With the Stanley Cup, Panthers Showed How Close Team Really Is

SUNRISE — The Florida Panthers showed how close a team they really are not long after beating the Oilers to win the Stanley Cup for the second straight year on Tuesday night.

There are plenty of traditions and unwritten protocols in hockey, especially in the Stanley Cup playoffs. Playoff beards, the handshake line, and playing injured are all part of the rich culture of hockey.

One of the best traditions is the protocol for passing the Cup around once it is accepted by the team captain from the commissioner.

The team captain takes the obligatory skate around the ice to display the prize to the fans.

Then the unwritten script begins: The first handoff usually does not go to a superstar but to a veteran who has toiled many years before earning the Cup.

First off, Barkov did not take his victory lap — at least not at first.

As soon as he took the Cup from Commissioner Gary Bettman, Barkov skated it into the group of his teammates so they could touch the Cup before all of the postgame festivities would start.

Last year, Barkov handed the Cup off first to Sergei Bobrovsky — who qualified both as veteran and a team star.

The Panthers added as new twist this year:  All season long, Paul Maurice and the returning players said they wanted to win the Cup again “for the new guys” who contributed so much.

Word is, after Barkov received the prize from Bettman, he and Matthew Tkachuk orchestrated what was to happen next.

Every first-year Panther, including some who didn’t play in the playoffs, got to hoist the Cup before it went to the repeat winners.

Although many assumed Brad Marchand would get the Cup from Barkov first — perhaps Tkachuk, who returned from injury, or Conn Smythe winner Sam Bennett — it was 33-year-old Nate Schmidt who took the Cup from the Florida captain.

Schmidt called the experience “amazing.”

“I had no idea that it was going to be me,’’ Schmidt said. “He looked me and he said, ‘Hey, the guys that haven’t done it before, we’re going to take a back seat to you guys.’

“It means a lot. All the guys that weren’t here last year are the first guys that touch the Cup. There’s a lot of guys that play a ton of minutes, are huge contributors to this group, and they bypassed them and said, ‘We had it last year. We’ll never not cherish this moment.’ It was amazing. This is awesome.’’

Schmidt dutifully handed the trophy to Seth Jones who, in his 14 NHL seasons, never came remotely close to a Cup win.

“I saw Borque lift it with the Avalanche back in ’01 as a kid,’’ Jones said. “That’s what you dream about, almost 25 years later. You lift that thing. It feels like it’s two pounds. I’m so happy to have it. No one can take that away from you.”

He was delighted that his parents were able to be a witness to the celebration.

From Jones it went to Tomas Nosek who quietly provided fourth line depth and expert penalty killing all year. The Panthers are Nosek’s fifth team in ten seasons.

The closest he came was as a teammate of Schmidt with the expansion Golden Knights.

He appreciated the opportunity with the Panthers.

“It was great. It was good recognition by those guys. Unselfish, special group,’’ Nosek said. “From Day 1, they took me in. Made me feel part of the group right away. It’s a great feeling.”

After Nosek the parade of handoffs continued, not necessarily to old veterans but to Panthers who were not with the team last year.

After Nosek, the Cup went to Vitek Vanecek, a late season acquisition. Then to A.J. Greer, not exactly an older veteran but a guy who paid his dues.

Greer was holding his young son while the post-game hoopla continued on the ice.

“They said that the guys who didn’t win yet had to go,’’ Greer said. “I thought that was pretty cool and that just shows you the culture here. The character. The type of people here.

“We don’t have numbers on the side of our jerseys. We have a patch. ‘We’re Florida.’ Everyone wears their buckets in warmups. Everyone partakes in going to Joe DiMaggio (Children’s Hospital) and helping sick kids out. Everyone buys into this Florida Panther culture. Something I’ve never seen before.”

Next it was Jesper Boqvist, who Maurice loved for his versatility.

On to Mackie Samoskevich, Uvis Balinskis, Jacob Megna, and Evan Cormier.

Evan Cormier? You say you never heard of him?

He plays for the Savannah Ghost Pirates of the ECHL. He was Florida’s No. 3 goalie and a valuable asset in playoff practices.

Cormier, who has never appeared in an NHL game, probably described the Panthers’ culture best.

“Unbelievable! I wasn’t expecting to get it that early,’’ Cormier said. “I wanted to wait to be the last guy, but they have such great leadership in this group, and it just speaks volumes of who they are as people off the ice.”

Cormier handed off to Bobrovsky and then the regulars took their turn hoisting the trophy.

Maurice got the Stanley Cup from Spencer Knight, who was Florida’s No. 3 goalie last year.

On Tuesday, owner Vinnie Viola handed it to him.

“It’s actually not the Stanley Cups,’’ Maurice said when asked what makes this team special. “Watching these guys interact with each other, that’s been the gift (of) this place. That’s been the best thing for me. When you’re burnt out, you are exhausted, cynical and you believe you’re not effective.

“It was somewhat life-altering this year to watch the way they treat each other.”

2025 STANLEY CUP CHAMPIONS

FLORIDA PANTHERS

UP NEXT

• 2025 Stanley Cup Championship Parade/Rally: Sunday, Fort Lauderdale Beach; Time TBA
• 2025 NHL Draft: June 27-28, Los Angeles (Panthers have six picks in Rounds 4-7)
• Start of NHL Free Agency: July 1
• Panthers Development Camp, Fort Lauderdale IcePlex: Early July
• Panthers Rookie Camp, Fort Lauderdale IcePlex: Early September
• Prospect Showcase hosted by Tampa Bay Lightning: Early September
• Training Camp: Mid-September
• Exhibition Games: Late September
• Opening Night: Oct 7-9 (opponent, time, date TBA)