Latest news with #StanleyCup-clinching
USA Today
02-07-2025
- Sport
- USA Today
NHL free agency winners and losers: Florida Panthers run it back
Something doesn't seem quite right when the day before free agency is more exciting than the actual opening of free agency. That's because NHL general managers did their best to remove some of the bigger names in the market on June 30. Mitch Marner, Brad Marchand, Aaron Ekblad, Patrick Kane and Ivan Provorov were all gone on Monday. There still was some action on Tuesday. Brock Boeser, who had seemed all but gone, re-signed with the Vancouver Canucks. Mikael Granlund joined the Anaheim Ducks. Vladislav Gavrikov went to the New York Rangers, and the Rangers traded K'Andre Miller to the Carolina Hurricanes. Here are the winners and losers from the last two days of NHL free agency: WINNERS Florida Panthers It seemed unlikely that Panthers general manager Bill Zito would be able to bring back his big three free agents of Sam Bennett, Aaron Ekblad and Brad Marchand but he got it done. "This is 100 percent those guys wanting to be part of something they created," Zito said. He then got Tomas Nosek re-signed, meaning all 12 forwards who skated in the Panthers' Stanley Cup-clinching win are under contract. The only main player who left is defenseman Nate Schmidt, but Zito signed Jeff Petry as a replacement. Vegas Golden Knights They're adding prolific scorer Mitch Marner to a roster that already has lots of offense in Jack Eichel, Mark Stone, Tomas Hertl and Pavel Dorofeyev. The question is whether Marner can produce in the postseason, but that's pretty far away. New York Rangers The Rangers have been sloppy defensively, so it was good to add Gavrikov, the top defensive defenseman in the free agent class. They had to part with Miller to make the money work, but they received a prospect and two draft picks in the deal. General manager Chris Drury also got restricted free agent forward Will Cuylle re-signed for two years. He had been considered a potential target for an offer sheet. LOSERS Los Angeles Kings Losing Gavrikov was tough. They also traded young defenseman Jordan Spence. Cody Ceci and Brian Dumoulin don't seem like adequate replacements. Teams seeking goaltending help Jake Allen was the top free agent goalie and he signed a five-year, $9 million contract to return to the New Jersey Devils. Goaltenders Vitek Vanecek (Utah), Dan Vladar (Philadelphia), David Rittich (Islanders), Anton Forsberg (Los Angeles), Matt Murray (Seattle) and Alex Nedeljkovic (San Jose) did move. Ilya Samsonov, James Reimer and Alexandar Georgiev are among the goalies still available. Dallas Stars Mikael Granlund was a good fit for the Stars after he arrived before the 2025 trade deadline, but they didn't have the cap space to re-sign him. They did sign Radek Faksa, a former Star, but he's more of a depth player.
Miami Herald
01-07-2025
- Sport
- Miami Herald
Panthers re-signing Nosek as they continue to bring back Cup championship roster
The Florida Panthers already signed their top three pending free agents in Sam Bennett, Aaron Ekblad and Brad Marchand. Why stop there? The Panthers are also re-signing fourth-line forward Tomas Nosek to a one-year deal, with reports Tuesday morning saying the deal is for the league minimum $775,000. Once the deal is official, the Panthers will have all 12 forwards from their Stanley Cup-clinching Game 6 against the Edmonton Oilers — plus reserves Jesper Boqvist and Mackie Samoskevich — under contract, plus five of their six defensemen from that game and starting goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky. For now, at least. The deals to bring back Bennett, Ekblad, Marchand and Nosek have the Panthers about $1 million over the salary cap before factoring in salaries for restricted free agents Samoskevich and goaltender Daniil Tarasov. Florida is able to be up to 10 percent above the $95.5 million cap during the offseason but need to be cap compliant by the start of the season. They can get there either by trading away players currently on the roster or by utilizing long-term injured reserve once the season begins. That's for another time. With Nosek, the Panthers bring back a steady fourth-line center who was instrumental on the team's penalty kill. Nosek only played in 59 regular season games for Florida last season, missing time early due to injury and then being a healthy scratch at points down the stretch after Florida acquired Marchand and Nico Sturm at the trade deadline. But he was pivotal during Florida's playoff run, with coach Paul Maurice crediting Nosek's line with A.J. Greer and Jonah Gadjovich on the wings as being the spark the team needed to win Game 3 of the second round against the Toronto Maple Leafs after the team dropped the first two games of that series. This story will be updated.
