red Wings, parts of one campaign apiece with the Arizona Coyotes, Philadelphia Flyers, and Toronto Maple Leafs, and three with the Colorado Avalanche to begin his career.
Pickard suited up for a career-high 50 games with the Avalanche in 2016-17. He went 15-31-2 with a .904 save percentage that season.
The Rutger McGroarty suitors are starting to materialize for the Winnipeg Jets.
The Boston Bruins have had continuous discussions with the Jets about the top prospect, while the Buffalo Sabres, Columbus Blue Jackets, and New York Islanders have also inquired, reports the Winnipeg Free Press' Mike McIntyre.
On Saturday, it was reported the Jets are likely to trade McGroarty, but that he doesn't have any animosity toward the city of Winnipeg.
The Jets were apparently keen on signing the Nebraska-born University of Michigan star at the end of the college season in April, but they weren't willing to guarantee him a path to NHL playing time. McGroarty then decided to return to the Wolverines for his junior year in 2024-25.
Winnipeg bolstered its forward group in preparation for a playoff run in March, adding Tyler Toffoli and Sean Monahan in separate trades. The Jets reached the postseason, but the Colorado Avalanche bounced them out of the first round in five games. Both Toffoli and Monahan are pending unrestricted free agents.
McGroarty collected 16 goals and 36 assists over 36 games for Michigan this season. He notched 18 tallies and 21 across 39 contests in 2022-23. McGroarty also led the United States to the gold medal as captain at this year's World Junior Championship, posting five goals and four assists in seven games.
Colorado Avalanche superstar Nathan MacKinnon took home the Hart Trophy as the NHL's most valuable player, beating out Edmonton Oilers dynamo Connor McDavid and Tampa Bay Lightning winger Nikita Kucherov.
MacKinnon claimed the Hart after previously finishing as a finalist three times.
Here's how the voting broke down:
Nathan MacKinnon wins the first Hart Trophy of his career as the player most valuable to his team. Here's the voting breakdown: pic.twitter.com/ptweByVIoK
MacKinnon finished second to Kucherov in the Art Ross Trophy race. The Avalanche center racked up 140 points over 82 games in 2023-24, falling four points shy of the Lightning forward. However, MacKinnon led the NHL with 92 even-strength points, beating Kucherov by one.
Colorado's catalyst also topped the NHL in standings points above replacement, wins above replacement, and goals above replacement, according to Evolving-Hockey. Toronto Maple Leafs sniper Auston Matthews and McDavid placed second and third, respectively, in all three categories.
The Avalanche controlled 56.64% of the expected goals when MacKinnon was on the ice at five-on-five this season, along with 59.41% of the scoring chances, per Natural Stat Trick.
MacKinnon has been a perennial Hart candidate for years. Here's how close he's come:
Season
Finish
2017-18
2nd
2019-20
2nd
2021
3rd
2022-23
5th
In 2017-18, he lost to Taylor Hall - then of the New Jersey Devils - by only 70 voting points. Hall had 1,264 to MacKinnon's 1,194. The Nova Scotian forward fell just 12 first-place votes shy of Hall that year.
Earlier Thursday, MacKinnon won the Ted Lindsay Award, claiming the honor of MVP as voted upon by his peers.
MacKinnon's 51 goals, 89 assists, and 140 points were all career highs. He posted 42 tallies and 69 helpers last season to hit triple digits in points for the first time.
Less than a year after the Pittsburgh Penguins signed goaltender Tristan Jarry to a five-year contract worth nearly $27 million, they're entertaining the possibility of trading him.
The Penguins have let teams know Jarry is available, sources told The Athletic's Rob Rossi. However, the situation is reportedly fluid, and the club hasn't dismissed the notion of starting next season with Jarry and Alex Nedeljkovic as its tandem in the crease.
Jarry has the right to file a 12-team no-trade list every season, so he can do that Monday when the NHL calendar flips to 2024-25, according to Rossi.
