Friday Four: How 2014 draft shaped this Stanley Cup Final

The Friday Four is a collection of thoughts and information on some intriguing player storylines from around the NHL. On deck this week:

• 2014 draft has fingerprints all over Cup Final
• Should Leafs consider trading Easton Cowan?
• What should Wild do with Marco Rossi?
• K’Andre Miller would be wise trade target

When the 2013-14 NHL season came to a close, the Florida Panthers and Edmonton Oilers had a lot of work to do.

The Panthers finished with 66 points, ahead of only the Buffalo Sabres. The Oilers were just one point better. Both teams headed to the draft lottery, where much like last year’s Stanley Cup Final, Florida came out on top. It would pick first and Edmonton would select third as each organization hoped to begin an arduous climb to the top of the hockey world with a first step.

Florida wound up with Aaron Ekblad, while the Oilers grabbed Leon Draisaitl two picks later. Since then, Ekblad has scored at least 10 goals in eight of his 11 seasons, but it’s Edmonton that is most pleased with its selection. Draisaitl, who finished as the runner-up in Hart voting this season, is arguably the second-best player in the world and has made a massive impact in this series, scoring a pair of overtime goals, including the Game 4 winner that capped a wild Oilers comeback and leveled the series.

Edmonton and Florida didn’t know it at the time, but that 2014 draft would have its fingerprints all over this Stanley Cup Final. Nine players from that class are competing in this series, the fifth most from any single draft year to play in a Cup Final. This group of nine (which could have been 11 if Brandon Montour and Warren Foegele didn’t leave their respective teams in free agency last summer) also has a combined 1,346 career goals and 3,185 points, according to Sportsnet Stats. The only group from a single class that’s appeared in a Cup Final to be more productive came in 1979, where some guys named Mark Messier and Ray Bourque were drafted.

After some savvy acquisitions by the Panthers in recent years, the top four picks from the 2014 draft are all playing in the Final. Sam Reinhart, who scored the thrilling goal to send Game 4 to overtime, went second overall to Buffalo, but he never truly clicked with the Sabres. The Panthers shipped out a first-round pick and Devon Levi to bring Reinhart to Florida and all he’s done is score 96 goals over the past two seasons. They also took a chance on Sam Bennett, who was taken fourth overall, spending a second-round pick and Emil Heineman to pry him from the Calgary Flames. Bennett has thrived in the spring, leading this year’s playoffs with 14 goals. He has a real chance to claim the Conn Smythe Trophy if the Panthers win the Cup.

Continue to work your way through the first round, and you’ll find Kasperi Kapanen taken 22nd overall by the Pittsburgh Penguins. Kapanen never ended up being a high-end talent and after bouncing around a bit, the Oilers plucked him off waivers in November for a different role. He’s provided some of the depth scoring that’s been missing in past playoffs and notched the overtime winner in Round 2 to eliminate the Vegas Golden Knights.

Kapanen also set up Jake Walman on Thursday for the go-ahead goal in the third period. Walman was a third-round pick in the 2014 draft — at No. 82, he came off the board 42 picks after Panthers backup goalie Vitek Vanecek. Last summer, Walman was traded by the Detroit Red Wings to the last-place San Jose Sharks, and for reasons that are almost beyond comprehension, the Wings had to include a second-round pick. After a strong half-season for San Jose, the Oilers added Walman at the deadline and he’s played a key role, especially with Mattias Ekholm’s injury earlier in the playoffs. It’s unlikely the Oilers are here without his contributions.

One of the most important players on the Panthers roster was the final player of the nine selected in the 2014 draft. Gustav Forsling went in the fifth round to the Vancouver Canucks, 13 picks after Viktor Arvidsson, who is now an Oilers forward. Long before Forsling was seen sprawling out on the goal line to make a great toe save in overtime of Game 4 to temporarily extend the contest, he had a hard time finding his footing in the NHL. Forsling was shipped from Vancouver to Chicago, then Chicago to Carolina, before the Panthers pounced with a waiver claim. He’s now the cornerstone of their blue line at plus-166 in five seasons since joining Florida.

The final three goals in Game 4, scored by Walman, Reinhart and Draisaitl, give this 2014 draft group a total of 13 in this series so far. That ranks as the second most from any class in a single Final, and there’s still at least two more games to go.

All nine players from the 2014 draft have taken different paths to get here — some straight, some long and winding, and some improbable. But they’ve converged to give us one of the best Stanley Cup Finals ever.

Easton Cowan is starting to pile up the accolades. In helping the London Knights to a Memorial Cup championship a couple weeks ago, Cowan earned MVP honours and became the first player to lead the tournament in scoring in back-to-back years. Plus, he was named the OHL’s most outstanding player in 2024 and is the top prospect for the Toronto Maple Leafs. That means Cowan is also one of the only legitimate trade assets the Leafs have that’s not on the current roster, and Toronto is heading into a complicated offseason with some difficult decisions to make.

One of those tough calls might be whether to move Cowan for immediate help.

If this was four or five years ago, there’s absolutely no way you’d consider moving Cowan. The window of contention for the Maple Leafs was wide open then, and they could’ve used a talented young player on an entry-level deal to help their cap situation. That same scenario holds true now, but while Toronto could remain competitive for another few years, its window is starting to close.

