Panthers or Golden Knights? A Stanley Cup Final rooting guide for 30 other fan bases
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By Sean McIndoe
6h ago
The Stanley Cup Final matchup has been set, and with hockey’s greatest prize up for grabs, only two teams are left standing.
Spoiler alert: Not yours.
I’m playing the odds a bit here, since 30 teams are on the sidelines. Plus I’m assuming that fans of the Panthers and Golden Knights have other things to worry about right now. Does that happen when your team is in the Final? Let’s just say I wouldn’t know, but it sounds reasonable.
Great. What about everyone else? We’ve got what should be a great matchup ready to go, and maybe sitting back and enjoying the show without a rooting interest sounds good to you. But some of us aren’t wired that way, and we need to have a team to root for — or root against — to really get into a series.
If that’s you, I’m here to help. I’ve got a suggestion of which team to cheer for, for fans of all 30 of the loser teams’ valiant nonparticipants.
Let’s do this.
Anaheim Ducks
Sorry Shea Theodore, but expansion cousins need to stick together. That’s especially true when your shared origin story is some random midweek announcement that came literally a few months before your first season would start.
Pick: Panthers
Arizona Coyotes
Has that desert-based rivalry with the Golden Knights ever turned into anything? Not really, but we can pretend. And besides, the Panthers may be the only other market that’s had to deal with more snotty remarks from old-timers about being better off in Quebec City.
Pick: Panthers
Boston Bruins
It’s tempting to pick the Panthers here, since that would retcon that first round from “all-time stunning upset” to “at least kind of understandable.” But if Florida wins, especially as easily as they did over Toronto and Carolina, it will just reinforce what a missed opportunity that loss really was. Do we want Brad Marchand to spend the rest of his life knowing one missed breakaway cost his team an easy Stanley Cup? Everyone else does, yes, absolutely, but not Bruins fans. Instead, go ahead and root for Bruce Cassidy to get the ring he couldn’t get in Boston.
Pick: Golden Knights
Buffalo Sabres
Hey, remember when the Sabres openly tanked for a few years and ended up with a pair of second picks, then figured the future was bright because Jack Eichel and Sam Reinhart were the sorts of players who could get you to a Final? Turns out they were right, kind of.
Now it’s a question of which guy you resent more. Let’s just say I don’t think this is a tough call.
Pick: Panthers
Calgary Flames
Do you enjoy hearing the entire hockey world sing the praises of heroic postseason warrior Matthew Tkachuk, who put up 15 points in 27 career playoff games for you before forcing his way out of town? I’m guessing you do not.
Pick: Golden Knights
Columbus Blue Jackets
In theory, this is the same deal as Calgary, where you’re allowed to be bitter about the former star who abandoned your team. I think the Sergei Bobrovsky situation is different, though. He didn’t force his way out as dramatically as Tkachuk did, and the exit isn’t as recent, so there’s been time to heal. And unlike Flames fans and Tkachuk, at least Blue Jackets fans can feel like this version of Bobrovsky isn’t completely new, since they got to enjoy it during that memorable 2019 upset over the Lightning. I’m leaning toward rooting for the former star here, especially since it means not having to hear about William Karlsson being in the running for the Conn Smythe. But I admit that it may be dicey for some of you.
Pick: Panthers
Carolina Hurricanes
Someday, you’ll respect the Panthers for the series they gave you, even if all the breaks went their way. Today is not that day. Besides, the Golden Knights gave you Max Pacioretty for nothing. Sorry, Eric Staal, you shouldn’t have been a traitor.
Pick: Golden Knights
Chicago Blackhawks
Did you know that journeyman tough guy Shawn Thornton is the Panthers’ chief revenue officer? I did not, and I’m not sure why I enjoy this fact so much. Every NHL team has an endless list of former players hanging around as assistant to this or associate scout of that, but Thornton is over here doing a real job. That rules.
