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Florida Panthers Stanley Cup Finals roster deemed illegal: The NHL has officially taken action


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Bruce Raymond
July 18, 2025  (8:12)
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Stanley Cup Finals celebration Florida Panthers
Photo credit: NHL.com

The Florida Panthers' Stanley Cup Finals roster has been deemed illegal, and the National Hockey League has taken action.

A recent report published on TVA Sports network dissected and revealed the extent to which the Edmonton Oilers were at a disadvantage against the Florida Panthers during this 2024/25 NHL Stanley Cup Finals.
Shockingly enough, the article illustrated a whopping $13 million difference between the Oilers and Panthers' roster.
Take a look:
"Indeed, the Florida club would have fielded a $93 million roster, $5 million more than the $88 million limit imposed by the National Hockey League (NHL), according to calculations by the PuckPedia website.

Conversely, the Edmonton Oilers, for their part, had salaries totaling $80.6 million for the last game of the final, a difference of just under $13 million."

- TVA Sports

Full Article by TVA Sports network: Florida Panthers Exceeded Their Salary Cap
This was also revealed on social media, via «X», by PuckPedia:
This is unfortunately not the first time this has happened within the National Hockey League, as this is the exact same scheme as the Tampa Bay Lightning with Nikita Kucherov or the Las Vegas Golden Knights with Mark Stone.
However, luckily enough, the NHL will now be taking action.

The National Hockey League is taking action

Now, under new rules that will come into effect under the new collective bargaining agreement, a lineup such as the one the Florida Panthers presented during the 2024/25 NHL Stanley Cup Finals will now be deemed illegal.
This new agreement will take effect starting the 2026/27 NHL season.
"At least the new collective bargaining agreement, which will take effect starting in the 2026-2027 season, will no longer allow teams to do this. A salary cap will be imposed in the playoffs based on the total salaries of active players during a game."

- TVA Sports
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Florida Panthers Stanley Cup Finals roster deemed illegal: The NHL has officially taken action

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