A brief history of modern era Stanley Cup Final rematches
Because the Stanley Cup Final features a cross-conference matchup, the series doesn’t typically treat us to teams that have history with each other. Unless, of course, we get a rare championship rematch. The Edmonton Oilers and Florida Panthers delivered a seven-game war a year ago, with the Panthers coming out on top, and they’ve fought all the way through the tournament to meet again in 2024-25. We actually get an East-West matchup that has some baggage behind it, and that should amp up the drama.
How unlikely are rematches in the Final? We’ve only seen four since expansion in 1967. Can they tell us anything about what to expect between Edmonton and Florida over the next couple weeks?
Let’s break down the four rematches according to what happened the first time, what changed between the two series and what happened the second time.
1967-68 & 1968-69: Montreal Canadiens vs. St. Louis Blues
What happened the first time
In the first post-expansion NHL season, the Original Six and the six new franchises were separated into their own divisions, guaranteeing an expansion team a berth in the Final. The Blues were four-games under .500 but battled through the inferior bracket to draw the NHL’s top team in the Final. Predictably, Montreal swept St. Louis, though the result didn’t fully do the series justice. Every game was decided by a single goal, including two in overtime. Blues goalie Glenn Hall posted a .927 save percentage in the Final and earned the Conn Smythe Trophy as playoff MVP in a losing effort.
What changed in between
Under the stewardship of coach Scotty Bowman, who had taken over partway through the 1967-68 season, the Blues were much sturdier as a contender the following season, winning the West Division. They also added Jacques Plante to their epic tandem with Hall; the two combined to capture the 1968-69 Vezina Trophy, which at the time went to the goalies on the team that allowed the fewest goals against. The Habs, meanwhile, ushered in Claude Ruel as head coach after Toe Blake retired and remained as dominant as ever.
What happened in the rematch
Nothing changed. The Habs swept the Blues a second consecutive year, spurred by a dominant performance from blueliner Serge Savard, and this time all but one game was decided by more than one goal. The expansion side of the bracket just couldn’t keep pace with the established juggernauts, and it didn’t change the following year; St. Louis made a third consecutive Final only to be swept again, this time by the Boston Bruins.
1976-77 & 1977-78: Montreal Canadiens vs. Boston Bruins
What happened the first time
The Bruins were up against arguably the greatest team ever assembled in the ’77 Habs, and the Bruins were in a transition period in their first season without franchise all-time great Bobby Orr, so we can forgive them for getting swept. Montreal’s wagon went 12-2 that postseason, with superstar Guy Lafleur racking up 26 points in 14 games. They set the tone with a 7-3 beatdown in Game 1 of the Final and never looked back.
What changed in between
The Habs weren’t complacent, with GM Sam Pollock swinging a major mid-season trade of Pete Mahovlich for Pierre Larouche in November of 1977. The Bruins also found their identity under coach Don Cherry, setting an NHL record with 11 different 20-goal scorers during the 1977-78 season, buoyed by youngsters Rick Middleton and Stan Jonathan coming into their own.
What happened in the rematch
The Bruins put up a stronger fight. They fell down 2-0 to open the series at the Montreal Forum but stood their ground in the Boston Garden to take Games 3 and 4, evening the series 2-2. But the Habs’ generationally elite roster won out, outscoring Boston 8-2 over the final two games of the series. That clinched the third of what would be four consecutive Cups for the Habs dynasty.
1982-83 & 1983-84: New York Islanders vs. Edmonton Oilers
What happened the first time
It’s difficult deciding which dynasty is hockey’s greatest, but the Isles, who won four straight Cups between 1980 and 1983, have a strong case given they won the most consecutive series during their run – 19 in total by 1984. The Oilers gave us the greatest offensive show the sport had ever seen and will ever see, fuelled by the electric Wayne Gretzky, Mark Messier, Paul Coffey and Jari Kurri, but smashed into a brick wall in the 1983 Final. The wily Isles swept the high-flying Oil. New York sent a message in Game 1, shutting Edmonton out in its own barn, and won every game by a multi-goal margin. They held Gretzky without a goal for the series, astoundingly.
