SUNRISE, Fla. — For the Florida Panthers, the only thing that could’ve topped last season’s Stanley Cup banner raising was doing it again.
The Panthers hoisted their 2025 championship banner to the rafters prior to their season opener against the Chicago Blackhawks at Amerant Bank Arena on Tuesday.
The Panthers also received their Stanley Cup championship rings at a ceremony at the War Memorial Auditorium in Fort Lauderdale on Monday.
“I liked the reminder of last year, a little bit of the fun [put] back in,” coach Paul Maurice said prior to the game. “Training camp’s not fun. Guys work too hard and it’s a grind on these guys. So, last night was a nice reminder for them of the payoff for all that hard work. It kind of lifts everyone’s spirits and gets them excited about tonight.”
The ceremony began with a video looking back at the 2024-25 season. Cheers rose for footage of the Panthers’ two biggest acquisitions prior to the NHL Trade Deadline: defenseman Seth Jones, whom they acquired from the Blackhawks in the deal for goalie Spencer Knight on March 1, and forward Brad Marchand, who came over from the Boston Bruins on March 7.
The crowd cheered again as the Panthers were shown lifting the Cup after their 5-1 win against the Edmonton Oilers in Game 6 of the Stanley Cup Final here June 17 that secured the second championship in their history.
As the remaining Panthers lined up at the boards along their bench, defenseman and alternate captain Aaron Ekblad brought the Stanley Cup onto the ice. That is usually done by the captain, but Aleksander Barkov is expected to be out 7-9 months after having surgery on the ACL and MCL in his right knee on Sept. 26.
Then the banner was raised to the rafters as most of the Panthers players gathered at the blue line with their arms around each other to watch its ascent.
To cap the ceremony, public address announcer Andrew Imber said, “As the Stanley Cup trophy exits the ice, a new hunt begins.”
To that, the crowd chanted, “We want three.”
