What did Florida Panthers’ Matthew Tkachuk’s do with the Stanley Cup?
Fresh from their Stanley Cup win over the Oilers, it may be that the Panthers took celebrations too far, but something tells us the party is just getting started.
We’ve seen soccer players drop a trophy during their victory parade and we’ve seen a MotoGP winner crash on his victory lap. Indeed, the world of sports is full of funny and even bizarre celebrations when it comes to winning a championship. Yet, we’ve never seen something quite like this.
Yes, Matthew Tkachuk ran into the sea with the Stanley Cup
As strange as it sounds, it’s true. As you already know, the Florida Panthers won their first Stanley Cup title in franchise history on Monday night after they defeated the Edmonton Oilers 2–1 in Game 7 of the series. With that, the celebrations began. Now, as you can probably guess, they didn’t stop until well into Tuesday. To that end, it was no surprise to see Panthers star forward Matthew Tkachuk and his teammates at a beach in South Florida on Tuesday morning. What was surprising, however, was what Tkachuk proceeded to do with the Stanley Cup itself.
That’s right, Matthew Tkachuk ran into the Atlantic Ocean with the oldest trophy in U.S. Sports and as you can see in the clip below, it just made sense. After all, it’s not every day you return to a Stanley Cup Final after falling short in the series just one season before and then going on to win it. It should also be said that the Panthers blew a 3-0 lead in the series after the Oilers’ inspired performances forced a Game 7. For perspective, the only team in NHL history to lose a Stanley Cup Final after leading 3-0 was the Detroit Red Wings in 1942 who lost four straight to the Toronto Maple Leafs. This is all to say, there was a lot of emotion behind this win.
As for Tkachuk himself, the 26-year-old was prolific during the postseason. In the 24 games that he played, Tkachuk notched six goals and 16 assists for a total of 22 points, tying Aleksander Barkov for the team lead. In the Stanley Cup final, he scored one goal to go with two assists. Of course, one has to wonder whether in years to come, it will be his stats and performances in the Stanley Cup Final that fans remember first, or what he did with Lord Stanley’s famous cup.