Oilers-Panthers series features 7 players already selected for 2026 event
© Brian Babineau/NHLI via Getty Images
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — Connor McDavid sat at the press conference podium wearing his piercing steely-eyed game face Monday, the most talented player in the world knowing his Stanley Cup dream with the Edmonton Oilers will disintegrate with one loss in either of the next two games.
As such, the stoic captain was completely focused at his media availability on the eve of Game 6 of the Stanley Cup Final against the Florida Panthers at Amerant Bank Arena on Tuesday (8 p.m. ET; MAX, truTV, TNT, SN, TVAS, CBC), a must-win with Edmonton trailing 3-2 in the best-of-7 series.
Until the subject of the Olympic Winter Games Milano Cortina 2026 came up, that is.
On Monday, the 12 countries participating in the event next February each named the first six players to their preliminary rosters including, of course, McDavid by Canada. And when asked by NHL.com about his first opportunity to participate in an Olympics, he took a moment to take his mind off the Panthers.
He even almost smiled.
Almost.
“Another incredible honor,” he said. “Incredibly honored to represent my country at the biggest sporting event in the world. You think of the Canadian players that can be named to that team, and to be selected again it means a lot, obviously.”
And with that, his concentration shifted back to the Cup Final.
“But we’re looking forward to tomorrow obviously and what we have right in front of us, and that’s a heck of an opportunity to go win a hockey game.”
No one can blame McDavid for having tunnel vision when it comes to this series. He’s fantasized about winning the Cup since he was a kid growing up 40 miles north of Toronto in Newmarket, Ontario.
Last year, Florida prevented him from achieving that goal by defeating Edmonton 2-1 in Game 7. The same teams are in the Cup Final again in what’s been an outstanding advertisement for the sport, including three of the five games thus far being settled in exhilarating overtimes.
It’s just another example of the golden age of hockey we’re experiencing, with the OIympics being the next chapter of the story once the Cup is awarded in the next few days.
Think about the thrills and spills the game has showcased in the past calendar year alone. Start from the Panthers’ dramatic seven-game victory in the 2024 Cup Final, a series in which the Oilers came back from a series 3-0 deficit only to fall one goal short in the season finale.
Then, there was the 4 Nations Face-Off, a thrilling best-on-best tournament that concluded with McDavid scoring against United States goalie Connor Hellebuyck in overtime of the championship game to give Canada a 3-2 victory.
“It’s fantastic,” U.S. general manager Bill Guerin said Monday. “(Canada GM) Doug (Armstrong) and I met in the hall after the championship in Boston, (and) he said it best — hockey was the big winner. Canada won the championship, but the sport of hockey was the big winner because of the notoriety, the popularity.
“For all of us, we’re just really proud of being a part of this bigger picture and growing the game and getting it more on the forefront. We have some of the greatest athletes in the world, and it was nice to see them catapult it to the top. It’s really nice to be a part of that. … These guys are faster, more skilled and dedicated than they ever have been. The game’s in a really, really good spot.”
CAN@USA: McDavid buries the OT winner past Hellebuyck, to win the 4 Nations Face-Off Championship
The Final is a prime example, especially when you consider that seven players participating in this series were among the top six selections for their respective countries Monday — Oilers forwards McDavid (Canada) and Leon Draisaitl (Germany), and Panthers forwards Aleksander Barkov (Finland), Matthew Tkachuk (United States), Sam Reinhart (Canada) and Nico Sturm (Germany), and defenseman Uvis Balinskis (Latvia).
All in all, 61 of the 72 players selected Monday are under contract with NHL teams.
Barkov, who was recently named the recipient of the Selke Trophy as the NHL’s best defensive forward for 2024-25, has his hands full these days going head-to-head against McDavid in an attempt to help Florida repeat as Stanley Cup champions. But he was practically glowing after practice Monday when asked about being named to Team Finland.
“Oh, that’s awesome,” said Barkov, who had one assist for Finland at the 2014 Sochi Olympics. “I was fortunate to represent them once already at the Olympics, and that’s for sure the biggest hockey tournament for national teams. That was my dream as a kid to be there, and I got to experience that for a little bit for two games. Now to be named again, it’s a huge honor.
“I’m really, really happy and honored and thankful for that opportunity.”
For Sturm, the Olympics provides the chance for foes to be friends. Here at the Final, he and Draisaitl are opponents. Next February, they will be teammates.
“I’ve played against Leon pretty much my entire NHL career,” Sturm said. “I actually don’t know him all that well on a personal level. I think the last time we played with each other was probably some maybe under-18 national team. It’s been a long time …
“He’s definitely somebody that I look up to a lot and try to learn from.”
For the time being, the issue at hand is yet another thrilling Stanley Cup Final in which the best “wow” moment, in a series full of them, is likely still to come. In the process, it is setting the stage for the upcoming Olympics, which will feature NHL participation for the first time since 2014.
“We all want to win the Stanley Cup,” Armstrong said. “I speak for myself and North Americans, I think we all want to. That’s the primary thing.
“Europeans, they’ve grown up on the Olympics also, and I think it’s neck-and-neck with the Stanley Cup right now, of wanting to win that event. And I think also of getting that opportunity to get to bring generations that have a Sidney Crosby and a Connor McDavid together to play internationally.
“It’s just great for the fans and great for hockey.”
