The Florida Panthers secured a third straight Stanley Cup Final appearance on Wednesday night at Lenovo Center with a 5-3 victory over the Carolina Hurricanes in Game 5.
As hats were distributed to players and the Prince of Wales Trophy made its way to the ice, five former New Jersey Devils players celebrated on the ice.
Jesper Boqvist, AJ Greer, Dmitry Kulikov, Tomas Nosek, and Vitek Vanecek are all members of the Panthers and will face either the Edmonton Oilers or Dallas Stars in the Final.
We know what we came for. pic.twitter.com/16ZbRPID1V
— x – Florida Panthers (@FlaPanthers) May 29, 2025
BOQVIST: The 26-year-old was selected by the Devils in the second round of the 2017 NHL Draft and played the first 189 games of his professional career in New Jersey.
After the 2022-23 season, Boqvist was not tendered a qualifying offer to remain in New Jersey, and as a free agent, signed a one-year contract with the Boston Bruins. After spending time in both the AHL and NHL, the Swede was once again not given a qualifying offer. As a free agent, he signed a one-year contract with the Panthers.
Boqvist appeared in 78 regular-season games in Florida and 11 playoff games.
GREER: The 6′3″, 209-pound winger spent the majority of time with the Devils organization in the American Hockey League (AHL). He appeared in 69 games for the Binghamton Devils and Utica Comets and only 10 games for the Devils.
As a free agent, he left the Devils and signed with the Bruins. After a year in Boston, he was claimed off waivers in October 2023 by the Calgary Flames. He left the Stampede City as a free agent and signed with the Panthers on July 1, 2024.
Since leaving New Jersey, Greer has been able to carve out a role for himself in the NHL, as his final AHL game was with the Comets in May 2022.
KULIKOV: New Jersey was a quick stop for the defenseman, as he played 38 games with the Devils before he was traded to the Oilers during the 2020-21 season.
Kulikov won the Stanley Cup with the Panthers last season.
NOSEK: The veteran signed a one-year contract with the Devils on July 19, 2023. Due to injuries, the 32-year-old was limited to 36 games. As a free agent, he left New Jersey and signed with the Panthers.
VANECEK: The goaltender was traded to New Jersey in 2022 and traded out of New Jersey in 2024.
Vanecek started 77 games for the Devils over two seasons. New Jersey eventually traded him to the San Jose Sharks. He was ultimately traded to Florida for Patrick Giles on March 5, 2025. The 29-year-old appeared in seven games for the Panthers and is serving as Sergei Bobrovsky’s backup.
The Panthers will now wait to see if they will face the Stars or the Oilers in the Stanley Cup Final. Connor McDavid and the Oilers currently have a 3-1 lead over the Stars.
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