SUNRISE, Fla. — Matthew Tkachuk decided to go for a little swim as his offseason was beginning on Tuesday morning. The Panthers forward took a few steps off the sand and into the water of Fort Lauderdale Beach, then dove in while hanging onto his new best friend.

The Stanley Cup got a little wet.

That moment — one of many from the first 12 hours or so of the Cup being in the possession of the newly crowned champion Panthers — was a long time coming, helping cap what really was a four-year process of rebuilding the team’s roster, coaching staff and style of play with hopes of making this title a reality.

“We had no choice,” Panthers owner Vincent Viola said. “We had to, as we say, we had to look for value where other people wouldn’t look. We were hamstrung as far as our cap space.

“And it worked out. It worked out.”

And the push to the mountaintop started with the hiring of general manager Bill Zito in September 2020.

Of the 19 players who played for the Panthers in Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Final on Monday night, only four were part of the organization before Zito arrived. Zito traded for Tkachuk — something that many in hockey said was a terrible move by the Panthers — two years ago, signed a slew of free agents, found guys on the waiver wire, whatever it took to fill a roster and make the cap math work.

The result: The Cup was in the ocean on Tuesday.

“It’s hard to put into words how humbling it is and how much respect you have for the game as a whole, especially for a guy who never played (in the NHL),” Zito said. “So, pretty Aleksander Barkov hoists the Stanley Cup after the Panthers beat the Oilers, 2-1, in Game 7 on Monday night in Sunrise, Florida. The tightly fought victory delivered the Panthers their first championship. Joel Auerbach/Getty