Appreciation: The Panthers set their very own path to a 2nd consecutive Stanley Cup

The finest crew in hockey, once more, was a crew that did issues completely its personal means. HT Image The Florida Panthers went to Finland early within the season and wore their items from that journey — plush robes, a nod to the sauna tradition there — to the subsequent few video games as a substitute of fits and did not care how ridiculous that seemed. They blared Paul Simon’s “You Can Call Me Al” within the locker room after wins for causes that no one absolutely understood. They not solely welcomed a one-time hated rival in Brad Marchand into the fold from Boston on the commerce deadline, however they turned Blizzard-eating buddies with him on off days throughout the playoffs. “This team,” ahead Matthew Tkachuk stated at one level this season, shaking his head, “is special.” “Different,” was the phrase ahead Evan Rodrigues used. “They are something else,” coach Paul Maurice stated. Call them no matter you need. But it’s a must to name them back-to-back Stanley Cup champions, a completely absurd growth for a franchise that spent most of its first three many years unable to win something however now merely can not lose. Final rating: Panthers 5, Edmonton 1. Final rating of the collection: Panthers 4, Oilers 2. The outcome: Another Cup, and a crew that will not be forgotten. “It’s incredible. It’s a feeling you can’t really describe,” Marchand stated. “Seeing the family and everyone up there and everyone that supported me and helped me get to this point, words can’t put this into reality how great it feels. Such an incredible group.” South Florida was a soccer city when the Miami Dolphins reigned 50 years in the past, then turned a basketball city when the Miami Heat began successful championships, and it’s all the time been a baseball city due to the realm’s sturdy Latino tradition. But now, it’s a hockey city. The Panthers by no means had any doubt that they might repeat as Stanley Cup champions. They didn’t care what the common season outcomes have been, nor did they care about their seeding, nor did they care that they have been going to have to begin each playoff collection on the highway and possibly had essentially the most troublesome of all doable paths: in-state rival Tampa Bay in Round 1, a now-or-never Toronto crew in Round 2, a tough-as-nails Carolina crew for the Eastern Conference title, and in any case that, Connor McDavid and the Edmonton Oilers have been ready to avenge their loss in final yr’s Stanley Cup Final. The Lightning have been overmatched. The Maple Leafs wore down. The Hurricanes couldn’t sustain. And the Oilers, after a yr of learning, had even fewer solutions for the massive check. “We’ve got to be a dynasty now,” Tkachuk stated. “It’s three years in a row, finals, two championships. This team is so special. Stanley Cup champion. This never gets old.” Everything modified for Florida in July 2022 when basic supervisor Bill Zito shocked all people by swinging a commerce with Calgary for Tkachuk. They went to the ultimate in 2023 and bought rolled by Vegas. Back to the ultimate they went in 2024, almost blowing a 3-0 lead earlier than beating Edmonton for the franchise’s first title. This season, there have been accidents and suspensions and trades to take care of. But there was little doubt. Maurice stated all that mattered was stepping into the playoffs wholesome. He was proper. Tkachuk got here again regardless of a torn adductor in time for Game 1 of the playoffs. Aaron Ekblad was again from a 20-game suspension for taking a banned substance in time for Game 3 of Round 1. The Panthers saved getting stronger and stronger, all the best way to the tip. They have a participant in captain Aleksander Barkov who not often says something, simply leads by instance. They have a goalie in Sergei Bobrovsky who by no means takes credit score for wins, and whose many quirks embrace not getting any haircuts throughout the season. They have a coach in Maurice whose claims to fame embrace overzealous espresso consumption and copious swearing. They didn’t care who bought the credit score for something, as a result of it was a crew constructed for only one factor — successful the Cup, one thing that required everybody on the roster to do one thing massive on the proper time. That’s precisely what occurred. And when the Cup was awarded to Barkov, who accepted it as captain, he did not hand it to Marchand or Tkachuk or Bobrovsky or playoffs MVP Sam Bennett. He handed it to Nate Schmidt, as a result of Schmidt — who paid for all these Blizzards, by the best way — hadn’t received a Cup earlier than. And Schmidt handed it to a different first-timer, Seth Jones, one other late-season commerce addition. And so on, and so forth, and so forth. The final on-ice act of the season was the epitome of what kind of crew it was. Backup goalie Vitek Vanecek bought to hoist it earlier than many of the regulars; Vanecek, it needs to be famous, did not play one second in these playoffs, and the Panthers couldn’t have cared much less. He was a part of it. He earned his lap with the Cup. “These men just love one another,” Maurice stated. “That’s the only way to explain it.” There’s a parade in a couple of days, after which free company is coming. Bennett could possibly be transferring on. Marchand may not keep. Ekblad’s future is the supply of hypothesis. The wage cap is the wage cap and all people cannot be saved. But it feels like Florida will attempt to hold as a lot of this crew collectively as doable. “We’re going to enjoy this together,” Bobrovsky stated. “And then, we’ll go back to work.” NHL playoffs: /hub/stanley-cup and /hub/nhl This article was generated from an automatic information company feed with out modifications to textual content.