Winners and Losers From 2025 Stanley Cup Final

The Florida Panthers are your Stanley Cup champions. Again.

In a series that featured high-end skill, physical play and countless highlight moments, the back-to-back Cup winners outlasted the Edmonton Oilers in six games.

We know the Panthers are the biggest winners, but who else came out on the top throughout the series?

Let's find out.

Winners: Sam Bennett and Brad Marchand's Bank Accounts

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They were the two best players for the Panthers throughout the postseason, providing clutch moments and irritating opponents like no others.

And Sam Bennett and Brad Marchand are about to make a whole lot of money because of it.

Bennett simply went to another level during the postseason, averaging a point per game with 15 goals and 7 assists in 22 postseason contests. It was a remarkable achievement from a player whose regular-season high in goals is 28. His exploits earned him the 2025 Conn Smythe Trophy as the NHL's postseason MVP.

Marchand's postseason was a reminder of what the 37-year-old brings to the table: Clutch goals, dogged determination and a whole lot irritation for opposing teams.

He had two game-winning goals in the Final, including the Game 2 double-overtime strike in Edmonton that undoubtedly turned the series.

Both forwards are unrestricted free agents in the summer and, while hometown discounts aren't out of the question, the queue of NHL suitors for both players will be long.

Did we mention the NHL salary cap is about to go up?

It's the perfect time to have performances like this and an opportunity to cash in big.

Loser: Connor McDavid's Long-Term Future in Edmonton

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There's every chance the best player in the NHL re-signs in Edmonton.

After all, he's been to the Cup Final two years in a row and has been so close to finally lifting the trophy over his shoulders.

But close doesn't cut it. And it could mean a new locale for No. 97 come 2026.

McDavid had a good, but not McDavid-like series against the Panthers. Limited by the strong defensive play from Aleksander Barkov and Gustav Forsling, the Oilers captain recorded "just" seven points in six contests.

But, look. You're the best player in the world. More is going to be expected of you. One goal in six games isn't enough.

McDavid, 28, will play his cards close to the vest and there's no reason to think he'll demand a trade in the offseason. But if Edmonton gets off to a slow start or bounced early in the playoffs next season, the chances are he starts thinking about other places to win a title.

Toronto? New York? Montreal? Vegas? It's fun being the best and having your pick of teams.

Loser: Stuart Skinner

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Let's preface the following by saying Stuart Skinner wasn't fully at fault for every goal in this series.

But the 26-year-old didn't do himself or the Oilers any favors throughout it.

The Edmonton goalie had flashes of brilliance and equally frustrating moments. It didn't help that his counterpart in the other net, Sergei Bobrovsky, seemingly raised his game while Skinner's collapsed.

An .889 save percentage in 15 postseason games isn't even average play, and it proved to be an Achilles' heel for the Oilers in the Cup Final.

No matter what happens with McDavid going forward, Edmonton has a more pressing question in goal and will need to find a way to upgrade, whatever the cost, next season.

Winners: Paul Maurice and Bill Zito

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In this era of the salary cap, it is ridiculously difficult to win the Stanley Cup. But Paul Maurice and Bill Zito have managed to do it not just once, but twice.

In this era of searching for the young, fashionable and up-and-coming coach, Panthers general manager Zito opted for Maurice, a retread who had coached for over two decades but never won the Cup.

That has changed quickly.

Zito's aggressiveness as GM has built a well-balanced, nasty and battle-hardened roster that fits into Maurice's relentless style of hockey. His trades for Marchand and Seth Jones at the deadline provided the necessary injection of new life for Florida.

The odds are against the Panthers winning a third Cup. But who's to say they can't do it again?

Winner: Dynasty Talk

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Three Cup Final appearances in three years and back-to-back Cup wins.

I don't know about you, but I'd say that's a dynasty.

What's amazing about the Panthers is that they've been able to keep together their core throughout this three-year run. Aleksander Barkov. Sam Reinhart. Matthew Tkachuk. Aaron Ekblad. Gustav Forsling. Sergei Bobrovsky. All these pieces have been together for this entire run.

Ekblad, Brad Marchand and Sam Bennett will be free agents come July 1 and there's no guarantee the Panthers will be able to retain all their stars. But the core of the team will remain intact no matter what happens.