The ever-inconsistent netminder struggled this season, going 19-25-5 with a .903 save percentage in 51 games. He tied for the league lead with six shutouts. However, Nedeljkovic took his job down the stretch, as Jarry didn't appear any of the Pens' final 13 contests before they missed the playoffs for the second straight campaign.
Jarry inked his current pact July 1, 2023 as an unrestricted free agent. He's on the books through 2027-28.
The Penguins re-signed Nedeljkovic to a two-year deal with an average annual value of $2.5 million last Thursday. He was due to become a UFA on Monday.
Jarry has spent his entire eight-year career with the Penguins, who drafted him 44th overall in 2013. The 29-year-old has a career save percentage of .912 and has twice finished seventh in Vezina Trophy voting.
The 2024 class of unrestricted free agents once could've included the likes of Auston Matthews, William Nylander, Connor Hellebuyck, Mark Scheifele, Devon Toews, and Noah Hanifin. Those impact players ultimately re-upped with their clubs, and in the latter's case, signed with his new squad after being traded. But even so, a boatload of talented players remain poised to hit the market this summer.
One area where there isn't a lot of potential depth available is in goal. There are two "starters" - one cracked this list and the other is the inconsistent Ilya Samsonov. Laurent Brossoit and Anthony Stolarz stand out but are backups. Calvin Pickard stepped up during the playoffs but only played three games in the postseason.
Here are our top pending unrestricted free agents as we near the start of the frenzy on July 1:
xGF% = Expected goals for percentage at five-on-five GSAx = Goals saved above expected (all situations) GSAA = Goals saved above average (all situations)
1. Steven Stamkos
Position: C/LW Age: 34 Last team: Tampa Bay Lightning 2023-24 cap hit: $8.5M
GP
G
A
ATOI
xGF%
79
40
41
18:14
48.04
The Lightning cleared cap space with multiple trades at the draft, but general manager Julien BriseBois revealed Stamkos will become a UFA on July 1 despite the club's newfound financial flexibility.
The Bolts captain was the biggest name available in the summer of 2016, but he signed an eight-year, $68-million deal to stay in Tampa. That pact is expiring, and while Stamkos is now long in the tooth by NHL standards, he showed few signs of decline in 2023-24. No potential free agent can provide his combination of championship pedigree, leadership skills, and offensive prowess.
2. Jonathan Marchessault
Position: LW/RW Age: 33 (34 on Dec. 27) Last team: Vegas Golden Knights 2023-24 cap hit: $5M
GP
G
A
ATOI
xGF%
82
42
27
17:54
51.05
Much like Stamkos, Marchessault is an aging forward who hit the 40-goal mark this season. Last June, Marchessault won the Conn Smythe Trophy while guiding the Golden Knights to a championship. So while he's also at an age when players typically decline, the six-time 25-goal producer is likely due for a sizeable raise.
3. Brandon Montour
Icon Sportswire / Icon Sportswire / Getty
Position: RD Age: 30 Last team: Panthers 2023-24 cap hit: $3.5M
GP
G
A
ATOI
xGF%
66
8
25
23:27
53.76
Like Reinhart, Montour drove up his value by playing a key role in the Panthers' championship victory. The underrated defenseman didn't come close to matching his 73-point explosion in 2023-24, but he was out until mid-November due to offseason surgery. Montour led Florida in average ice time in the regular season. He should be the best NHL blue-liner available.
4. Tyler Toffoli
Position: LW/RW Age: 32 Last team: Winnipeg Jets 2023-24 cap hit: $4.25M
GP
G
A
ATOI
xGF%
79
33
22
16:58
53.07
Teams looking for a more affordable scorer will undoubtedly consider Toffoli, who's coming off back-to-back seasons of 30-plus goals. He has played for five other squads over the last five campaigns thanks to four trades but has performed at a high level everywhere he's gone.
