Talk of a potential three-peat? Go ahead. The Florida Panthers won’t shy away
The Florida Panthers know the conversation that’s going to surround the team this season. They’re coming off their second consecutive Stanley Cup championship. The chance to win a third is on the horizon.
That feat, three consecutive Stanley Cups, hasn’t been done in the NHL’s salary cap era (since the 2005-06 season) and was last accomplished by the New York Islanders, who won four straight championships from 1980-1983.
The narrative will be there for better or worse, from the three weeks of training camp to the start of the season on Oct. 7 against the Chicago Blackhawks to whenever the season ends.
So there’s no reason in hiding from it.
“We talked about trying to do it again,” said Panthers defenseman Aaron Ekblad, who has been with the club for 11 seasons and signed an eight-year, $48.8 million contract extension this offseason. “I don’t think there’s any reason to shy away from it. That’s our goal, and we’re going to fight for that goal every day. I think it’s better to talk about it than be anxious about it, hide what we’re trying to do. We’re going to go and get after it.”
And this team has the experience needed to handle the hurdles that come with the run.
Twenty-one players are back from last season’s team, including 18 of 20 — everyone but defenseman Nate Schmidt and backup goaltender Vitek Vanecek — who were in the lineup for Florida’s Cup-clinching Game 6 win against the Edmonton Oilers.
That minimal turnover, even with injuries to forwards Matthew Tkachuk and Tomas Nosek that will keep them out for an extended period to start the season, will be beneficial. They understand the expectations that come with playing in coach Paul Maurice’s system, how to prepare for the grind that comes with a long season after a short offseason, and how to maneuver through a nine-month stretch in which every opponent wants a chance to knock off the defending champions.
“One of the big things is you have a massive target on your back,’’ said veteran forward Brad Marchand, who won the Stanley Cup with the Boston Bruins in 2011 and joined the Panthers at the trade deadline last season. “And it’s not just because of last year, but the past few years. Every team knows we’re a legit contender again, and we’re very deep. We’re going to get every team’s best every single night. You can’t take nights off thinking it’s going to be easy. This is a very unique situation.”
But it’s one that is looking like could be the norm for quite some time because of savvy work by president of hockey operations and general manager Bill Zito.
The Panthers have 10 players of their core signed through at least the 2029-30 season: Sam Bennett, Carter Verhaeghe and Ekblad through 2033; Gustav Forsling and Sam Reinhart through 2032; Marchand through 2031; and Aleksander Barkov, Tkachuk, Anton Lundell and Seth Jones through 2030. That’s a clear-cut five-year window of contention.
Defenseman Jeff Petry, forward Luke Kunin and goaltender Daniil Tarasov are the primary additions Florida made this offseason.
“You walk into the room and everyone is there, the same faces,” Barkov said. “There are a couple of new faces, but this makes it easier on them. They fit in, and it feels like they have been with us for a long time already.’’
But that familiarity doesn’t mean there will be complacency. Far from it.
“We have to get better,” Zito said. “There are so many things we can improve on. … We’re not pounding our chests at all. It’s a new season. It’s Day 1. This is its own distinct and unique journey.”
And the ultimate goal for that journey remains the same.
“We want to win Stanley Cup again,” Barkov said. “It’s not about defending the Cup; it’s just winning. We’re not going to win it today. We have to work for it every single day from now on until there’s a chance to win it.”
This story was originally published September 19, 2025 at 1:31 PM.
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