Florida Panthers goalie Sergei Bobrovsky carries the Stanley Cup in the rain down A1A during the Panthers’ championship celebration in Fort Lauderdale, Sunday, June 30, 2024. (Joe Cavaretta/South Florida Sun Sentinel)
FORT LAUDERDALE — The Tampa Bay Lightning couldn’t stop the Florida Panthers on their way to their first Stanley Cup, and the team certainly didn’t let a little lightning strike stop them from celebrating.
The Panthers parade moved down A1A in Fort Lauderdale Beach on Sunday, with players drinking with celebrating fans, drinking out of shoes and enjoying the conclusion of a week of festivities that energized and entertained South Floridians.
“I heard it’s 21 degrees and sunny in Edmonton,” said Panthers star Matthew Tkachuk. “But they don’t have a Cup.”
The fans were ready. Owner Vincent Viola, who bought the team in 2013, asked fans a simple question: “How crazy do you want to get?”
The fans responded with loud roars and Viola cheered on a shirtless Ryan Lomberg, who celebrated with the trophy and championship belt.
Sam Reinhart, whose future with the Panthers is uncertain now that he is an unrestricted free agent, did not appear at the parade. He posted a video message on the Panthers’ X account (formerly Twitter) saying he was celebrating his best friend’s wedding. But there were plenty of teammates who continued the celebration without him.
Panthers television commentator Steve Goldstein hosted the event and invited Viola, team president Matthew Caldwell, general manager Bill Zito, former Panthers goalie Roberto Luongo and Broward County Administrator Monica Cepero, who declared Sunday Florida Panthers Day.
“We have waited thirty years,” said Luongo, “who cares about the rain?”
Coach Paul Maurice, who was previously the NHL coach with the most games played but never won a title, took the stage wearing a shirt with the faces of his cats over the Panthers’ logo. He said he told his daughter – who Maurice said was hit by a beer can during the parade – he would wear the shirt if they won the Stanley Cup.
Maurice’s speech was often vulgar, beginning with “30 damn years!” But the audience embraced it, and it set the tone for the players who followed him on stage.
“I never thought in my wildest dreams I would see this,” Maurice said. “Understand this: Everyone we love in this world is pretty damn happy right now.”
Defenseman Aaron Ekblad was first among the players. Despite transfer rumors, the crowd showered him with love. Ekblad celebrated the moment with a traffic cone on his head and mentioned a celebrity feud he had with golfer and well-known Panthers fan Brooks Koepka.
“From the bottom of my heart: thank you, thank you,” said Ekblad.
Tkachuk, whose legendary swim in the Atlantic Ocean kicked off Tuesday’s celebrations, thanked fans and management for bringing him to the team through a trade in 2022.
“You fans have made this the best time of my damn life,” Tkachuk said.
Captain Aleksander Barkov, who has played more games for the Panthers than any other player in franchise history, delivered a G-rated speech, ending it by leading the crowd in a “Bob-by” chant for goalie Sergei Bobrovsky.
“When I was drafted here 10 years ago, in 2013, I never thought this day would come,” said Barkov. “Here I am with our teammates. With the team, all of us, the management, everyone who can stand here together in front of you on a rainy day during hurricane season and celebrate winning the Cup!”
Bobrovsky has become a South Florida sports legend over the last two playoff runs. The Russian goalie was benched for backup Alex Lyon at the start of the 2023 postseason, and his seven-year, $70 million contract looks like a bargain when he held the Stanley Cup in his hands.
“On July 1, 2019, I just signed a contract with the Florida Panthers,” Bobrovsky said. “At my first interview, they asked me why I came to Florida. My answer was, ‘Because I want to win the Cup and I want to win it here.’
“And now we are here.”