5. Elias Lindholm
Position: C/RW Age: 29 Last team: Vancouver Canucks 2023-24 cap hit: $4.85M
GP
G
A
ATOI
xGF%
75
15
29
19:42
44.65
Lindholm is a talented two-way forward who did his free-agent value no favors this past regular season, both with the Flames (nine goals and 23 assists in 49 games) and the Canucks. However, he missed seven games with a wrist injury in March and April and then salvaged some of that stock with five tallies (including two game-winners) and five helpers in 13 playoff contests.
The question is: Will the team that signs him get that version (the one that also racked up 42 goals and 40 assists in 2021-22), or the one that underwhelmed for the better part of six months?
6. Brady Skjei
Position: LD Age: 30 Last team: Hurricanes 2023-24 cap hit: $5.25M
GP
G
A
ATOI
xGF%
80
13
34
21:17
54.04
Skjei sometimes gets overlooked because he plays behind Jaccob Slavin on Carolina's depth chart, but the Minnesotan has been an important part of the Canes' top four for years. Skjei can produce offensively, log significant minutes, and effectively kill penalties, all while driving possession. He's not flashy but helps his club in numerous ways and will be coveted.
7. Matt Duchene
Michael Martin / National Hockey League / Getty
Position: C/RW Age: 33 Last team: Dallas Stars 2023-24 cap hit: $3M
GP
G
A
ATOI
xGF%
80
25
40
16:46
50.88
The Stars snagged Duchene on a one-year deal last July 1 after the Nashville Predators bought him out, and the veteran forward turned out to be a shrewd addition. He was more than dependable as the club's second-line center with a cap hit that was $5 million cheaper than his previous one.
8. Sean Monahan
Position: C/LW/RW Age: 29 (30 on Oct. 12) Last team: Jets 2023-24 cap hit: $1,985,000
GP
G
A
ATOI
xGF%
83
26
33
18:06
47.74
Monahan's extremely team-friendly contract was also of the one-year variety, and the rebuilding Montreal Canadiens traded him to Winnipeg in February for two picks, including a first-rounder. The ex-Calgary Flame posted 13 goals and 11 assists and won 54.7% of his 547 faceoffs (go figure) in 34 games with the Jets. He's a three-time 30-goal scorer who's buried at least 26 six times.
9. Teuvo Teravainen
Position: LW/RW Age: 29 Last team: Hurricanes 2023-24 cap hit: $5.4 million
GP
G
A
ATOI
xGF%
76
25
28
16:24
56.56
Teravainen is a proven top-six winger who's notched at least 20 goals and 60 points four times apiece. The Finn has seen his average ice time decline over the past two seasons, but his underlying numbers in 2023-24 were very strong, so he made the most of the diminished playing time. Teravainen's spent the last eight campaigns with the Hurricanes.
10. Shayne Gostisbehere
Position: LD/RD Age: 31 Last team: Red Wings 2023-24 cap hit: $4.125M
GP
G
A
ATOI
xGF%
81
10
46
19:05
47.26
Gostisbehere isn't the most defensively responsible blue-liner, but he can shoot the puck and create offense as effectively as many forwards. He's scored at least 10 goals five times in his 10-year career, and he's topped 50 points three times, along with a 46-point campaign when he played only 64 games in his first true season.
11. Jonathan Drouin
Michael Martin / National Hockey League / Getty
Position: LW/RW Age: 29 Last team: Colorado Avalanche 2023-24 cap hit: $825K
GP
G
A
ATOI
xGF%
79
19
37
18:11
54.94
Drouin's numbers this season were inflated by playing for the Avalanche, but regardless, he was one of the best bargains in the league. He had a season like this with the Canadiens in 2018-19 and scored a career-high 21 goals two years before that with the Lightning. But it's hard to say whether he'll be able to replicate this kind of play if he leaves Colorado.
12. Chandler Stephenson
Position: C/LW Age: 30 Last team: Golden Knights 2023-24 cap hit: $2.75M
GP
G
A
ATOI
xGF%
75
16
35
18:29
45.85
Stephenson would've been a lot higher on this list last year after he posted career highs with 49 assists and 65 points over 81 games, then racked up 10 goals and 10 helpers across 22 playoff contests while helping Vegas win the Cup. He didn't play as well in 2023-24 but remains a skilled two-way center with a championship pedigree.
13. Vladimir Tarasenko
Position: RW Age: 32 Last team: Panthers 2023-24 cap hit: $5M
GP
G
A
ATOI
xGF%
76
23
32
15:44
48.2
Tarasenko proved this season that he still has some fuel left in his tank. He posted 17 goals and 24 assists in 57 games with the Ottawa Senators before being traded to the Cats before the deadline. The Russian collected five markers and four helpers in 24 playoff contests this year, winning his second Cup Final in a Game 7 on Monday after prevailing with the St. Louis Blues in 2019.
14. Cam Talbot
Position: G Age: 36 (37 on July 5) Last team: Kings 2023-24 cap hit: $1M
GP
Record
SV%
GSAx
GSAA
54
27-20-6
.913
15.01
12.17
Talbot's age will be a concern, but the journeyman goaltender was very good for L.A. this past season. He ranked 18th and 11th, respectively, in the two analytic categories seen above. Talbot also shouldered an impressive workload for someone with so many miles on the odometer. He might be the best netminder available if he opts to leave Hollywood.
15. Matt Roy
Position: RD Age: 29 Last team: Kings 2023-24 cap hit: $3.15M
GP
G
A
ATOI
xGF%
81
5
20
20:54
55.57
Roy is quite underrated, likely because he isn't a prolific offensive contributor on the back end. But don't let that fool you. The American excels at playing defense and posted strong underlying numbers this season. The fact that he did so while averaging nearly 21 minutes of ice time makes it even more impressive.
16. Anthony Duclair
Joel Auerbach / Getty Images Sport / Getty
Position: LW/RW Age: 28 (29 on Aug. 26) Last team: Lightning 2023-24 cap hit: $3M
GP
G
A
ATOI
xGF%
73
24
18
15:46
45.38
Duclair has had a few solid seasons in his 10-year career, but he's known for being streaky. In 2023-24, that was largely team-dependent. He registered just 16 goals and 11 assists over 56 games with the atrocious San Jose Sharks before they traded him to Tampa, where he racked up nearly half a goal per game and almost a point per contest in 17 appearances, adding a pair of helpers in five playoff appearances.
17. Anthony Mantha
Position: LW/RW Age: 29 (30 on Sept. 16) Last team: Golden Knights 2023-24 cap hit: $5.7M
GP
G
A
ATOI
xGF%
74
23
21
14:13
55.32
Mantha didn't make much of a difference for Vegas after being acquired in the lead-up to the deadline. His 20 goals in 56 games with the Washington Capitals this season put him on pace for 29, but he mustered only three tallies along with seven assists in 18 games with the Golden Knights and then went pointless in three playoff contests. Still, Mantha is a six-time 15-goal scorer.
18. Jake DeBrusk
Position: LW/RW Age: 27 (28 on Oct.17) Last team: Boston Bruins 2023-24 cap hit: $4M
GP
G
A
ATOI
xGF%
80
19
21
16:50
53.93
DeBrusk is the youngest player on this list and one of the youngest notable pending UFAs, period. That will put him on more teams' radars, but like Duclair, he's notoriously streaky. To his credit, DeBrusk is coming off a 2022-23 campaign in which he buried 27 goals and dished out 23 assists in only 64 games.
19. Viktor Arvidsson
Position: LW/RW Age: 31 Last team: Kings 2023-24 cap hit: $4.25M
GP
G
A
ATOI
xGF%
18
6
9
16:42
53.7
Arvidsson has been ignored on other lists of this ilk, presumably because he was so limited by injuries. That's been an issue throughout his career, but he was one of the most productive pending UFAs on a per-game basis. His 0.83 points per contest rank sixth in the class. Of course, he didn't even play a quarter of a campaign, but it illustrates how impactful Arvidsson can be when healthy. He's scored at least 26 goals four times.
