Apr 4, 2025; Washington, District of Columbia, USA; Wayne Gretzky speaks during a press conference with Washington Capitals left wing Alex Ovechkin (not pictured) after the game against the Chicago Blackhawks at Capital One Arena. Ovechkin scored the 893rd and 894th goals of his career, tying Gretzky for most all-time goals in NHL history at Capital One Arena. Mandatory Credit: Amber Searls-Imagn Images
Apr 4, 2025; Washington, District of Columbia, USA; Wayne Gretzky speaks during a press conference with Washington Capitals left wing Alex Ovechkin (not pictured) after the game against the Chicago Blackhawks at Capital One Arena. Ovechkin scored the 893rd and 894th goals of his career, tying Gretzky for most all-time goals in NHL history at Capital One Arena. Mandatory Credit: Amber Searls-Imagn Images
The 2026 Stanley Cup Final is set on June 2 at the Lenovo Center in Raleigh. The Carolina Hurricanes will host the Vegas Golden Knights, and Wayne Gretzky, the NHL's all-time leading scorer and a four-time Stanley Cup winner, has already picked his side.
When speaking about the NHL on the TNT panel after Carolina defeated the Montreal Canadiens, Gretzky immediately picked the side of the Hurricanes and went on to explain why.
"I'm picking Carolina," he said. "I think the goaltending's pretty even. I think the defense core on both sides is pretty even and know they can both roll four lines."
He continued to explain and break down the individual performance of each player,
"I think that it's going to come down to Eichel and Marner, what level they can get to, and Svechnikov and Aho playing at their best level. Cause you know the second and third lines are going to contribute, the fourth lines are going to play hard."
Wayne also talked about the tie-breaker and pointed to the thing that both teams spent the entire regular season fighting for.
"I come down to one thing that you play all year for: home ice. In Game 7, is it going to be the difference in the series? And if I have to pick one side or the other, cause they're both good, I'm picking Carolina."
Carolina ended up earning the home-ice advantage, finishing the playoff series with 53-22-7 for 113 points. This is the best record in the Eastern Conference. Vegas, in contrast, finished 39-26-17 for 95 points. Even if it’s a tight series, the numbers do play an important role.
Wayne Gretzky’s words hold a lot of weight considering that he retired with 2,857 career points and won four Stanley Cups with the Edmonton Oilers in the 1980s.
Both teams now move to the Finals after going through a difficult path to get there.
Both Team's Path to the Stanley Cup Final
Carolina defeated Montreal easily in Game 5 of the Eastern Conference Final, winning with three goals in 7:35 of the first period. The Hurricanes won 6-1 to secure their first appearance in the Final since winning the Cup in 2006.
Goaltender Frederik Andersen has been through a strong run, with a .931 save percentage and three shutouts in the playoffs. The forwards Sebastian Aho, Andrei Svechnikov, Taylor Hall, and Logan Stankoven were a part of the offense.
Head coach Rod Brind'Amour has now been part of 98 of the franchise's 100 all-time playoff wins, 39 as a player and 59 as a coach.
Meantime, Vegas’s Mark Stone and Cole Smith also ended up scoring a goal, and Carter Hart ended up making 20 saves as the Golden Knights defeated Colorado 2-1 to complete a four-game sweep of the Western Conference Final.
Mitch Marner, who is still in his first season with Vegas, led all playoff performers with 21 points. Vegas fired Bruce Cassidy with still eight games left in the regular season and brought in John Tortorella
Carolina ended up with home-ice advantage with Game 1 scheduled for Tuesday, June 2, in Raleigh.
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Written by
Aadhya Nalla
Edited by
Koushik Biswas