Yahoo
23-06-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Panthers crush Oilers in Game 6 to capture second consecutive Stanley Cup
Matthew Tkachuk, one of the faces of the Florida franchise, hoists the Stanley Cup in celebrations after the Panthers' Game 6 championship-clinching win over the Oilers (inset) on June 17, 2025. SUNRISE, Fla. — Stanley's stay in South Florida is getting extended. The Florida Panthers repeated as Stanley Cup champions by beating the Edmonton Oilers 5-1 in Game 6 of the final on Tuesday night, becoming the NHL's first back-to-back winners since Tampa Bay in 2020 and '21 and the third team to do it this century. Advertisement Sam Reinhart scored four goals, becoming just the sixth player in league history and first since Maurice Richard in 1957 to get that many in a game in the final. His third to complete the hat trick sent rats, along with hats, flying onto the ice. Matthew Tkachuk, one of the faces of the franchise, fittingly scored the Cup clincher. More rats were part of the victory celebration when the clock hit zeroes. Panthers players mobbed in the corner, while the Oilers watched in dismay. 'Good evening, South Florida,' Commissioner Gary Bettman said before presenting the trophy to captain Aleksander Barkov. 'It feels like we just did this.' Advertisement Sergei Bobrovsky stopped 28 of the 29 shots he faced, closing the door on a rematch with the same end result. The only goal came from fellow Russian Vasily Podkolzin in garbage time, long after the outcome was decided. Matthew Tkachuk, one of the faces of the Florida franchise, hoists the Stanley Cup in celebrations after the Panthers' Game 6 championship-clinching win over the Oilers on June 17, 2025. IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect That was followed by chants of 'We want the Cup!' as time ticked down. The Panthers already had it. Now they get to keep it. 'This is as good as the first one,' Reinhart said. 'We learned some lessons. We stayed on the gas, foot on the pedal, and obviously the result speaks for itself.' Not long after the Lightning made three trips to the final in a row, Florida has done the same and now has the makings of a modern-day dynasty. Advertisement The Panthers have won 11 of 12 playoff series since Tkachuk arrived by trade and Paul Maurice took over as coach in the summer of 2022. Sam Reinhart (13) celebrates his goal as Oilers goaltender Stuart Skinner looks on during the Panthers' Stanley Cup-clinching Game 6 victory. Jim Rassol-Imagn Images 'We've got to be a dynasty now,' Tkachuk said. 'Three years in a row finals, two championships. This is a special group.' The only time they have been on the wrong side of a handshake line was the final in Vegas in 2023, only after several key players were dealing with banged up and gutting through significant injuries. From the core of Tkachuk, Reinhart, Barkov and Sam Bennett on down the roster, they were much healthier this time around and were boosted by key trade deadline additions Brad Marchand and Seth Jones. Advertisement Bennett led all goal-scorers this postseason with 15, and Marchand had six in the final alone. The Panthers players hold up the Stanley Cup after their championship-clinching win over the Oilers in Game 6. AP Bennett won the Conn Smythe Trophy as playoff MVP. Barkov handed the Cup to first-time champion Nate Schmidt, and all the others winning it for the first time got it soon after. 'It's amazing to be able to be here,' Schmidt said. 'I don't know whether to laugh or cry.' Getting depth contributions from throughout the lineup allowed them to overpower Connor McDavid, Leon Draisaitl and the Oilers, who struggled with Florida's ferocious forecheck and switched goaltenders multiple times in the final. Stuart Skinner got the nod in Game 6 and was again done in by mistakes in front of him that ended with the puck in the net behind him and had his own blunder on Reinhart's second goal. Advertisement McDavid tried to take over but was again stymied by Barkov, Jones and Bobrovsky. He finished with seven points in his second career trip to the final, again denied his first title. Sam Reinhart (13) celebrates his goal during the second period of the Panthers' 5-1 Stanley Cup-clinching win over the Oilers in Game 6. AP 'We lost to a really good team,' McDavid said. 'Nobody quit, nobody threw the towel in, but they're a heck of a team. They're back-to-back Stanley Cup champions for a reason.' Canada's Stanley Cup drought reached 31 seasons and 32 years dating to Montreal in 1993. Teams in the U.S. Sun Belt have won it five of the past six times, four of them in Florida. This run through Tampa Bay in five, Toronto in seven, Carolina in five and Edmonton in six showed how clinical the Panthers have become under Maurice, who has coached more NHL games than everyone except Scotty Bowman and is now a two-time champion. Advertisement So is Marchand, who last hoisted the Cup in 2011 with the Boston Bruins. The 14-year gap is the third-longest in league history, just shy of 16 for Chris Chelios from 1986 to 2002 and 15 for Mark Recchi from '91 to '06. 'It's incredible,' Marchand said. 'It's a feeling you can't really describe. Seeing the family and everyone up there and everyone that supported me and helped me get to this point, words can't put this into reality how great it feels. Such an incredible group.'
