It's Time To Have a Conversation

After back-to-back blow out wins in Games 5 and 6 of the Stanley Cup Final, the Florida Panthers are the 2025 Stanley Cup Champions, their second consecutive championship and second straight year defeating the Edmonton Oilers.

While the Panthers become the third team this century to win back-to-back Stanley Cups, the Oilers become the first team since the 1977 and 1978 Boston Bruins. Of course, most of the blame for the Oilers' loss in the final has been put on the team's lack of consistent goaltending, or the depth scoring everyone raved about throughout the first three rounds seemingly disappearing. I do think it is time we need to have a serious question about the Oilers' two stars not showing up when it mattered most, and specifically with my favorite hockey player ever, Connor McDavid.

To be clear, McDavid is still the best player in the world in my opinion; there's no question there. He is unmatched in terms of his speed, playing, and skill. However, this series made one thing clear: I personally didn't see that killer instinct we see from so many all-time greats. And because of that, when the Oilers needed him to step up and help them cross the finish line, he would be the first to tell you he failed. In this year's final, McDavid only had one goal throughout the six games, and that came late in Game 5 when Edmonton was already down 3-0 at home in a pivotal swing game in the series.

These struggles had nothing to do with running into a hot goalie because, to me, Panthers goalie Sergei Bobrovsky wasn't great outside of Game 6. The problem was that McDavid didn't take over in the way that we expect our generational superstar to do. He did fairly well in the beginning of the series, making highlight reel plays, including perhaps the assist of the playoffs in Game 2, but he became quieter game by game when his team needed him most.

Before you start telling me how bad the Oilers' goaltending was, and that hockey is the ultimate team sport, I know that, and indeed the Oilers did lose to a far better team. And sure, Leon Draisaitl wasn't great, Evander Kane became a problem throughout the series, Zach Hyman couldn't play due to wrist surgery, and the defense core couldn't clear the zone enough; trust me, I get it. But there's a different standard when you're being compared to legends Gretzky, Lemieux, or Crosby. Those guys showed up when their team needed them most, and when the games mattered most in the Finals, they authored all-time moments that led to Stanley Cup championships. And as of now, McDavid still doesn't have a résumé like those guys.

This isn’t to say the window is closed for Edmonton. They dominated the Western Conference playoffs after losing the first two games to Los Angeles in Round One, and going into the 2025-26 season, the Oilers should be considered the favorites in the conference until someone knocks them off. This summer, I'm sure they’ll reload, upgrade the goaltending, and be right back in the mix next year. But with every deep playoff run that ends in heartbreak, the pressure mounts on McDavid and the organization, as number 97 enters a season in which, hypothetically, he could leave Alberta, with him set to be an unrestricted free agent after the 2025-26 season.

And that's why this conversation matters. Because I don't know about you, but based on his performance in this year's final, it was the first time the thought of McDavid never winning a Cup truly popped in my mind.

He is my favorite player ever, and I am for sure not questioning McDavid's greatness. As I said before, he's still by far the best player in the NHL. I'm just stating that this is the type of performance that will stick with me and will make me question whether McDavid will hoist the Stanley Cup. It’s not about unfair criticism, it's about accountability. And deep down, I think McDavid would put this year's loss on himself.

Heading into Year 11 for McDavid, there are no more moral victories he and the Oilers. No more celebrating getting to the Final. It's all about being the last team standing.

Because if he ever wants to sit at the table with legends like Gretzky, Crosby, Lemieux, or Ovechkin, it’s time he stops knocking on the door and finally kicks it down.