Who earns 'Beard of the Year'? Stanley Cup final playoff beard superlatives

As the Stanley Cup Final neared its conclusion, so did the respective playoff beards for the Florida Panthers and Edmonton Oilers.

"I just kind of let it roll for the past couple months. It's kind of gross right now," said Jonah Gadjovich of the Panthers before their 5-1 series-clinching victory in Game 6. "I don't think my wife would let me get it much longer."

Both of these teams advanced to the Stanley Cup Final last season, too, with the Panthers winning the championship then as well.

"There's a couple of guys that have even improved from last year that I've noticed," Gadjovich said.

It's time to honor some of the best beards of the Stanley Cup Final: our facial foliage awards.

Best Viking Cosplay Beard: Mattias Ekholm, Oilers

The 35-year-old native of Borlange, Sweden, looks like he should be captaining a ship through the fjords on the way to battle. His Viking-esque look has inspired a group of Edmonton fans called "The Dancing Ekholms," who attend games in horned helmets, kilts and war paint to get delightfully rowdy in the stands. When Ekholm returned from injury for Edmonton in the playoffs, they brought a poster to the game that said "RETURN OF THE VIKING WARRIOR" and a horned-helmeted photo of Ekholm on it.

Best Beard For Taunting Opponents: Jonah Gadjovich, Panthers

The Panthers center has one of the most impressive thickets of facial hair on the team. But in Game 3 against the Oilers, he unleashed the full potential of his playoff beard to taunt an opponent.

Darnell Nurse of the Oilers stuck his tongue out during their fight for some reason. After the scrap ended -- and with Gadjovich's nose bloodied -- the Panthers center stuck out his tongue to mock Nurse and the Oilers, with the cameras catching the gesture as his tongue reached his beard. Was it the kind of indelible image that gets celebrated on a T-shirt in the team store?

Yes, it was.

Best Model For Men's Grooming Advertisements: Jake Walman, Oilers

The Oilers defenseman has an aspirational beard. It's the kind you'd see as the "after" example in a commercial for a men's grooming product: Lush, dark and perfectly in concert with the rest of his facial features. It's a photo shoot of King Leonidas. Well done, Jake Walman.

Best 'An Attempt Was Made' Beard: Anton Lundell, Panthers

The Panthers center has been trying to sprout a playoff beard for the last three runs to the Stanley Cup Final. In 2023 as a 21-year-old, he still looked fresh-faced after a few playoff rounds. "This is all I got right now. Not much I can do about it," he lamented at the time. Fast forward to 2025, and Lundell has ... well, not much of a beard, but he's got something. A chinstrap? Whatever it is, we celebrate the effort, if not the execution.

Best Goaltender Beard: Stuart Skinner, Oilers

Could Stuart Skinner's beard stop a slap shot on its own? It's an intriguing sports science question that Skinner undoubtedly would not like to test -- hence the mask -- but the simple fact that it could be contemplated is a testament to its wooliness. It's the beard of a man who has seen some things. Given Skinner's roller-coaster playoff ride -- benched in the first and last rounds, only to get his job back eventually -- its world-weariness is perfectly appropriate.

Best Brad Marchand Beard: Brad Marchand, Panthers

Brad Marchand has the ideal Brad Marchand beard. It's scraggly and patchy, but it works. It's got gray hairs that mark him as a 37-year-old NHL veteran. It's a beard that doesn't get in the way of his constant trash-talking at opponents and one that frames his face while laughing off the repercussions. Perhaps most importantly, it's a beard that won't end up looking like a frozen mess when Marchand and the Panthers are chomping down on their pregame Dairy Queen Blizzards.

Beard of the Year: Sam Bennett, Panthers

Gadjovich argues that teammates such as defenseman Aaron Ekblad and AJ Greer have whiskers worthy of "beard of the year" status on the Panthers. But only one player can combine a playoff-leading offensive performance with outstanding facial shrubbery.

No, not Leon Draisaitl of the Oilers, although the point-leading center certainly came close to "beard of the year" status with his vollbart -- German for "full beard."

The winner is Sam Bennett of the Panthers.

Bennett led the Stanley Cup playoffs in goals. He has been a driving force behind the Panthers' return to the championship round with clutch performances on the road and physical play that muddies the lines of legality. But even if some opposing fans believe he cheats the rules, there is no cheating on a playoff beard for Bennett. Look at his foliage in the first round against the Tampa Bay Lightning and then the end product in the Stanley Cup Final, where it looks like he's got the Lorax on his face. Congratulations to Bennett, his beard and any wildlife currently living inside of it.