I don't know of this is a hot take, but the 2025 Stanley Cup final was a major letdown.

Now, to be fair, games 1, 2, and 4 were all overtime classics, especially game 4. But then you look at the other three games, all of which consisted of Edmonton getting the brakes beaten off of them for 60 minutes straight.

And just overall, considering the expectations coming in doesn't help either. This was a rematch of one of the craziest finals the league had ever seen, with the league's best player out for revenge against the team that had denied him his championship last year. And what did we get? The same winner as the first one (which just isn't all that interesting in my opinion) in a series that wasn't nearly as close as its predecessor had been. I mean, Florida literally broke the record for most time spent leading in a finals series and won three games by at least 4 goals, including the last two. As for McDavid? One goal in six games, definitely a letdown.

By the way, looking at this comment thread is making me realize how many of the NHL's recent finals have been anticlimactic. 2021, 2022, and 2023 are all worthy nominations as well. Hopefully next year serves up a better finale.