Former Anaheim Ducks Brandon Montour, Dmitry Kulikov, Josh Mahura and Anthony Stolarz are now Stanley Cup champions.
The 2023-24 NHL season is officially in the books. The Florida Panthers are Stanley Cup Champions after holding off a furious charge from the Edmonton Oilers, who erased a 3-0 series deficit.
Among the Panthers players who will have their names carved into Lord Stanley are four former Anaheim Ducks: Brandon Montour, Dmitry Kulikov, Josh Mahura and Anthony Stolarz. All of these players in one way or another contributed to the Panthers’ Cup run.
Montour—along with fellow right-handed defenseman Aaron Ekblad—missed the first month of the season due to injury. While he didn’t quite reach the same heights offensively as his career year from last season (33 points), he still chipped in 14 points and had terrific underlying numbers across the board. He combined with Niko Mikkola to form a dynamic second pair.
Mahura played in all 82 games for the Panthers last season, but only appeared in 30 games this season as he struggled to crack the lineup and also dealt with an early-season injury. He did not appear in any of the Panthers’ playoff games, but it’s likely that the Panthers will petition for his name to be on the Cup.
Kulikov returned to the team that drafted him 15 years ago as an 18-year-old and, after Montour and Ekblad returned, helped solidify the Panthers’ bottom pair alongside Oliver Ekman-Larsson. He appeared in all 23 of the Panthers’ playoff games.
Stolarz signed with the Panthers last summer after departing the Ducks in free agency. He started 24 games—the most in his NHL career—posting a .925 SV% and 2.03 GAA with a 16-7-2 record. He only appeared in one playoff game during the Panthers run, relieving Sergei Bobrovsky during Game 4 after the latter allowed five goals on 16 shots.