After knocking on the proverbial door for several seasons, the Florida Panthers captured their first Stanley Cup in franchise history, capping off a truly dominant season from an Atlantic Division power. It’s bad news for the rest of the league. Florida has operated as one of the most analytically sound teams in the NHL and though it lost several depth pieces, along with star defenceman Brandon Montour in free agency, it is well positioned to succeed for the next 3-5 years with its core firmly secured.

Florida was a true powerhouse in every sense and exacted revenge after losing in the 2023 Stanley Cup Final against the Vegas Golden Knights. Through the regular season, Florida allowed 119 goals at 5-on-5 — the best total in the NHL – while controlling 54 percent of the expected goals, and 57 percent of the actual goals, submitting opponents into defeat through the most disciplined system in the NHL. And in the rare event where the Panthers’ league-best defence was penetrated, Sergei Bobrovsky was there to shut the door, submitting a Vezina-caliber season — from this corner of the internet, there’s a very strong argument that he should’ve also won the Conn Smythe Trophy.

There are certain hallmarks of championship teams, even though you could reasonably surmise that most NHL teams are often running the same plays, if they’re running set plays at all, rather than reacting to the furious pace of the game. Florida’s entire team encapsulated Aleksander Barkov’s best qualities — a truly rare sign. Barkov is the best defensive forward in the league by some distance, Sam Reinhart finished fourth in Selke voting and the Panthers’ entire forward corps would track back, while Gustav Forsling activated his elite rush defense into instant offense throughout the championship campaign.

We’ll try not to gush over the Panthers, too much. After all, we’re only two seasons removed from the Panthers eliminating the Maple Leafs in five games, and they’re in a different tier from other teams at the moment. Here’s what you need to know about the 2024-25 Florida Panthers!

Aleksander Barkov is the NHL’s preeminent two-way player and the Panthers straight up dominate opponents when he’s on the ice. Barkov finished 12th in expected goals against per 60 among all qualified players (400 minutes or greater for our purposes) at 5-on-5 during the 2023-24 NHL season via Natural Stat Trick, while the Panthers controlled 61 percent of the expected goals when he was on the ice, the sixth-best total in the league. You don’t need the advanced stats to quantify Barkov’s impact per se, but rather that the entire team have adapted to his style of play and implemented it into their system, across all lines.

Barkov’s offensive impact is what separates them from other elite defensive players — if you want to make the argument that Auston Matthews is an elite defensive player and the best goal-scorer in the world, then sure, but that circumvents the point here. Florida’s captain is such a defensive menace that he wins every matchup when he’s on the ice and he also recorded 23 goals and 80 points in 73 games, while adding eight goals and 22 points in 24 playoff contests. Barkov also recorded a league-best 27 takeaways against 11 giveaways during the playoffs at 5-on-5, a central reason why he lifted the Cup this summer.

Barkov also boasts underrated separation speed — just look at how he wheels away from Connor McDavid of all people during Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Final!

Here’s a clear and easy example of Barkov turning defence into instant offense, during Game 2 of the Panthers’ second-round series against the Boston Bruins. Barkov dislodges Brad Marchand and dishes the puck to Reinhart, who runs a perfect give-and-go and in mere seconds, the puck is in the back of the net. And this is against a defensively sound Bruins team! Barkov and Reinhart would routinely torture opponents throughout the regular season, which facilitated their offence.

Florida’s top scoring line also operates as a shutdown line, a luxury that most teams would kill for, but it extends beyond Barkov and Reinhart’s superlative play. New acquisition Jesper Boqvist, who joins the Panthers from the Bruins, finished first in the league in goals against per 60 at 5-on-5, while ranking second in on-ice save percentage at 5-on-5 among all qualified players. Florida boasts six players who finished in the top 20 in GA/60 at 5-on-5 (Boqvist, Aaron Ekblad, Evan Rodrigues, Barkov, Gustav Forsling, Anton Lundell) and full-scale defensive responsibility is expected not only from the top line but from the bottom-six stalwarts like Lundell and Boqvist.

And of course, this responsibility is felt by the Panthers’ defenders, where Ekblad and Forsling, in particular, get top marks, but team defence is a real, concerted concept for the defending champions. It’s their calling card and it must be a coach’s dream to see each player try to embody the best parts of Barkov’s game.

Anton Lundell earned the ‘Baby Barkov’ nickname, which may be a misnomer, or rather, a good way to lull yourself into a false sense of security around him. In a sense, every Panthers forward is attempting to be Baby Barkov to a degree but Lundell is the clearest recipient of the captain’s mentorship and while it feels silly to highlight a former first-round pick on a championship team, he could be one of the NHL’s breakout stars this season.

