The Florida Panthers sure seem to enjoy playing hockey in May.
Florida played a spectacular Game 7 on Sunday night in Toronto, knocking out the Maple Leafs and advancing to the Eastern Conference Final.
It’s the third straight year that the Panthers have made it to the third round.
Take a moment and let that sink in.
For those of you who have been riding with the Panthers since the days of Scott Mellanby and Rob Neidermayer, these past few years have been mind blowing.
It wasn’t that long ago, just a few years actually, that the Panthers hadn’t been out of the first round since 1996.
That was a span of 26 years. That’s bonkers.
They went 12 seasons between playoff appearances at one point.
While those days may now seem like a long, long time ago, it’s times like this, with the Panthers back in the conference final, that’s it’s nice to take a step back and remember just how far we’ve come.
General Manager Bill Zito rightly gets much of the credit for the amazing turnaround this franchise has made, his predecessor Dale Tallon is who got the party started by drafting core players Sasha Barkov, Aaron Ekblad and Jonathan Huberdeau, the latter of whom was so good that he made Zito’s trade for Matthew Tkachuk possible, and signing goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky.
Bottom line: It’s a great time to be a Florida Panthers fan, and they are showing no signs of slowing down.
Drink it in, Panthers fans.
As you’ve learned over the past few years, it always goes down smooth.
See you in Raleigh.
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Photo caption: May 18, 2025; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; Florida Panthers forward Aleksander Barkov (16) and goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky (72) celebrate winning game seven of the second round of the 2025 Stanley Cup Playoffs over the Toronto Maple Leafs at Scotiabank Arena. Mandatory Credit: John E. Sokolowski-Imagn Images
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