What changed in between
After the clinching game, Gretzky famously walked by the Isles’ dressing room expecting to witness jubilation but instead saw a somber, relieved team nursing its many wounds. That told him how much more his Oilers needed to give. Both teams brought similar quads to the rematch a year later, but the Oilers committed to the young, dynamically athletic Grant Fuhr for a larger piece of the starting goalie pie over Andy Moog this time.
What happened in the rematch
Fuhr set the tone with a 1-0 shutout victory in Game 1, but the Isles pummeled Edmonton 6-1 in Game 2. Suddenly, Edmonton had just two goals through two games and seemed to be reliving the previous year’s defensive smothering. But the Oil blew the doors off to score 19 goals in games 3, 4 and 5 and close out the series. Gretzky finally found his star moment with four goals and seven points in those final three games, while Messier captured the Conn Smythe Trophy. In the process, the Isles passed the dynasty torch. Edmonton would win five Cups in a seven-season stretch.
2007-08 & 2008-09: Detroit Red Wings vs. Pittsburgh Penguins
What happened the first time
Like the ’84 Oilers, the Pens were driven by generational superstars pushing for their inevitable glory in Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin and, like those Oilers, the Pens had to learn their lesson against a seasoned veteran team first. The Wings boasted multiple future Hall of Famers, from the old guard of Nicklas Lidstrom and Chris Chelios to in-his-prime star Pavel Datsyuk and Henrik Zetterberg, a probable Hall of Famer someday. The Pens made it interesting, especially when Petr Sykora forced a Game 6 with a triple-overtime win in Game 5, but Detroit was simply too well-rounded and disciplined to fail, clinching the title in six games. Lidstrom became the first European-born-and-trained player to captain a Stanley Cup champ.
What changed in between
The Pens underwent some crucial transformations. First, after paying up for Marian Hossa in a 2007-08 Trade Deadline blockbuster, they watched him join the competition, signing with the Red wings in 2008 free agency. Pittsburgh also fired coach Michel Therrien partway through the 2008-09 season with the team barely hovering around the .500 mark and replaced him with Dan Bylsma. Needing more of a veteran presence to put themselves over the top, GM Ray Shero swung some major deals in-season. He traded high-pedigree blueliner Ryan Whitney to bring Stanley Cup winner Chris Kunitz in. The Pens also acquired Stanley Cup winner Bill Guerin at the Trade Deadline, and his calming, jovial presence made a huge impact on the dressing room. They’d previously signed Ruslan Fedotenko in summer 2008, too, so they’d injected the team with lots of Cup-winning experience.
What happened in the rematch
It wasn’t easy. The Pens fell down 2-0 to open the series. After winning Games 3 and 4, they were pushed to the brink when the Red Wings blew them out 5-0 in Game 5. But they forced a Game 7 and earned the Stanley Cup revenge when Maxime Talbot scored twice and Marc-Andre Fleury made his iconic diving save on Lidstrom with two seconds remaining. Crosby and Malkin got their moment, with Malkin taking the Conn Smythe Trophy, and would win the Cup again in 2016 and 2017.
Takeaways
The first two Stanley Cup rematches of the modern era produced repeat results, but the sport was different then. The Blues were a fledgling expansion team. The Bruins were up against an all-time great dynasty. Dominant teams had endless staying power with less player turnover league wide.
It feels like the two more recent rematches compare more accurately to the Oilers and Panthers. Both instances featured generational icons trying to break through and win their first titles. In each case, the team that lost the first year made at least one meaningful roster tweak. The 2024-25 Oilers check both those boxes, with Connor McDavid trying to cement his G.O.A.T.-tier status and the team featuring several new faces, from Jake Walman to Trent Frederic and many more. Does that mean Edmonton has the right formula to win the rematch?
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