Patric Hornqvist Reunited with the Stanley Cup — From the Front Office

On the day the Florida Panthers acquired Patric Hornqvist in a trade with the Pittsburgh Penguins back in 2020, many figured his chance to get his name back on the Stanley Cup were done.

Although both the Panthers and Penguins had both been bounced from the Covid-Bubble playoff qualification round, Pittsburgh was still considered a true Stanley Cup contender.

Florida, well, was not.

The Hornqvist trade, one in which he finally consented to waiving his no-movement clause to complete, was the first move made by newly-hired general manager Bill Zito.

There would be plenty more moves to come — the grand majority working out in Florida’s favor.

Florida quickly became a playoff contender, making the playoffs in 2021 before moving a step further in the years to follow.

Hornqvist was a big part of the Panthers’ ascent to becoming Stanley Cup champions.

Sunday, he was reacquiainted with the Cup he won twice as a player with the Penguins.

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Florida made it to the Stanley Cup in consecutive years, but Hornqvist was not on the ice for either series.

Hornqvist suffered two concussions within the span of a month during the 2022-23 season, forcing his retirement not long after the Panthers lost to the Vegas Golden Knights in the Stanley Cup Final.

But Zito wanted to keep Hornqvist in the fold — and he wanted to remain with the Panthers.

“This team is for real now and that’s why I decided to work for them too,” Hornqvist said when the team honored him at a game last season.

“They really have something good going. Bill turned it around and you can really see it on the ice and every layer of the franchise is really rolling right now.”

Patric Hornqvist: Builder of Florida Panthers Culture

Hornqvist won the Stanley Cup twice with the Penguins — including getting the game-winning goal in Game 6 to clinch the second.

Now a scouting and development director with the Panthers, Hornqvist got his name on the Stanley Cup for a third time when the Panthers won it by beating the Oilers 2-1 in Game 7 on June 24.

Not bad for being the final pick — No. 230th overall — of the 2005 draft by the Predators.

On Sunday, Hornqvist had his day with the Stanley Cup at his home in Sweden.

Winning it as a team executive and not as a player was certainly different — Hornqvist was part of the team’s on-ice celebration after Game 7 — but sounds like something he could get used to.

“You can’t compare,’’ Hornqvist told NHL.com in his usual no-nonsense way.

“There is a big difference between being on the ice and being in the management suite. On the ice, you can control what happens. … I scored the game winning goal in one of the finals with Pittsburgh and you can’t compare that to what it’s like to win from the stands.

“But still, both as a player and as a leader, the Stanley Cup is the finest prize you can win in hockey. To win it as part of the management … well, the big thing for me was to see the joy on the ice when the players got to lift the cup.’’

Pittsburgh traded Hornqvist to Florida for Mike Matheson and Colton Sceviour in an attempt to get younger.

Zito wanted the kind of fire a player like Hornqvist could bring to a Florida team which surely seemed to lack any.

“It was so hard to play against him,” said Sergei Bobrovsky, who lost many a battle to Hornqvist during his days in Columbus.

“I was so happy when he got to our side.”

Patric Hornqvist ‘blindsided’ by trade: Panthers wanted me, Penguins did not

The Penguins again helped the Panthers, this time in the final week of the 2022-23 when they unexpectedly lost at home to the last-place Blackhawks (who were on the second night of a back-to-back), allowing Florida to clinch the eighth and final spot in the playoffs.

Although not on the ice, Hornqvist remained a key part of the team.

When he felt better, he was back on the ice for practices and workouts with other injured players.

Anthony Duclair credited the hard pace Hornqvist pushed for his return to the team a few weeks faster than expected.

Hornqvist spent time with the Panthers during training camp and the preseason — he even suited up to work with the team during a morning skate — and knows this team about as well as anyone.

Was he worried in Game 7?

“Going into the seventh and deciding game, I thought ‘Florida is going to lose four straight games? No, it’s not going to happen,” Hornqvist told NHL.com on Sunday.

“And for Edmonton to win four straight games in a playoff against the same team? No, that’s not going to happen either. It was very much about manipulating the brain there.

“But that’s the Florida Panthers style. We make it difficult for ourselves. There shouldn’t be an easy way to success.”

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UP NEXT FOR THE FLORIDA PANTHERS

• NHL Free Agency: Opened July 1
• Nashville Predators Rookie Showcase: Sept. 13-16
• Florida Panthers Training Camp, Fort Lauderdale: Possible start Sept. 17-19
• Florida Panthers Preseason: Sept. 22-Oct. 5
• Florida Panthers Opening Night/Banner Unveiling: Oct. 8 vs. Bruins