The Florida Panthers are heading back to the Stanley Cup Final.
That statement, on its own, should lead to an incredible amount of excitement and enthusiasm.
But these are not the Panthers of, well, three years ago.
Back in 2023, when the Panthers made their first of what has now become three consecutive trips to the annual championship series, it was beyond a big deal.
Entering that postseason, Florida had won exactly four playoff series in the team’s existence, three of which came during the team’s improbable run to the Final in their third season back in 1996.
In the 26 years bridging that postseason with the Panthers’ Presidents’ Trophy winning year in 2022, there was more than a little frustration in and around the franchise.
That’s why it was completely acceptable and warranted when the team had an epic celebration following their win in Game 4 of the conference final back in 2023.
Between the buildup during that postseason – advancing as an eight seed – and the overall lack of success on a franchise-level until that point, it was quite understandable why the festivities following that victory were as exuberant as they were.
Last season, when the Panthers defeated the New York Rangers in six games to advance to their second straight Cup Final, the celebrations were a bit more tempered.
That’s why when the Cats knocked out the Carolina Hurricanes on Wednesday night in Raleigh to move on to the Stanley Cup Final for a third straight season, there wasn’t much of a celebration at all. Well, at least not what some would think is acceptable for winning a conference title.
“It's not easy to do, to be three times in a row in the Stanley Cup Final,” said Panthers goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky. “It's a big achievement for us, but again, the biggest step is ahead of us, and we're all excited about it.”
Were the Panthers clearly happy they had earned their third straight Price of Wales Trophy?
Of course. It’s an amazing achievement, one that some players will go an entire career without realizing.
“I didn't even think about it. I just reacted how I reacted,” said Panthers forward Matthew Tkachuk. “I think it was different than a few years ago. I remember a few years ago, like it felt like such an accomplishment from where we were at one point. I know we talked about it last year, it's part of the journey, and same way with this year. It’s all business, and we've got a bigger goal in mind.”
Nobody on the roster is throwing any shade or disrespect to what they have accomplished to this point. It’s incredibly difficult and few teams even have the chance to fight for it.
But this team is seasoned. Battle tested. They’ve been around the block and understand that they have one main goal in mind.
“I think going into this year, we knew what the goal was,” said Panthers forward Evan Rodrigues. “It's an accomplishment, winning the conference, but I think we all knew from day one what the goal was, and that's to win a Stanley Cup. We’ve got four more to go, and I think that's more of the mentality that that every guy in this room has.”
Interestingly, the ‘bigger goal’ mentality is one shared universally throughout the locker room.
That includes the new guys, the players who were not part of last season’s Stanley Cup championship but still have an astute understanding of the situation they now find themselves in, and the expectation that comes with it from one man to the next.
“We’re obviously very focused,” said Panthers forward Brad Marchand. “You could just see the guys have been here before, we're excited that we got through the round, but that's where it stops. The toughest team that we're going to face is coming up next. If you don't do the job there again, you didn't win anything. So yeah, we're excited, but it's just like any other round. There's a huge job to do moving forward, and we have to prepare for that now.”
It's yet to be determined who and where the Panthers will be facing and traveling to when they open the Stanley Cup Final sometime next week.
They may be entering the first Final rematch we’ve seen since 2009, which was the last time the same opponents faced off in consecutive Cup Finals (back then it was Detroit and Pittsburgh, who split the two series).
As it stands, the Edmonton Oilers hold a 3-1 series lead over the Dallas Stars.
Whether or not we see a Panthers-Oilers second act remains to be seen, but from a Florida perspective, nobody seems to be worried about a potential opponent.
If the Panthers continue to play their style of hockey at the level they’ve set over the past several postseasons, the team is fully confident that things will work out in their favor.
At the moment, the Cats are taking in their latest achievement while simultaneously preparing for the final battles to come.
“We appreciate and we value where we are right now,” said Bobrovsky. “But we know that the most important step is ahead of us.”
It will be fun to see how things play out. Stay tuned!
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Photo caption: May 28, 2025; Raleigh, North Carolina, USA; Florida Panthers celebrate the win against the Carolina Hurricanes after game five of the Eastern Conference Final of the 2025 Stanley Cup Playoffs at Lenovo Center. Mandatory Credit: James Guillory-Imagn Images
