The Florida Panthers lifted the Stanley Cup for the second straight year on Tuesday night after taking down the Edmonton Oilers in six games in the Stanley Cup Final.
Given the Panthers were reigning champions, much of the roster has already had the experience of partying with the Stanley Cup, and Tuesday night into Wednesday morning, it was clear that they had gotten pretty good at it.
One sweet moment occurred right when the Cup was awarded. Rather than have the team’s captains or veteran leaders be the first to take a lap holding the Cup and celebrating with the crowd, they let players who had not been on the team in 2024, and thus not yet lifted the Cup, lead the charge.
Captain Aleksander Barkov added to the list of sweet celebrations later on that evening, taking the Cup back out onto the ice of a mostly empty Amerant Bank Arena so that the stadium support staff could have their own cheer with the trophy.
After leaving the arena, Barkov took the Cup over to his neighbor’s house in the wee hours of the morning, a move that resulted in some absolutely delightful home camera footage.
Given he has a year of experience, it should come as no surprise that Barkov knows how to party with the Cup.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Panthers Captain Brought Stanley Cup Back Out on Ice to Celebrate With Stadium Staff.
