Breakaway On SI Stanley Cup Predictions

The Breakaway On SI writers share their 2025-2026 Stanley Cup predictions.

Jun 17, 2025; Sunrise, Florida, USA; The Florida Panthers hoist the Stanley Cup after winning game six of the 2025 Stanley Cup Final against the Edmonton Oilers at Amerant Bank Arena. Mandatory Credit: Sam Navarro-Imagn Images / Sam Navarro-Imagn Images

The 2025-2026 NHL season is officially here, marking the beginning of the Florida Panthers’ second straight Stanley Cup defense. According to the writers at Breakaway On SI, that title defense is bound to end in defeat. As the new year commences, five of our writers provided their predictions for who will come out on top during the 2025-2026 NHL campaign.

Tyler Major-McNicol - Edmonton Oilers def. Florida Panthers

The Stanley Cup finals have been the same the past two season, with the Oilers left down in the dumps and the Panthers celebrating with beer sips from the mug. The Oilers are still employing two of the league's best players, and the Panthers don't appear ready to relinquish their place as the top dogs in the Eastern Conference. For this reason, I believe this matchup will be a three-peat.

The Oilers will battle hard, push the series to seven games, and it will end in an overtime thriller, where McDavid spots his trusty sidekick and superstar sniper Leon Draisaitl wide open. He will ice the Panthers, and end Canada’s Stanley Cup drought. The Canadian cup drought has been motivation for each of the Canadian teams, however, the Oilers are in the best position to achieve the feat. While things change over a season, it seems most likely that they finally push past the Panthers.

Tyler Miller - Dallas Stars def. Carolina Hurricanes

The Stanley Cup Final will be the Dallas Stars against the Carolina Hurricanes and the Stars will win.

The Stars and the Canes will be the teams in the final because they both have insanely talented rosters and haven’t been able to get over the hump but both are very due. The Stars will win because they have the better goaltending and their goal scorers will do just a little bit more.

Jacob Punturi - Vegas Golden Knights def. Florida Panthers

The Eastern Conference runs through the Florida Panthers, even if they have a bevy of injuries to deal with. The problem this year is that the Western Conference rise simply cannot be stopped anymore. The Edmonton Oilers tried for two years to dethrone the Panthers, but this year it will be the Vegas Golden Knights making their way through the West and lifting the Stanley Cup.

Sep 26, 2025; San Jose, California, USA; Vegas Golden Knights right wing Cole Schwindt (22) shakes hands with his teammates on the bench after scoring a goal against San Jose Sharks goaltender Yaroslav Askarov (not pictured) during the second period at SAP Center at San Jose. Mandatory Credit: Robert Edwards-Imagn Images / Robert Edwards-Imagn Images

Jennifer Streeter - Edmonton Oilers def. Florida Panthers

The odds of this happening are truly crazy, but thinking about how historic this could be and just the absolute dynasty these two programs hold, it's not completely out of the realm of possibility to see it happen. Should that be the case, I don't think the Oilers would allow themselves to lose three Stanley Cups in a row to the Panthers. Pair this with the fact that Edmonton just extended Connor McDavid and the Panthers are without captain Aleksander Barkov for the year (ACL and MCL injuries) and Matthew Tkachuk until December (lower-body injury) and this really could be Edmonton's year to finally hoist the cup.

Adam Waxman - Edmonton Oilers def. Florida Panthers

I think this is finally the year Edmonton gets over the hump and wins the Stanley Cup. After back-to-back losses to Florida in the Final, the Oilers enter 2025-26 with unfinished business and a championship-or-bust mentality. Signing Connor McDavid to a two-year extension and locking up Jake Walman for seven years shows their commitment to winning now. With McDavid leading the way and a deeper, more balanced roster behind him, Edmonton has all the motivation and talent needed to flip the script.

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