It has been 27 years since the Panthers have been to the Stanley Cup Final
Wednesday night at FLA Live Arena the Florida Panthers will have a chance to advance to the Stanley Cup Final in front of their home fans.
It’s a fanbase that has long been waiting for a team to have consistent, sustained success.
Well…it took a while, but it seems the Panthers are finally there.
From a fan’s perspective, Florida’s build up to this point was slow and deliberate.
After what many refer to as the dark ages of Panthers hockey, a playoff-less run over more than a decade in a league where (back then) more teams qualified for the postseason than didn’t, it was the surprising team of 2011-12 that reminded us all what it felt like to watch Florida play in that amazing tournament called the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
There was a three-goal comeback win and a heartbreaking double-overtime Game 7 loss, but it was a taste of more than just a regular season.
When Marcel Goc tied Game 7 late in the third period, the then-Bank Atlantic Center came to life in a way it had never before for an ice hockey game.
Hockey in South Florida wasn't dead, it had just been dormant.
The years that followed saw the team draft cornerstone players Aleksander Barkov, Jonathan Huberdeau and Aaron Ekblad, and it was also purchased by current owner Vincent Viola, who has not been shy about investing money back into a franchise that had recently been forced to spend money on players just to reach the salary cap floor.
Think about the difference from then to now, with the Panthers actually having more salaried players than cap space.
Thank you, Mr. Viola.
A couple years later is when the momentum began to build, and it started with brining back Roberto Luongo.
He wasn't going to retire without taking the Panthers to the playoffs.
Remember when Florida traded for Jaromir Jagr? Oh those years were fun.
The ageless wonder took Barkov and Huberdeau under his wing and showed the young Panthers what true professionalism and hard work looked like.
That 2015-16 season was magical. The 12-game winning streak, the division title. It was the first 20-goal seasons for both Barkov and Huberdeau.
But more first-round playoff disappointment, and this time the novelty of reaching the postseason wasn't quite as shiny as it was in 2012.
The following three seasons were tough as the Cats tried to find their identity through several head coaches that, for one reason or another, didn't pan out.
Then in 2019 they hired Joel Quenneville as head coach, and the following year brought in Bill Zito as GM.
Coach Q brought a different level of stability to the Panthers dressing room. He had the experience, the track record and the Cups.
Zito has been nothing short of spectacular in his role running Florida's front office, finding players like Carter Verhaeghe, Gus Forsling and Ryan Lomberg while making moves to acquire Sam Bennett, Sam Reinhart, Brandon Montour and of course, the blockbuster trade that brought Matthew Tkachuk to the Panthers.
Florida made the bubble playoffs in Quenneville's first year during the spring of 2020, losing in the Qualifying Round to those pesky New York Islanders.
Nevertheless, regular season success was becoming more of a normal thing around these parts.
The Panthers made the playoffs again in 2021, but again got knocked out in round one.
What happened the following year was another interesting step in the right direction for the franchise, though it felt like it started with a step back.
Quenneville parted ways with the Panthers early in the season following the discovery of his role in the Chicago Blackhawks scandal involving Kyle Beach from several years prior, when both were with the Blackhawks.
Assistant Coach Andrew Brunette stepped in as interim head coach and the team didn't skip a beat. They went on to have the most successful regular season in Panthers history, winning the Presidents' Trophy as the league's top team.
More importantly, the Cats also finally tasted some postseason success, advancing past the first-round for the first time since 1996.
But for the second straight year, Florida was knocked out by cross-state rival Tampa Bay in a series that the supposed powerhouse Panthers were made to look like harmless kittens.
Zito watched both series', the six-game win over the Washington Capitals and the sweep at the hands of the Lightning, and knew something had to change.
Yes, the roster had been revamped and was one that could potentially contend for a Stanley Cup, but the style of play wasn't one that would succeed in the grueling, grinding, physical postseason.
That's why Paul Maurice was hired last summer, and that's what has gotten the team to the place it is now.
One win away from reaching the Stanley Cup Final.
It's been a long and winding road, but after nearly 30 years, the franchise has almost found its way back to the top of the mountain.
Now we wait to see if they can reach the summit.
Drink it in, Panthers fans.
This one always goes down smooth.