After a fantastic finals run and back-to-back championships, the Florida Panthers and their fans enjoyed sunshine and quality time together.
Do any of them remember the series game scores? It isn’t very likely. But, even between their busy partying schedule, the champions found time to troll the Edmonton Oilers by dancing to their unofficial 2025 playoff anthem, “Pink Pony Club.” Matthew Tkachuk took it further and happily chanted into the microphone “McDavid Who” at the world-famous Elleven nightclub in Miami.
Celebration mode
The 2025 Championship parade will take place on Sunday, June 22 at noon and go down State Road. All hotels in the area along the A1A route are sold out – some specifically offered rooms with balconies for thousands of dollars to watch the celebration activities.
If the Stanley Cup could talk, the stories would be incredibly wild—no need to travel back to memory lane. The Panthers dented the Cup in less than eight hours after winning it. But Lord Stanley will be in its best form by Sunday’s parade.
How it started
11:04 PM, June 17, Amerant Bank Arena – Aleksander Barkov, the Florida Panthers captain, accepted the Stanley Cup from the NHL Commissioner, Gary Bettman. On-ice and locker room festivities started.
1:35 AM, June 18, Amerant Bank Arena – Sasha Barkov brought the Cup back to the ice to celebrate with arena employees.
5:00 AM, Fort Lauderdale – Barkov made sure his neighbors had a chance to see the Cup by walking around the area and waking them up. Who wouldn’t want to live next to such a friendly neighbor?
8:00 AM, Elbo Room – Fans at the bar joined players and a damaged Cup for a morning party. Brad Marchand smoked cigars, danced, and chanted from the bar’s balcony “Eight more years!” in support of Sam Bennett’s free agency status.
The celebration lasted all day, with the Stanley Cup traveling to housewarming parties, back to the beach, and cruising around Fort Lauderdale in Matthew Tkachuk’s arms in a golf cart.
Thursday
Thursday was a “party like a rockstar” on repeat: fans, social media stories, happy players, drinks and bottles, more chants. It was time to spice things up. Brad Marchand, the 37-year-old veteran acquired by the Panthers during the NHL trade deadline in April, overloaded his Instagram with stories to show gratitude to his new teammates. He thanked players’ former clubs for letting them go. Without the Philadelphia Flyers and Columbus Blue Jackets’ help, Sergei Bobrovsky probably would never have tested free agency and ended up in Florida. The two-time Vezina Trophy winner and Stanley Cup champion will eventually head into the Hall of Fame. He has joined a legendary company with Martin Brodeur and Patrick Roy, with two Cups and two Vezinas.
After the all-players team dinner, the guys headed to one of Miami’s best nightclubs. At one point, the E11even DJ spun each player’s favorite song. Matthew Tkachuk, being himself, chose Chappell Roan’s “Pink Pony Club.” Alexander Barkov danced the night away with some Finnish tunes. He wore a Jarri Kurri jersey. Kurri, a Finnish legend, won five Stanley Cups and was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame. Marchand multitasked by solo dancing on stage in a cowboy’s hat, signing autographs, and taking selfies. Later, Barkov and Rodrigues volunteered to bartend and surprised spectators by mixing drinks. The champions and their crew partied hard untill around 5:00 AM.
Friday
On June 20, Sam Bennett, the most valuable player of the playoffs with 15 goals and 23 points, turned 29. Hours earlier, he made a powerful and unexpected announcement from the nightclub stage that he intends to stay in Florida. The Conn Smythe Trophy winner will become a free agent this summer. Negotiations are still ongoing. The Panthers’ head coach, Paul Maurice, said Bennett “will not leave the building” minutes after leading his team to the second Stanley Cup. After Game 6, Bennett credited Marchand’s leadership as one of their keys to the Stanley Cup-clinching success. The former Boston Bruins captain enjoys his time in Florida. He served Blizzards at a local Dairy Queen at 11:00 AM on Friday. Where does he get all of his energy after non-stop partying for three days? Only God, or rats, know.
Brad Marchand, Tomas Nosek, Seth Jones, and Jesper Boqvist will attend an exclusive autograph and photo event at the Mai-Kai restaurant on Saturday at 1:00 PM.
It’s a good time to be in Fort Lauderdale and join the Florida hockey party. It will be the first championship rally for Sam Reinhart, who missed last year’s parade due to previous engagements to attend a friend’s wedding. The Panthers forward scored the game-winning goal against the Edmonton Oilers in Game 7 of the 2024 Final and four goals in Game 6 of the 2025 Final.
The weather forecast for Sunday is intriguing – 73% humidity, 50% chance of rain, and champagne showers by the two-time Stanley Cup Champions.