Turns out, lightning does strike twice in Florida — this time courtesy of the Panthers.
On Tuesday, June 18, the South Florida team clinched their second straight Stanley Cup title, beating the Edmonton Oilers 5-1 in Game 6 and securing their place as a full-blown NHL dynasty.
“It’s the most special feeling in the world,” star forward Matthew Tkachuk said after the win. “All the hard work, all the grind time, everything leads to this moment. It makes it all worth it.”
By Thursday night, the Panthers took their celebration to Miami, starting with a private dinner at Maple & Ash’s exclusive Studio space. Forty guests, including players like Aleksander Barkov, Sam Reinhart, Sam Bennett, Sergei Bobrovsky, and more, sat down to an over-the-top feast at the newly opened hotspot in Miami Worldcenter.
They kicked off the night with oysters, seafood towers, and bluefin tuna tartare before moving on to bone-in ribeyes, lobster spaghetti, and branzino. Dessert? Chocolate cake, coconut cream pie, and raspberry macarons. As for drinks, there were California cabs and plenty of champagne, including a bottle sabered into the Stanley Cup by playoff MVP Sam Bennett.
Even tennis legend Martina Navratilova, who happened to be dining nearby, was invited to join and took a celebratory sip from the Cup for the second year in a row, according to Miami New Times.
After four hours at dinner, the team ditched the bus and walked to E11EVEN, trophy in hand. Fans lined the streets to cheer them on. Once inside the club, the players jumped around on stage while Queen’s “We Are the Champions” played.
TMZ noted that Rick Ross even sent over a 15-liter bottle of Belaire, which the team passed around as the celebration hit full throttle.
By the next day, the hangovers weren’t the only thing that needed fixing.
The Associated Press reported that within 24 hours of the Panthers getting their hands on the trophy, the Stanley Cup was already dented and cracked. Not that it’s unusual — the outlet noted this kind of damage happens almost every year as the Cup gets passed around during the offseason.
The Hockey Hall of Fame’s official “Keepers of the Cup” are already prepping repairs, though by NHL standards, Florida handled it better than most. (Looking at you, 2022 Avalanche.)