As the Florida Panthers and Edmonton Oilers face off once again for Lord Stanley’s Cup, the Great One, Wayne Gretzky, shared his thoughts on the whole affair. The former Oiler himself, who lifted the cup with this team 4 times, had some thoughts specifically on Florida’s play style. A style that, ever since Matthew Tkachuk and Paul Maurice came into the team in 2022, has gained a reputation for being one of the most aggressive styles in the NHL right now. And with players like Brad Marchand and Aaron Ekblad on the ice, Florida men hold down the fort with sheer force.
In a recent interview on the Pat McAfee show, Gretzky was asked what his thoughts were on the Florida Panthers’ style being copied by other franchises in the league and on whether or not it could happen. The Great One was firm. “Absolutely!” he said. “We’re copycat leagues, right? Football, basketball, baseball, hockey—yeah, absolutely. And I will tell you this: last year, Florida was a little bit more physical in that series than Edmonton.”
This is true, and this is perhaps why Florida won all three of those first games of the 2024 series without question, but Connor McDavid and the Oilers have learned since then, and now that they’ve landed in the finals for the second consecutive year, Gretzky seems to think the learning is visible in their playing style: “Edmonton went out this year, they got a little bit bigger, they’re more physical than they were last year, and they got the key ingredient—they got number 97.” That’s McDavid, who has been a scoring force this playoff season, currently topping the playoff leaderboard with 28 points.
“He can be the difference maker,” Gretzky said of McDavid, who, if the Oilers end up lifting the cup this year, could be a contender for the Conn Smythe trophy and who has been a physical force for the Oilers this year.
“But listen, in the old days we had those protectors; right now the TV is the protection for the players. You used to be able to get guys behind the camera or behind the scenes, and nobody would see it. Now there are so many camera angles, the league protects the players now, and that’s how it’s done.” Gretzky finished, clarifying that players can’t get away with as much physical play today as they could when Gretzky was on the ice.
The hockey legend, however, spoke about the ‘self-governance’ when it comes to the fighting in hockey and how the lethal weapons that are sticks are, by virtue of the NHL code of conduct, dropped when all the fights break out.
Wayne Gretzky on hockey sticks and fighting culture
Gretzky made an interesting point when asked about the self-governance in hockey that Pat McAfee commended by saying, “You guys are still like an old-school-style league. Like we just talked about the fighting there, very rarely in 2025, unless it’s UFC boxing or slapfest, is anybody like, ‘Yeah, you should go fight somebody,’ but in hockey it’s like a part of the sport; it’s like a self-government sport I appreciate that.”
In response, Gretzky pointed out that without the fighting, there would be a lot more stick work, which is a chilling thought.
“We’re the one sport that carries around a lethal weapon, the hockey stick, and the last thing you want to do is hit somebody with your stick, so the natural thing is to drop your stick and drop your gloves, right? And so if we didn’t have fighting, there’d be a lot more stick work,” Gretzky said, pointing out the fact that the fighting is necessary to get it all out in the open in a somewhat safe fashion.
“Listen, I always say to people,” he continued. “When they say to me, ‘Is fighting real in hockey?’ I said, ‘Well, if it wasn’t, I would have been in more fights.’ Trust me, it’s real.” We’ll see how real things get with the Oilers and the Panthers in a little bit.
But from the looks of it, Wayne Gretzky seems to think that the Florida Panthers have brought fighting back to the NHL in a big way, and it’s not necessarily a bad thing!
The post Wayne Gretzky Gives Green Signal To Matthew Tkachuk & Co Fighting As He Admits Dangerous Side Of Hockey: “Lethal Weapon” appeared first on EssentiallySports.
