Florida Panthers to Welcome Back Ryan Lomberg — A Fan Favorite

When Ryan Lomberg returns to Amerant Bank Arena, he may very well get the loudest ovation out of all of the returning 2024 Stanley Cup Champions.

Photo via FlaPanthers/Twitter

Ryan Lomberg may not have racked up the most goals, dished out the most assists or scored the most game-winners in the time with the Florida Panthers, but when he makes his return to Amerant Bank Arena, he may very well get the loudest ovation out of all of the players from the 2024 Stanley Cup team.

Lomberg earned that reputation through big hits, even bigger fights and a smile and attitude that lit up an entire room.

Over the course of his four-year stay with the Panthers, the 5-foot-9 forward racked up 535 hits and 327 penalty minutes, adding a cool 28 goals and 49 points in 246 games along the way.

What did not show up on the scoresheet did show up on the ice.

He was an energy guy. The energy guy.

His teammates saw him flying around the ice, dealing big hits to players twice his size and that pushed them to go out there and do the same the very next shift as the Panthers adapted to a hard, heavy forechecking style under coach Paul Maurice.

And he comes through with that energy in big moments.

Perhaps the most lasting memory of Lomberg was when he squared up with the 6-foot-2 Keegan Kolesar in the 2023 Stanley Cup Final rematch on Dec. 23, 2023.

Kolesar dished out the hit that broke Matthew Tkachuk’s sternum in Game 3 of the Cup Final and Lomberg wanted to get him back for it. And he did, with one punch and a hair flip that sent the crowd into a frenzy.

The Panthers won that game 4-2 and it ended up providing the energy they needed to recover from two of their worst losses of the season and go on a hot stretch that never seemed to end. Without that moment, Florida arguably does not win the Stanley Cup.

He always knew the right things to say at the right time.

“We live together forever after this one,” are words that are going to live on forever in Panthers lore.

That was what he said in the tunnel before the Panthers went out onto the ice for Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Final. And they, indeed, live together forever on the Stanley Cup after winning that game.

Lomberg was also big into helping the South Florida community and growing the sport down here. And in a way, he still is.

He could be seen anywhere from a Florida Atlantic club hockey game, the Amerigol international tournament the Panthers host, or just about any community initiative you can think of with that same smile and energy he brings to the rink.

He truly cared about this place, and he very much still does.

Lomberg made that abundantly clear when the Flames went to Tampa Bay to take on his old Panthers rivals.

“I like the palm trees and the sunshine,” he said. “But I fucking hate these guys.”

Lomberg is still a Panther at heart, and he is going to be treated like one when he takes the ice at Amerant Bank Arena on Saturday afternoon.