The 2024 Stanley Cup Final is loaded with star power

With the amount of star power among both the Edmonton Oilers and Florida Panthers rosters, it’s hard not to get excited about the 2024 Stanley Cup Final.

Not only are the rosters loaded, the stars have been carrying the load. For the Oilers, Connor McDavid has been a force throughout the playoffs, leading the league with 31 points in 18 games. McDavid is followed closely by Leon Draisaitl, who has registered 28 points of his own. And don’t forget about Zach Hyman. The Oilers winger capped off a 54-goal regular season and continues to find the back of the net during the Stanley Cup Playoffs, sitting with 14 goals through the opening three rounds.

Meanwhile, Matthew Tkachuk of the Panthers has taken his game to another level, collecting 19 points in 17 games while also being the ultimate pest, game in and game out. The Panthers have also been led by captain and Selke trophy winner Aleksander Barkov, who is playing at a point-a-game pace, while also leading from a shut-down role up front.

Oilers defenseman Evan Bouchard is also worthy of being amongst the stars as the right-handed defenseman continues to impact the game on both sides of the puck, averaging 24:33 minutes a night and leading all blueliners with 27 points.

During Tuesday’s episode of Daily Faceoff Live, Tyler Yaremchuk and Frank Seravalli discussed the upcoming series, which is slated to begin on June 8th and tried to determine who had the edge when it came to star power up front:

Tyler Yaremchuk: Let’s start with the Stanley Cup Final, Frank. And I think one part of this series, and I think it deserves to be number one in what we’re doing with our previews this week is the star power up front between these two sides. I think that, combined with the rest, is what’s going to make this Stanley Cup Final a very electric one. For Edmonton, you obviously have McDavid, Draisaitl, Hyman, from Florida you have guys who have proven over these last two runs to be quality playoff performers. A guy like Carter Verhaeghe, there aren’t a lot of players who have scored more goals over the last two playoffs than Carter Verhaeghe. Aleksander Barkov on the defensive side, Matt Tkachuk with his ability to get under the other team’s skin and swing momentum and energy in a game not just with a big goal which he does a lot of, or a big hit or a scrum, who do you give the edge to when it comes to the star power though?

Frank Seravalli: Well, the pure star power, it’s the Edmonton Oilers. I think Leon Draisaitl said it best just a couple of days ago when they were heading into Game 6 against the Dallas Stars, and he said when we’re at our best, I’m paraphrasing essentially, but when were at our best, we think we are the best. And, it’s really hard to argue that, but when it comes to depth of the forward group, the edge still right now lies with the Florida Panthers. They have more that they can throw at you. But, this is kind of the point I’ve been making all playoffs long, specifically with regard to the Vancouver Canucks or other teams the Oilers have played, their ceiling is just higher in Edmonton.

And the question, the real question the Oilers are going to have to answer in this series is, how many times can you get to that ceiling with those players and how long of a sustained period of time will it be? And, that’s really the differentiator, I think in this Cup final is there’s a lot of really good players on the other end of this and Tkachuk and Barkov and you mentioned Verhaeghe and go down the list, Sam Reinhart, I mean there’s a 50-plus goal-scorer we are talking about that doesn’t even make this graphic. These are good, really good players, but they are #97 or #29 for the Oilers. That’s why I have such a hard time going through this process, in terms of trying to pick who ultimately has the edge just to check the box in the forward category, because which one ends up winning at the end of the day.

Tyler Yaremchuk: When you look at those, well let’s go from the top of these forward groups to maybe closer to the bottom, it’s obviously been a point of contention for the Oilers, they haven’t gotten a lot of production from down there, although names like Connor Brown and Mattias Janmark have been finding ways to contribute away from 5-on-5. They’ve been great on the penalty kill. Dylan Holloway certainly been an emergence and I think this third line has given them the best chance at a full top-12, if you want to call it that. But on the Florida side Frank, who do you look as a potential difference maker because again, this could/should be an area that the Panthers win?

Frank Seravalli: What about Vladimir Tarasenko there, spotted on the third line? He’s won a Stanley Cup before, he’s gone on deep playoff runs. He’s someone that finds a way, you know, even through a goal-scoring drought in the playoffs to come through in a clinching game for the Cats. How do you look passed Sam Bennett and his playoff performances year in and year out? He’s one of those guys that yeah, he chips in 20 goals in the regular season, but finds a way to contribute when it matters most. We’ve talked and waxed poetic about Barkov and Verhaeghe and those guys but Sam Reinhart is playing for an enormous contract and I have to think that there’s some way to work it out and keep him in Florida after back-to-back runs to the Stanley Cup Final. This is, honestly, it’s not often we get to a Cup final, that the two best teams from each conference are left standing. And that’s what I believe we have here in this Cup final.

Watch the full episode here: