Panthers and Oilers Advance to Stanley Cup Final, At Least Three Former Ducks Will Have Their Names Engraved
The 2024 Stanley Cup Final is set and will feature several former Anaheim Ducks players
The Edmonton Oilers defeated the Dallas Stars on Sunday evening, punching their ticket to the Stanley Cup Final to match up against the Florida Panthers.
Several familiar faces to Ducks fans; players from the recent and foregone past, will be featured in this year's Final hoping to earn immortality and have their names engraved on sports' greatest trophy.
Game One of the series is set to start at 5 pm PST on Saturday, June 8.
Florida Panthers
The Panthers carry four former Ducks players on their current roster as they head to the Stanley Cup Final; Brandon Montour, Dmitri Kulikov, Josh Mahura, and Anthony Stolarz.
Brandon Montour
Brandon Montour (30) was drafted by the Anaheim Ducks 55th overall in the 2014 NHL Draft.
He played 169 games for the Anaheim Ducks throughout three seasons, scoring 16 goals and 47 assists. He added eight points in 21 playoff games for the Ducks during their playoff runs in 2017 and 2018.
Montour was traded on Feb 24, 2019, to the Buffalo Sabres in exchange for then prospect Brenden Guhle and a 2019 first-round pick. The Ducks selected Brayden Tracey with the 29th overall pick in 2019.
Following a less-than-stellar 26-month stint in Buffalo, he was traded to the Florida Panthers, where he's found a role in a system suited to his strengths as a middle-pair puck-moving defenseman.
Through 17 games of the 2024 NHL playoffs, Montour leads his team in TOI (23:23) and has scored three goals and nine assists.
Dmitri Kulikov
Dmitri Kulikov (33) was acquired by the Anaheim Ducks in the summer of 2022 from the Minnesota Wild in exchange for future considerations.
He only played 61 games with the Ducks in 2022-23 and scored 15 points.
Kulikov was traded at the 2023 trade deadline to the Pittsburgh Penguins in exchange for a 2024 third-round pick and forward Brock McGinn. McGinn has battled injuries during his time in Anaheim and has only suited up for 39 games and tallied six points.
Like Montour, Kulikov is thriving in the role he's been given in Florida as a bottom pair safety blanket partner for Oliver Ekman-Larsson.
Through 17 games of the 2024 NHL playoffs, Kulikov has yet to register a point and is averaging 13:56 TOI.
Anthony Stolarz
The Ducks signed Anthony Stolarz (30) as an unrestricted free agent on July 2, 2019.
Stolarz played in 56 games for the Anaheim Ducks throughout four seasons and posted a .913 SV%, four shutouts, and -0.1 goals saved above expected.
Stolarz signed a one-year contract with the Florida Panthers on July 1, 2023, that carries an AAV of $1.1 million. In 2023-24, he was one of the NHL's top backup goaltenders and posted a .925 SV%, two shutouts, and 20.1 goals saved above expected in 27 appearances.
He has yet to see action in the 2024 Stanley Cup Playoffs as the Panthers' crease comfortably belongs to Sergei Bobrovsky.
Josh Mahura
Josh Mahura (26) was drafted by the Anaheim Ducks 85th overall in the 2016 NHL Draft.
Throughout four seasons with the Ducks, he never solidified a consistent spot in the lineup and scored 20 points in 79 games.
Mahura was placed on waivers just before the 2022-23 season and claimed by the Florida Panthers. He played all 82 regular season games for Florida in 2022-23 and all 21 playoff games. His role was minimized in 2023-24. He's serving as the team's seventh defenseman and only played in 30 regular season games.
Mahura has yet to see playoff action in 2024 but will need to play in one Stanley Cup Final game if he is to see his name engraved on the Cup. A player is required to have appeared in at least 41 regular-season games with a team, or one Stanley Cup Final game, to be eligible to have his name engraved on the trophy.
Edmonton Oilers
The Edmonton Oilers carry three former Anaheim Ducks on their current roster as they head to the Stanley Cup Final; Adam Henrique, Corey Perry, and Sam Carrick.
Adam Henrique
Adam Henrique (34) was acquired by the Anaheim Ducks on Nov. 30, 2017. He was the centerpiece of a trade that sent Sami Vatanen and a 2019 third-round pick to the New Jersey Devils in exchange for Henrique, Joseph Blandisi, and a 2018 third-round pick. The Ducks drafted Blake McLaughlin in the third round of 2018.
After the 2017-18 season with the Ducks, Henrique signed a five-year, $29.125 million contract to stay in Anaheim. Throughout seven seasons with the Ducks, he scored 125 goals and 129 assists in 435 games while wearing an "A" on his jersey for three of those seasons.
Henrique and Sam Carrick were traded to the Edmonton Oilers on March 6, 2024. In return for the two forwards, the Ducks received a 2024 first-round pick and a conditional 2025 fifth-round pick. If the Oilers win the Stanley Cup in 2024, the pick will upgrade to a 2025 fourth-round pick.
Though his point total has been modest (nine points in 22 games) since joining the Oilers, his on-ice impact and versatility have been a positive for Edmonton in the regular season and the playoffs.
Henrique has played in 10 of the Oilers' 18 playoff games as he was forced from the lineup with an ankle injury during their second-round series against the Vancouver Canucks. Henrique has scored four points and averaged 13:14 TOI during the Oilers' playoff run.
Corey Perry
Corey Perry was drafted 28th overall by the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim in the 2003 NHL Draft.
Perry played in 988 games (second in franchise history) over 14 seasons for the organization and scored 372 goals (second in franchise history) and 404 assists (third in franchise history) for 776 points (third in franchise history).
The final two seasons of Perry's eight-year contract were bought out in 2019. Since his buyout, Perry's played for the Dallas Stars, Montreal Canadiens, Tampa Bay Lightning, Chicago Blackhawks, and Edmonton Oilers. 2024 will mark his fourth trip to the Stanley Cup Final in five seasons, and fifth overall.
Perry's been in and out of the Edmonton lineup during this playoff run. He's tallied just an assist in 13 games, but still extends and creates plays from the tight areas of the ice in a depth role.
Perry's number will likely hang in the rafters of Honda Center when he does decide to call it a career, and his name may just appear on the Stanley Cup again just like it did 17 years ago.
Sam Carrick
Sam Carrick was acquired by the Anaheim Ducks organization from the Chicago Blackhawks on March 1, 2017, along with Spencer Abbot in exchange for Kenton Helgeson and a 2019 seventh-round pick.
Carrick was primarily a captain of the San Diego Gulls of the AHL until he became an NHL regular in the 2021-22 season with the Ducks. Throughout six seasons in Anaheim, he played in 205 games and scored 25 goals and 46 points.
Since his trade, Carrick has provided depth energy, snarl, defensive prowess, and a handful of points from the bottom of the Oilers' lineup. He's played in half of the team's playoff games (9) and tallied an assist.
Carrick will likely be called upon at some point in the Stanley Cup Final to engage physically with the Panthers and counteract some of what they do best after whistles.
Barring unforeseen circumstances, no less than three former Anaheim Ducks will have their names immortalized and engraved on the Stanley Cup when the upcoming series between the Florida Panthers and Edmonton Oilers is over.