Florida Panthers bring the Stanley Cup to the Elbo Room in Fort Lauderdale

Florida Panthers fans are still riding the high of Tuesday night’s Stanley Cup Championship win. And in true South Florida fashion, the celebration spilled into the streets. By sunrise Wednesday, the legendary Elbo Room on Fort Lauderdale Beach had become the epicenter of the festivities — and yes, the Stanley Cup itself made an appearance.

But before the whole gang arrived, before the sun peeked over the horizon, the Stanley Cup made a quick cameo. It came, as all VIPs do, in a black SUV, pulling up outside the Elbo Room.

At 6:30 a.m., a window rolled down. A man stuck his head out and asked a sparse crowd, somewhat bleary but determined, “Hey...do you know Sasha Barkov?”

The answer, of course, was yes. Yes, we know our captain, our leader, the first European captain to hoist the Cup in consecutive years — Aleksander “Sasha” Barkov.

The SUV pulled over on AIA and Barkov got out and did what every hockey player dreams of doing from the first minute he laces up. He hoisted the Stanley Cup in the air, fans screaming and palm trees swaying in the background

The fans, many of whom arrived before 4 a.m., screamed their appreciation and waved their phones, scrambling for a look. “Is it going in the ocean?” Someone yelled.

Barkov, back in the car, said no and drove away.

And as others arrived, hoping for another Cup sighting, those who saw Barkov passed the story down. A five-minute traffic stop already taking on the aura of legend.

By 7:45 a.m., the crowd had swelled, buoyed by the whisper that Matthew Tkachuk, who scored the game-winning goal Tuesday night, might show up with the Cup. Passing trucks and cars blared horns in solidarity.

The early diehard fans who had gathered outside the Elbo Room in hopes of seeing the Stanley Cup had been there before the daylight. Some were weaving and drinking Heinekens. A jar of clear liquid, almost certainly flammable, was passed around.

As the morning trickled on, fans lined up in a gauntlet outside the bar, hopefully keeping watch for golf carts from Las Olas Isles.

Lauren Frascarelli of Fort Lauderdale missed the Barkov appearance but was holding out hopes other players would materialize before she had to leave for work at 8:45 a.m. She recalled last year’s clinching game 7, which she attended, as “the coolest experience of my life.”

“I have to be at the office at 9,” she confessed. “I got up at 4:30 to walk the dog and get ready for work so I could come straight here.”

The crowd got progressively sober and younger as the sun rose higher in the sky, with kids in red hoping for a glimpse of their heroes.

Alongside the sea of expected Barkov, Reinhart, and Tkachuk jerseys, patient Panthers fans proudly sported a nostalgic mix that blew in a blast from the past. Olli Jokinen’s jersey made an appearance, his name and number a nod to earlier, scrappier days. So did Jonathan Huberdeau—fittingly so, since it was the trade that sent him packing and brought in Tkachuk that set this whole glorious run in motion.

The Elbo Room, which was not open all night, contrary to popular belief, sold beverages that were decidedly not coffee.

Shortly before 9 a.m., the whispers became roars: They’re on their way.

A group of Panthers players arrived with the Cup in tow, led by Tkachuk and Barkov. The two passed through a screaming crowd into the bar, escorted to the second-floor balcony with their gleaming prize.

Other Cats joined them. Gustav Forsling and Jesper Boqvist were there. Sam Reinhart, fresh off a four-goal night, had already shaved his playoff beard. Tkachuk, unsurprisingly, had not. Also with them were teammate Anton Lundell — affectionately known as “Baby Barkov” — and Jonah Gadjovich, a new fan favorite after his spirited fisticuffs with Edmonton Oiler Darnell Nurse at the end of a fight-filled game 3.

Tkachuk’s father, Keith, a former NHLer who hoisted the Cup himself for the jubilant fans below, and Conn Smythe winner Sam Bennett poured beer on the crowd below to chants of “MVP!” Tkachuck himself started the chant of “Eight more years!” echoing the sentiments of Panthers fans hoping the team re-signs Bennett, whose contract is up this year.

There was beer spraying and beer dumping from the balcony The crowd cheered louder, chanting “one more year” and, in a flashback from last night’s game, “Skinner, Skinner,” taunting the Edmonton goalie who couldn’t stop the onslaught to a championship.

It was the perfect encore to the team’s dominant 5–1 Game 6 win over the Edmonton Oilers at Amerant Bank Arena, securing Florida’s second consecutive championship.

Vivian Torres of Harbor Beach had arrived around 6 a.m. in hopes of seeing her favorite team. She wore a no. 13 jersey for her favorite player Sam Reinhart, a Mother’s Day gift, despite the rising heat of the morning.

“They all played with a lot of heart,” she said of the team, adding that she could envision a third victory in a year. “We just need to keep Sam Bennett.” Bennett, whose contract expires this year, earned the Conn Smythe trophy as the MVP of the playoffs.

Alexandra Guzman and Cesar Gonzalez of Plantation were also on hand to see their heroes. They watched the final game at the Baptist Health Iceplex watch party, the same thing they did last year when the Panthers won.

“It’s surreal,” Gonzalez said. “I remember when back in the day people were like, ‘What’s hockey?’ Now everybody’s a fan.”

Can’t make it to the bar but still want to watch the fun? The Elbo Room has multiple livestream cameras for people to watch online.

READ MORE: Why the Panthers made sure first-time Cup winners got to celebrate first

This story was originally published June 18, 2025 at 7:51 AM.