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Top insider Pierre LeBrun surprised at NHL executives' 'lopsided' Oilers-Panthers predictions
TSN hockey insider Pierre LeBrun was surprised by the NHL executives' prediction for the Edmonton Oilers versus Florida Panthers Stanley Cup Finals series. LeBrun recently teamed up with analysts Bryan Hayes, Jeff O'Neill, and Jamie McLennan on the TSN Overdrive show.
LeBrun said that he reached out to 33 people, including head coaches and team executives, and found out that 29 of them picked the Panthers, while only four chose the Oilers for the Stanley Cup final predictions.
He said (starts from 5:50 onwards):
"I heard back from 17 head coaches and 16 team executives, so 33 in total, and they made a pick and explained why they made their pick. Of those 33, 29 took Florida and four took the Oilers," LeBrun said.
LeBrun explained that these guys leaned towards giving the Panthers an edge over Edmonton due to the physicality, depth, and goaltending being the primary reasons:
"A lot of the obvious reasons you guys have touched on the finals the last couple of days: the physicality of their forecheck, the goalie edge, a lot of different things. I'm just surprised. I mean, listen, the oddsmakers have Florida favored too, but I honestly thought it'd be more of a 60/40 split."
Pierre LeBrun said that many coaches and team executives chose the Panthers for similar reasons; they picked the Stars over the Oilers in the past, which didn't pan out as expected.
He reckons that Edmonton should be given more credit and respect while also acknowledging the logical reasons for favoring Florida. When it comes to LeBrun's prediction for this series, he doesn't view this series as one-sided and believes Edmonton has a genuine shot.
"A lot of the reasons why some of these coaches and team execs picked Florida are the same reasons a lot of them picked Dallas to beat Edmonton. And of course, that didn't happen. So I think the Oilers deserve a little more respect.
I mean, again, you have to understand logic why the Panthers are favored, that's fine, but I don't see this as a one-sided matchup at all. I think the Oilers have a realistic shot, he added."
This is the first Stanley Cup Finals for Edmonton since 2006. On the other hand, the Panthers have made it to the final stage of the post-season for the second consecutive time, after losing to the Golden Knights last year.
Paul Bissonnette picks his Stanley Cup winner between Oilers & Panthers
During a recent 'NHL on TNT' segment, Liam McHugh asked Paul Bissonnette to pick his Stanley Cup winner between Edmonton and Florida. Bissonnette expressed his belief that the Panthers have a strong chance considering their overall team strength
He said:
"I hope it goes seven, and I think it's Florida's year. Top-to-bottom, they are the better team; maybe the back end is the bottom pairing. They are going to have to play their best hockey if they are going to have a chance. Let's be serious"
Florida will host Edmonton at Amerant Bank Arena for Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Finals on Saturday (8 p.m. ET).
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