“The Panthers’ Journey to the Stanley Cup: From Tkachuk Trade to Playoff Glory”

The Panthers are going for the cup! This is the title of a column I wrote last July, in response to the big transaction by which the Panthers obtained Matthew Tkachuk, from the Calgary Flames, in return for Jonathan Huberdeau.

I was explaining that the Panthers needed a competitive, tough and responsible player in all three areas of the rink to get to the cup.

This conclusion had come to me after watching the Panthers, regular season champions for the first time in their history, collapse in four games before the Tampa Bay Lightning, in the second round of the playoffs.

Damned predictions!

However, I was not predicting the Stanley Cup for the Panthers as such.

The proof is that before the start of the season, I saw the Avalanche win a second consecutive Cup against the Rangers.

Before the series, I used my Mulligan picking the Bruins to defeat the Avalanche in the Finals.

Cursed predictions!

Bernard Geoffrion was quite right.

The outcome of a hockey game is decided on a 200 by 85 foot rink, not in the newspapers.

Well done, Boomer!

Still, the Panthers did not follow a so-called normal course to reach the final.

A whole journey

By mid-season, their 18-19-4 record relegated them to fifth in the Atlantic Division, as well as in the standings of draft teams.

They came back up the hill in the second half, but it took them until the Pittsburgh Penguins were eliminated in Game 81 of the season to secure a playoff spot.

The Penguins only had to beat the Chicago Blackhawks at home, but they failed miserably.

The day after their last meeting in Columbus, which ended in a 3-2 loss after a minute of overtime, the owners of the Penguins put Brian Burke and Ron Hextall at the door.

If a playoff spot opened up for the Panthers, it came with a poisoned gift. That meant a matchup against the Bruins, who had just set records for most points (135) and wins (65) in a season.

After four games, things were taking their course. The Bruins were one win away from advancing to the second round. But Sergei Bobrovsky started keeping his net like a god and Tkachuk started scoring big goals.

Like the Coyotes

The Panthers live a fairy tale as seen from time to time in the National Hockey League playoffs.

Everything works in their favor and Gary Bettman is overjoyed!

Because there is a little, not to say a lot, of the commissioner of the NHL in this beautiful story.

As he currently does for the Arizona Coyotes, Bettman has worked hard to keep the Panthers in Florida. It was out of the question for him that they would move.

Average ceiling assist!

Today, Bettman is going to tell us that he knew that hockey would also work on the east coast of Florida.

The Panthers boast the best attendance average in the playoffs with 19,758 spectators, for an occupancy rate of 102.6%.

This is more than 3,000 people per game than in the regular season, while the average was maintained at 16,682 spectators for an occupancy rate of 87%.

Although that average only placed the Panthers in 26th place, it was a 12% increase over last year.

Everything is therefore for the best in the best of worlds in Sunrise and its surroundings.

As these lines were written, the Panthers’ rivals were not yet known for the final. But it boded well for the Vegas Golden Knights.

Nothing classic for a Stanley Cup final, but fans of the Panthers and their next opponents don’t care.

They will celebrate in large numbers in the parking lot of the BB&T Center or on the Strip in Vegas, from where they will give us a nice bye bye!

It’s the 2023 hockey version of the NHL.

Go the Ramparts!

The Memorial Cup tournament begins this evening with the presentation of a game between the Remparts and the Kamloops Blazers, host team of the event this year.

As Patrick Roy says, the Remparts will face a team that is all fire, all flame. The Blazers lost in the WHL semifinals to the Seattle Thunderbirds, who then defeated the Winnipeg Ice in the final.

It will get warmer !

Like the Remparts, the Thunderbirds had a great season.

Like the Panthers

As for the Peterborough Petes, they were the counterparts of the Florida Panthers in the OHL playoffs.

Fourth in the OHL East Division with only 74 points, they have played a staggering 29 games in the playoffs to date.

The Petes swept the Sudbury Wolves in the first round before surprising the Ottawa 67’s, the regular season division champions with 107 points.

In the Eastern final, they went to the limit to dismiss the North Bay Battalion.

In the grand finale, they got the better of the London Knights, brothers Mark and Dale Hunter, in six games.

They should therefore not be underestimated.

But the Remparts have the tools to allow Quebec to win a fourth consecutive Memorial Cup.

Go Red Devils!