The Edmonton Oilers and Florida Panthers are once again set to battle it out in the Stanley Cup Final, a rematch of last season's championship round that ultimately went the distance and resulted in the very first title in Panthers franchise history.
And while there are new faces on both sides this time around, the cores for both the Oilers and Panthers remain in place and expect to deliver a thrilling series that should be must-see TV for fans.
Edmonton Oilers assistant coach Paul Coffey, a former Oilers defenseman who won the Stanley Cup multiple times in his career, recently said that Florida's game plan could play right into their hands, via The Athletic.
“If they’re going to forecheck hard, perfect. Perfect,” Coffey said. “Because we’d better be skating and moving the puck.”
“If you watch our practices, every single day, we work on that,” Coffey continued. “You can’t put a pass on a player’s stick as an NHL player? You shouldn’t be in this league. From Day 1, that was about a confidence thing.”
Additionally, Oilers head coach Kris Knoblauch touted his team's puck-moving abilities, which was a hallmark of Coffey's during his career.
“Our identity is being a good puck-moving team,” Knoblauch said on Tuesday. “But if you don’t have the defensemen who can make those good plays and pass the puck up to the forwards, you’re not a puck-moving team. So I think it was great additions in Klingberg and Walman.’’
Article Continues BelowGame 1 of the 2025 Stanley Cup Final is set to begin on Wednesday night at 8:00 p.m. ET from Rogers Place.
Oilers assistant coach Paul Coffey won the Stanley Cup multiple times

Coffey began his NHL career with the Oilers after they selected him with the sixth overall pick in 1980, and he would make an immediate offensive impact for the club with his dynamic skating and puck moving abilities.
After winning the Stanley Cup three times with the Oilers, he would win his fourth championship while playing with the Pittsburgh Penguins in 1991, to whom he was traded following a contract dispute with former team owner Peter Pocklington.
Coffey later played for the Los Angeles Kings, Detroit Red Wings, Hartford Whalers, Philadelphia Flyers, Carolina Hurricanes, Chicago Blackhawks and Boston Bruins before retiring from the NHL in 2001. He was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 2004, his first year of eligibility, and also had his N0. 7 jersey number retired by the Oilers in 2005.