Two years ago, the Golden Knights capped off a magical postseason run by demolishing the Florida Panthers to win the Stanley Cup. Vegas won the series in five games, winning by scores of 5-2, 7-2, 3-2, and 9-3, leaving absolutely no doubt who was the best hockey team in the world in 2023.
Fast forward to last night, and the same team the Golden Knights dismantled hoisted the Cup for the second time in a row, cementing their status as a modern-day dynasty in the NHL.
At first glance, it looks like the same cast of characters for Florida: same captain, same leading goal scorers, same top pair defense, and same goalie. Hockey is a team game, though, and it’s fairly remarkable the changes in the two rosters from the day Vegas won its Cup and the Panthers hoisting their second in a row last night.
Game 5 vs VGK (June 13, 2023)
Lundell–Barkov-Duclair
Verhaeghe–Bennett–Reinhart
Lomberg-Staal-Cousins
Denisenko-White-Dalpe
Forsling–Ekblad
Staal-Montour
Mahura-Gudas
Bobrovsky
With Matthew Tkachuk sidelined with a broken sternum, the lineup the Panthers iced on that fateful night in 2023 featured just eight players who dressed last night.
Both Eric and Marc Staal, as well as Zac Dalpe, retired following the 2023 season. Grigori Denisenko and Colin White have played a combined 27 games in the NHL since, and neither has recorded a point. Anthony Duclair, Ryan Lomberg, Nick Cousins, Josh Mahura, and Radko Gudas combined for a total of 17 goals and 64 points this season with other teams.
The only real loss was Brandon Montour, who stayed with the 2024 Cup team and has gone on to play quite well on the struggling Seattle Kraken.
Game 6 vs EDM (June 17, 2025)
Verhaeghe–Barkov–Reinhart
Rodrigues-Bennett-Tkachuk
Luostarinen-Lundell-Marchand
Greer-Nosek-Gadjovich
Forsling–Ekblad
Mikkola-Jones
Schmidt-Kulikov
Bobrovsky
The names at the top of the lineup, and in net, are the same, but the upgrades in depth are massive. Brad Marchand jumps to the top of that list, having scored 10 goals in this year’s playoffs, including six in the Cup Final. But players like Evan Rodrigues, Eetu Luostarinen, Tomas Nosek, Seth Jones, Nate Schmidt, and Niko Mikkola made huge impacts this postseason.
The Golden Knights beat a very good Panthers team in 2023, but it was nowhere close to the teams that have lifted the Cup each of the last two seasons.
Meanwhile, let’s look at how VGK’s roster has changed since June 13th, 2023.
Game 5 vs FLA (June 13, 2023)
Barbashev–Eichel-Marchessault
Smith–Karlsson-Amadio
Howden-Stephenson-Stone
Carrier-Roy–Kolesar
Martinez-Pietrangelo
McNabb–Theodore
Hague–Whitecloud
Hill
Where Florida had just eight players remaining from the Cup Final in 2023, the lineup Vegas iced in the final game of its season still had 14 of the 18 (with Stone missing the game).
Game 5 vs EDM (May 14, 2025)
Howden–Eichel-Olofsson
Dorofeyev-Hertl-Roy
Barbashev–Karlsson–Smith
Pearson-Schwindt-Kolesar
Hanifin-Pietrangelo
McNabb–Theodore
Hague–Whitecloud
Hill
The roster that fell to Edmonton in five games this year was probably good enough to have beaten the 2023 Panthers.
The Panthers were close two years ago, and they reshaped the depth of their roster to not only get over the hump but become an unstoppable force.
The Golden Knights were close in 2024 and again in 2025. The blueprint is there. Let’s see if they can follow the Panthers’ lead.
