Image: The Florida Panthers party with the 2025 Stanley Cup
Once overlooked in South Florida, the Florida Panthers are now a full-blown NHL dynasty with back-to-back Stanley Cups and a bold rebuild that paid off.
Five years ago, the Florida Panthers were an afterthought within South Florida’s sports scene, battling it out with the Miami Marlins for attention, while fans tossed the Miami Heat and Miami Dolphins to the side.
Now, the Panthers are the toast of the town: back-to-back Stanley Cup champs. Three straight trips to the Final. A team that wins championships on the ice and wins over fans with how they celebrate off it.
This didn’t happen by accident; it was built — painfully, patiently, and with a lot of guts. It took bold trades, tough decisions, and a total culture shift. It took buying into something few saw coming.
This is the story of how the Florida Panthers went from afterthought to South Florida sports alpha, becoming a full-blown dynasty before our very eyes.
2020: Humble Bubble Beginning
If you're looking to pinpoint when the Florida Panthers first went from gritty underdog to unbeatable favorite, you'll need to rewind the tape to 2020.
The world was on pause, but the sports world continued inside each league's respective bubble. And while the Miami Heat were making a deep run as an eight seed to the NBA Finals, the Florida Panthers showed the first signs of what would soon become an NHL dynasty. It's just that nobody knew it yet.
September 2, 2020: Bill Zito Takes Over
The transformation didn’t happen overnight, but it began the night of September 2, 2020, when the Florida Panthers hired Bill Zito to lead their front office.
The move didn’t immediately garner much national attention. He wasn’t Bill Parcells or Jimmy Johnson taking over the Miami Dolphins or Pat Riley taking over the Miami Heat. But he's become the hockey version of those Hall of Fame names.
April 12, 2021: Florida Acquires Sam Bennett From Calgary
On April 12, 2021, Bill Zito took his first major stab at the trade market, acquiring Sam Bennett, along with a sixth-round pick in 2022, from the Calgary Flames in exchange for draft rights to Emil Heineman and a second-round pick in 2022. Bennett signed a four-year, $17.7 million contract extension with the Panthers a few months later, and well, that has gone pretty well.
As that contract ends, Bennett is coming fresh off winning the Conn Smythe Trophy, and is on the verge of returning on a deal that will likely be near or more than double the first.
July 24, 2021: Panthers Acquire Sam Reinhart From the Buffalo Sabres
Zito didn’t show up and attempt to stockpile draft picks while telling the media about a five-year plan. He came to build something special — something that could last, and more importantly, something that could win come the postseason.
During the pandemic-shortened season, Zito made a batch of underrated moves that, in retrospect, would serve as the foundation of a culture change that has come to fruition today. He claimed Gustav Forsling off waivers, acquired Brandon Montour from Buffalo, and, as mentioned previously, scooped up Bennett on a discount deal.
However, one transaction stands out as Zito's first significant move: They traded Devon Levi and a 2022 first-round pick to the Sabres for right-winger Sam Reinhart. And as they say, the rest is history. Reinhart changed the game for the Panthers. Paired with Bennett, Barkov, and Jonathan Huberdeau, it felt for the first time like Florida had something different cooking.
May 23, 2022: Tampa Bay Sweeps Florida
The 2021-22 Panthers were supposed to be the team. They steamrolled the regular season with 58 wins, 122 points, and the league’s highest-scoring offense. Jonathan Huberdeau racked up 115 points and Florida won their first playoff series in over two decades — then ran into the Lightning. Again. This time, it was worse: a four-game sweep where Florida managed just three goals.
The message was clear. Flashy regular-season hockey didn’t work in the postseason. Something had to change.
June 22, 2022: Panthers Hire Paul Maurice
This is where Bill Zito goes from an above-average to a Hall of Fame general manager. It would have been easy to stick with interim head coach Andrew Brunett — who players liked and had just led the team to 122 points — but Zito wasn't satisfied with the soft style of play, so he hired Paul Maurice, who had stepped down as head coach of the Winnipeg Jets.
July 22, 2022: Panthers Acquire Mathew Tkachuk From Calgary
Hiring Maurice was one thing, but then came the bombshell: Huberdeau, Weegar, a prospect, and a first-round pick to the Calgary Flames. In return? Matthew Tkachuk. Then, an eight-year, $76 million deal on the same day.
Just like that, the identity of and expectations for the Panthers changed.
June 13, 2023: Florida Loses to Las Vegas in the NHL Finals
It's tough to imagine now, but there was a moment in time when the Panthers didn't dominate the Stanley Cup Finals. They left the ice in 2023 for the last time, 9-3 losers to the Las Vegas Knights, who themselves celebrated what the Panthers are now famous for doing each offseason since.
That year, the regular season did not go smoothly. The Panthers clinched a playoff spot as the final wild card. Then they caught fire. Down 3-1 to the record-setting Boston Bruins, they rallied to win in seven. Then they took down the Leafs, swept the Hurricanes, and reached their first Stanley Cup Final since 1996. They lost to Vegas, but they had earned something more valuable than a trophy: the belief that they were good enough to compete for a title, and not just as a scrappy underdog.
June 24, 2024: Florida Panthers Win Their First Stanley Cup
The following season, everything clicked. Reinhart scored 57 goals. Barkov set the franchise scoring record and won his second Selke Trophy. And Bobrovsky dominated.
Florida finished with 52 wins and 110 points. When the playoffs came, the Panthers tore through the East. Tampa? Swept. Boston? Six games. Rangers? Light work. And in the Final, they took a 3-0 series lead, before giving fans the scare of their lives, then winning the franchise's first cup in a Game 7 at home.
March 1, 2025: Florida Acquires Seth Jones from Chicago
Aware that the Panthers have a special chance to do what few franchises have done, Bill Zito went all in this season, trading multiple first-round picks for big-name stars. First, Seth Jones was acquired by Florida, along with a conditional fourth-round pick in the 2026 NHL Draft, from the Chicago Blackhawks for goalie Spencer Knight and a conditional first-round selection in 2026.
The move not only worked out, but it's been a home run. Jones was a vital piece of the puzzle this season on the defensive side of the ice and is locked in on a long-term contract, which means he will be a key part of the dynasty puzzle, or, if needed, a trade chip down the line.
March 8, 2025: Florida Acquires Brad Marchand from Boston
Bito wasn't done after the Jones trade — not even close. A week later, at the trade deadline, the Panthers acquired the Boston Bruins' former captain, Brad Marchand, as a conditional first-round pick. At the time, the deal shocked the NHL. But given his performance this season, it's staggering that Boston handed a rival one of the NHL's best players right when they needed him most.
Marchand wasn't immediately available upon the trade due to injury. But once he got on the ice, he was crucial to the Panthers' second-straight Stanley Cup win.
June 18, 2025: Back-to-Back Stanley Cup Champions!
The Panthers beat the Oilers in a rematch of last year's Stanley Cup Final in six games, but it felt like it should have been a sweep — complete dominance. Outclassed in every way, the Oilers often resorted to face slaps rather than futile slap shots.
Soak it in, South Florida; you're witnessing history. It's a rarity to win a Stanley Cup. It's even rarer to win two in a row. But it’s unheard of to win back-to-back titles with a team that feels like a college squad, functions like a family, and operates like the most professional outfit in the league.
Oh, and the Panthers sure-as-shit know how to celebrate a title win.