Earlier this month, the Stanley Cup was freshly engraved with the names of the latest NHL champions.
In case you forgot, that just happened to be the Florida Panthers, who claimed the Cup for the second straight season.
That means the new engravings were placed directly next to last year’s Panthers’ names, which is one of the cool things about winning back-to-back Cups.
Other than the side-by-side glory that will live on forever, there was another interesting element about the placement of the new engravings that caught some attention.
Before getting to that, let’s take a moment to appreciate the efforts of a certain Trade Deadline addition who played a massive role in Florida’s postseason success this year.
Brad Marchand, acquired at the deadline for a second-round pick that has since become a first-round pick, seemed to get better and better as the playoffs went by.
The plays he made and the goals he scored during the Stanley Cup Final against the Edmonton Oilers were something out of a storybook.
He’ll get a good chance to keep the magic going after signing a six-year extension to stay with the Panthers through the end of his Hall of Fame career.
Whether the 37-year-old and the Cats get another few cracks at the Stanley Cup remains to be seen, but seeing him step up during Florida’s playoff run was something Panthers fans will never forget.
Getting back to the Cup, here’s the interesting thing referenced earlier.
Directly above the 2024-25 Florida Panthers’ names that have been freshly engraved on the historic trophy are the 2010-11 Boston Bruins.
Photo caption: The Stanley Cup made an appearance at the Flanigans in Hallandale Beach on Wednesday. (Photo source: @miamiguydylan on X)
That means anytime a Panthers fan checks out the Cats’ names on the Stanley Cup, they won’t have to look far to find Marchand’s name from when he won the Cup with Boston.
Of course, that also means that when Bruins fans seek out their latest Stanley Cup win, and only since the early 70s, they might also catch a glimpse of Marchand’s name under the Panthers banner.
We’ll get an idea of how the longtime Bruins star will be received back in Boston when the Panthers visit TD Garden on Oct. 21.
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Photo caption: Jun 17, 2025; Sunrise, Florida, USA; Florida Panthers center Brad Marchand (63) hoists the Stanley Cup after winning game six of the 2025 Stanley Cup Final against the Edmonton Oilers at Amerant Bank Arena. (Sam Navarro-Imagn Images)