Does it have anything to do with the Blackhawks? Not really, other than Thornton playing a few games for them way back when. I just wanted to mention it, so I’m using Chicago’s spot to do it. Don’t worry, they’ll be fine with it, they’re all still drunk from celebrating the Bedard lottery.
Pick: Panthers
Colorado Avalanche
Remember the last time the Panthers were in the Final, back in 1996? No, and neither does anyone else, because you guys swept them so quickly and easily that we all just wiped the whole thing from our minds. Almost three decades later and with another recent Cup still fresh in your memory, you can send some karma their way.
Pick: Panthers
Dallas Stars
Obviously you would have liked to not have the Golden Knights fall on you and I guess use your Stanley Cup dreams as a landing point.
Pick: Panthers
Detroit Red Wings
Is the fact your GM and coach are both Battle of Florida alumni from the Lightning enough reason to root against the Panthers? Probably not, but it’s all I’ve been able to come up with.
Pick: Golden Knights
Edmonton Oilers
I’m all for letting bygones be bygones, but you’re under no obligation to root for the guy who tried to break Leon Draisaitl’s wrist.
Pick: Panthers
Los Angeles Kings
I’m genuinely curious about where Kings fans are at on the Jonathan Quick factor. On the one hand, he’s a franchise legend who didn’t want to leave and you should want the absolute best for him. On the other hand, he was The Guy for the only two Cups the Kings have ever won, and now he’s just kind of there as the Vegas third string. Do you want him to get another ring that way? Does it even matter if he’s not seeing the ice?
I’m not sure, and that’s before factoring in Alec Martinez. I’m going to say you root against the Knights based on a rivalry that’s drifted toward nasty over the years, with the understanding that if Quick suddenly emerges to play a role in the series, you may have to reconsider.
Pick: Panthers
Minnesota Wild
It’s really tempting to go Florida here. For starters, the Golden Knights beat you in seven a few years ago. They’ve also had more interesting things happen to them in six years than the Wild have in the quarter-century they’ve existed, and it’s not all that close. Jealousy is poison, but that doesn’t mean it can’t be valid.
But here’s the counterpoint: Stanley Cup champion Paul Fenton. Yeah, he works in the Panthers front office, presumably making sure all of their acquisitions are appropriately lizard-like. Holding grudges against unsuccessful former GMs is a cherished hockey tradition and I won’t try to take that away from you.
Pick: Golden Knights
Montreal Canadiens
Dude, the Panthers are totally ripping off your 1993 schtick. Come on, a so-so team with a crazy hot goalie that wins every game in overtime? Get your own material, guys.
Pick: Golden Knights
Nashville Predators
Let’s see, the Panthers are: a) a team from a non-traditional southern market that has b) made an unexpected run to the Stanley Cup Final as an eight-seed, c) to face a team everyone resents, d) with their hopes riding on their 34-year-old European goalie, e) while being one year removed from a Presidents’ Trophy, and f) powered by a franchise-altering blockbuster trade they pulled off the summer before. The 2023 Panthers are basically the 2017 Predators reincarnated. Plus they basically gave you your new coach.
Pick: Panthers
New Jersey Devils
Here’s a fun one. On April 6, 2019, the Golden Knights faced the L.A. Kings in both teams’ season finales. The Kings were very bad that year, but the playoff-bound Golden Knights laid an egg, losing 5-2. Who cares, right? Well, those two points very nearly changed history, because they would have moved the Kings past the Devils and into 29th in the standings. And as we all now know, that spot was the lucky one that won the draft lottery. Yes, the Knights’ no-show could have cost the Devils Jack Hughes.
But it didn’t, because the Devils also won their final game of the season that night, an OT thriller that let them keep the winning spot by a single point. And who was the team that thwarted the Golden Knights and preserved the Hughes era by losing to the Devils in that franchise-altering game? Yep, the good old Florida Panthers.
Pick: Panthers
New York Islanders
Let’s put on our bowties and throw up a super sky point to Bill Torrey, the legendary architect of two franchises.
