Anthony Duclair Gambled on Himself, Now in Stanley Cup Final

In the summer of 2020, Anthony Duclair surprisingly became an unrestricted free agent.

Despite scoring a career-high 23 goals and representing Ottawa at the All-Star Game, the Senators decided against making him a qualifying offer allowing him to sign with any team in the league.

Not surprisingly, new Florida general manager Bill Zito was one of the first to give Duclair a call.

The two had a relationship from their brief time together in Columbus, Duclair showing signs of offensive brilliance despite often finding himself in the crosshairs of John Tortorella, eventually leading to deadline trade to Ottawa.

After a few weeks of talking to other teams — and having long, in-depth conversations with Zito about numerous things outside of hockey — Duclair decided to bet on himself while placing a wager on the Panthers.

Duclair signed a one-year, so-called ‘prove it’ deal with Florida worth $1.7 million

Yeah, it has paid off.

While the team is in Las Vegas right now, this ticket cashed long ago.