Florida Panthers
Ryan Lomberg Excited to Be Welcomed Home by Florida Panthers
ghSUNRISE — Ryan Lomberg was back at Amerant Bank Arena on Friday afternoon, gearing up for today’s game between the Calgary Flames and Florida Panthers.
One of the first thing he wanted to see in the building he called home for the previous four seasons was the 2024 Stanley Cup championship banner hanging high above center ice.
Lomberg was a part of most of the banners draped from the rafters.
“It’s kind of full circle,” Lomberg said. “First time seeing the banner, and I didn’t think there would be so many of them but there’s quite a bit up there now. It’s cool to be back. Loving my time in Calgary so far, but exciting and looking forward to seeing everyone. Nothing but life-changing memories I will have forever.”
Lomberg, of course, may be one of the most popular players to ever put on a Florida sweater.
Fans, as Bill Zito accurately predicted when he signed the relative unknown in 2020, became a fan favorite for his all-out effort on a nightly basis.
Lomberg would fight anyone at anytime, and his attitude was infectious.
He was, basically, a big kid both on the ice and off of it.
When the Panthers won the Stanley Cup, Lomberg was front-and-center in many of the celebrations — he even crowd surfed at the beachfront celebration.
A day after Lomberg partied in Fort Lauderdale, he was gone, signing a two-year contract with the Flames worth $4 million.
For a player who had never made more than $800,000 in a single season, the money offered by the Flames — the organization that originally gave him his shot — was too much to pass up.
When the Flames welcomed the Panthers to Calgary in December, Lomberg got his well-earned Stanley Cup championship ring in a raucous dinner with his friends and now former teammates.
Today, the Panthers will welcome the Lomberghini back to town.
As has been the case with all of the departed Stanley Cup champions, Lomberg will get the ‘Thank You’ tribute video presentation during a break in the first period.
He is looking forward to it.
As are his Calgary teammates.
“He is probably feeling some nostalgia, he won here, so he is feeling a lot of different ways,” said MacKenzie Weegar, who played with Lomberg in Florida for two seasons before being traded with Jonathan Huberdeau to Calgary in the Matthew Tkachuk blockbuster in 2022.
“Good for him. He is going to embrace it all. That’s the kind of guy he is; he is going to ride that wave and enjoy it with the fans and his ex-teammates. I am excited for him, and to see the tribute that he gets. He deserves it all.’’
Last week, Brandon Montour made his first return to Sunrise and said he hoped to “hear a few cheers” when he was formally introduced to the crowd.
Montour knew he would get a warm welcome back.
So, too, does Lomberg.
And he cannot wait to return the love.
“From a game perspective, [Florida] is about as good as any team in the league,’’ Lomberg said. “We have to bring our A-game to just have a chance. … On the other side of it, I am excited to be back around the fans, to interact with them a little bit. Just making sure they know how much I miss them.”
ON DECK: GAME No. 61
CALGARY FLAMES at FLORIDA PANTHERS
- When: Saturday, 3 p.m.
- Where: Amerant Bank Arena, Sunrise
- Local TV: Scripps Sports — WSFL 39 (Miami/FtL); WHDT 9 (WPB); LAFF 36.3 (SWFla)
- Streaming: Panthers+, ESPN+
- Radio: WPOW 96.5-FM2; WBZT 1230-AM (Palm Beach); WCTH 100.3-FM (Florida Keys); SiriusXM
- Panthers Radio Streaming: SiriusXM 932, NHL App
- Last Season: Even 1-1
- This Season (Flames Lead 1-0) — At Calgary: Flames 3, Panthers 0 (Dec. 14). At Florida: Saturday.
- All-Time Regular Season Series: Calgary leads 26-12-3, 3 ties
- Up Next for the Panthers: Monday vs. Tampa Bay Lightning, 7 p.m.