General manager Brad Treliving should be operating under the assumption that this team realistically has the next three years to contend before they have little choice but to rebuild. Auston Matthews’ contract will expire at that point and the Leafs will certainly hope he re-signs, though there’s no guarantee. John Tavares will be 38 at that point. Four of the Leafs’ top six defencemen are at least 31 right now and Chris Tanev is already 35 — not to mention William Nylander will be 32 by then and perhaps losing a step.

The Leafs have many holes to be filled up front and there’s a thin free-agent class to pick through. Priority No. 1 is a second-line centre and with Brock Nelson off the market and Bennett potentially staying in Florida, it’s going to be tough to find that upgrade on the open market. The trade route might be more realistic, but who do they move? You could trade a defenceman, but it’s taken Toronto years to build a serviceable corps and the majority are under contract at a decent price. The Leafs have two good goalies, but do you trust either Anthony Stolarz or Joseph Woll to carry the workload by themselves? That’s also another position of strength for the team on bargain contracts.

It all leads us back to Cowan, who might be the Leafs’ best trade chip by default. In an ideal world you’d let him develop as long as he needs to, but Toronto is running out of time. If they could move him for a bona fide centre to be utilized over the next two or three playoff runs, the Leafs absolutely have to consider it.

With this summer’s free-agency class on the thinner end, especially at centre, teams are going to have to get creative in order to improve. That could make someone like Marco Rossi, who’s been rumoured to be available for a potential trade, a hot commodity.

The Wild are in a tough spot with Rossi, who is due a new deal as an RFA. On one hand, he totaled 60 points this season and is clearly an offensive talent that can fill the scoresheet in the right situation. Plus, he’s still only 23 and hasn’t even played 200 games yet. He still has some developing to do and probably isn’t scratching the surface of his ceiling, so to move on from him now would definitely be a gamble.

What’s challenging for the Wild is finding the right number on a long-term deal. Something around Matt Boldy’s deal (seven years, $49 million) is likely in the neighbourhood of Rossi’s ask, but even with a rising cap Minnesota may not be willing to go there. The Wild didn’t trust Rossi enough in the post-season as a second-line centre and shifted him down to the fourth line against the Golden Knights. He barely averaged 11 minutes per game compared to 18-plus in the regular season. That’s a significant drop.

There’s also a potential Kirill Kaprizov extension to consider. Kaprizov will be eligible to sign a new deal on July 1 and there’s no reason at this point to think he won’t stay in Minnesota. Even with Zach Parise’s and Ryan Suter’s buyout hits dropping substantially this summer, the Wild will want to be careful not to immediately get into a tight cap situation again before addressing other roster needs. Minnesota isn’t the deepest team up front, so trading Rossi could potentially bring back a couple of different pieces to help balance out the roster.

The other factor the Wild have to navigate is a potential offer sheet. If someone targeted Rossi at $7 million per season, it would cost three draft picks, including a first rounder. That’s a steep price, but Minnesota may prefer a more impactful player in return.

Whatever road the Wild go down with Rossi, it’s a decision they can’t afford to get wrong. They’ve been knocked out in the first round of the playoffs in eight of the past 10 seasons and Rossi is an asset they need to use to get over the hump —whether he remains with the organization or not.

First Jacob Trouba, then Chris Kreider, and now K’Andre Miller?

There are rumblings that the New York Rangers want to deal Miller, who is set to become an RFA on July 1, in a continued effort to shake up their roster after a disappointing season. The Rangers cleared a lot of cap space by offloading Trouba and Kreider, but those moves were a little more understandable as both players are in their 30s. Miller is only 25 and despite some inconsistency, he’s shown plenty of promise on New York’s blue line.

Similar to Rossi, the issue for New York is that Miller needs a new contract and the Rangers may not be up to paying the asking price. If they wait to sign Miller, teams could pounce with an offer sheet and the Rangers could lose control of the situation. Moving Miller before July 1 would ensure they get the return they want, and there certainly will be suitors. Miller is a great skater with the size to match. At six-foot-five, he has tremendous reach and the physical tools that just about every team is looking for on their blue line. Plus, he’s young enough that he hasn’t reached his ceiling yet. In the right situation, Miller could easily be an impact player for someone if deployed correctly.

So why are the Rangers pondering moving him? His offensive numbers have dropped drastically in the past two seasons, going from 43 points in 2022-23 to 30 last year and 27 this season. Miller’s defensive play has also taken a hit. After finishing as a plus-23 in his sophomore season, Miller had an even rating in 2024-25. Based on those declining metrics, the Rangers might not be comfortable committing to Miller on a long-term deal.

Still, Miller looked much better once the Rangers acquired Will Borgen in late December. After being paired with Borgen, Miller was a plus-5 and notched 21 of his 27 points. He also had that career best 43-point season playing with Trouba, another stay-at-home, right-shot blueliner. If you find the right partner for him, there’s no reason to believe Miller can’t be a positive asset.

The Panthers’ Seth Jones acquisition should be a good example for teams not to be scared off by a player in a bad situation. Jones struggled in Chicago and is now flourishing, playing a key role for a team closing in on a Stanley Cup. Miller is a bit younger than Jones and his next deal remains to be seen, but with the cap rising, even a $6M or $7M pact will be a lot more palatable for a top-four defenceman. Miller would be a good bet for a team that needs help on the back end.