Conference USA preview: Liberty is early favorite but contenders abound
-
Bill Connelly
It’s good to have a purpose in life. Conference USA’s purpose is to serve as the official FBS welcome mat.
With the additions of Delaware and Missouri State, there are now 136 teams in the Football Bowl Subdivision. CUSA has at one point or another housed nearly a quarter of them. Of the 10 programs to move up from FCS since 2014, eight joined CUSA upon their arrival. Conference realignment hasn’t been incredibly kind to this league of late, with three schools leaving for the AAC in 2014, three going to the Sun Belt in 2022 and six heading for the AAC in 2023. (UTEP departs for the Mountain West next year.) But serving as the Ellis Island of FBS assures the conference of both an identity and, well, quantity.
Two of these relative FBS newcomers have won the league the past two years — Liberty (first FBS year: 2018) took the title and a Fiesta Bowl bid two years ago, and in 2024 Jacksonville State did the deed in just its second year aboard. Sam Houston, another second-year program, went an impressive 10-3.
On paper, Liberty appears pretty likely to take the mantle back in 2025, but no one saw JSU coming a year ago. Might we have another surprise in store? Let’s preview Conference USA!
Through the summer, Bill Connelly will preview another FBS conference, ultimately including all 136 FBS teams. The previews will include 2024 breakdowns, 2025 previews and team-by-team capsules.
2024 recap
On paper, Liberty graded out slightly ahead of the pack in SP+ last year. The Flames still had quarterback Kaidon Salter and running back Quinton Cooley (plus three all-conference offensive linemen) and scored at least 31 points seven times. But random duds — a 27-24 loss to Kennesaw State and its No. 134 defense, a 20-18 loss to Sam Houston — rendered the Flames also-rans in the CUSA race, and Rich Rodriguez’s Jacksonville State took full advantage. The Gamecocks lost to Western Kentucky in the last week of the regular season but administered a 52-12 thumping of the Hilltoppers a week later to take the title.
Sam Houston, meanwhile, also took a lovely step forward, albeit one tinged with good fortune. Both JSU and SHSU then lost their head coaches and prepared to start all over again.
Continuity table
The continuity table looks at each team’s returning production levels (offense, defense and overall), the number of 2024 FBS starts from both returning and incoming players and the approximate number of redshirt freshmen on the roster heading into 2025. (Why “approximate”? Because schools sometimes make it very hard to ascertain who redshirted and who didn’t.) Continuity is an increasingly difficult art in roster management, but some teams pull it off better than others.
(* For consistency’s sake, I attempted to record only FBS starts in the “returning/incoming starts” columns, so FBS newcomers Delaware and Missouri State return none of those. But their returning production numbers show that both return solid bases of experience.)
This conference runs the gamut in the continuity department. Kennesaw State replaced coach Brian Bohannon with Jerry Mack after its first FBS season, and Mack managed to keep a solid amount of the Owls’ two-deep intact while importing a healthy amount of experience from the transfer portal. Meanwhile, of 136 FBS teams, Jacksonville State returns the second-lowest amount of production, and WKU and Sam Houston failed to hit the 40% mark in this regard. These were the top three teams in last year’s standings. That gives you a pretty good idea why Liberty seems poised to rebound.
2025 projections
Western Kentucky, Jacksonville State and Sam Houston remain in CUSA’s projected top four, but the projected win totals are pretty telling. From No. 107 Sam Houston to No. 123 UTEP, six teams are projected to win between 4.8 and 5.8 games; whoever wins their close games within this batch will enjoy a pretty nice season.
Liberty and WKU are CUSA’s most proven entities at the moment — Liberty has won at least eight games for six straight seasons (average SP+ ranking in this span: 61.4), while WKU has reached four CUSA championship games, winning two, since joining the league in 2014. Between them, the Flames and Hilltoppers start out with a nearly 50% chance of winning the conference. But every other eligible team has at least a 4% chance, and last year’s champ, Jax State, started out at just 7%. We’re not too far away from a chaotic race.
Five best games of 2025
Here are the five conference games that feature (a) the highest combined SP+ ratings for both teams and (b) a projected scoring margin under 10 points.
Aug. 23: Sam Houston at Western Kentucky. Week 0’s headline game is Kansas State vs. Iowa State in Dublin; the winner of that one will immediately become one of the Big 12’s favorites. But back in the States, this game will have a similar impact. The winner will move to the top of the CUSA challengers list.
Sept. 6: Liberty at Jacksonville State. CUSA isn’t messing around! We’ll get another big game in Week 2, with the 2024 champs hosting the 2023 champs. JSU is admittedly a mystery this year, but an early home win would help to prevent a Liberty coronation run.
Oct. 21: Western Kentucky at Louisiana Tech/Nov. 22: Liberty at Louisiana Tech. Louisiana Tech has struggled to generate momentum under Sonny Cumbie, winning just 11 games in three seasons. But the Bulldogs have an interesting opportunity this year thanks to a schedule featuring home games against contenders WKU, SHSU and Liberty. Cumbie handed his offense to freshmen and sophomores last year, and if development produces a breakthrough — and decent home crowds: Tech averaged 20,439 in home attendance in 2019 but hasn’t topped 16,000 since — a Bulldog rise isn’t out of the question.
Nov. 29: Western Kentucky at Jacksonville State. Last year, we headed into the final week of the regular season with two huge, pivotal games — JSU at WKU and Liberty at SHSU — deciding who would play in the CUSA championship. If things are similarly undecided in 2025, this game could end up rather pivotal.
Conference title (and, therefore, CFP) contenders
Head coach: Jamey Chadwell (third year, 21-5 overall)
2025 projection: 69th in SP+ (62nd offense, 69th defense), 9.3 average wins, 6.4 conference wins
Last year, coming off a triumphant 13-1 season, Jamey Chadwell’s Flames returned their star quarterback (Kaidon Salter), their 1,400-yard rusher (Quinton Cooley) and six defensive starters. They were projected 41st in SP+. They finished 30 spots lower.
Without star receiver (and LSU transfer) CJ Daniels, the big plays disappeared — Salter went from averaging 16.3 yards per completion to 12.8 — and while Cooley and the run game were still excellent, passing downs were suddenly a problem. The defense played about the same, but the offense fell from 3.1 points per drive (sixth nationally) to 2.4 (49th), and Liberty averaged just 17.5 points per game in four losses.
Chadwell’s offensive track record remains strong, and in his past five seasons at Coastal Carolina and Liberty, he’s a combined 50-12. But last year’s No. 60 offensive SP+ ranking was the worst for a Chadwell team since 2019; he and offensive coordinator Willy Korn have questions to answer in that regard.
Ethan Vasko, who originally signed with Chadwell at Coastal Carolina, transfers in to likely start at quarterback; he’ll set up behind a line that returns three starters (including center Aaron Fenimore, who earned all-conference honors as a freshman) and adds Florida State guard transfer Christian Williams. The receiving corps adds Colorado State possession man Jamari Person and returns a pair of potential big-play guys in Elijah Canion and Reese Smith. Though the RB corps is terribly unproven after losing Cooley and backup Billy Lucas, (A) Chadwell offenses always move the ball on the ground, and (B) returnees Vaughn Blue and Julian Gray averaged 6.0 yards per carry between them in a limited sample, and incoming freshman Jaylon Coleman is a four-star prospect.
