Just after the Florida Panthers hit the Edmonton Oilers for the Stanley Cup last June, Panthers Forward Matthew Tkachuk told ESPN’s Emily Kaplan”It’s incredible, back-to-back two-time Stanley Cup champions … a dynasty.” The last time I looked, a dynasty meant at least three Stanley cups in a row, or like the Oilers of the 1980s and early 90s, five Stanley Cups in seven years. Maybe Tkachuk should look at the Hockey Hall of Fame website Their official list of NHL -Dynasties. If the 2025-26 version of the Oilers wants to derail the Panthers and want to win a Stanley Cup during the Connor McDavid/Leon Draisaitl era, they have to dig deep and look at getting a new starting goalkeeper by the time the play-offs of Stanley Cup 2026 start.
They also have to study history and brighten up what Winston Churchill said: “Those who do not learn from history are doomed to repeat it.” I am not talking about the history of oilers with Wayne Gretzky and Mark Messier, but this current version of the oilers reminds me a lot of the New York Islanders dynasty of the early 1980s.
Many great teams have to learn to lose before they can win
The islanders, similar to today’s oils, were a great emerging team from the mid -1970s. The team was destined to repel those great Montreal Canadiens teams for NHL display. In the Play-Offs of Stanley Cup from 1975, the islanders came back from 3-0 in two series to force Game 7 against the Pittsburgh Penguins, which they won, and against the Philadelphia Flyers, which they lost. The loss for the Flyers, the final Stanley Cup champions in 1975, informed the competition that the islanders were real. The islanders, just like the Oilers, built the core of their team of the design with Hall of Famers Denis Potvin, Bryan Trottier and Mike Bossy, all prepared by the then Gdereraal Manager (GM) Bill Torrey.
Related: The franchise of the New York Islanders Four
Although the islanders lost to the final Stanley Cup champions, the Canadiens, in 1976 and 1977, by the 1977-78 season, they started to be picked as the team that would probably dismiss Montreal. In 1978 the islanders lost in the first round of the play -offs of the storage of Toronto Maple Leafs, and both fans and experts started to question their ability to win.
In 1979 the islanders lost in the second round of the hated cross-Town Rivals, the New York Rangers, and It seemed that the dynasty was over before it started. But in the spring of 1980 the islanders made a crucial decision in game 3 of their first round series against the Los Angeles Kings; They chose to start Billy Smith in Doel about fan favorite Glenn “Chico” Resch, and they drove Smith all the way to victory and their first Stanley Cup on May 24, 1980. The islanders had finally reached the top after years of almost -missers and Hartzeer. Sounds familiar, Oilers -Fans? After two straight Stanley Cup performances you have to wonder if the oilers have what is needed to come back and eventually break through for the Stanley Cup victory that many expect from McDavid.
What can the oilers of today learn from the dynasty teams of the islanders?
Despite what people say, the team must believe in themselves. This is the deepest team of the MCDAVID era with Draisaitl in its prime and veteran attackers such as Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, Zach Hyman (IF Healthy) and newcomer Andrew Mangiapane expected to make major contributions.
Related: Oilers’ Andrew Mangiapane could have a large season 2025-26
The oilers also need Trent Frederic to perform, and if young people can play Matt Savoie and Ike Howard well, the forward group must be in good condition. The defense led by Evan Bouchard, Mattias Ekholm and Jake Walman is solid. The only question, again, is in goal. I am a fan of both Stuart Skinner and Calvin Pickard, but a new goalkeeper coach this season will not post this franchise. Sorry. Oilers GM Stan Bowman has to become creative this season and get a rabbit out of the hat and find a bona fide starting goalkeeper before the playoffs of Stanley Cup 2026 start.
Perhaps McDavid is not yet on a new contract that this season is a sign that he is waiting to see what can be done, especially in the goal. Just like the dynasty of the islanders, where Smith’s goal tent won four straight Stanley cups, the oilers must find similar magic between the legs. I know that there are limitations of salary caps, but that is what Bowman and his staff are paid for – find a solution. Otherwise, chances are that the Panthers will win their third Stanley Cup in a row and be officially crowned a dynasty.
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