20. Sean Walker
Ashley Potts / National Hockey League / Getty
Position: D Age: 29 Last team: Avalanche 2023-24 cap hit: $2.65M
GP
G
A
ATOI
xGF%
81
10
19
19:14
54.37
Walker was coveted at the trade deadline until Colorado snagged him, and he played well for the Avalanche at the end of the regular season with four goals and three assists over 18 games. He failed to notch a point in the playoffs but still averaged over 18 minutes per night in the postseason in a third-pairing role. Much like Roy, he's not flashy, but every team could use a defenseman like Walker, especially if they can get him at a price similar to his current deal.
The Vancouver Canucks traded forward Ilya Mikheyev, the rights to forward Sam Lafferty, and a second-round pick to the Chicago Blackhawks for a fourth-round pick, the clubs announced Wednesday night.
Both the second- and fourth-round selections come in the 2027 draft. The Canucks are also retaining 15% of Mikheyev's salary. His contract ends in 2025-26 and carries a $4.75-million cap hit, per CapFriendly. Lafferty, meanwhile, is a pending unrestricted free agent with a cap hit of $1.15 million.
Mikheyev has a modified no-trade clause enabling him to submit a 12-team no-trade list, but he waived it for the trade to Chicago, according to TSN's Chris Johnston.
On top of that, there was another team on Mikheyev's no-trade list that was also talking to the Canucks about acquiring him, per Johnston.
The swap with the Blackhawks opens up cap space for the Canucks. Vancouver has a number of pending UFAs to re-sign, including forward Elias Lindholm, plus defensemen Nikita Zadorov and Ian Cole, not to mention backup goaltender Casey DeSmith. The Canucks' postseason hero in goal, Arturs Silovs, is a pending restricted free agent.
Mikheyev is a defense-first forward who collected 11 goals and 20 assists over 78 games this past season. He was held pointless in 11 postseason contests. The 29-year-old was coming off surgery to repair a torn ACL he suffered in January 2023. Mikheyev played two seasons with the Canucks after spending his first three with the Toronto Maple Leafs.
The Russian winger notched a career-best 21 goals with the Leafs in 2021-22. The Canucks signed him as a free agent in July 2022.
Vancouver got Lafferty from the Toronto Maple Leafs for a 2024 fifth-round pick in October. The forward, who's also 29, produced 13 goals and 11 assists over 79 games this season. He suited up for parts of two seasons with the Blackhawks in 2021-22 and 2022-23. Chicago traded him to Toronto as part of the Jake McCabe deal in February 2023.
Lafferty started his career playing parts of three campaigns for the Pittsburgh Penguins before they traded him to the Blackhawks for forward Alex Nylander in January 2022.
The NHL is adopting four new changes to its rules for 2024-25, the league announced Wednesday.
The board of governors, general managers, and competition committee unanimously approved the changes.
Here are the adjustments:
Rule 38.2 (Situations Subject to Coach's Challenge)
A coach's challenge is now permitted in order to nullify a penalty for puck out of play. This only applies to delay of game infractions when the puck is determined to have gone off a player, stick, the glass, or the boards. It doesn't apply to judgment calls on how the puck left the defensive zone (batted pucks or if a player shoots the puck out of their own zone).
In the case of a failed challenge, the officials will issue an additional two-minute minor on top of the delay of game call.
Rule 63.8 (Line Change Following Dislodged Net)
There will be a tweak to Rule 63.8 so that the defensive team can't make a line change in the event its goaltender accidentally dislodges the net. The old language regarding this rule applied only to skaters.
Rule 76.4 (Faceoff Procedure - Centers)
After an icing, the offensive center will now also receive one warning (just like the defensive player) for a faceoff violation.