The defense needed to pick up slack last year with the offense less consistent, and it didn’t really do so. The Flames defended the run pretty well, but their blitzes didn’t get home, and they got burned for quite a few big pass plays. It’s hard to say the pass rush will improve without sacks leader TJ Bush Jr., who transferred to Cal this spring, but the addition of edge transfers Aaron Hester (Florida State) and Derrell Farrar (Appalachian State) could help, and the LU defense overall could benefit significantly from pure experience. Sophomores such as end Brenton Williams, linebacker Ethan Crisp and corner Jamal Miles could enjoy star turns, but Liberty also could start a full 11-man lineup of juniors and seniors, including proven entities such as end (and ace run-stopper) CJ Bazile Jr. and safety A’Khori Jones.
In terms of both experience and upside, this is the most proven roster in Conference USA. But we said the same thing last year. The Flames bear a bit more burden of proof this time around.
Head coach: Tyson Helton (seventh year, 48-32 overall)
2025 projection: 85th in SP+ (102nd offense, 68th defense), 7.7 average wins, 5.6 conference wins
Tyson Helton and WKU have won eight or nine games for four straight seasons with a stellar average SP+ ranking of 66.5. After making one of the best coordinator hires of the 2020s — Zach Kittley came to town in 2021, and WKU surged from 120th to seventh in offensive SP+ — Helton has seen his offense get a little shakier each year, but his defense has slowly picked up the slack. Despite quite a few coordinator changes and an average of 18 transfers per year in and 21 transfers out over the past four seasons, WKU somehow has managed to put out the same results.
If the results don’t change this year, they never will. Helton is dealing with his most upheaval yet. He’ll be breaking in his fourth offensive coordinator in five years (Rick Bowie) and his first new defensive coordinator in four years (co-coordinators, actually: Da’Von Brown and Davis Merritt). Meanwhile, according to the numbers at 247 Sports, 37 players have transferred out while 43 have transferred in. That’s half a roster! Only two starters remain from last year’s lineup — two! — but Helton brought in four starters from other FBS defenses, and the offense will boast prolific and explosive players in quarterback Maverick McIvor (3,828 yards at Abilene Christian last year) and receivers Jairus Mack (22.0 yards per catch at Charlotte), Isaiah Myers (18.2 YPC at Charlotte) and Matthew Henry (18.9 YPC at Western Illinois).
With Bowie, Helton is basically calling back to 2021, when Kittley came from Houston Christian and brought a number of HCU stars with him, including quarterback Bailey Zappe, who proceeded to throw for 5,967 yards and 62 TDs. Bowie was Abilene Christian’s (and McIvor’s) offensive coordinator last year as the Wildcats nearly beat Texas Tech — McIvor threw for 506 yards and three TDs in a 52-51 loss — and reached the FCS playoffs for the first time. Relying almost entirely on newcomers is a pretty scary prospect, but the potential is obvious. In addition to the receivers above, McIvor will also have Kody Epps (BYU), Kelby Williams (Old Dominion) and high-potential holdovers K.D. Hutchinson and Cameron Flowers running routes. Tackle Marshall Jackson, the lone returning starter, is good, and Helton signed eight transfers and five juco players to flesh out the two-deep up front. The RB corps is unproven, but I don’t get the impression WKU will run much.
The defense is equally new and potentially less proven. Of the batch of 16 incoming transfers (plus three juco players), the most intriguing newcomers are probably rush end Dominic Oliver (San Diego State), 315-pound defensive tackle Rylen Su’a-Filo (Southern Utah) and sophomore corner Braxton Myers (Southern Miss), but the overall statistical résumé of the new defenders isn’t quite as strong.
A couple of breaks away from a run
Head coach: Charles Kelly (first year)
2025 projection: 104th in SP+ (105th offense, 99th defense), 6.6 average wins, 4.5 conference wins
Continuity hires aren’t guaranteed to work. When Michigan replaced Jim Harbaugh with former lieutenant Sherrone Moore in 2024, it didn’t stop the Wolverines’ win total from getting cut in half. And just because Ohio promoted offensive coordinator Brian Smith after winning 31 games in three years and losing head coach Tim Albin, that doesn’t mean the Bobcats won’t fall off course. Every new hire is an opportunity to charge forward or fall apart, regardless of how well the new guy knows the last guy.
I’m still struggling a bit with the change at Jacksonville State, however. With an ever-delightful, run-centric offense, Rich Rodriguez led the Gamecocks to immediate FBS success, going 18-9 over JSU’s first two seasons before returning to West Virginia. Offensive coordinator Rod Smith served as JSU’s interim head coach against Ohio in the Cure Bowl, but instead of handing the reins to Smith or a similarly offense-minded coach, JSU replaced Rodriguez with defensive veteran Charles Kelly.
The 57-year-old Kelly is an Alabama guy who served, delightfully, as both JSU offensive coordinator (1996) and defensive coordinator (1997-98) early in his career. He has coached for Jimbo Fisher, Nick Saban, Deion Sanders and Hugh Freeze in the last decade alone. And after hiring balance-minded offensive coordinator Clint Trickett and having to replace basically 18 starters, he’s going to lead a completely different JSU team onto the field this fall, for better or (more likely, in my estimation) worse.
Kelly has brought some well-traveled former blue-chippers with him: quarterback Gavin Wimsatt (Rutgers/Kentucky), running back Cam Cook (TCU), defensive tackle Khurtiss Perry (Alabama/Virginia Tech), nickel back Tre’Quon Fegans (Alabama/USC/UCF). He didn’t do a ton of portal work in the trenches — which made sense on defense (four of last year’s top six linemen return) but less so on offense (six of last year’s top seven are gone) — but he brought in quite a few wideouts and DBs.
JSU’s history of success stretches far beyond Rich Rod: The Gamecocks won a Division II title in the 1990s and reached the FCS title game in the 2010s. With proper program support, Kelly might be able to win big too. But in the short term, at least, I’m not nearly as optimistic as SP+.
Head coach: Phil Longo (first year)
2025 projection: 107th in SP+ (118th offense, 91st defense), 5.2 average wins, 4.2 conference wins
I recently looked at good and bad luck for 2024, from three different angles: turnovers, close games and injuries/lineup consistency. One team was among the 15 most fortunate in all three categories: KC Keeler’s Sam Houston. The Bearkats did plenty right in charging from 3-9 to 10-3 — the offense limited mistakes and negative plays, and the defense defended the pass beautifully — but happy turnover and injury luck, combined with a 6-0 record in one-score games, is almost impossible to replicate.
With Keeler off to Temple, new head coach Phil Longo takes over a program that is a) likely to see fewer happy breaks, b) replacing every single defensive starter and c) playing its home games in Houston, 70 miles away from Huntsville, while Bowers Stadium undergoes renovations. This seems … suboptimal. After a mostly woebegone stint as Wisconsin’s offensive coordinator, Longo might generate quick offensive success at SHSU — quarterback Hunter Watson is back, as are three starting linemen and Watson’s two most explosive receivers (Qua’Vez Humphreys and Michael Phoenix II), and Longo brought two Wisconsin QB signings with him just in case. Plus, in transfers Shane Porter (North Texas) and Elijah Green (Indiana), he welcomes two RBs who averaged 6.7 yards per carry between them. Throw in Long Island receiver transfer Aviyon Smith-Mack (18.0 yards per catch), and you can talk yourself into the offense.
The defense, however, is completely starting over. Even including three transfers, only four Bearkat defenders saw more than 110 FBS snaps last season. I’m intrigued by smaller-school transfers linebacker JaMair Diaz (21 TFLs and 12 sacks at Glenville State) and defensive end Keelan Cox (six sacks at Texas Southern), but it’s hard to believe new defensive coordinator Freddie Aughtry-Lindsay will have the depth he needs, particularly up front.
