Latest news with #Cup-clinching
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
Florida Panthers win Stanley Cup: Get the latest gear to celebrate repeat champions!
If you buy something through a link in this article, we may earn commission. Pricing and availability are subject to change. The Florida Panthers are the kings of the NHL once again! The Panthers have made hockey history, becoming the ninth franchise since the 1967 expansion to repeat as Stanley Cup champions. Florida complete its series victory with a 5-1 win over the Edmonton Oilers on June 17, cementing its spot in hockey lore. Advertisement And now you can get the gear to represent the Panthers and Get the latest Panthers Stanley Cup championship apparel! Just like last year, the Panthers dispatched the in-state rival Tampa Bay Lightning before taking down the Carolina Hurricanes in the Eastern Conference final. Then, once again matched up against the Oilers, featuring superstar Connor McDavid. And yet again, the Panthers emerged victorious, When is Florida Panthers Stanley Cup championship parade? A few hours after the Cup-clinching victory, the South Florida Sun Sentinel reported that Fort Lauderdale Mayer Dean Trantalis is tentatively planning for the celebration parade to be Sunday, June 22, similar to last season. Last year, the parade was held on Sunday, June 30, in Fort Lauderdale down Florida A1A. Get your Florida Panthers Stanley Cup champions commemorative book USA TODAY Sports has produced a 144-page book to look back at this magical 2024-25 season. "Run It Back," is available at and at a discounted price of $31.95 for a limited time. Advertisement Get your Panthers commemorative book! 2025 Stanley Cup Final: Panthers win, 4-2 Game 1: Oilers 4, Panthers 3 (OT) Game 2: Panthers 5, Oilers 4 (2OT) Game 3: Panthers 6, Oilers 1 Game 4: Oilers 5, Panthers 4 (OT)4-2 Game 5: Panthers 5, Oilers 2 Game 6: Panthers 5, Oilers 1 This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Florida Panthers win Stanley Cup: Get gear to celebrate repeat title!
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
Stanley Cup victory! Florida Panthers repeat, earn spot in South Florida history
SUNRISE — For more than half a century, aqua and orange have been the predominant colors South Florida fans could identify with. The Miami Heat broke away from the Miami Dolphins, riding a 'White Hot' theme to NBA championships. Advertisement But today, South Florida is reigning red. The Florida Panthers made it so, defeating the Edmonton Oilers 5-1 in Game 6 of the Stanley Cup Final for their second consecutive NHL championship. The Oilers won't soon forget Sam Reinhart, who scored the Cup-clinching goal in Game 7 last year, scored four goals this time. Matthew Tkachuk added the other goal. As the clock struck 0:00, the goal-celebration horn inside Amerant Bank Arena belted an exaggerated blast only marginally louder than the delirious, towel-waving sellout crowd. Hockey sticks and rats flew through the air. So did players, hurdling the boards to mob goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky. SUNDAY FUNDAY: Panthers parade reportedly Sunday along Fort Lauderdale Beach Advertisement With it, a season's worth of pressure gave way to a lifetime of dreams that had come true. 'Reign Red' was this team's slogan. It will reign over the NHL for a calendar year. And 'RED!' will continue to be shouted loudly during 'rockets' red glare' in the national anthem at home games. Yes, the Stanley Cup is awarded every year at this time. Just not like this. The Panthers became only the 10th different franchise in NHL history to repeat as Stanley Cup champions. Florida Panthers join Dolphins, Heat with consecutive titles They also became the third team in South Florida history to win back-to-back titles, joining the Dolphins of the early 1970s and the Heat in the early 2010s. Advertisement The unescapable question now is where the Panthers rank among our championship teams. It's objectively unsolvable, of course. The 1972 Dolphins went 17-0, a record that could never be matched in other sports, yet these Panthers at least placed themselves in that discussion with a postseason performance every bit as dominant, blowing out teams on their own ice. GET THE GEAR: Florida Panthers win Stanley Cup: Get the latest gear to celebrate repeat champions! If the Panthers can three-peat, there will be nothing to debate. Game 6: Florida Panthers defenseman