There have been many close calls, for sure. Five Canadian teams have lost in Game 7 of the Cup final over those 32 years, including the Canucks in 1994 and 2011, the Flames in 2004, and Oilers in 2006 and 2024 — last year to the same Florida Panthers team they face this time around.

The most intriguing one is whether the sublime Connor McDavid and fellow perennial Hart Trophy candidate Leon Draisaitl can fight through the big, bad Panthers and become the first Canadian-based team to secure the Cup since Patrick Roy and Montreal Canadiens did it in 1993, when mullets were still a thing.