Even with a poor Wisconsin run, the Longo hire made some sense — he has plenty of offensive success on his résumé, and you can almost certainly find what you need to run a high-tempo, free-flowing offense in Texas. But even though the projections are at least semi-optimistic, this feels like a massive Year Zero situation for Longo and SHSU.
Head coach: Sonny Cumbie (fourth year, 11-26 overall)
2025 projection: 109th in SP+ (126th offense, 80th defense), 6.0 average wins, 4.1 conference wins
Between the lovely home schedule and offensive experience mentioned above and my aforementioned skepticism of both Jax State and SHSU, I think Louisiana Tech has an opportunity to do something interesting this season. It’s been a little while. Three years under Sonny Cumbie haven’t borne fruit, and Tech hasn’t won more than five games in a season since 2019.
Development will be key. In 2024, Tech was led in passing by a redshirt freshman (Evan Bullock) and in rushing by a sophomore JUCO transfer (Omiri Wiggins); the two most explosive pass catchers were sophomores (Jay Wilkerson and tight end Eli Finley), and the most snaps on the offensive line went to another redshirt freshman (tackle Hayden Christman). There were veterans too — senior slot man Tru Edwards caught 85 passes, senior guard Bert Hale earned honorable mention all-CUSA — but the Bulldogs’ offense was awfully unseasoned.
That Bullock completed 66% of his passes with a 14-to-3 TD-to-INT ratio was encouraging, even if there were a lot of nibbling, short passes involved. But the return of these experienced players, plus the addition of one of the best RBs in NAIA (Keiser’s 6-foot-2, 225-pound Andrew Burnette), has me intrigued. So does the return of Tony Franklin. An early Air Raid adopter, the 67-year-old is back for his second stint as Tech’s OC, and he returns to full-sized football after a brief but dominant stint as Army’s sprint football OC. There’s a lot to replace on the offensive line, but it sure seems like Franklin might have some fun with Bullock and a fast skill corps.
Of course, I’d feel even better about Tech if Cumbie had held onto Jeremiah Johnson. The former Northern Iowa defensive coordinator worked wonders in improving the Bulldogs from 122nd to 67th in defensive SP+ last season, but he was lured away by Coastal Carolina. Cumbie replaced him with former Jax State DC Luke Olson, and Olson will have his work cut out for him: Of the 11 players who saw at least 200 snaps in the front six last season, eight are gone, including all six linemen. The secondary, led by safety Jacob Fields, should be sound, but a really strong run defense needs to start over.
Head coach: Derek Mason (second year, 3-9 overall)
2025 projection: 125th in SP+ (130th offense, 109th defense), 5.3 average wins, 3.5 conference wins
In a word, Derek Mason’s first year succeeding Rick Stockstill at MTSU was horrendous. The Blue Raiders ranked 131st in SP+ (131st on offense, 122nd on defense) and only finished 3-9 because they won all three of their games that were decided by single digits. Their nine losses came by an average score of 41-17. The passing game was decent, the defense was sporadically able to bend without breaking, and lots of freshmen got experience, especially in the trenches. But Mason, the former Vanderbilt head coach, wasn’t able to come up with many answers, even if MTSU did operate pretty well in the rare tight game. (Vandy was decent in those situations under Mason, too.) Things felt mostly hopeless.
I’m admittedly not making this sound like a “couple of breaks away” team, am I? Well, that probably says something about how many particularly iffy teams CUSA seems to have this season. But it also says something about what MTSU returns. In a conference full of poor returning production numbers, the Blue Raiders rank a solid 46th nationally, and fourth in CUSA, behind only a team with a new head coach (Kennesaw State) and the two FBS newcomers. Mason brought back both coordinators — Bodie Reeder on offense, Brian Stewart on defense — and the Blue Raiders return a solid and experienced quarterback (Nicholas Vattiato), a pair of disruptive defensive tackles (Shakai Woods and Damonte Smith, who combined for 11.5 TFLs and 20 run stops), and a potential all-conference safety in John Howse IV. Mason also found some potential portal gems in running back Rickey Hunt Jr. (Ohio), receiver Amorion Walker (Michigan) and 6-foot-7 tackle Jacob Otts (Rhode Island).
Defensively, I honestly expected a few more transfers. Mason brought in three transfers and two JUCOs in the secondary but mostly let it ride with the front six. Maybe that will pay off if Woods and another promising sophomore, end Anthony Bynum, keep developing. But if a unit takes a bit step forward in 2025, I’m guessing it will be the offense. Regardless, MTSU has a level of continuity and experience that others in the CUSA don’t have; maybe that pays off.
Head coach: Tony Sanchez (second year, 3-9 overall)
2025 projection: 122nd in SP+ (106th offense, 124th defense), 5.4 average wins, 3.4 conference wins
Jerry Kill won 17 games in two seasons at NMSU (2022-23). In the 19 seasons before his arrival, the Aggies averaged 2.8 wins per year. In their first after his departure, they won three. In case someone forgot how hard a job this one can be, reality struck the moment Kill left.
While Kill was serving as chief consultant to the head coach at Vanderbilt in 2024 (and helping to create a sudden renaissance with quarterback Diego Pavia and other former Aggies), Tony Sanchez was attempting to plot a new way forward in Las Cruces. His 2024 Aggies still ran the ball pretty well, and the play-action game occasionally struck gold. But there was no consistency in the passing game, and an aggressive defense didn’t make enough big plays to counteract the ones it was allowing. The Aggies could engage in track meets at times — they scored 28 or more points in five games — but they still ranked just 120th in points per drive, and the defense was shaky enough that they won only two of those five prolific games.
While the run game was a strength, both leading rushers and six of last year’s top seven linemen are gone. The line still has solid size, and former blue-chip backs Kadarius Calloway (Cal) and Dijon Stanley (Utah) will join either incumbent quarterback Parker Awad or Montana transfer Logan Fife in the backfield. But new offensive coordinator David Yost, a spread offense old hand, usually likes to throw the ball a bit. PJ Johnson III is good at go routes, but we’ll see which of five pass-catching transfers emerges as interesting weapons.
Defensively, we’ll start with the good: Linebackers Tyler Martinez and Sone Aupiu (combined: 23 run stops) are rock solid playmakers, Dakerric Hobbs is one of the most aggressive (and often successful) cornerbacks in the conference, and with Sanchez signing seven JUCO defensive backs, including six safeties, it’s pretty likely that a couple will emerge as solid options. But when you rank 127th in defensive SP+, then lose eight starters, improvement isn’t exactly guaranteed. Sanchez stuck with coordinator Joe Morris, and I like the aggression, but odds are good that the Aggies will still get burned quite a bit.
Just looking for a path to 6-6
Head coach: Scotty Walden (second year, 3-9 overall)
2025 projection: 123rd in SP+ (122nd offense, 113th defense), 4.8 average wins, 3.3 conference wins
If Sam Houston was the most fortunate team in the conference in 2024, UTEP was the least. The Miners ranked 101st in turnovers luck, 105th in close-game fortune and 124th in lineup stability. Only three offensive or defensive players started all 12 games and, by my count, 44 started at least one. That is a number I wouldn’t have thought possible. That the team went 3-3 down the stretch might have been a slight sign of improvement, but it was a lost season from the start.
