6 Lessons Every NHL Team Can Learn From the Panthers' 2025 Stanley Cup Win

Tampa Bay Lightning head coach Jon Cooper had some strong words for the Florida Panthers as they defeated his team in the first round this year: "It was our turn, now it's theirs."

Cooper knows a dynasty when he sees one. And now, as the Panthers hoist the 2025 Stanley Cup after their 5-1 win over the Oilers in Game 6, it's safe to say they have taken over as the next great NHL dynasty since the 2015-2022 Lightning.

The Panthers dominated each worthy opponent on the way to their third straight Stanley Cup Final appearance, then it was time to face the best player in the world and his Oilers, after defeating them in the Final the previous year. The Oilers came back for the rematch of the 2024 Cup final mentally stronger, hungrier and with a few key roster additions. But still, Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl's best efforts fell short once again at the paws of the relentless Panthers.

At this point, Florida beating McDavid and Co. twice in a row is less about Edmonton underperforming and more about Florida establishing itself as the NHL's modern dynasty.

How did the Panthers get here in all of their back-to-back Cup-winning glory? Every NHL team can learn a few lessons from this journey.

Find Value Everywhere

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Panthers defenseman Gustav Forsling

Why look for the one missing piece your team needs the most and stop there? If the Panthers have taught us anything over the past three years, it's to look for value everywhere—all around the league, in every facet of your roster, at every position.

General manager Bill Zito has been four steps ahead of the rest of the NHL at every turn, and the reason why it feels like the Panthers haven't had to look for one particular missing piece since acquiring Matthew Tkachuk is because they make a few solid moves all over during offseasons and trade deadlines.

It's never been harder to win, and the Panthers show us you can't just not have a deficit. Every position on the roster needs to keep getting stronger. Seth Jones wants out of Chicago? Make it work. Brad Marchand is injured right now, older and cheap enough? Sign him for depth and see what happens. He was almost the first trade deadline acquisition to win the Conn Smythe, if it weren't for that pesky Sam Bennett.

Take Gustav Forsling off waivers and roll with his ups and downs. Nate Schmidt? Why the heck not?

Do you get the point yet? It's not enough to have the best offense in the world run by Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl if your defense remains questionable. It's not enough to have the best goaltender in the world in Connor Hellebuyck if your depth on both ends of the ice leaves much to be desired.

The Panthers have the most complete roster in the league because their proactive front office never stops working.

Build the Right Culture

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I spoke with Matthew Tkachuk over the phone in the middle of last season, and I'll never forget the sound of ping pong balls and ceaseless laugh-screaming from his teammates in the background. Practice had long been over, but no one felt like leaving the rink just yet.

"I've never seen a team like this where, you know, we're going to dinner on the road and we're having 15-people reservations and everybody hanging out with each other," he said. "It's been awesome. Our team is fast, close and fun. Nobody has more fun than our team."

They went on to win their first Cup as a core group a few months later, and they came back even closer to do it again this year. Bonding, rituals and trips to Dairy Queen have been at the forefront of most postgame interviews this time around.

Word gets around and attracts impact players. A conversation Marchand had about Florida's culture with Team Canada teammates Sam Bennett and Sam Reinhart at the 4 Nations Face-Off helped Marchand sign off on the trade, he said ahead of Game 1 of the Cup Final.

They also retain key players at reasonable costs, like Reinhart's eight-year $69 million extension signed last offseason. Sure, Florida's lack of state income tax might help those contracts along, but league stars weren't signing deals like that with the Panthers when they were bad.

It takes time and patience to build a positive team culture, but you aren't building a dynasty without it.

Don't Be Afraid to Lean Into Your Identity

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Some playoff teams that fell short of the ultimate goal this year tried too hard to be something they weren't when push came to shove. The Rat Kings? Well, they were pelting rubber rats at each other.

It helps when your identity is being relentless in the pursuit of winning. But part of the reason the Panthers have pulled this off is knowing who they are and acting accordingly. Everyone is on the same page, from management down to the last fourth liner.

Consider the Brad Marchand trade leaning into the Rat King Era, and consider the way you just know when the Panthers are going to take over the game. It's also about someone like Aleksander Barkov being less selfish and more concerned with containing the other team's first line, someone like Sam Bennett playing on the edge, and someone like Marchand saying they had the "beLeaf" to beat the Maple Leafs.

Don't Give an Inch When Defending a Lead—Or On The Road

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It's no coincidence these built-to-last Panthers were one of the best road teams in playoff history and rarely lost a game when capturing an early lead.

They were 25-11 on the road overall and had a 31-0 win streak in playoff games when up in the first or second period before the Oilers brought them to overtime a few times in the Final.

Perhaps it was a combination of perspective gained with three straight trips to the Final, the invigorating depth, and plenty of intangibles we the people might not ever understand, but these Panthers were road warriors who knew how to protect a lead. These two traits set them apart from the rest of the great teams in the league.

Have Different Lines That Make the Most of Their Minutes

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The Panthers have the deepest forward roster in the league. Not because they have the most role players or grinders who can eat minutes, but because they have the highest number of skilled forwards in the league.

That's why it was fine when Sam Reinhart (who scored a record four goals in the Finals-clinching game) had a slow start. It's why first-line center Aleksander Barkov could focus on containing the opposition's best players. And it's why the Panthers kept winning playoff games as Matthew Tkachuk has been playing through tough injuries for months.

No other team in the playoffs had the kind of depth to thrive despite key players being injured or going cold.

The whole team is relentless on the forecheck and tough to play against, but that's a product of productive, skilled players finding chemistry and fully buying in. Eleven Panthers players had at least 10 points this playoff run, and eight had at least five goals.

Depth isn't just having a roster of players who can prevent a goal. The Panthers have shown us that in the modern NHL, you truly need difference-makers on every line.

Some of the benefits, like clutch goals coming from all over the lineup, were obvious. Others were more about the matchup game, like a prolific third line able to break through against the opposition's weaker players.

Goaltending Needs to be Good Enough ... and More

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Was Sergei Bobrovsky the best player on the ice every single night? No. But he never had to be.

The most important thing is that he was never the worst. Meanwhile, the Oilers' goaltenders could be considered the worst players on the ice for several games throughout these playoffs.

Bobrovsky ended his second straight Cup win with a .914 save percentage, a 2.20 goals against average, and a 16-7 record. It's excellent, and he stole some crucial games, but he didn't have to be perfect—he had to be resilient, calm and good enough. According to MoneyPuck.com, he led the playoffs with 11.9 goals saved above expected.

You need a good goalie—and you need everything else.