The parade so nice they had to hold it twice!
It was an incredible scene along Fort Lauderdale Beach on Sunday as the Florida Panthers held their Stanley Cup Championship parade with an unbelievable swarm of fans.
If the Panthers thought last year’s parade was something, they were blown away by the crowds that greeted them this time around.
First, players boarded big, red double decker buses at their practice facility and headed east to A1A, where they made their way south to a stage set up on the sand across from Fort Lauderdale Beach Park.
Along the way, Matthew Tkachuk, Sam Reinhart, Dmitry Kulikov and Carter Verhaeghe were among the many players who hopped off their buses to bring the Stanley Cup down to fans who were standing and celebrating along the parade route.
At one point, Sergei Bobrovsky joined Tkachuk and a few teammates for a mid-parade dip in the Atlantic Ocean.
When the Panthers arrived on stage, Brad Marchand was carrying Reinhart on his shoulders and Sam Bennett was carrying the Conn Smythe Trophy.
Bennett had one of the more memorable moments once the players started speaking on stage.
“A lot of people don’t like the way we play,” Bennett said. “They call us dirty. They call us nasty. They call us bullies. So I would like to take this time to apologize…to absolutely f--king no one. We’re the double champs. We do what that the f—k we want. Let’s go!”
Over the past week, Bennett, who is set to become an unrestricted free agent on July 1st, has publicly said that he intends to re-sign with Florida.
During a part at E11EVEN, a popular night club in Miami, Bennett went full “Wolf of Wall Street” by proclaiming “I ain’t f-ing leaving” a-la Leonardo DiCaprio’s Jordan Benfort in the film.
Another pending UFA, defenseman Aaron Ekblad, has also expressed a desire to stay with the Panthers, but at the parade he decided to exercise a bit more restraint than his teammate.
“It’s funny, after E11EVEN, my agent called me and said, ‘Make sure you don’t say whatever Benny said,’” Ekblad said with a laugh.
One of the newest Cats, Brad Marchand, another player who needs a new contract, expressed his genuine happiness for being a teammate of the guys who he hated playing against the most.
“This has been unbelievable, I never could have imagined being a part of something so special,” he said. “I’m so happy that I don’t have to play against these guys anymore, and I’m so happy I don’t have to worry about getting knocked out by Benny anymore.
As for Panthers Captain Sasha Barkov, he started his on-stage appearance the same way he ended it last year: by leading the fans in a Bob-by chant for goalie Sergei Bobrovsky.
General manager Bill Zito thanked the players and then brought up the wives of the coaches and executives to honor the sacrifices they make for their families while their husbands are away so much of the year.
As for Panthers Head Coach Paul Maurice, he once again came on stage with a custom t-shirt featuring his two carts, Penny and Poppy.
The one big difference between this year and last year was the weather, as the sun shined throughout following last summer’s fun in the rain.
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Photo caption: Jun 22, 2025; Fort Lauderdale, Florida, UNITED STATES; Florida Panthers head coach Paul Maurice shows his t-shirt to the fans during the Stanley Cup championship parade and rally. (Sam Navarro-Imagn Images)