Sunshine state on ice

Over the past half-decade, it’s been the teams from “non-traditional” hockey markets — the Tampa Bay Lightning and Panthers — and not Original Six or Canadian teams (aside from Montreal in 2021 and Edmonton this season) that have hogged the postseason spotlight. Though the Panthers have yet to win a Cup, that could change in a matter of weeks. And no team has had a recent playoff run to match the Lightning’s charge to three straight Finals (including 11 straight playoff series wins) and back-to-back championships in 2020 and ’21. Panthers’ return to Stanley Cup Final is 5th straight for Florida teams

The Florida Panthers are back in the Stanley Cup Final for the second straight season, marking five consecutive years the Sunshine State has been represented. The Panthers’ blueprint is similar to the Lightning’s, emphasizing defense on the ice and a winning culture in the dressing room. Soon, Florida will face some of the same challenges to sustaining its success, competing under a salary cap meant to breed parity.

Forming a winning roster

While the Lightning’s championship squads were built mostly through the draft, few Panthers players can call Florida their original team.

But like the Lightning, the Panthers were able to lock key players into club-friendly contracts. During the abbreviated 2021 season, general manager Bill Zito acquired defenseman Brandon Montour from Anaheim, Calif., and center Sam Bennett from Calgary, Alberta. Both were re-signed to multi-season deals that gave the team flexibility during the hard-cap years.

They also were instrumental in the the Panthers’ evolution into arguably the league’s best two-way team. Florida was the best defensive team in the NHL during the regular season (allowing 2.41 goals per game) and has allowed an average of just 2.29 this postseason. Its 5-on-5 for/against was best in the Eastern Conference during the regular season and currently tops all playoff teams.

Captain Aleksander Barkov, one of only three players on the current roster who were drafted by the Panthers, is the cornerstone. The No. 2 overall pick in 2013, Barkov is the game’s best defensive forward, as evidenced by his second Selke Trophy, and sets the tone for the team’s two-way game. He and defenseman Aaron Ekblad, the No. 1 overall pick in 2014, gave the Panthers the foundation of a championship-caliber team, much like Steven Stamkos and Victor Hedman did for the Lightning.

And just as the Lightning found diamonds in the rough in Yanni Gourde and Tyler Johnson, the Panthers took players left off other teams’ rosters and developed them. Defenseman Gustav Forsling, a waiver claim from Carolina in 2021, is now one of the league’s top defensemen. Former Lightning forward Carter Verhaeghe has emerged as a 70-point scorer and one of the Panthers’ most clutch postseason performers.