MIAMI — Matthew Tkachuk, like so many of his teammates, was having trouble putting the situation into words. The Florida Panthers had finally won the Stanley Cup for the first time in franchise history, beating the Edmonton Oilers, 2-1, in Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Final on Monday after nearly blowing a series in which they took a 3-0 lead.

The Panthers acquired Tkachuk two summers ago in a blockbuster trade with the Calgary Flames for exactly this reason.

Now that it happened, it was hard to process in the immediate aftermath amid the euphoria and celebration with teammates, friends and family on the ice.

“I don’t think we realize what we’ve accomplished yet,” Tkachuk said. “Every time I look at that trophy, it’ll get better and better.”

This Stanley Cup championship has been a moment long in the making for the Panthers. How long exactly depends on who you ask or what perspective you’re trying to prioritize.

For the franchise as a whole? Thirty-one years and 30 seasons (there was no 2004-2005 season due to the lockout).

For coach Paul Maurice? Three decades and 26 NHL seasons.

For Aleksander Barkov and Aaron Ekblad, the elder statesmen of the franchise? Eleven and 10 seasons, respectively.

But for this team, the singular unit? It all began on Sept. 21 when they stepped onto the ice at the IceDen in Coral Springs for the first day of training camp. They were just three months removed from the sting of losing in the 2023 Stanley Cup Final to the Vegas Golden Knights. They didn’t want to feel that disappointment again.

“We’re just going to be hungrier this year,” Barkov said then. “We know what we did and how we did and it’s possible [to make another run] with the way we do it. All we’ve got to do is just be a little better.”

...continued

©2024 Miami Herald. Visit miamiherald.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.