Panthers have been living up Cup celebration and they're ‘not toning it down'
They have made multiple trips to the Elbo Room on Fort Lauderdale Beach, a stop at the Miami nightclub E11even, gone out to team dinners and taken a boat ride.
Things have gotten chaotic at times, but after becoming just the seventh team in the expansion era of the NHL to win the Cup in consecutive years, yeah, they're taking the time to celebrate.
'We're not toning it down,' defenseman Aaron Ekblad said. 'We just won two Stanley Cups in a row; we deserve to have a good time. We have good people in that room, so anything…if people think we're crossing the line, there's no chance. We're just having a good time, it's pure excitement. There's obviously a respect factor, and, you know, personally, I try to toe that line, but, no, it's all fun, and you know, we deserve it, for sure.'
Panthers captain Aleksander Barkov said the team is able to enjoy itself more this time around because they 'know the feeling already a little bit.'
'Don't get me wrong, it's still amazing,' Barkov said, 'but now everyone just knows how to sit back a little bit and enjoy it because last year was so hectic. It happened and it's your first time ever, and you've been dreaming about it for such a long time. I feel like this year, everyone gave permission to themselves to enjoy it. We've had a good time.'
Who's been the party MVP at this point?
'I don't see how Barky doesn't get his jersey retired at E11even,' star winger Matthew Tkachuk, one of the rowdier players on the team, said with a smile. 'He was incredible. E-Rod [Evan Rodrigues] was on another level. Marchy [Brad Marchand] has been Marchy. I'd say Reino [Sam Reinhart] has been really good, too. It's been great for me. I'm just able to hide in the weeds this year, and I feel like I've been doing pretty good, as well. But there's been some guys that have put in quite a shift. It's been an impressive outing from the team.'
Now, the partying has led to some dings and dents on the Stanley Cup. Has the team heard from the Hall of Fame about that?
'No. I think they've seen worse,' Barkov said. 'I think every week, they have to go and fix some part of it. But yeah, don't be stupid. Don't take it to the ocean, stuff like that. We should know the rules by now.'
Tkachuk said the celebration will be a little more subdued on Saturday night before the team takes to Fort Lauderdale Beach on Sunday afternoon for its championship parade.
'I think you just ride the wave,' Reinhart said. 'When you put so much hard work into it, it makes it that much more fun going through it. And, you know, being around each other the last few days.'
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