Of those 44 starters, 21 return in 2025, including explosive wideout Kenny Odom and disruptive defenders in tackle KD Johnson and outside linebacker Nate Dyman. But Scotty Walden was super-aggressive this offseason, bringing in two new coordinators — former TCU QBs coach Mark Cala on offense, former Montana State DC Bobby Daly on defense — and 30 transfers. Former USC and Boise State blue-chipper Malachi Nelson was the biggest name of the bunch, but a majority of the transfers were defenders. Among the more intriguing: defensive end Ashaad Hall (11 sacks at SC State) and safety Tyler Jones (four TFLs and 14 passes defended at Tennessee State). Daly’s first Miners defense will be aggressive and reasonably experienced.
Either Nelson or incumbent QB Skyler Locklear will have a decent pair of veteran receivers in Odom and slot man Kam Thomas, but the run game was abysmal last season, and that could make explosive former Charlotte RB Hahsaun Wilson (6.1 yards per carry in 2024) nearly as important as Nelson. The offensive line lost three starters but should still be big and pretty senior-heavy.
Head coach: Jerry Mack (first year)
2025 projection: 131st in SP+ (136th offense, 93rd defense), 4.3 average wins, 3.0 conference wins
I hated that, after one tough season in FBS, Kennesaw State fired the only head coach in its history. Brian Bohannon had the Owls in the FCS playoffs by their third year in existence; it was easy to think he should get a first-year FBS mulligan.
I also loved the replacement hire. Jerry Mack was excellent at NC Central in the mid-2010s, and after a few years as Rice’s offensive coordinator and an RBs coach with Tennessee (2023) and the Jacksonville Jaguars (2024), he took over at KSU in December. He kept a solid portion of last year’s defense intact — 13 of the 17 players with at least 200 snaps return — and he also added a Big Ten starter (Purdue linebacker Antonio Stevens), formerly well-touted recruits like end Nasir Smith (Georgia Southern), nickel Kody Jones (Michigan), corner Caleb Offord (Notre Dame/Alabama State) and safety Isaiah Thomas (Miami), and exciting smaller-school transfers like end Elijah Harper (Emory & Henry) and tackle Mike Jones (Virginia Union). This should be a top-half-of-CUSA defense.
The offense, however, projects as the worst in the country. Longtime Josh Heupel assistant Mitch Militello takes the reins of a former option attack; starting quarterback Davis Bryson is now a receiver, and the most proven passer is either Georgia Southern transfer Dexter Williams II (248 yards last season) or Wofford transfer Amari Odom (1,565 in FCS). Meanwhile, no returning rusher topped 29 rushing yards last year, and no returning receiver topped 203 receiving yards. Seven offensive line transfers (including two FBS starters) could transform that unit, but it might take a year of experimentation for Militello to figure out what he has.
Florida International Panthers
Head coach: Willie Simmons (first year)
2025 projection: 129th in SP+ (124th offense, 118th defense), 4.5 average wins, 2.9 conference wins
In 21 FBS seasons, FIU has finished with a winning record four times and won either zero or one game five times. Its last two hires — former Miami head man Butch Davis and former San José State and Colorado coach and resurrection expert Mike MacIntyre — were both extremely logical, but after a brief run of success under Davis, the Golden Panthers have gone a combined 13-40 over the last five seasons. This one ranks pretty high on the hard jobs list.
MacIntyre’s last team both threw the ball and defended the pass pretty well, and FIU improved from 128th to 112th in SP+, but a 1-5 record in one-score finishes resulted in MacIntyre’s firing. One could suggest this was rash, but as with Kennesaw State, the replacement hire was intriguing. A Tallahassee native, Willie Simmons was excellent as head coach at both Prairie View A&M and Florida A&M. His first portal haul included a number of former power-conference prospects, including running back Anthony Carrie (Georgia Tech), receiver JoJo Stone (Louisville), guard Antonio Tripp Jr. (Miami), and defensive ends Dante Anderson and Lamont Green Jr. (both from Florida State).
It doesn’t feel like there are nearly enough pieces, though. Undersized defensive tackle Jamarrion Solomon and corner Brian Blades II are decent veteran building blocks on defense, but they’re also the only two returning defenders who started more than five games. Meanwhile, quarterback Keyone Jenkins (2,557 yards, 22 TDs) returns, but he lost his two best receivers to the portal, and the offensive two-deep will likely be loaded with sophomores. I really like the Simmons hire, but there are probably no quick fixes here.
Welcome to the party
Head coach: Ryan Carty (fourth year, 26-11 overall)
2025 projection: 110th in SP+ (113th offense, 105th defense), 5.5 average wins, 3.8 conference wins
And now, the newbies. Neither Delaware nor Missouri State is eligible for the CUSA title game (and would only be bowl eligible with six-plus wins if there aren’t enough bowl-eligible teams elsewhere), but both could be pretty decent out of the FBS gate.
That’s especially true for Delaware. Though ineligible for the FCS playoffs last season, the Blue Hens went 9-2 and ranked fifth in FCS SP+, equivalent to about 100th (between Sam Houston and Louisiana Tech) in FBS. They were good despite three quarterbacks logging major minutes — two of them, senior Zach Marker and junior Nick Minicucci, return — and despite quite a few then-sophomores playing major roles. The offense’s two best playmakers (RB Marcus Yarns and WR Phil Lutz) are gone, but RB Jo’Nathan Silver is proven, and six returnees (including Silver) caught double-digit passes. The line, led by left tackle Anwar O’neal and left guard Patrick Shupp, certainly passes the FBS size test.
The defense was as good as the offense last season and returns 17 of the 22 players with double-digit tackles, though star end Melkart Abou-Jaoude transferred to North Carolina. Size up front might be an issue — tackle Dominick Brogna is the only player who was listed at more than 280 pounds last season — but the secondary is big and physical, and safety KT Seay should immediately be one of the best in the conference.
Ryan Carty was KC Keeler’s offensive coordinator when Sam Houston won the FCS national title in spring 2021, and he immediately reestablished Delaware as a top-15ish FCS program when he took over in 2022. He’s letting it ride in 2025, having brought in only a few transfers (most of them redshirt freshmen or sophomores), and his first FBS team is a projected favorite in five games and only a slight underdog in four others. I’d be surprised if this weren’t a pretty fun and competitive season for the Hens.
Head coach: Ryan Beard (third year, 12-11 overall)
2025 projection: 127th in SP+ (76th offense, 136th defense), 4.0 average wins, 3.2 conference wins
Missouri State wasn’t quite as good as Delaware in 2024 (18th in FCS SP+) and doesn’t return quite as much of last year’s production — the Bears must replace a large portion of their skill corps and about half of their defensive regulars. But you could understand if MSU isn’t feeling all that intimidated by the move up to FBS. Conference USA might be better than the Missouri Valley on average, but the Bears are certainly used to playing against FCS super-programs like North Dakota State and South Dakota State, which are annually as good as the best CUSA teams. Strong competition levels don’t automatically make you a strong team, but MSU is pretty battle-tested for a newbie.
If the Bears enjoy first-year success, it will likely be because of the offense: It ranked fifth in offensive SP+ in FCS last season, and 6-foot-5 quarterback Jacob Clark (3,604 yards, 26 TDs) is immediately one of the more proven QBs in Conference USA. He’ll be without five of the seven players who caught at least 20 passes last year, but the wonderfully named returning duo of Jmariyae Robinson and James BlackStrain combined for 62 catches and 953 yards. Ryan Beard was concerned enough about the offensive line to add four transfers, but size won’t be an issue, at least. (Overall, Beard was more active in the portal than Carty, though he, too, brought in more youngsters than instant-impact guys.)
