Brad Marchand Made Sure To Spend Some Time On Instagram Thanking Every Team That Helped Put The 2025 Stanley Cup Champion Florida Panthers Together
Bill Zito and the entire Florida Panthers upper management staff obviously deserve a ton of credit for putting this team together. Over the past 40 years or so, there have only been like 6 teams who have been able to win back-to-back Stanley Cups. The fact that the Panthers were able to do it with just 4 guys on the ice who they drafted goes to show what a weapon Bill Zito is.
But at the same time...as much as it takes a great GM like Bill Zito to make all these deals to bring these guys in, it also takes a lot of shitty GMs around the league to let these guys go. And Brad Marchand was out last night to make sure he paid his respects to all of them.
Let's take Sam Bennett for example. He just won the Conn Smythe Trophy, leading the Panthers to their second consecutive Cup. How did he end up in Florida? Well because the Calgary Flames traded him for Emil Heineman and a 2nd round pick. Literally none of you can tell me a single thing about Emil Heineman's game right now. Great trade, Calgary!
You've got a guy like Sam Reinhart, who scored 4 goals in the Stanley Cup clinching game for the Panthers. How did he end up in Florida? Well because the Buffalo Sabres traded him for Devon Levi and a 2022 1st round pick, which they ended up using to draft Jiri Kulich. The Sabres still haven't made the playoffs since that trade, and the Panthers have now been to 3 straight Cup Finals. Great trade, Buffalo!
Sergei Bobrovsky should have been a Philadelphia Flyer for life. He's now a 2x Stanley Cup Champ, and a 2x Vezina Trophy winner. That makes him an automatic Hall of Famer. The only other goalies since 1980 who have 2 Cups and 2 Vezinas are Martin Brodeur and Patrick Roy. Pretty elite company. The fact that Bobrovsky ever left Philadelphia in the first place is a crime. Then the fact that the Columbus Blue Jackets lucked their way into landing Bobrovsky, and still lost him in free agency to Florida? Great job, Philly! Great job, Columbus!
Everybody gave up on Gustav Forsling. Guy was literally picked up off the waiver wire, and now he plays a huge role on that defensive core for the 2x Champs. He cost the Florida Panthers literally nothing to acquire. Great job, everybody!
Then we get to the Matthew Tkachuk trade. Obviously this is the one where the Panthers actually had to give up a decent amount to get. Tkachuk ended up in Florida after a blockbuster with the Calgary Flames, who traded him in exchange for Jonathan Huberdeau, MacKenzie Weegar, and a conditional 1st round pick. That's a lot for the Florida Panthers to give up. But ever since acquiring Matthew Tkachuk, the Florida Panthers have only lost a single playoff series. They've been to the Cup Final in each of the past 3 years, and they've now won 2 of them. Meanwhile, the Calgary Flames have failed to qualify for the playoffs in 3 straight years now. Great trade, Calgary!
Advertisement
Paul Maurice resigned as the head coach of the Jets during his 9th season in Winnipeg. Being in Winnipeg that long just completely sucked all the joy out of hockey for him. He knew the Jets needed a new voice, and knew that he couldn't be his best self in Winnipeg anymore. So while the Jets didn't exactly fire Paul Maurice, they made it impossible for him to feel like he could stay there any longer. He resigned in December '21, and was hired by Florida in June of '22. Since then, he's led the Florida Panthers to 3 straight Cup Finals appearance and 2 titles. He has become one of the biggest stars in the coaching world, is loved by almost everybody, and is 3rd all-time in wins as a head coach in the NHL.
And finally…the only reason why these Instagram posts exist in the first place….
Brad Marchand was the type of player you figured would only wear one jersey his entire career. But the Boston Bruins were absolute fucking dog shit this year. So dog shit that they ended up trading away their captain to the team that knocked them out of the playoffs in each of the past 2 seasons. Brad Marchand was traded to Florida in exchange for a conditional 2nd round pick in 2027, that has since turned into a 1st round pick. The Panthers won't miss that pick at all because nobody picked in the 2027 Draft will ever be able to score 6 goals in the 2025 Stanley Cup Final.
Thank you, Boston!