Nate Schmidt (88) hoists the Stanley Cup as first-time winners went after captain Aleksander Barkov. That's for another day. For this day, for this team, goes one of the most hallowed trophies in sports. It's thanks to a triumvirate at the top of the organization (owner Vincent Viola, general manager Bill Zito and coach Paul Maurice), extends down to one of the deepest rosters you could assemble and down to every level of the support staff that players made sure to credit along the way. Advertisement The Panthers have become the gold standard of how to run a sports franchise. GM Bill Zito pulls off huge trades for Seth Jones, Brad Marchand The core of last year's team returned this year. No matter. The Panthers decided that wasn't good enough, so they pulled off back-to-back deals at the trade deadline to acquire defenseman Seth Jones and forward/instigator/comedian Brad Marchand, both of whom proved invaluable in the postseason. That was a great day to be Maurice, getting tapped on the shoulder by Zito and being told those deals were possible, but Zito explained he was simply operating as his boss wanted. When Viola was told the Panthers needed a new practice facility? The Florida Panthers hoist the Stanley Cup after winning Game 6 of the 2025 Stanley Cup Final against the Edmonton Oilers at Amerant Bank Arena in Sunrise, Florida. 'Here you go,' Zito said, referring to the Baptist Health IcePlex in Fort Lauderdale. Advertisement 'They know that if the chicken isn't right, that we're going to get new chicken,' Zito said of the players. 'It sort of transcends all that we do. It sounds silly, but it's true and it's real.' Paul Maurice cements status on our Mount Rushmore of coaches So, too, is Maurice's approach, which shouldn't add up, but does. His defense-first philosophy allows the Panthers to use the regular season the way a college student uses the term to prep for the final exam. How then to explain that nine players on this 'defensive' team had 15 or more points in the postseason, a mark surpassed by exactly zero teams in league history? Maurice admitted that after a rare bad loss, he'd start team meetings with five minutes of cursing but end them with hugs all around. His modesty is almost to a fault. Advertisement 'I've had a chance here to observe them and then learn from them,' Maurice said on the eve of Game 1. 'The way they treat each other is different than I've experienced – but not just in life, not just in hockey. … It's been an honor to kind of be in that room and watch the way they treat each other.' If you're building a Mount Rushmore of coaches of our pro teams, you start with Don Shula, then add the Heat's Erik Spoelstra. Just don't forget Maurice. Panthers Culture is a phrase that deserves to become a thing. 'A bit of an observer here,' is how Maurice described himself. 'Bit of a season ticket holder.' Advertisement Tkachuk isn't buying it. Nor should anyone else. Game 6: Florida Panthers center Anton Lundell (15) goes through the handshake line with the Edmonton Oilers. 'His ability to get us to run through a wall, each and every game, is a big gift,' Tkachuk said. ' … Super lucky to have him.' An outstanding Cup Final from start to finish Prophetic, too, Tkachuk may have added about his coach. Before and even during the Final series, Maurice predicted the highest level of hockey would be on display. In the Oilers, the Panthers faced the best player on the planet and a deserved Cup winner in Connor McDavid, plus one of the best in Leon Draisaitl. The Panthers also were facing an Oilers team more complete than the one they beat in seven games to win the big prize last year. Advertisement Maurice's prediction of 'no-lull' hockey was on the money. These finals had action early (three games began with goals in the first 2½ minutes) and late (three of the first four games went into overtime; the two latest game-tying goals in league history were scored as regulation expired). It's 3,023.1 miles from Amerant Bank Arena to Rogers Place in Edmonton, yet despite a brutal travel schedule, both teams found success at home and on the road. This Panthers' postseason provided all of that. Laughs, too. When Marchand was caught on camera licking a spoon during one intermission, he said he'd been enjoying a Blizzard from Dairy Queen. 'I know he said it,' Maurice said. 