Panthers’ Matthew Tkachuk dishes on what led to wild Stanley Cup celebration

For the first time in franchise history, the Florida Panthers are Stanley Cup champions. The Cats eliminated the Edmonton Oilers in seven games on Monday night after blowing a 3-0 lead.

But, in the end, the Panthers got it done and they partied hard after the series clincher following the win at home. In fact, Matthew Tkachuk and his teammates took Lord Stanley to Fort Lauderdale Beach the next day and went in the Atlantic Ocean with the Cup.

Tkachuk made an appearance on the Pat McAfee Show and explained what led to that moment:

“Yeah, I don’t know what I was thinking there, we were at Elbo Room, a few of us just looked out at the ocean, we were like I don’t know I think it’s time boys. Before you knew it, we were racing into the ocean, and we had hundreds, however many people were behind us following us into the ocean, that was a really special moment.”

Pretty cool that the Panthers got to celebrate on the beach and fans followed them into the water. It was a grind of a series for Florida, who looked like a different team after Game 3. Edmonton outscored them 18-5 between Games 4 and 6, including an 8-1 thrashing in Game 4.

But, with the home crowd behind them, the Cats managed to seal the deal after losing in the Stanley Cup Finals last season to the Vegas Golden Knights. The heartbreak of falling just short surely fueled them to go all the way in 2023-24.

Matthew Tkachuk showed out for Panthers

Tkachuk led the Panthers in the playoffs with 22 points, including six goals and 16 assists. He had just three points in the finals but overall, did his part in the postseason.

Following the Game 7 victory, Tkachuk hilariously cracked a joke that hit home with Calgary Flames fans:

“Shout out to my fans in Calgary, you know I couldn’t let Edmonton win,” Tkachuk said.

He of course played for the Flames before the blockbuster trade that sent him to the Panthers and now, he’s on top of the hockey world. Florida will have one big decision to make this offseason that could affect their roster however in Sam Reinhart, who enjoyed a career year. He becomes a UFA and is due for a significant pay raise.

On top of that, Vladimir Tarasenko is also a UFA while Anton Lundell is an RFA, among several others. There’s an offseason of decisions ahead for Florida but for now, it’s time to enjoy their Cup win.

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