Pick: Panthers
New York Rangers
As if you all don’t have enough on your minds these days, I regret to inform you that you are officially on Ultimate Loser watch if the Golden Knights win.
Pick: Panthers
Ottawa Senators
Mark Stone was cool, right? Sure, he sort of forced his way out of Ottawa, but if Sens fans held a grudge against every player who ever did that, they’d never be able to root for any other team. Besides, Stone didn’t string anyone along, making it possible for the team to trade him and feel proud about it. If you’re a Senators lifer, cheer for the guy. (Unless you’re Brady Tkachuk. We can probably make an exception for him.)
Pick: Golden Knights
Philadelphia Flyers
Hey, remember when you guys had a kid named Sergei Bobrovsky but instead, you gutted your team so you could sign Ilya Bryzgalov for $51 million? Wouldn’t it be fun to watch him single-handedly win a Stanley Cup while your team languishes in hopelessness? No, it would not.
Pick: Golden Knights
Pittsburgh Penguins
The Golden Knights made Marc-Andre Fleury sad, and they’re healthy-scratching Phil Kessel. Screw those guys.
Pick: Panthers
San Jose Sharks
The Golden Knights just knocked out ultimate OGWAC Joe Pavelski. Meanwhile, the Panthers would at least prove that it’s possible for a team that employed Joe Thornton to win a Stanley Cup every decade or so. Easy call here.
Pick: Panthers
Seattle Kraken
In the world of expansion NHL teams winning Cups, it’s more fun to imagine that it can be done in six years rather than 30. Besides, a Vegas championship will make it mean even more when everybody watches you beat them in next year’s Winter Classic.
Pick: Golden Knights
St. Louis Blues
It’s always great when a star spends his whole career with the team that drafted him, but sometimes it just doesn’t work out that way. Blues fans can still hope that Alex Pietrangelo, the only captain in franchise history to lift the Stanley Cup, gets another ring in Vegas.
Pick: Golden Knights
Tampa Bay Lightning
The Panthers are a rival, but it’s always been in that “wimpy kid brother” way where they weren’t actually a threat to you and always just ended up getting sand kicked in their face. The morally right thing to do here is to root for them to finally have their moment. The spiteful thing to do is to hope they face-plant in front of the world and everyone laughs at them. Hockey fans know which path to choose.
Pick: Golden Knights
Toronto Maple Leafs
Oh, fun. Do you want to root for the team that knocked you out of the playoffs to win a Stanley Cup using a blueprint your front office always rejected? Or would you rather see a team go from not existing to winning it all in six years, while your drought heads toward 60?
It’s a tough one, and might depend on just how crazy the Leafs want to get over the coming weeks. But ultimately, I think a Panthers win that reminds us that sometimes it’s as simple as a good team finally getting everything to break right for two months does more for Leafs fans’ morale than a Vegas win. Besides, when in doubt, Leafs fans should root for the team with the longest drought. It’s just good karma. (Sam Bennett can get bent, though.)
Pick: Panthers
Vancouver Canucks
If Florida wins, you know who finally gets a Stanley Cup win? Roberto Luongo. You know what to do.
Pick: Panthers
Washington Capitals
It’s tempting to root on your old “Southleast” roommates from Florida. But after winning your only Cup in Vegas back in 2018 and then befouling the city’s pristine fountains, I think it’s only fair to hope that George McPhee finally gets his championship.
Pick: Golden Knights
Winnipeg Jets
Oof. The team that knocked you out of the playoffs with ease, or the coach who literally quit on you? There may not be a right answer here, but I think there’s a wild-card, and it’s a potential Connor Hellebuyck trade market. If the Panthers win, the lesson will be that veteran goalies are the key, even if you have to overpay for them. If it’s the Golden Knights, the lesson is that any random goalie can win. That tilts the balance ever so slightly in my mind, but I get it if Jets fans would prefer to just pass.
Pick: Panthers
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