Size should also hold up on defense, where coordinator L.D. Scott will have a line anchored by Gilles Tchio (310 pounds) and Sterling Smithson (325). Maybe that drives solid run defense, but MSU is replacing last year’s top two pass rushers and top three cornerbacks. That’s an obvious concern.
The projections aren’t as optimistic for MSU — the Bears are favorites in only two games. But five other games are projected within 4 points, so it wouldn’t take much overachievement to build a solid first-year win total.
-
Greg Wyshynski
I want to see Connor McDavid raise the Stanley Cup.
I want to see all that regular-season hardware — five scoring titles, three Hart trophies as league MVP, the four-time NHLPA most outstanding player — metaphorically traded for a Stanley Cup ring, like when you turn in smaller prizes for a larger one during a carnival game. I want him rewarded for his 10 years of trying to will the Edmonton Oilers to their first Stanley Cup since 1990. Those fans deserve another party, with McDavid as the master of ceremonies.
I want to see him permanently overwrite those images of himself as an empty husk after Game 7 last season, his soul seemingly drained from his body by a series so emotionally erratic that he was voted the playoffs’ most valuable player moments after losing in the championship finale.
I want to see the laziest counterargument to McDavid’s status as a hockey deity — that he “never won the Cup” — rendered immaterial, as it eventually was for players such as Alex Ovechkin and Nathan MacKinnon. I want that cathartic scream when he picks up the chalice for the first time. The king deserves his crowning moment.
Unfortunately, what I want and what the Florida Panthers are willing to give McDavid aren’t at all aligned. They deprived him of his Stanley Cup win last season. They’ve going to do it again in this Stanley Cup Final rematch, despite the sportsbooks and the majority of pundits believing that it’s McDavid’s moment.
Here are five reasons the Panthers are likely headed for a repeat:
Florida is better than last season’s Cup winner
It’s undeniable that the Oilers are a better team than they were last season.
Edmonton’s roster is deeper and more cohesive than the 2024 Western Conference champions. They’re scoring more (4.06 goals per game) than last season. Their 5-on-5 defense is remarkably better: 1.89 goals per 60 minutes, down from 2.55 last postseason.
Perhaps the most impressive part of the Oilers’ defensive game has been the ability to close out games — witness their shot suppression in the last three wins over the Dallas Stars. They were a minus-6 in the third period last postseason; they’re a plus-11 this season through 16 games. The only downgrade year-over-year is their penalty kill, which has given up 16 goals in 16 games while it gave up four in 25 games last season. One assumes the return of Mattias Ekholm will help.
But the Panthers are also better.
Like, a lot better. Which is scary.
Florida is a plus-27 in goal differential through 17 games, after finishing at a plus-11 last season. The Panthers are scoring more (3.88) and giving up less (2.29). At 5-on-5, they’ve gone from 2.39 goals per 60 minutes last season to 3.53 goals per 60 this season. Their power play is up year over year — something to keep in mind if the Oilers keep struggling on the PK — and the penalty kill is about the same.
They also upgraded in a few roster spots during the season, primarily with the additions of Seth Jones to their second defense pairing and Brad Marchand to their third line.
Last season, Florida paired Niko Mikkola with Brandon Montour, a good puck-moving defenseman who parlayed his success with Florida into a free agent deal with the Seattle Kraken. The Panthers registered 49% of the shot attempts and averaged 1.84 goals for and 2.03 goals against per 60 minutes when that pair was on the ice. Mikkola’s pairing with Jones is a marked upgrade: 56% of the shot attempts, 4.14 goals for and 1.69 goals against per 60 minutes at 5-on-5. The duo has an expected goals against of 1.48 per 60 minutes — Montour and Mikkola were at 2.37 last postseason.
That’s not just the addition of Jones to the Panthers’ top four. Mikkola has leveled up into something special, defending better and flashing a surprising amount of offensive speed for a 6-foot-6 defender nicknamed “The Condor.”
“Meeks has been a beast. All playoffs, he’s everywhere,” Marchand said. “I don’t think he gets enough credit. He’s extremely tough to play against. Then when you play with him, and you realize that he’s not flashy, but he closes so quick, he’s always on top of guys and he’s physical.”
The addition of Marchand has also made the Panthers a more dangerous team than last season — and not only in terms of what’s said on the ice during games. The third line of their Cup-winning team was anchored by center Anton Lundell and winger Eetu Luostarinen, a solid duo that skated with a variety of wingers. Putting Marchand with those two after acquiring him at the trade deadline from Boston improved the team in several ways.
Marchand, Lundell and Luostarinen have earned 53% of the shot attempts at 5-on-5. They average 4.2 goals and 0.82 goals against per 60 minutes. Marchand has 14 points in 17 games. Luostarinen has 13 points in 17 games. Lundell has five goals and seven assists, and continues to give this team preposterous center depth as sort of a “Baby Barkov” for the Panthers.
By solidifying that line with Marchand, it allows the Panthers to keep their top six solidified. One duo is Aleksander Barkov and Sam Reinhart. The other duo is Sam Bennett and Matthew Tkachuk. They shuttle Carter Verhaeghe, one of the playoffs’ most clutch scorers, and Evan Rodrigues, an analytics darling, between those lines on the wing. Both combinations have yielded results for Florida.
But beyond what’s happening on the ice — or perhaps as a catalyst for it — the Panthers are playing with the poise and confidence of a champion, fortified by a proof of concept that comes only after a Stanley Cup skate.
Bobrovsky vs. Skinner
These two goalies have had similar postseason journeys: Inconsistent and middling results early in the playoffs, followed by dominant runs that began in the middle of the second round and carried through to the Stanley Cup Final.
“Middling” is probably putting it kindly for Skinner’s playoffs, where he was benched in the first round and got back into the playoffs only when Calvin Pickard was injured against the Vegas Golden Knights. But from Game 4 against Vegas to the Cup Final, he’s been scorching hot: 6-1, .944 save percentage, 1.41 goals-against average and three shutouts.
0:28
Stuart Skinner makes an unbelievable diving save
Stuart Skinner makes a beautiful stick save to keep the game tied 2-2 for the Oilers vs. the Golden Knights.
Bobrovsky wasn’t all that great early either until a Game 4 shutout against the Maple Leafs. After that, he went 7-2 with a .944 save percentage, a 1.34 goals-against average and two shutouts.
The Florida netminder had a chaotic Stanley Cup Final last season, but ended it with a 23-save effort at home in Game 7 to clinch the Cup. It was the kind of game that reinforced the “Playoff Bob” legend that the Oilers will no doubt hear about again this season.
Averaged out, Skinner and Bobrovsky were both at replacement levels for the totality of the playoffs according to Stathletes. Over their past five games, Bobrovsky (2.35 goals saved above expected) has been better analytically than Skinner (1.89).
Skinner is playing well enough where he shouldn’t lose this series for Edmonton, which is really all they can ask from him and Pickard. But Bobrovsky, assuming he’s in “Playoff Bob” mode, can win this series for Florida. That’s the difference.
The Panthers are road warriors
The most significant change year-over-year between these teams is that the Oilers have home-ice advantage this time. Unfortunately, that might play into the Panthers’ hands.
Florida is 8-2 on the road, which is tied for the sixth-best winning percentage in NHL postseason history (minimum eight road games). Their 4.80 goals per game would make them the highest-scoring road playoff team in Stanley Cup history (again, minimum eight road games). That plus-27 goal differential in the postseason? It has all come on the road, where they’ve scored 48 times and given up 21 goals. They’re even (18 for and 18 against) at home.
“It’s us against the world. That kind of feeling,” defenseman Gustav Forsling said.
