FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. -- As Matthew Tkachuk went down the handshake line at the end of the 2024 Stanley Cup Final, a closely contested series between the Florida Panthers and Edmonton Oilers that went to Game 7, he had a message for his opponent.

He said it to Connor McDavid , to Stuart Skinner , perhaps to others, when he congratulated them on a hard-fought best-of-7 series the Panthers once led 3-0 before the Oilers almost came all the way back.

"We'll see you in the Finals next year, Stu," Tkachuk said to Skinner. "You guys are too good."

Just less than a year later, those two teams are back in the Stanley Cup Final, a rematch between the champion Panthers and the runner-up Oilers that begins with Game 1 at Rogers Place in Edmonton on Wednesday (8 p.m. ET; CBC, TVAS, SN, TNT,

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