Rule 75.3 (Unsportsmanlike Conduct - Player Sitting on Boards)
The referee will now provide the offending team's head coach and players with one warning regarding players sitting on the boards and will also advise the other team. After one warning in a game, the team that drew the warning will be issued a bench minor penalty for future violations.
Back in March, it was reported the competition committee and the board of governors (the owners) would review six proposed rule changes, with an additional one taking immediate effect. The latter was the last of the four tweaks revealed Wednesday.
The other three that will take effect next season were among those proposed in the spring.
Here are the three proposed rule changes that weren't adopted:
A team could've asked to review a high-sticking penalty if it believed there wasn't an offense committed by its player. Just as in the case of the first amended rule above regarding pucks out of play, the officials would've issued a second minor penalty to the offending team if the call on the ice was upheld upon review.
In a situation where the goaltender loses his mask and the officials blow a play dead, the opposing team would've gotten an offensive-zone faceoff with its choice of side, regardless of where the puck was at the time of the whistle.
If players refuse to play the puck after a high stick or a hand pass, the non-offending team would've gotten a faceoff positioned one zone better than where the play occurred. For example, a defensive-zone infraction would've resulted in a neutral-zone draw.
The rules that are changing haven't been added to the official rule book, but the NHL's hockey operations department will finalize that language in the near future.
The decisive contest in the Florida Panthers' Stanley Cup Final victory over the Edmonton Oilers averaged 16.3 million viewers across North America, according to the NHL.
The Panthers' 2-1 Game 7 win, which clinched the franchise's first title Monday night, was the second-most watched NHL matchup across the continent since the league began tracking the data in 2004.
The series as a whole averaged 8.8 million viewers in North America, making it the continent's most-watched Cup Final since 2013.
CBC, Sportsnet, and TVA Sports carried the games in Canada, while ABC and ESPN+ aired them in the United States.
The matchup reached an average audience of 7.55 million on Sportsnet with a total reach of 15 million, making it the network's most-watched broadcast ever.
Game 7 averaged 7.7 million viewers on ABC in the U.S., making it the country's most-viewed NHL contest since the last Cup Final Game 7, which came in 2019 and ended with the St. Louis Blues defeating the Boston Bruins.
Those who expected the Stanley Cup Final to need a Game 7 when the Florida Panthers went up 3-0 against the Edmonton Oilers back on June 13 are probably lying. But here we are, 10 days later, a mere day away from the ultimate winner-take-all event in hockey.
The Oilers already silenced most of the naysayers by forcing the decisive tilt, but they obviously won't be satisfied unless they can win Monday's game and accomplish something that hasn't been done in more than 80 years in the process.
Meanwhile, the Panthers are trying to avoid suffering a full-fledged and utterly embarrassing collapse of historic proportions, with one more chance to win a fourth game and their first-ever championship.
Here's a look at some noteworthy numerical nuggets heading into the highly anticipated showdown in Sunrise:
Game 7 lore
Bettmann / Bettmann / Getty
10: Game 7s in NHL playoffs history, including Monday night's affair, prior to which a team held a 3-0 series lead.
3: Times a team has now rallied from a 3-0 series deficit in the Cup Final. Both other times took place during World War II. In 1945, The Toronto Maple Leafs blew a 3-0 lead to the Detroit Red Wings but then won Game 7.
1942: The only time a team overcame a 3-0 series deficit to win the Cup. The Maple Leafs did it against the Red Wings three years before they prevented Detroit from returning the favor. The Oilers could be the first team in 82 years to pull it off and only the second team ever.
3: Other times a team has overcome a 3-0 series deficit to win a playoff round of any kind. The 1975 New York Islanders stunned the Pittsburgh Penguins in the quarterfinals, the Philadelphia Flyers beat the Boston Bruins in the second round of the 2010 postseason, and the Los Angeles Kings sent the San Jose Sharks packing in the first round a decade ago, all in that manner.
