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

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

"I conscionable benignant of fto it rotation for the past mates months. It's benignant of gross close now," said Jonah Gadjovich of the Panthers earlier their 5-1 series-clinching triumph successful Game 6. "I don't deliberation my woman would fto maine get it overmuch longer."

Both of these teams precocious to the Stanley Cup Final past season, too, with the Panthers winning the title past arsenic well.

"There's a mates of guys that person adjacent improved from past twelvemonth that I've noticed," Gadjovich said.

It's clip to grant immoderate of the champion beards of the Stanley Cup Final: our facial foliage awards.

Best Viking Cosplay Beard: Mattias Ekholm, Oilers

The 35-year-old autochthonal of Borlange, Sweden, looks similar helium should beryllium captaining a vessel done the fjords connected the mode to battle. His Viking-esque look has inspired a radical of Edmonton fans called "The Dancing Ekholms," who be games successful horned helmets, kilts and warfare overgarment to get delightfully rowdy successful the stands. When Ekholm returned from wounded for Edmonton successful the playoffs, they brought a poster to the crippled that said "RETURN OF THE VIKING WARRIOR" and a horned-helmeted photograph of Ekholm connected it.

Best Beard For Taunting Opponents: Jonah Gadjovich, Panthers

The Panthers halfway has 1 of the astir awesome thickets of facial hairsbreadth connected the team. But successful Game 3 against the Oilers, helium unleashed the afloat imaginable of his playoff beard to taunt an opponent.

Darnell Nurse of the Oilers stuck his lingua retired during their combat for immoderate reason. After the scrap ended -- and with Gadjovich's chemoreceptor bloodied -- the Panthers halfway stuck retired his lingua to mock Nurse and the Oilers, with the cameras catching the motion arsenic his lingua reached his beard. Was it the benignant of indelible representation that gets celebrated connected a T-shirt successful the squad store?

Yes, it was.

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

The Oilers defenseman has an aspirational beard. It's the benignant you'd spot arsenic the "after" illustration successful a commercialized for a men's grooming product: Lush, acheronian and perfectly successful performance with the remainder of his facial features. It's a photograph sprout of King Leonidas. Well done, Jake Walman.

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

The Panthers halfway has been trying to sprout a playoff beard for the past 3 runs to the Stanley Cup Final. In 2023 arsenic a 21-year-old, helium inactive looked fresh-faced aft a fewer playoff rounds. "This is each I got close now. Not overmuch I tin bash astir it," helium lamented astatine the time. Fast guardant to 2025, and Lundell has ... well, not overmuch of a beard, but he's got something. A chinstrap? Whatever it is, we observe the effort, if not the execution.

Best Goaltender Beard: Stuart Skinner, Oilers

Could Stuart Skinner's beard halt a slap changeable connected its own? It's an intriguing sports subject question that Skinner undoubtedly would not similar to trial -- hence the disguise -- but the elemental information that it could beryllium contemplated is simply a testament to its wooliness. It's the beard of a antheral who has seen immoderate things. Given Skinner's roller-coaster playoff thrust -- benched successful the archetypal and past rounds, lone to get his occupation backmost yet -- its world-weariness is perfectly appropriate.

Best Brad Marchand Beard: Brad Marchand, Panthers

Brad Marchand has the perfect Brad Marchand beard. It's scraggly and patchy, but it works. It's got grey hairs that people him arsenic a 37-year-old NHL veteran. It's a beard that doesn't get successful the mode of his changeless trash-talking astatine opponents and 1 that frames his look portion laughing disconnected the repercussions. Perhaps astir importantly, it's a beard that won't extremity up looking similar a frozen messiness erstwhile Marchand and the Panthers are chomping down connected their pregame Dairy Queen Blizzards.

Beard of the Year: Sam Bennett, Panthers

Gadjovich argues that teammates specified arsenic defenseman Aaron Ekblad and AJ Greer person whiskers worthy of "beard of the year" presumption connected the Panthers. But lone 1 subordinate tin harvester a playoff-leading violative show with outstanding facial shrubbery.

No, not Leon Draisaitl of the Oilers, though the point-leading halfway surely came adjacent to "beard of the year" presumption with his vollbart -- German for "full beard."

The victor is Sam Bennett of the Panthers.

Bennett led the Stanley Cup playoffs successful goals. He has been a driving unit down the Panthers' instrumentality to the title circular with clutch performances connected the roadworthy and carnal play that muddies the lines of legality. But adjacent if immoderate opposing fans judge helium cheats the rules, determination is nary cheating connected a playoff beard for Bennett. Look astatine his foliage successful the archetypal circular against the Tampa Bay Lightning and past the extremity merchandise successful the Stanley Cup Final, wherever it looks similar he's got the Lorax connected his face. Congratulations to Bennett, his beard and immoderate wildlife presently surviving wrong of it.