Panthers poised to extend Stanley Cup title run into dynasty

SUNRISE, Fla. -- No need to wait. It was time to celebrate. Before the horn sounded on Game 6 of the Stanley Cup Final at Amerant Bank Arena on Tuesday, the air filled with a blizzard of gloves and sticks and plastic rats.

The Florida Panthers flew off the bench, jumped for joy and mobbed one another as the fans roared. They dominated the Edmonton Oilers in a 5-1 victory, defeating them in the Cup Final for the second straight season and repeating as champions.

“It’s harder than I ever imagined to win the Stanley Cup once, and twice was even harder, so yeah, it’s a huge honor to be a part of this group,” said forward Sam Bennett, who led the Stanley Cup Playoffs with 15 goals and won the Conn Smythe Trophy as most valuable player. “I’m not going to take it for granted. I love being here, and I love this team. It’s a remarkable team to be a part of.”

The Panthers have established themselves as one of the elite teams of the salary cap era (since 2005-06). They have put themselves in the class of the Tampa Bay Lightning, who won the Cup back-to-back in 2020 and 2021. The Los Angeles Kings won it twice in three years, in 2012 and 2014.

The question now is whether the Panthers can become a dynasty. No team has won the Cup three years in a row in the cap era, and only two teams have won it three times. The Pittsburgh Penguins won it in 2009, 2016 and 2017; the Chicago Blackhawks won it in 2010, 2013 and 2015.

“That’s the standard of excellence,” owner Vincent Viola said. “There’s no other course but seeking and winning the championship. There’s no other course. Everybody knows that, and they’re all committed to it.”

Florida is positioned well for the future, even though four key players can become unrestricted free agents July 1: Bennett, forward Brad Marchand and defensemen Aaron Ekblad and Nate Schmidt.

Goalie Sergei Bobrovsky is signed through next season, and an excellent core is locked up for the long term: forwards Aleksander Barkov (five more seasons), Anton Lundell (five), Sam Reinhart (seven), Matthew Tkachuk (five) and Carter Verhaeghe (eight), and defensemen Gustav Forsling (seven) and Seth Jones (five).

General manager Bill Zito, a finalist for the GM of the Year Award, has shown the ability to maneuver deftly, and coach Paul Maurice and the players have created a welcoming, winning culture.

After hoisting the Cup last season, the Panthers parted with multiple pieces, including forwards Kevin Stenlund and Vladimir Tarasenko and defensemen Oliver Ekman-Larsson and Brandon Montour. But they added players like Schmidt and forwards A.J. Greer and Tomas Nosek in the offseason, then added the likes of Jones and Marchand before the NHL Trade Deadline.

"If you came to our room this morning, you wouldn’t be able to tell who the new guys were,” Zito said. “I think that says everything.”

This says a lot too. Barkov, the captain, received the Cup from NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman. Then the Panthers passed it to all the players who had not won it yet, starting with Schmidt.

“It comes natural to them, because they’re servant leaders,” Viola said. “They always put other people before themselves. They really do, and you can see it on the ice. Really very special.”

A big question next season will be wear and tear.

This was Florida’s third straight trip to the Cup Final. The Panthers have played 313 games in the regular season and playoffs combined over the past three seasons, and that doesn’t count the 4 Nations Face-Off.

Florida had eight players in the best-on-best tournament featuring Canada, Finland, Sweden and the United States in Montreal and Boston from Feb. 12-20, more than any other team, and already has had five players named to rosters for the Olympic Winter Games Milano Cortina 2026.

But wear and tear was a big question this season too, and the Panthers persevered. The prime example: Tkachuk sustained a lower-body injury playing for the United States in the 4 Nations Face-Off, missed the rest of the regular season and came back for the playoffs. He had 23 points (eight goals, 15 assists) in 23 games, tied with Verhaeghe (seven goals, 16 assists) and Reinhart (11 goals, 12 assists) for the Florida lead.

This was a team in the truest sense, with balance and depth. The Panthers scored 94 goals in the playoffs, tied for fourth in NHL history. Their top five scorers were within one point of each other, and they had six players with at least 20 points, tying the record. They had 11 players in double-digits in points and 19 goal-scorers.

Florida defeated a team with two players who tied for the playoff lead with 33 points: superstar forwards Connor McDavid (seven goals, 26 assists) and Leon Draisaitl (11 goals, 22 assists). The Panthers were physical and played team defense, led by Barkov, voted the winner of the Selke Trophy as the NHL’s best defensive forward, and Forsling, one of the best defensive defensemen in the League.

“Some teams, [when] times get tough, they look to that one guy to lead them out of it,” Tkachuk said. “You just look to your left and your right here. You look in the mirror. You know that you’ve got to work your [rear] off, because the guy next to you is doing the exact same thing. Our culture here is special. There’s no other team like it.”

As Tkachuk spoke on the ice, he was surrounded by friends, family and fans.

Back-to-back?

“It’s insane,” he said. “I can’t believe it. It’s the most special trophy in the world, and what we did to get to this moment, it’s so well deserved for the whole group. We deserve this. It was a grind, and I’m so happy. What we’ve done the last three years, not many teams have done. It’s very impressive.”