'I'm just not sure that makes it a fact.' Advertisement Marchand eventually fessed up. It was just honey. NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman laughed off complaints that maybe the Tampa Bay Lightning and Panthers have dominated the Stanley Cup Final lately because of a lack of a state income tax, an accusation that conveniently overlooks all the years neither team made noise. Perhaps the Panthers could send a crying towel – we suggest a red one – to TNT analyst Paul Bissonnette, who whined about the tax inequality after unprofessionally wearing Maple Leafs attire on-air during the Florida-Toronto series. Never mind that he never played for the Leafs. More: Gary Bettman calls notion Panthers have advantage because of Florida tax situation 'ridiculous' Captain Aleksander Barkov sets welcoming tone Better to get back to discussing the many things that went right, including the leadership of humble captain Aleksander Barkov, whom many credit with setting the tone. Marchand had some history with the Panthers dating to his time as Boston's captain, yet it wasn't long until teammates were playfully firing rats at him to celebrate victories. Forward Tomas Nosek committed a costly penalty that set up Draisaitl's overtime winner in Game 1 that could have set the tone for the series. What followed? Advertisement 'We just make sure he doesn't eat alone tonight,' Maurice said. 'He's got lots of people sitting at his table and reminding him of how good he's been to us.' So too, Barkov, who became the first player in NHL history to sweep both the Selke Trophy (best defensive forward) and King Clancy (leadership, community service) in one season. As for the other players without whom the Panthers wouldn't be where they are, take your pick: Conn Smythe winner Sam Bennett, of course. Reinhart. Gustav Forsling. Aaron Ekblad. Nate Schmidt. Carter Verhaeghe. Bob, Bob, Bob. How much time you got? This season, all of them earned a permanent place in South Florida sports history. The Panthers didn't just win the Stanley Cup when they won Game 6. They became a dynasty. They painted the town red. This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Stanley Cup victory! Red-hot Florida Panthers earn dynasty status
NBC Sports
2 days ago
- Sport
- NBC Sports
‘A well-oiled machine': How the Florida Panthers' team-first mentality led to another Stanley Cup
SUNRISE, Fla. — Aleksander Barkov hoisted the Stanley Cup, skated with it for a few moments and then handed it to a grinning Nate Schmidt, in his first year with the Florida Panthers and raising hockey's hallowed trophy for the first time. Before any repeat winner touched it, every Panther who never had before got the chance. 'There's a lot of guys they play a ton of minutes that are huge contributors to this group, and they bypassed them and said: 'We had it last year. We'll never not cherish this moment,'' Schmidt said. 'It was amazing.' It also personified the Panthers, who did not have the best player in the final, not facing Connor McDavid and the Edmonton Oilers again. They may not have even had the second-best with Leon Draisaitl there, too, but Florida repeating as champions showed exactly why hockey is the ultimate team sport. 'We just have so much heart, so much talent: Heart meets talent,' said winger Matthew Tkachuk, who played through a sports hernia and torn adductor muscle. 'Our team was a team. When things were getting hard for them, they looked to one guy. But our team, we do it collectively.' The Panthers had 19 non-goalies on the ice over six games against the Oilers; 15 registered a point and 11 scored at least once. Coach Paul Maurice said the team is 'just really deep — unusually so,' making the point that he essentially had three first lines to roll out at any given time. 'A very talented group of guys, so when you bring somebody in, we're going to play you with a really good player,' Maurice said. General manager Bill Zito, who inherited Barkov, defenseman Aaron Ekblad and goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky, built the rest of the roster to win in the playoffs. With Maurice and his staff in charge, players who were adrift or simply mediocre elsewhere thrived in Florida. 'For the most part, every guy who's come here has had the best season of their careers,' Zito said. 