The waiting is the hardest part. The opening puck drop of the Stanley Cup Final is still more than 48 hours away, but we’re dissecting how the Cup finalists retooled after last year’s dramatic battle.

Don Cherry had initially picked the Oilers as Stanley Cup winners, and when he was asked by his son Tim if he wanted to change his mind, he said absolutely not.

The Pittsburgh Penguins need to trade future Hall of Fame defenseman Erik Karlsson at some point in the 2025 offseason.

💡 Mirtrivia answer: The answer is Petr Sykora, who at 35 and in his final NHL season went back to the Cup final in a losing cause. He previously played for the Cup in 2000, 2001, 2003, 2008 and 2009 with the Devils, Ducks and Penguins. He won in 2000 with New Jersey and 2009 with Pittsburgh.

Former Pittsburgh Penguins head coach Mike Sullivan has taken out billboards around the area to thank the city for the time he spent with the team. Sullivan and the organization recently agreed to part ways after nearly a decade on the heels of a third straight season of missing the postseason.