USA Today
20-06-2025
- Sport
- USA Today
Mic'd up Panthers coach shares NSFW message before final Stanley Cup shift
A post shared by NHL (@nhl) Fourth liners in the NHL don't get a ton of love. Despite being incredibly talented players in their own right, the guys at the end of the bench are typically forced into playing a much grittier game than their teammates. While the top two lines are focused on scoring — and the third line is typically comprised of a team's best defenders — fourth liners are out there to cause chaos, give the top guys a breather and find ways to change the momentum. Panthers Damage Stanley Cup: Trophy to undergo repairs before Panthers parade It's an incredibly tough, rarely rewarding job. Unless you play for Florida Panthers head coach Paul Maurice. As the clock was ticking down in the Panthers' Stanley Cup-clinching Game 6 blowout, Maurice gathered his fourth line and told them to hit the ice with perfectly profane pump-up speech. Warning: NSFW Language Paul Maurice wanted his last line to be the first to be the first to celebrate winning a championship. That's some excellent leadership there — and a perfect incentive for any fourth liner out there to gleefully take on one of hockey's toughest jobs.
Miami Herald
12-05-2025
- Sport
- Miami Herald
A clutch Panthers performance in the playoffs? Carter Verhaeghe strikes again
The Florida Panthers last October didn't agree to pay Carter Verhaeghe $56 million over the course of seven seasons to lead the NHL in regular season goals. They gave Verhaeghe the bag for nights like Sunday — and have to feel great about the decision, no matter how the previous six months went. In Florida's 2-0 Game 4 win over the Toronto Maple Leafs, the Panthers' 29-year-old forward gave his team a first-period lead it wouldn't relinquish and again solidified his place as one of the franchise's most clutch players. Verhaeghe now has 30 playoff goals in the last five years — just one of five active players with that many since the 2021 postseason. The others? Some of the biggest names in the game: Leon Draisaitl, Nathan MacKinnon, Zach Hyman and Connor McDavid. Eleven of those 30 goals, including his strike on Sunday, have been game-winners. That's tied with Alexander Ovechkin, Corey Perry and Patrick Kane for the fifth-most among active skaters. He trails only teammate Brad Marchand (14), Ondrej Palat (13), Evegnii Malkin (13) and Chris Kreider (12). 'Through nine games, Carter has been our most consistent forward,' Panthers coach Paul Maurice said late Sunday after his Cats tied up their Eastern Conference Semifinals series at 2-2. 'Playoff hockey's hockey. He understands that. ... It's played at an incredibly high pace. It's very physical. 'That's when he plays at his best,' Maurice added. 'Everything kind of falls in line. All of his reads are right. All of his physicality is right. He plays a very hard, very fast game, and he needs the game sometimes to be hard and fast in order to excel. He's been the most consistent player through nine up front.' That's high praise, considering the talent the Panthers have at forward. But it's also hard to argue. No Panthers player seems to rise to the moment better than Verhaeghe, who had one of the Panthers' two Game 7 goals in their Stanley Cup-clinching win against the Edmonton Oilers 11 months ago. Verhaeghe in the weeks that followed visited his hometown of Waterdown in Ontario with the Cup in tow. It was the second time Verhaeghe returned to the Hamilton, Canada, suburb as a champion. He wants a third victory tour this offseason, and given his latest postseason renaissance, it would be foolish to bet against him getting it. Verhaeghe wasn't bad during the 2024-2025 regular season. He just didn't score with the proficiency many expected after signing a lucrative extension. He had just 20 goals despite playing in all but one game. But something inside of him flips when the playoffs begin. His eight points this postseason are tied with seven teammates for the franchise lead. Verhaeghe has benefited from a lineup change. After spending time with Aleksander Barkov and Sam Reinhart on the Panthers' top line, he's really found his groove playing with Sam Bennett and Matthew Tkachuk on the second. Maurice said that Tkachuk's improved fitness and elevated play in recent days has helped Verhaeghe get back on track. Verhaeghe's hustle play in overtime in Game 3 kept alive a possession that resulted in Brad Marchand burying Friday night's game-winner. Now they're all on their way back to Toronto, and a seven-game series has become a three-game series. 'I think the playoffs should bring out the best in everyone,' Verhaeghe said. 'I think it's so competitive and so everything about it is just more competitive and, yeah, it's a lot of fun playing in it.'