Lundell promptly signed a six-year contract extension worth $30 million in July and if he’s happy, that’s all that matters but the Panthers signed him to one of the most team-friendly deals in the league, which prompted a wave of concerns from envious fans and media members: do the Panthers have an inherent advantage due to Florida’s income tax exemptions? Are the suburbs of Miami so alluring that other teams can’t compete? I can’t write any more of these faux-concern rhetorical questions without howling at my desk as the Panthers’ management group struck a deal that both parties found agreeable.

“Anton has matured into a dependable multirole center for our club, who seized his opportunity from his first day in North America,” Panthers president of hockey operations and general manager Bill Zito said in a press release. “His commitment to improvement and cerebral approach to the game earned him the profound respect of his teammates and coaches, and we are excited to see him continue to grow and succeed with the Panthers.”

All of this to say that Lundell turns 23 in October and is still rapidly improving, entering his prime while the rest of the core are firmly in their peak years — this doesn’t apply to the seemingly ageless wonder Sergei Bobrovsky. Florida has controlled over 53 percent of the expected goals at 5-on-5 in each of his first three seasons and Lundell is perhaps overqualified to take on bottom-six minutes exclusively. Lundell recorded 17 points in 24 playoff contests and if he’s matched up against weaker opponents throughout the year, he could feast offensively while having Barkov as a stand-in model when refining his game.

Lundell has a bit of a tell offensively — within the offensive third, he generates the vast majority of his chances while cutting through the left faceoff circle, before deciding to shoot, shoot with the intention of drawing a rebound, find a teammate crashing the net or drive the net himself. It’s the commonality that appears in the vast majority of his highlights.

Lundell can provide secondary offence and it’s clear he’s growing as an offensive player, while looking to translate near-elite defence into instant offence, a core component of the team’s identity. He may be Baby Barkov for now, but he may transform into a unique problem of his own while mimicking his teammate’s best qualities.

Gustav Forsling in some ways has become a snarling litmus test among hockey writers. It’s not a good quality to have but there’s been sneering condescension in how many of us have trumpeted and celebrated Forsling’s rapid rise from late-bloomer to quality player to superstar, as a way to determine who is actually watching the games. Forsling remains underrated on player ranking lists and standard season preview content, but he’s also the best defenceman on the league’s best team, so perhaps this is a projection in and of itself.

What remains unequivocally true is that Forsling was one of the NHL’s best players in 2024. Forsling was placed on waivers by the Carolina Hurricanes in January 2021, the Panthers pounced and he signed an eight-year extension worth $46 million before the playoffs, another contract that looks extremely team-friendly. Forsling posted 10 goals and 39 points in 79 regular season games, before adding four goals and 13 points in 24 playoff contests.

Forsling-Ekblad played 675:12 at 5-on-5, the 35th-most used pairing in the league and the second-most used duo on the Panthers, after Brandon Montour-Niko Mikkola. When the Forsling-Ekblad duo took the ice, the Panthers controlled just under 59 percent of the expected goals with a plus-14 goal differential. And they’ll be relied upon with more volume, as Mikkola operates as a true No. 3 alongside Dmitry Kulikov. Mikkola-Kulikov also helped the Panthers control 53 percent of the expected goals in 347:27 last season so there’s enough of a sample to conclude they’re going to be more than fine without Montour.

Forsling is an elusive skater with an inclination to slip behind defenders and then attack the net while crashing in from the point, usually beating the goaltender with a clean shooting lane. In some ways, you almost imagine Forsling as an inverted wing-back. Forsling isn’t overly active with his stick while defending but he has tremendous spatial sense and zonal awareness – or more simply, he doesn’t need to body his opponent to win the puck back, relying on superior skating and positioning to get the Panthers out of trouble and start the counter.

Forsling is a superstar and he’s likely better than your preferred defenceman. Forsling-Ekblad will be one of the best pairs in the league again and a slight uptick in volume certainly couldn’t hurt the defending Stanley Cup champions. There are no discernible weaknesses on this Panthers team. Perhaps they capitulate to injuries after two runs to the Cup, or maybe Bobrovksy’s Jekyll-and-Hyde act turns sour but this is a powerhouse defensive team that can simply wear out their opponent throughout the year, despite losing depth pieces across the board. They’re the runaway favourite to win the division and at least from this writer, the prohibitive favourites to repeat as Stanley Cup winners.

Projected finish: 1st in Atlantic Division