There are two clear reasons for the Panthers’ road dominance. The first is that Florida is at its absolute best when it trims the flourish out of its offensive game to become a blunt instrument.
“Our mindset is just play as simple as we can,” Verhaeghe said. “Get the puck deep, get on their defense and forecheck, which is our strength.”
The other reason: The Panthers absolutely love to suck the energy out of a road arena and send the opposing fans home feeling miserable.
“It’s fun when you’re on the road and it goes quiet. It feels like we’re doing our job,” Verhaeghe said.
0:37
Fortenbaugh’s best bet for Panthers-Oilers Stanley Cup rematch
Joe Fortenbaugh explains why he’s taking the Panthers to repeat as champions against the Oilers.
Aleksander Barkov
Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl can exert their will on a period, a game and a series. McDavid is coming off a series against Dallas in which he had nine points in five games, for example.
Florida has one of those guys, too. Barkov doesn’t get mentioned with the same breathless praise as the Oilers’ duo or Auston Matthews or Nathan MacKinnon or Sidney Crosby. He has broken 90 points only once in his career, although his points-per-game rate between 2017-25 (1.11) ranks him 12th among all skaters, right between Crosby and Cale Makar. He’s not the most vocal guy, nor does he have the most boisterous personality — Panthers coach Paul Maurice joked that Barkov is “not doing a podcast when he’s done [playing].”
All of those players mentioned are Hart Trophy guys. Barkov is a Selke Trophy guy, having been named as the NHL’s best defensive forward for the third time in his career this week. You can’t be both. Since the best defensive forward award was first handed out in 1977-78, only two players have ever won a Hart and a Selke at some point in their careers: Sergei Fedorov and Bobby Clarke. As of this season, the highest Barkov ever placed for MVP was sixth in 2020-21.
But he’s just as much of a game changer and series shifter as any other superstar, only his ability to do so sometimes starts in the defensive zone. Against Edmonton last postseason, the Panthers outscored the Oilers 5-2 with Barkov on the ice during those seven games, earning the majority of the shot attempts and scoring chances.
He can create something out of nothing with his puck control and large frame.
Witness the series clincher against Carolina:
0:53
Verhaeghe puts Panthers back in front
Carter Verhaeghe fires home a big-time goal to give the Panthers a lead late in the third period.
Rodrigues said that goal “speaks to who [Barkov] is as a person” after Game 5.
“He’s so even-keeled,” Rodrigues said. “Doesn’t get too high, doesn’t get too low, and just when games get intense and very emotional, he’s able to play his game and just do the right things over and over again.”
Which brings us to perhaps the most salient point in this prediction.
They’ll take what Edmonton gives them
This might be hyperbolic but that’s never stopped me before: I think the Panthers are basically built to be an Oilers countermeasure.
They can score with the Oilers. They can defend as good as any team in the NHL. They have impactful star players and effective role players. They’re unfazed by chaotic road environments. They’re well-coached. They play with a physicality, swagger and antagonism. They can dish it out and take it and then dish it out again.
But they also have that special trait shared with other great NHL champions, which is that they’re willing to win on their terms or on whatever terms the opponents will set for them.
Think about the Western Conference finals. Think about how the Dallas Stars felt like they had toppled into an abyss when the Oilers would score the first goal. Think about how they could send only four shots on Skinner in the third period of must-win games, frustrated to no end that they couldn’t play their game.
The Panthers don’t get flustered. They don’t lose their confidence or have their hope extinguished if things aren’t to their liking. They maximize the opportunities they earn. They’re meticulous and patient where others are harried and panicked.
Carolina was a stingy defensive team. The Panthers waited for their chances to pounce, and when they did, the games changed dramatically. In each of their wins over the Hurricanes in the Eastern Conference finals, the Panthers scored multiple goals within four minutes of each other. Florida is the most “blood in the water” team in the NHL. In Game 3, it was five goals in 9:08. In Game 5, it was three goals in 4:36.
“We go into the game, we know exactly what we need to do,” Barkov said. “The confidence level is high and everyone’s having fun right now.”
0:36
Panthers take care of Hurricanes in 5 to advance to Stanley Cup Final
The Florida Panthers win 5-3 in a back-and-forth Game 5 battle vs. the Hurricanes to advance to their third consecutive Stanley Cup Final.
Prediction: Panthers in six
GM Bill Zito and his staff have constructed a Stanley Cup champion whose core players have the postseason competence and drive that other teams desperately try to import into their lineups at the deadline every season. The Panthers don’t need an infusion of “rings in the room.” They almost all have them now. Playoff self-assurance is a nucleotide in their hockey DNA.
Their “win at all costs” style has earned them detractors, but it has also earned them three consecutive trips to the Stanley Cup Final.
Based on the Panthers’ recent play and their advantages in this matchup, it’ll also earn them a second straight skate with Stanley.
And if I’m wrong, then Connor McDavid has his championship moment. Which would be awesome, too.
Sports
‘As wired at breakfast as he is at game time’: What Brad Marchand has brought to the Panthers
-
Greg Wyshynski
SUNRISE, Fla. — Brad Marchand has regrets.
He didn’t want to leave the Boston Bruins, the team that drafted him in 2006, won a Stanley Cup with him in 2011 and that he captained for the past two seasons after Patrice Bergeron retired. The team with whom he gained fame with 976 points in 1,090 games, as well as infamy as one of the NHL’s most accomplished agitators. He dreamed about being a one-team guy, one of the rarest accomplishments for veteran stars in a transient sport.
Marchand regrets not being able to say goodbye to Boston fans on his own terms before the NHL trade deadline.
“I got hurt before I got traded. The last game I’ll ever play in a Bruins jersey was not the last game I thought I was ever going to play in a Bruins jersey,” he said.
Marchand’s final home game in Boston was a loss to the New York Islanders on Feb. 27. His final game with the Bruins was March 3 in Pittsburgh. He was traded to the Florida Panthers on March 7, the result of a contract impasse with Boston management and the team’s pivot to a retool.
He fought back tears in his first public appearance as a Panther. “At the end of the day, I know the business is the business and everybody has a shelf life,” he said. “I am grateful, beyond words, for everything that organization has done for me.”
Marchand regrets not appreciating all the experiences he had in Boston.
“When you come to the rink, it can be stressful. You start overthinking things. There’s this pressure you sometimes put on yourself. You start stressing about things that you don’t need to stress about,” he said. “I know that there are moments that I missed out on or didn’t really appreciate because I was stressing about other things.”
For example, the Bruins had 135 points in 2022-23, becoming the most successful regular-season team in NHL history. The Panthers shocked the league — and began their nascent dynasty — with a seven-game upset in the first round of the playoffs that ended the series at a funeral-pitched TD Garden.
“We thought we were going to go to the finals that year. We thought we were going to win it all, and then we got pushed out in the first round,” Marchand said. “You start looking back at those moments and you realize you took all we did that season for granted because we were so worried about going to the finals. We weren’t living in the moment.”
Those are old regrets for the new Brad Marchand. The playoff disappointment, the breakup with the Bruins, the deadline trade … they were all shocks to his system that reoriented his thinking.
“I’m just not going to do that to myself this time around,” he said. “I’m coming to the rink every day just having fun and trying to live in the moment, not taking anything too seriously.”
0:44
Panthers pour it on with 2 more quick goals
The Panthers net two more goals in just over a minute to pad their lead vs. the Hurricanes.
Marchand started to rethink his own mindfulness when he arrived in Florida.
