Florida Panthers Receive Rings on Monday to Close Out Summer of Stanley
The Florida Panthers closed out their summer festivities with a Stanley Cup ring ceremony. They now look to begin their quest for another on Tuesday night against the Boston Bruins.
FORT LAUDERDALE — When the Florida Panthers were given their Stanley Cup championship rings on Monday night, they were given a stark reminder of what it took to make it that far.
Engraved on the inside of the ring was the road the Panthers took to win their first Stanley Cup in franchise history: Tampa Bay 4-1 (crossed off), Boston 4-1 (crossed off) New York 4-2 (crossed off), Edmonton 4-3 (crossed off).
Fittingly enough, Florida will begin its title defense on Tuesday night against that same Boston Bruins team that gave them one of their toughest battles during that postseason run.
“Last year, looking back at it, they were our toughest out probably,” Matthew Tkachuk said. “They are an incredible team, they play so hard, it was a really tight series physically and for us to go through it, it took a lot out of us.
“I guess it’s another way of reflecting on that it’s probably the best team we played last year, so i guess it is fitting that we’re playing them first. I’m sure it should be a good one tomorrow night.”
Monday night was one of the final chances the Panthers had to look back before they got the show on the road on Tuesday.
They were greeted at their private ceremony with a video looking back at the biggest moments of the Stanley Cup run before owner Vinnie Viola greeted each of the players with a heartfelt introduction before handing them their rings.
To Carter Verhaeghe: “You are a stone cold killer.”
To Niko Mikkola: “I terrorized Bill [Zito] about getting you when you were a St. Louis Blue, but it wound up being better for us that we got you as a free agent.”
To Eetu Luostarinen: “If Eetu Luostarinen didn’t get hurt, we beat the Vegas Golden Knights [in the 2023 Stanley Cup Final.] You can go to sleep on that.”
Heck, Viola even gave Gustav Forsling’s young son Bo a chance to speak on the mic and he shared a few powerful words.
But at the end of the day, it was one last moment of closure before the Panthers drop the banner on Tuesday and move on in search of another ring.
Does a night like that add fuel to the fire to embark on that quest?
“Absolutely,” Bennett said. “We had a blast this summer. We enjoyed it. It was probably the best summer of my life, so we would love to do that all over again. That’s our only mindset right now.”
READ MORE ABOUT THE RING CEREMONY IN MY ARTICLE FOR THE PALM BEACH POST: https://www.palmbeachpost.com/story/sports/nhl/2024/10/08/florida-panthers-stanley-cup-championship-rings/75517033007/
WATCH THE PLAYERS RECEIVE THEIR RINGS HERE: