The 2024-25 NHL season is over, and the Florida Panthers have repeated as Champions. Three straight runs to the Stanley Cup Final, two wins, and one of the strongest rosters in the league, they’ve set a new standard for team building. The NHL is a copycat league, and while going full Panther (e.g. over-drafting tough guys like Brady Martin) is ill advised, there are still lessons to be learned from a franchise that went from a laughing stock to a borderline dynasty.
Today, we’re going to look at three things the Flyers can learn from the Panthers. We did this same exercise two years ago when they lost to the Vegas Golden Knights, and though there are similarities, a lot has changed since that miracle run to the Final. Let’s get into it.
Third lines win Cups
This sounds silly on the surface, but the devastating Florida third line of Brad Marchand, Anton Lundell, and Eetu Luostarainen was the difference maker in so many games on this playoff run; they outscored opponents 21-7 in their 5-on-5 time together, for example. There’s precedent for third lines being the difference, too: think back to the Tampa Bay Lightning, and how their third line of Blake Coleman, Yanni Gourde and Barclay Goodrow ran roughshod on opponents. Before them, the Pittsburgh Penguins had the infamous HBK line of Carl Hagelin, Nick Bonino (happy retirement to Bonino!), and Phil Kessel. True contenders have, presumably, evenly matched top six forward groups; having a third line that can outplay any other team’s bottom six is an extraordinary advantage.
We often joke about how the Tyson Foerster, Noah Cates and Bobby Brink line is a “good third line,” and while I hope Foerster ultimately has more top six upside, that line would absolutely dominate in the playoffs if they were matched up against an opponent’s third or fourth line. A third line that can play to that level is a necessity, and the Flyers need to find a way to make it cost effective in the way Florida has: Luostarainen and Lundell have a combined $8-million AAV against the cap, and we’ll see what happens with Marchand. The Flyers have a good deal in the Noah Cates contract, and we’ll have to wait and see who can take on the other roles in the future if Brink is ever traded or Foerster moves up the lineup.
Swing big at the trade deadline, or not at all
Let’s recap the last few trade deadlines the Florida Panthers have had:
2022: They acquired Claude Giroux and Ben Chiarot
2023: They did very little, because acquiring Matthew Tkachuk the previous summer was their “big move”
2024: They acquired Kyle Okposo and Vladimir Tarasenko
2025: They acquired Brad Marchand and Seth Jones
Not a half measure to be found in any of those transactions. No tinkering around the edges, but instead looking for the biggest name on the market or best fit, and finding a way to get them to Sunrise. The only one that stands out is Jones, as all the other acquisitions were on expiring contracts; Jones has several years remaining and isn’t a pure rental.
The Flyers would be wise to learn from this. Don’t go trading high-value assets (1st-round picks, promising prospects) for players that are just okay: either get the fringe upgrades you need (like Okposo and Tarasenko) at a reasonable price, or shoot for the moon with the top players available (Giroux and Marchand). Obviously, Philadelphia isn’t in the position to make those kinds of transactions yet (though a Jones-like move at the deadline for a young player would make sense), but when the time comes? Swing big or go home, and don’t make deadline deals just to make them–no acquiring both Derek Grant and Nate Thompson at the same deadline.
Culture may matter more than we want to admit
“The culture” has been a focal point of the Flyers’ rebuild since Day One. It’s a mercurial idea, too, that encompasses cliches such as “showing up for each other” and “don’t get too high or too low” and “have fun,” but is difficult to explicitly define beyond the vibes. Talking about “the culture” has also caught a lot of flak from fans as irrelevant–“culture comes from winning” and the like. While that may be true, weathering the hard times sets the foundation for when a team turns the corner.
Again and again, the players on the Florida Panthers point to the culture and the locker room as a defining attribute of their success, and even newcomers feel it the moment they step foot in Sunrise (just ask Marchand). It starts at the top with Aleksander Barkov and Aaron Ekblad as the veteran leadership core, who remember when the Panthers were mediocre and irrelevant. After Barkov was handed the Cup, he immediately passed it to the players who had never won before–the veterans and repeat winners waited their turn to let the new guys have their moment. Little things like that add up, and while winning certainly helps, a strong culture does seem to have an impact on how players perform–especially under the pressure of the playoffs.
The Flyers are well on their way in that regard; in two seasons, they’ve laid a strong foundation for their current players to fall back on, and to welcome new prospects as they enter the NHL. Sean Couturier and Travis Konecny seem to have what it takes to lead the way, and who knows who else will step up in the future. We joke about culture a lot, but there may be something to it after all.
While replicating everything Florida has done to find success would be impossible, it doesn’t mean the Flyers can’t take inspiration from some aspects. Let us know in the comments what other lessons the Flyers could learn from the Panthers!