A Quick Guide To The Stanley Cup Rosters

Whether this is a guide for casual fans, a good reference between games, or provides an interesting nugget or two, here are the rosters for the Stanley Cup Final. Every player will get one sentence or two to summarize best who they are and their value for their teams.

Edmonton Oilers

Forwards

●      Connor McDavid (97) - The best in the league and arguably one of the best players of all time is in the Final for the first time.

●      Leon Draisaitl (29) - The “Robin” of the Oilers, who is one of the greatest in the game but doesn’t get the same spotlight being on the same team as McDavid.

●      Zach Hyman (18) - The top goal scorer on the Oilers who came on the scene with 54 goals this season and a mind-blowing 14 in 18 playoff games.

●      Ryan Nugent Hopkins (93) - A quiet star as he’s a top-six contributor who continues to add to the offense with six goals and 14 assists in the playoff run.

●      Evander Kane (91) - The boom-or-bust player on the Oilers as a power forward with a high upside but when he struggles, he becomes a liability.

●      Dylan Holloway (55) - At 22, he’s one of the young faces of the forward unit and has added a spark to the depth with three goals, albeit in a minimal role.

●      Mattias Janmark (13) - Another depth forward who bounced around early on in his career but has found a role on a star-studded team.

●      Ryan McLeod (71) - A fourth-line skater who aside from his defense, has been a non-factor with only one goal in the playoffs.

●      Adam Henrique (19) - The Oilers' biggest trade deadline addition is a veteran scorer who has battled injuries but could step up in this crucial series.

Defensemen

●      Evan Bouchard (2) - The rising star of the defense who not only has stepped up on the defensive end of the ice but has been a force in the offensive zone with six goals and 21 assists in the playoffs.

●      Darnell Nurse (25) - Is he overpaid or the star player of the unit who struggles at times? Nurse has been great in the playoffs and a reliable contributor on both ends of the ice.

●      Mattias Ekholm (14) - The defensive defenseman of the group who led the team with 6.2 defensive point shares and has turned the unit into a strength since being acquired at the 2023 trade deadline.

●      Cody Ceci (5) - Ceci rounds out the top four of the defense. He’s not flashy but creates turnovers and adds a spark to the offense if needed.

●      Brett Kulak (27) - The veteran depth defenseman on this team. Kulak has bounced around but has found a home and a role on the Oilers.

●      Vincent Desharnais (73) - The hard-hitting, bigger-bodied defenseman who like Kulak, adds depth.

Goaltender

●      Stuart Skinner (74) - Talk about a turnaround for Skinner! His save percentage was .877 through the first eight playoff games. Since he was benched and returned to the lineup, it’s been .919 and he’d carried the Oilers to the Cup with great play in the net.

Florida Panthers

Forwards

●      Matthew Tkachuk (19) - Since the trade in the 2022 offseason, Tkachuk has transformed the Panthers franchise. He’s an elite two-way player who has stepped up in the playoffs.

●      Carter Verhaeghe (23) - The top scorer for the Panthers in the playoffs. He’s scored nine goals with four coming on the power play.

●      Aleksander Barkov (16) - Arguably the best defensive center in the league, Barkov has been a force on the top line on both ends of the ice.

●      Sam Reinhart (13) - Reinhart is a free agent at the end of the season, making his 57-goal season with eight playoff goals convenient for him, to say the least.

●      Anton Lundell (15) - The middle-six center who has been a difference-maker in the playoffs, helping the Panthers overwhelm opponents on the later lines.

●      Sam Bennett (9) - Whether it’s a hard hit or a big-time goal, Bennett has played at another level in the playoffs to particularly elevate the offense.

●      Evan Rodrigues (17) - Rodrigues always seems to be the valuable free agent addition that nobody signs until late in the offseason. The Panthers did and it paid off as he scored 12 goals and 27 assists this season with three goals and five assists in the playoffs.

●      Vladimir Tarasenko (10) - One of the forwards with Cup experience, Tarasenko won it all with the St. Louis Blues in 2019 and looks to be the key player in the middle of the forward unit this time around.

●      Eetu Luostarinen (27) - Spelling and pronouncing his name is hard but stopping him hasn’t been for the playoff teams. He scored 12 goals this season but has only found the back of the net once in the playoffs.

Defensemen

●      Gustav Forsling (42) - Possibly the best defensive defenseman in the league. Forsling had 8.0 defensive point shares this season and along with forcing turnovers, he’s led the unit in the offensive zone with four goals and seven assists in this playoff run.

●      Aaron Ekblad (5) - One of the anchors of the defense who isn’t helping out the offense but in his stay-at-home role, has limited shots on the net.

●      Brandon Montour (62) - Montour is known as the scoring defenseman on the Panthers. While his three goals and six assists in the playoffs seem underwhelming, he’s been great across the board.

●      Niko Mikkola (77) - The option in the middle of the unit for the Panthers who isn’t lighting up the scoresheet but stepping up in his zone to help keep games low-scoring.

●      Oliver Ekman-Larsson (91) - Not a bad addition this offseason. He’s rounded out the defense as a second-pair skater and does everything well.

●      Dmitry Kulikov (7) - It’s been an uneventful playoff run for Kulikov. He’s played a minimal role and hasn’t contributed much on either end of the ice because of it.

Goaltender

●      Sergei Bobrovsky (72) - It hasn’t been a great playoff run for Bobrovsky but the veteran goaltender has gotten the job done. He particularly stepped up in the last three games of the Eastern Conference Final with 69 saves on 74 shots to secure the series.