So yes, this might be a bit of a repeat, but then again, so is this series. On its face, I don't really like the fact of seeing the same two teams in the final two straight years. Hell, don't know if I like it even if there's a year or two in between. Case in point, the mindless Cavs v Warriors series were honestly just boring disasters come round 3 and 4, and of course unless a confluence of dozens of events in 2016 that conspired have the Warriors blow a 3-1 lead, it could've been four fairly staid years in a row.
But realistically, there is a chance here for something special. The matchup itself is great on paper - a deeper, better Oilers team than last year coming up against a Panthers team trying for semi-dynasty status (the reverse 2020-22 Lightning). But the real drama is again, can Canada just win the Cup.
When I wrote the piece last year I talked about the various stats - the various near misses for Canada, the slew of Game 7 losses - the '95 Canucks, the '04 Flames, the '06 Oilers, the '11 Canucks and of course now we add to that the '25 Oilers. I talked about the way Canada loves this sport in a way the US never will, the way the crowds sing O Canada so beautifully, the white-outs, the goal horns, the "eh's" of it all. This is Canada's sport, but we've stolen the top trophy for 32 years.
Of course, one year later, there are two components that swerve into geopolitics that we have to talk about - namely our awful President repeating the "51st State" line over and over and over again from February through May. Yes, that rhetoric has kind of gone away in recent weeks, as Trump has faced many other problems, and new Canada PM Mark Carney has fought Trump's lunacy head-on, but it is still an embarrassing undercurrent in this series.
What makes it worse is the US team is Florida - the home state of Donald Trump, playing a stone's throw away from Mar-A-Lago. More than even that micro geography, si the macro-geography of a "Southern Expansion" team beating out a Canadian team for a Cup (much like not only last year, but the '04 Lighting, '06 Hurricanes, '21 Lightning as well). Canadians in many cases hate the fact that these teams exist in the first place. That's probably a bit too narrow a view - and does the NHL no good as it needs these teams to work out to build the game. But it is so pointed of how hard Canada has had it.
So, more than ever, I hope they get it this year. I hope they get it to stick it to Trump (not that he would care, but you know he would become a Panthers fan if they win the Cup over the 51st state). I hope they get it because Connor McDavid, Leon Draisaitl deserve a Cup (and yes, I realize Leon is not Canadian). I hope they get it because the Edmonton fans have gone 35 years without winning one. Yes, they won five of seven right before that streak began, but a high % of Oilers fans weren't alive for that run. I hope they get it because Canada deserves it - deserves it this year more than ever for putting up with Trump's bullshit, for putting up with American's jokes, and so much more.