2019: The last time there was a Game 7 in the Cup Final, when the St. Louis Blues prevailed over the Bruins.
17: Previous Game 7s in the championship round.
12-5: The win-loss record for home teams in those games.
Jeff Vinnick / National Hockey League / Getty
0-3: How home teams have fared in the last three. The Bruins lost in their own arena five years ago, but they defeated the Vancouver Canucks in hostile territory in 2011. Two years earlier, the Penguins vanquished the Red Wings in Motown.
198: Game 7s in the history of the Stanley Cup Playoffs, including the forthcoming contest. The league introduced the seven-game format in 1939.
4: Game 7s in the 2023-24 playoffs, including Monday's Cup Final clash. The Oilers eliminated the Vancouver Canucks in seven in Round 2 after a pair of instances in Round 1. The Dallas Stars did so to the Vegas Golden Knights, and the Bruins knocked out the Maple Leafs in the opening stage after going the distance.
2: Game 7s in the Cup Final that went to overtime, with the Red Wings having won both on home ice. Pete Babando lifted Detroit over the New York Rangers in the second extra frame in 1950. Four years later, Tony Leswick was the hero for the Wings against the Montreal Canadiens in the first overtime.
Panthers' and Oilers' ties to Game 7
China Wong / National Hockey League / Getty
3: Game 7s the Panthers played in before Monday. They beat the Penguins 3-1 to win the Eastern Conference Final in 1996, lost 3-2 to the New Jersey Devils in overtime of the first round in 2012, and upset a historically dominant Bruins squad with a 4-3 overtime victory in the first round last year.
12: Game 7s the Oilers played in before Monday. They've won eight of them, and their .667 win percentage is tied with the Panthers and Sharks for fourth in NHL history.
2-0: The Oilers' record in overtime of Game 7. They defeated the Stars in an extra frame in the first round in 1997. Six years earlier, Edmonton took care of the rival Calgary Flames in overtime of their division semifinal series.
3: Teams that won their first Stanley Cup championship with a victory in Game 7. The Panthers can join the Blues (2019), Carolina Hurricanes (2006), and Tampa Bay Lightning (2004).
2: Cup Final Game 7s the Oilers have played in before Monday. The Hurricanes bested Edmonton in that 2006 final, but the Oilers topped the Flyers in 1987.
2013: The last time a team from the NHL, NBA, or MLB based in the Miami area played in a Game 7 in the championship round. The NBA's Heat beat the San Antonio Spurs that year. The only previous time it's happened was in 1997, when MLB's Marlins triumphed over Cleveland in 1997.
Andy Devlin / National Hockey League / Getty
10: Game 7s that Oilers forward Corey Perry has played in. He's 5-5 with four goals and two assists in those contests. Perry is one of seven active players who've played in at least 10 of them.
5: Game 7s that Panthers forward Vladimir Tarasenko has played in. Tarasenko leads the Florida roster in that regard, and he's the only player on either team who's played in a Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Final. The Russian helped the Blues prevail over the Bruins in 2019 with an assist in that contest.
2: Active NHLers who've notched a hat trick in a Game 7. Oilers forward Mattias Janmark scored thrice for the Golden Knights against the Minnesota Wild in the first round in 2021. Colorado Avalanche forward Joel Kiviranta is the other player, having accomplished the feat with the Stars against his current team in the second round in 2020.
35: Sergei Bobrovsky can join Johnny Bower, Gump Worsley, Patrick Roy, and Tim Thomas as the only goaltenders to win a Cup Final Game 7 at that age or older.
4-0: Panthers head coach Paul Maurice's record in Game 7s. He can join Stars bench boss Peter DeBoer as the only head coaches in NHL history to win their first five. DeBoer is 8-0 in Game 7s.
1994: The last and only other time opposing 50-goal scorers from the season in question faced off in a Game 7 of the Cup Final. Pavel Bure of the Canucks battled Adam Graves of the Rangers in that series. This time, it's Sam Reinhart and Zach Hyman.