“My family’s not here and I have a lot more time to sit home and think and go over things in my head than I normally do,” he said. “Being here, they talk about being in the moment. Just going day by day. About taking time to reflect on things and appreciate them.”
And so Marchand decided he was just going to enjoy himself during this run with the Panthers, which finds them back in the Stanley Cup Final, seeking a second straight championship against the Edmonton Oilers, whom they defeated in Game 7 for the Cup last season.
“I’m literally just trying to have fun out there and have fun in here,” he said, motioning to the dressing room.
“The Dairy Queen thing is a great example.”
THE “DAIRY QUEEN THING” sprang from an interview between Marchand and Sportsnet rinkside reporter Kyle Bukauskas. He asked Marchand about a run to Dairy Queen that the Panthers made during the Eastern Conference finals games in Raleigh, and then introduced a clip of Marchand eating something with a spoon in between periods of Florida’s Game 3 win. Bukauskas asked Marchand if he was “refueling with a Blizzard” in the locker room.
Marchand extolled the virtues of the chocolate chip cookie dough Blizzard as “the best dessert in the world,” and made a pitch to DQ PR for a lifetime supply of the frozen treats for that endorsement.
“We had a little fun on the off day. There was a DQ by the hotel. We popped over and enjoyed our night,” Marchand explained.
This interview went viral, with many fans (and media) taking it as gospel that Marchand had been eating ice cream in between periods. His teammates were interviewed about it. Florida Panthers coach Paul Maurice was asked about it during his news conferences.
Days later, Marchand was finally asked about eating ice cream in the locker room during a game.
“It wasn’t a Blizzard,” Marchand said, with a tone that rendered the accusation absurd. “I was not eating a Blizzard in the middle of a game.”
Marchand explained that he was referencing the Panthers’ trip to Dairy Queen during the Sportsnet interview. “I was referencing that. I was making a joke about our excursion a couple of nights before. Just kind of making a joke off of it and I think people took it seriously,” he said.
After the interview went viral, Marchand said his phone blew up with messages from people saying they were inspired by him to go to Dairy Queen.
“I appreciate the support,” he said. “I love a good Blizzard more than anybody, but it’s not something I’ve had in the middle of the game.”
For many, this was never really about whether Marchand was wolfing down ice cream in his dressing room stall. It was essentially a tribute to the mercurial nature of the star winger that he reasonably could have been the guy eating Dairy Queen between periods. There’s something indelible about the most agitating player on the ice celebrating his wickedness with spoonfuls of cookie dough ice cream during intermission.
But it wasn’t ice cream or cookie dough or peanut butter. Marchand eventually revealed he was caught consuming “something healthy” on camera.
“It was honey. I was having honey. It was a spoonful of honey.”
Because he’s sweet?
“Because I’m a bear,” he responded.
Marchand said he has always had an affinity for honey.
“Actually, when I was growing up, I loved Winnie the Pooh. So I used to have a Winnie the Pooh [doll] and I used to feed the bear honey. So it was covered with honey and would get rock hard,” he said. “I don’t think [my parents] enjoyed cleaning up the mess. But I had fun.”
Marchand paused for effect.
“It’s what we do in Halifax. We feed teddy bears honey.”
Everyone laughed.
IT’S STILL SURREAL to think about where Marchand started in his NHL career to where he has ended up.
When the Bruins won the Cup in 2011, Marchand was a brash 23-year-old winger whose burgeoning offensive game was secondary to his extracurricular activities on the ice. Like when he used Vancouver Canucks winger Daniel Sedin as a punching bag in Game 6 of the Stanley Cup Final, delivering around six shots to his face without the on-ice officials stepping in.
When asked why he kept punching Sedin, Marchand responded, “Because I felt like it.”
He was the guy who got a misspelled tattoo after the Bruins won the Cup.
“Let me clear something up. After we won, a bunch of us got tattoos here in the dressing room of the Garden. Mine originally was misspelled,” he said in an ESPN player diary. “Instead of saying Stanley Cup Champions it said ‘Stanley Cup Champians.’ I don’t even know how that happened.”
(It was fixed before the next season.)
He was the player who was suspended six times by the NHL between 2011 and 2018 for illegal hits, and was given a six-game suspension as recently as 2022. He was a player known as much for his goading as his goal scoring.
But in 2025? Marchand was “an elder statesman” for Team Canada in the 4 Nations Face-Off, according to coach Jon Cooper.
“Love him. I can’t say enough great things about him, his energy and passion. He seems to find the fountain of youth any time he comes into one of these tournaments. He’s one of the guys everybody turns to when everything’s under fire,” Cooper said. “The loudest guy on the bench, pumping everybody up, is Brad Marchand. For somebody that’s been around as long as he has, he doesn’t have to do that.”
That energy is one of the things Maurice likes best about Marchand.
“He is such a unique guy. He’s as wired at breakfast as he is at game time,” he said.
0:37
Fortenbaugh’s best bet for Panthers-Oilers Stanley Cup rematch
Joe Fortenbaugh explains why he’s taking the Panthers to repeat as champions against the Oilers.
Maurice remembered when GM Bill Zito told him that the Panthers would be acquiring Matthew Tkachuk in 2022 and not believing he’d be able to pull it off. He had a similar reaction when Zito told him last summer that Chicago defenseman Seth Jones might be available. When Zito told him about Marchand, he knew it was real. “If he says it, then it could happen,” Maurice said.
Truth be told, Maurice didn’t believe the Panthers had “a huge hole” in their lineup for Marchand to fill. He was also concerned about how the 37-year-old would fit on a roster that was largely the same as the one that captured the Stanley Cup last season.
Two of Marchand’s former Bruins teammates are Panthers executives: Shawn Thornton, chief revenue officer, and Gregory Campbell, assistant general manager. They assured Maurice that Marchand would be an ideal Panther.
“There’s just many stories about bringing them high-end guys toward the end of their career and it doesn’t work and it doesn’t fit. But they were sure,” the coach recalled.
When Marchand arrived with the Panthers, Maurice soon understood the fit — on the ice and off the ice.
“His personality took some pressure off the rest of the guys. I actually have more quiet guys than we have loud guys. You all know that [Aleksander] Barkov is not doing a podcast when he’s done [playing],” Maurice said. “They’re like, ‘OK, Marchy’s here, he can do all the talking and we can just relax.'”
The Panthers had some talkers last season in forward Ryan Lomberg and defenseman Brandon Montour, who both left via free agency.
“Some of these guys start talking in their car and don’t stop until they left the rink. They just go on all the time,” Maurice said. “It was nice to have that element again that we kind of lost a little bit of it. He’s brought it back.”
Marchand has also learned through years when to hold his tongue with the media. Like when Carolina defenseman Shayne Gostisbehere intentionally shot the puck at Marchand in Game 1 of the conference finals, which led to Marchand getting a misconduct penalty. When Marchand was asked about his thoughts, he replied: “Yeah, I’m not much of a thinker.”
Maurice nodded to that moment in his news conference later that day.
“He’s a great interview. He’s very, very bright, even though I hear he is a man of very few thoughts,” he said, drawing laughs. “That’s a good line. I’m stealing it.”
ON THE ICE, Marchand has been primarily paired with center Anton Lundell, 23, and winger Eetu Luostarinen, 26, during the Panthers’ run to the Final, forming one of the most effective lines in the postseason. In 17 games together, the line has had 55% of the shot attempts when on the ice, 56% of the expected goals, has 4.2 goals per 60 minutes at 5-on-5 and just 0.82 goals against per 60 minutes.
