The champions will be in Utah in January to provide a tasty after-New Year's matchup.
We've reached the end of our team previews, and it's only fitting we end with the ones who lifted the Cup in June.
And it's a style that is striking similarly to how Utah is trying to play.
The recent signing of Kevin Stenlund over the summer provides a key cog into the piece of general manager Bill Armstrong's puzzle to create a physical team that can play fast, but physicality alone did not get Florida to the top of the mountain.
Additions of Sam Bennett, Matthew Tkachuk, and Jesper Boqvist through trade, and drafting of cornerstones like Aaron Ekblad and Sasha Barkov put those pieces in place long ago.
It's similar to what Utah is doing now with the drafting of Tij Iginla, Cole Beaudoin, and Dmitry Simashev, and the trades for Mikhail Sergachev and John Marino, along with other pieces acquired over previous years in Arizona.
This matchup, therefore, comes down to how these two teams have progressed over recent times, and what the future holds for both franchises.
Utah's games with Florida should be seen as how the club can reach where the Panthers currently are in the future, not as a matter of winning or losing.
To build consistency, as Armstrong wants, the club needs to test themselves and then beat the best.
Would this then be a sign of if Utah could make the playoffs this year? Maybe, maybe not.
But regardless, a matchup against the defending champions will go a long way to determining what kind of step Utah could take next in the coming years.