'From that perspective, it's gratifying to think that we can create an environment where the guys can do that, but it's the team. It's that room. It truly is.' Fourth-liner A.J. Greer is one of those players after nearly giving up on his NHL dream a few years ago. He, Zito, Conn Smythe Trophy winner Sam Bennett and so many others use the word 'culture' to explain the Panthers' greatness, and it translates into results on the ice. The forecheck is never-ending, the harassment in the neutral zone relentless — and the offense burgeoning with talent. 'Everyone levels their game up here — every one of us,' Greer said. 'There's a sentiment of greatness but of just like wanting to be as good as you were yesterday.' Tkachuk, acquired by Zito in a trade from Calgary in the same summer of 2022 when Maurice was hired as coach, shook his head when asked about scoring the Cup-clinching goal in Game 6. He wanted to make a point that it doesn't matter who scores. 'I don't care about personal stats,' Tkachuk said. 'I don't care. Our team doesn't (care) about that. That's what makes us a team, and that's why we're lifting the Stanley Cup right now because we're a team and not a bunch of individuals.' McDavid, who had seven points in six games in the final, had nothing but praise after a second straight loss to the Panthers on the NHL's biggest stage. 'They're a really good team,' McDavid said. 'Very deserving. They were really good.' Florida was in the final for a third consecutive year, and the only loss during this stretch came to Vegas in 2023 when injuries ravaged Tkachuk, Ekblad and others. That was the start of the winning blueprint that has made the Panthers so successful for so long. 'There's a way that we do things here, and it's not easy,' said Bennett, who led all players in the playoffs with 15 goals. 'We don't play an easy style of hockey. It demands a lot of you. Every single guy's bought into it. When some new guys came in, they instantly bought into what we do here and the commitment to being great, to winning. Every single guy just really bought into that.' Schmidt found that out quickly. He played for Maurice in Winnipeg, got bought out last summer and just wanted to get his game back. That happened quickly, and the Stanley Cup was the reward after going through another long grind as a team. 'It's the system. It's the group. It's just completely selfless,' Schmidt said. 'Guys just play one way, and they say, 'Hey, this is how we do things' and you've got to jump on board. Guys, once they mold themselves into the game, you just become another cog in the wheel here. That's just the way it runs. It's just a well-oiled machine.'
2 days ago
- Sport
'A well-oiled machine': How the Florida Panthers' team-first mentality led to another Stanley Cup
SUNRISE, Fla. -- Aleksander Barkov hoisted the Stanley Cup, skated with it for a few moments and then handed it to a grinning Nate Schmidt, in his first year with the Florida Panthers and raising hockey's hallowed trophy for the first time. Before any repeat winner touched it, every Panther who never had before got the chance. 'There's a lot of guys they play a ton of minutes that are huge contributors to this group, and they bypassed them and said: 'We had it last year. We'll never not cherish this moment,'' Schmidt said. 'It was amazing.' It also personified the Panthers, who did not have the best player in the final, not facing Connor McDavid and the Edmonton Oilers again. They may not have even had the second-best with Leon Draisaitl there, too, but Florida repeating as champions showed exactly why hockey is the ultimate team sport. 'We just have so much heart, so much talent: Heart meets talent,' said winger Matthew Tkachuk, who played through a sports hernia and torn adductor muscle. 'Our team was a team. When things were getting hard for them, they looked to one guy. But our team, we do it collectively.' The Panthers had 19 non-goalies on the ice over six games against the Oilers; 15 registered a point and 11 scored at least once. Coach Paul Maurice said the team is 'just really deep — unusually so,' making the point that he essentially had three first lines to roll out at any given time. 'A very talented group of guys, so when you bring somebody in, we're going to play you with a really good player,' Maurice said. General manager Bill Zito, who inherited Barkov, defenseman Aaron Ekblad and goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky, built the rest of the roster to win in the playoffs. With Maurice and his staff in charge, players who were adrift or simply mediocre elsewhere thrived in Florida. 'For the most part, every guy who's come here has had the best season of their careers,' Zito said. 