Florida Panthers - Stanley Cup champions 2023
2023-08-15You wake up at night, check the result of Game 5 of the Finals and see what you've been working toward for years - your team is the winner of the 2023 Stanley Cup. Your first thought is "damn, you did it!". And at that moment you are overcome with indescribable emotions... You have a chance to sleep for another 1.5 hours, but you can't do it and your head is spinning with thoughts: "did it really happen?", "maybe it's a dream?", "what will happen next?", "... and if you trade him, then...".
That's exactly how the morning of August 14, 2023 started for Panthers general manager Shean Gardiner. And the moment you start to think about the future, you say to yourself - "Stop! Enjoy the moment." But before that happens, I'd like to give special thanks to those without whom this would not have been possible.
The road to the coveted cup started with a series against the Columbus Blue Jackets. General manager Andrew Payeur was 2 years away from the playoffs and finally in the 2022-23 season he's back there again. Andrew made arguably the biggest trade of the past season, acquiring Jack Eichel from Boston and in doing so showed he was serious. Despite the backbone the team already has, there is a lot of talented youth and several top prospects on the way. Clearly, this will be a formidable force in the coming years.
After an exhausting 7 game series in Round 1, the Panthers face the Toronto Maple Leafs in Round 2. Joe Bubanj team, which lost guys like Drew Doughty and Jonathan Toews to injuries and still defeated last year's finalist in the form of the powerful Buffalo Sabres, is a certain horror and fear. The series in which only the home team won the first 5 games and did it with shutouts - probably will go down in history. And if it weren't for injuries to the leaders, there's no telling who would be on top right now.
The conference finals and the great and terrible Flyers. Champion 2021, conference finalist 2022 and 2023. On the way to the semifinals of the current season, Tommy Barr guys beat the regular season leaders - Islanders and Devils. A lot of trades, phenomenal work on the UFA market - in general the team was considered one of the main favorites throughout the season for a reason. There's no doubt that the Flyers will remain that way next year.
Final against the Vancouver Canucks. General manager Marc-Andre Dore is relatively new to the team, and despite the fact that he says that the team was 95% built by his predecessor, it doesn't diminish the strength of this team. And to be honest, there is more than one example when incoming GMs, trying to build "their" team, break what was built for years. So sometimes not changing anything drastically is the right decision. The team has a good future.
Of course this is a team victory, where every element was in its place, but still I will risk a few individuals.
Mark Stone
Had another fantastic regular season, but he was expected to do better throughout the playoffs. 5+11 in 25 games is not what you'd expect from the top scorer of the regular season and team captain, but Mark was frankly unlucky. He took 113(!) shots on goal, but his shooting percentage was only 4.4%.
Jamie Benn
When we acquired Benn from Penguins two years ago, we didn't expect him to become the team's top sniper or scorer. Leadership qualities and tremendous experience is what we expected from him. 6 goals in the playoffs, one power play goal, one shorthanded and 3 game-winning goals. Benn did a great job.
Conor Garland
If the fans expected more from Stone, Garland on the contrary exceeded all expectations. The team's top scorer in the playoffs and one of the main heroes of the finals. 3+7 in the final series and 2 winning goals in overtime. Conor more than punished the Canucks who traded him before the start of the season.
Ilya Sorokin
The Panthers' Russian goaltender has significantly improved his stats in playoff games, averaging 2.13 per game and 92.3% save percentage. If add 4 shutouts, it's safe to say that Sorokin is one of the main creators of the victory.
I would also like to congratulate the Wolf Pack and Martins Auzins for winning the AHL. It's hard to predict which way Martin will turn next season, but it will definitely be interesting to watch. With a pro-roster, a winning farm system and a established prospects, it's safe to say the team will be one of the contenders in the coming years.
And at the end I want to say a huge thanks to Kevin for his work! Once again, what you are doing is amazing! Thanks to Doug, Eric, Tommy for helping out with various questions and never staying away. Thanks to all the managers for your active participation and interesting talks. I am very happy to be a part of it!
I wish everyone a good off season and success for the 2023-24 season.
Once again - Let's go Panthers!!!
Great article. Congrats again on winning the Cup Shean!
Florida Panthers - Stanley Cup champions 2023
Florida Panthers - the new Stanley Cup winners in the EHE
Championship-calibre article :)
Florida Panthers - Stanley Cup champions 2023
Florida Panthers - the new Stanley Cup winners in the EHE
Top stuff!
Florida Panthers - Stanley Cup champions 2023
Florida Panthers - the new Stanley Cup winners in the EHE
Well deserved Championship. Enjoy it and I hope to get a rematch next year ;)
Florida Panthers - Stanley Cup champions 2023
Florida Panthers - the new Stanley Cup winners in the EHE
Great article. Fantastic season. Glückwunsch an die Panters. Looking forward to see what's next.
Florida Panthers - Stanley Cup champions 2023
Florida Panthers - the new Stanley Cup winners in the EHE