Hockey

Stanley Cup: the Canadiens are now better equipped than the Panthers
Maxime Truman
Stanley Cup: the Canadiens are now better equipped than the Panthers
Credit: The Panthers don't have players like Lane Hutson and Ivan Demidov.

A good friend of mine said to me a few days ago: “I'd rather be a Canadiens fan than a Panthers fan, even though they're Cup champions!”To which I replied: “Are you crazy toé c*iss? The Panthers just won two Stanley Cups and they're going for the 3-peat this year!”Except that, on second thought, my boyfriend is probably right. And not just because Matthew Tkachuk (not until 2026) and Aleksander Barkov (season possibly over) won't be around to start the season with their teammates. The window of opportunity is closing in Florida. In just a few years, the Panthers could look like the Penguins of today. The team's 12 regular forwards, when everyone is healthy, are aged 30, 27, 29, 29, 30, 37, 23, 32, 27, 26, 28 and 33. Let's just say there aren't many young prospects on the Panthers' forward line…On the blue line, it's even worse: the seven starting defensemen are 30, 29, 29, 29, 34, 29, 37 and 30 years old. With goaltenders aged 37 and 26…On the Canadiens, it's just the opposite. The 12 forwards who will face the Maple Leafs in Toronto on October 8 are 27, 26, 24, 21, 33, 31, 24, 24, 29, 19, 22 and 22. That's a far cry from the aging Panthers attack…

The Panthers don't have the likes of Lane Hutson and Ivan Demidov. (Credit: Screenshot/YouTube)

Behind them, the Habs players will be 25, 23, 31, 28, 21 and 24. With 28- and 24-year-old goalies…And that's not even taking into account Jacob Fowler, David Reinbacher and Alexander Zharovsky! I'm not saying the Canadiens will finish ahead of the Panthers this season, although they might. Remember that last year, the Habs won all their games against the Panthers and finished just seven points behind Paul Maurice's men. All I'm saying is that today, for someone whose life expectancy is at least another five to ten years, being a Canadiens fan is more encouraging than being a Panthers fan, especially as the Habs will be letting go of several big contracts in the next two years, while the Panthers won't: their (old) players are still under contract for several years. Tax breaks or not, I prefer the Montreal Canadiens' situation to that of the Florida Panthers.

'Overtime'

– Makes sense.

– For baseball fans.

– For those interested

– By this time next year, the season should be underway.

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