'From that perspective, it's gratifying to think that we can create an environment where the guys can do that, but it's the team. It's that room. It truly is.' Fourth-liner A.J. Greer is one of those players after nearly giving up on his NHL dream a few years ago. He, Zito, Conn Smythe Trophy winner Sam Bennett and so many others use the word 'culture' to explain the Panthers' greatness, and it translates into results on the ice. The forecheck is never-ending, the harassment in the neutral zone relentless — and the offense burgeoning with talent. 'Everyone levels their game up here — every one of us,' Greer said. 'There's a sentiment of greatness but of just like wanting to be as good as you were yesterday.' Tkachuk, acquired by Zito in a trade from Calgary in the same summer of 2022 when Maurice was hired as coach, shook his head when asked about scoring the Cup-clinching goal in Game 6. He wanted to make a point that it doesn't matter who scores. 'I don't care about personal stats,' Tkachuk said. "I don't care. Our team doesn't (care) about that. That's what makes us a team, and that's why we're lifting the Stanley Cup right now because we're a team and not a bunch of individuals.' McDavid, who had seven points in six games in the final, had nothing but praise after a second straight loss to the Panthers on the NHL's biggest stage. 'They're a really good team," McDavid said. 'Very deserving. They were really good.' Florida was in the final for a third consecutive year, and the only loss during this stretch came to Vegas in 2023 when injuries ravaged Tkachuk, Ekblad and others. That was the start of the winning blueprint that has made the Panthers so successful for so long. 'There's a way that we do things here, and it's not easy,' said Bennett, who led all players in the playoffs with 15 goals. 'We don't play an easy style of hockey. It demands a lot of you. Every single guy's bought into it. When some new guys came in, they instantly bought into what we do here and the commitment to being great, to winning. Every single guy just really bought into that.' Schmidt found that out quickly. He played for Maurice in Winnipeg, got bought out last summer and just wanted to get his game back. That happened quickly, and the Stanley Cup was the reward after going through another long grind as a team. 'It's the system. It's the group. It's just completely selfless," Schmidt said. 'Guys just play one way, and they say, 'Hey, this is how we do things' and you've got to jump on board. Guys, once they mold themselves into the game, you just become another cog in the wheel here. That's just the way it runs. It's just a well-oiled machine.'
USA Today
2 days ago
- Sport
- USA Today
Sam Reinhart's four-goal explosion helps Panthers clinch Stanley Cup
Sam Reinhart's four-goal explosion helps Panthers clinch Stanley Cup Show Caption Hide Caption Florida Panthers capture second straight Stanley Cup The Florida Panthers beat the Edmonton Oilers to win their second-straight Stanley Cup. Sports Pulse The Florida Panthers are once again champions of the National Hockey League, due in no small part to the stellar performance of winger Sam Reinhart in the series finale. Reinhart tallied four goals as the Panthers eliminated the Edmonton Oilers 5-1 in Game 6 of the Stanley Cup Final. In the process, he became only the second player in history to light the lamp four times in a Cup-clinching game. 'It's pretty special," Reinhart said, according to I mean, we've had guys step up all postseason long. It almost takes the pressure off us knowing that someone's going to do it." Reinhart got his first goal off a turnover and his second after Oilers goalie Stuart Skinner misplayed the puck. Reinhart added two empty-netters to become the first player to score seven goals in the final since the great Wayne Gretzky did it 40 years ago. He also scored the winning goal in Game 7 of last year's Stanley Cup Final. 'I can't really put into words what it means,' said Reinhart, who played despite suffering a Grade 2 MCL tear in the Eastern Conference Final series. 'It's something you never really think about. You know, in a lot of instances, this one was even harder to overcome and be here at the end." Reinhart, 29, said he'll be looking forward to the Panthers' championship parade -- one he missed last year because of a friend's wedding. 'And I'm not going to miss this one,' he vowed. 'I'll guarantee you that.'