Maurice raved about what Marchand “has done with those two young players” on Florida’s third line. “The way they’ve expanded, the way they play … part of it is playing off him,” he said.
Marchand has 14 points (four goals, 10 assists) in the playoffs. Luostarinen has 13 points (four goals, nine assists) while Lundell has 12 points (five goals, seven assists).
Marchand had high praise for Luostarinen.
“He plays a man’s game. He plays through bodies. He’s hard on pucks, wins a lot of battles,” Marchand said. “He’s very, very skilled. He’s great with the puck. He doesn’t force plays. He’s very smart in the way that he plays.”
Marchand then bestowed the greatest accolade he could muster onto Luostarinen: He reminds Marchand of Bergeron, his six-time Selke Trophy-winning teammate with the Bruins.
“He’s so defensively good with the stick. It reminds me a lot of Bergy, where he leads with the stick a lot, kills a lot of plays that way and creates offense from that,” Marchand said.
Marchand said he enjoys playing with his Panthers linemates because they have similar “simple, direct” games.
“We just complement each other all over the ice because we read the game pretty well on both sides of it. We support each other pretty well, all the way up and down the ice and then in the corner,” he said. “So I think we just because of that, we’re able to create offense out, little scrums, stuff like that.”
He said skating with Lundell and Luostarinen has been revitalizing.
“They play fast and they play hard and they’re young, energetic guys. It keeps me feeling young,” Marchand said. “I’m lying to myself. I feel 25 again. I feel rejuvenated and part of that comes to playing with some younger guys and part of a really good group of guys in here.”
0:36
Panthers take care of Hurricanes in 5 to advance to Stanley Cup Final
The Florida Panthers win 5-3 in a back-and-forth Game 5 battle vs. the Hurricanes to advance to their third consecutive Stanley Cup Final.
Marchand didn’t always feel they were good guys. Not when Matthew Tkachuk was terrorizing his Bruins in the playoffs in 2023 and 2024.
“He’s a competitor. He’s there to win. His reputation proceeds him,” Marchand said of Tkachuk. “One of the most gifted players in the league around the net. He brings an element to the group that brings guys swagger.”
Someone asked what opponents think about having Marchand and Tkachuk — two legendary provocateurs — on the ice for Florida.
“I mostly feel sorry for the guys in our room. Not too many guys are going to get a break here now,” Marchand said of him and Tkachuk. “It’s nice to be on his team rather than going against him, for sure.”
Then there’s Sam Bennett, who appeared to sucker punch Marchand during the Panthers’ playoff series win over the Bruins in 2024. It knocked Marchand out of the series for two games and didn’t result in further discipline for Bennett. At the trade deadline in 2025, they became teammates.
“I didn’t hold a grudge. Again, I know how this game’s played. I played a similar way,” Marchand said. “It’s something that we joke about. I can laugh it off. I joke about it all the time. I joke about it more than he does, but I definitely joke about it.”
Maurice said there’s a reason that hockey players who were the fiercest rivals can become teammates without much acrimony.
“I think you find out when a player walks in the room, even if he’s had his great battles, they’re so happy that it’s over. They don’t have to fight you anymore. They don’t have to hack and whack in the corner for 60 minutes,” Maurice said. “Brad Marchand and Sam Bennett are best friends now. A year ago, you would’ve never thought that could happen.”
A year ago, Brad Marchand becoming a Florida Panther wasn’t something many believed could happen, although it makes perfect sense now: The Rat King, joining the franchise that celebrates wins by throwing plastic rats on the ice.
In fact, Marchand has become a new part of that tradition. After Florida wins, if there are rats on the ice, his teammates have taken to shooting the faux rodents at Marchand as they’re leaving for the dressing room.
“They see my family on the ice and want us to be together,” Marchand deadpanned.
As the playoffs have progressed, “they’re shooting to hurt now,” according to Marchand. “Matthew Tkachuk caught me with one last game that I actually really felt there,” he said.
Marchand is feeling a lot these days. The sting of the trade dissipates a little more with every playoff win. He’s having more fun and stressing less, among teammates with whom he has quickly bonded. And he’s a few wins from another Stanley Cup, in the third Final he has reached since winning his first ring 14 years ago.
“It’s exciting. You hope that you get to this point. Obviously, we have a great team and we played well so far. We got to the point where we want to be, but we haven’t accomplished anything yet,” Marchand said.
“I may never get back this late in the playoffs ever again in my career. These are memories and moments that you want to embrace.”
-
Greg Wyshynski
Carolina Hurricanes coach Rod Brind’Amour said he was surprised when Florida Panthers coach Paul Maurice asked him not to participate in their series-ending handshake line last week and said he disagreed that it should just be for the players.
Maurice has attempted to start a new tradition in the NHL in which coaches and staff don’t participate in the handshake line, a decades-old ritual held at center ice after teams are eliminated from the Stanley Cup playoffs.
He asked Toronto Maple Leafs coach Craig Berube to stand down in the second round, and Berube obliged. He asked Brind’Amour to do the same after the Panthers eliminated the Hurricanes in Game 5 of the Eastern Conference finals in Raleigh. Maurice said he appreciated Brind’Amour agreeing to it.
“There’s this long list of people in suits and track suits. We had, like, 400 people on the ice. They’re all really important to our group, but not one of them was in the game. There’s something for me visually with the camera on just the men who played — who blocked shots and who fought for each other,” Maurice said.
At the Hurricanes’ postseason media availability Tuesday, Brind’Amour said he understood Maurice’s point of view. But he said that participating in the handshake is about “gracious losing” and that he won’t continue Maurice’s tradition next season.
“Sitting back on it and reflecting, I’ve had some pretty impactful memories and moments in that line as a coach going through it,” he said.
Brind’Amour noted that the tradition gives him a chance to have a moment with players he used to coach, such as when he shook the hands of former Hurricanes players who are now on the New Jersey Devils during Carolina’s first-round win.
“Moving forward, I think I’ll probably go back to it just because it’s a sign of respect. That’s the way I look at it. We’re not out there on the ice battling, but we’re right in there with these guys,” Brind’Amour said. “He won, so I kind of went, ‘OK, I’m going to follow your lead in that.’ But I do think it’s important, to me anyway, to show respect to the players.”
Maurice, whose first head coaching job was with the Hartford Whalers in 1995, said that staff didn’t always take part in the handshake line and that he was trying to reorient the spotlight on the players.
“When I first got in the league, we would never go shake the players. Some coach wanted to get on camera; it was the only thing I can figure out,” Maurice said.
“I think there’s a really nice, kind of beautiful part of our game, just the players shaking hands at the end. When you think of all the great competitions on the ice, they’re not sending Christmas cards to each other. This was nasty out there. And yet they shake hands like that. That’s special,” he said.
Maurice’s reigning-champion Panthers are facing the Edmonton Oilers in the Stanley Cup Final for the second straight season. Game 1 is Wednesday night.
-
Sports3 years ago‘Storybook stuff’: Inside the night Bryce Harper sent the Phillies to the World Series
-
Sports1 year agoStory injured on diving stop, exits Red Sox game
-
Sports2 years agoGame 1 of WS least-watched in recorded history
-
Sports2 years agoMLB Rank 2023: Ranking baseball’s top 100 players
-
Sports4 years ago
Team Europe easily wins 4th straight Laver Cup
-
Environment2 years agoJapan and South Korea have a lot at stake in a free and open South China Sea
-
Environment2 years agoGame-changing Lectric XPedition launched as affordable electric cargo bike
-
Business3 years agoBank of England’s extraordinary response to government policy is almost unthinkable | Ed Conway