The 2025-26 NHL season will begin at Amerant Bank Arena, where the two-time Stanley Cup champion Florida Panthers will host the Chicago Blackhawks on Oct. 7 as part of a season-opening tripleheader, the league announced Monday.

Champagne was swilled and spilled, cigars were smoked and the Stanley Cup was hoisted a few more times, all with about 400,000 people watching.

The Florida Panthers’ Stanley Cup championship festivities have included an all-night celebration at a popular beach bar; crowd surfing, pole climbing and impromptu karaoke at a Miami nightclub; a Brad Marchand appearance at Dairy Queen; a few team dinners and a boat ride.

Hockey is seeing a surge in popularity and buzz, fed by the 4 Nations tournament, Alex Ovechkin’s stirring run to the NHL career goals record and the Florida Panthers repeating as Stanley Cup champions.

Sam Bennett has won the Conn Smythe Trophy as playoff MVP after leading the Florida Panthers to a second consecutive Stanley Cup championship.

The Florida Panthers repeated as Stanley Cup champions by beating the Edmonton Oilers 5-1 in Game 6 of the final.

The Florida Panthers are one win on home ice away from repeating as Stanley Cup champions.

Connor McDavid scored his first goal of this Stanley Cup Final in Game 5, only after he and the Edmonton Oilers fell behind 3-0 on the way to getting pushed to the brink by the defending champion Florida Panthers.

Coach Kris Knoblauch is not sure whether Stuart Skinner or Calvin Pickard will start in goal for the Edmonton Oilers when they face elimination in Game 6 of the Stanley Cup Final against the Florida Panthers.

Brad Marchand scored twice, Sam Bennett had his NHL playoff-leading 15th goal and the Florida Panthers moved to the verge of a second consecutive Stanley Cup title by beating the Edmonton Oilers 5-2 in Game 5 on Saturday night.

Panthers head coach Paul Maurice said his players are “wired as probably every fan is” as Florida regroups following a 5-4 overtime loss to the Edmonton Oilers in Game 4 of the Stanley Cup Final.

Leon Draisaitl scored in overtime for the fourth time this playoffs, and the Edmonton Oilers beat the Florida Panthers 5-4 in Game 4 of the Stanley Cup Final and tie the series, erasing a three-goal deficit and bouncing back from allowing the tying goal in waning seconds of regulation.

In a single shift, Florida Panthers forward Sam Bennett showed why he’s been one of the most unstoppable players in the Stanley Cup playoffs.

A.

The Panthers are in the Stanley Cup Final for the third straight year.

The first two games of the Stanley Cup Final have gone to overtime, only the sixth time in NHL history that’s happened and first since 2014.

Brad Marchand scored on a breakaway in double overtime and the defending champion Florida Panthers punched back against the Edmonton Oilers in Game 2 of their Stanley Cup Final rematch, winning 5-4 to even the series.

If the series opener of the Stanley Cup Final is a hint of things to come, the Edmonton Oilers and Florida Panthers are about to give everyone a memorable show.

Edmonton Oilers forward Zach Hyman says his right wrist got dislocated late in the Western Conference final when he was hit by Dallas' Mason Marchment.

The Florida Panthers arrived in Edmonton on Tuesday with one thing on their minds: chasing the Stanley Cup, again.

The only times that Sergei Bobrovsky spent any time really reflecting on winning the Stanley Cup were the obvious moments.

Florida’s Aleksander Barkov thought the team meeting was over.

Florida coach Paul Maurice keeps the day-to-day routine simple.

The Florida Panthers’ Game 5 victory over the Carolina Hurricanes at Lenovo Center has now put the team in historic territory.

The Florida Panthers don’t play hockey every day.

Florida captain Aleksander Barkov is an unassuming star.

Florida coach Paul Maurice did not shake hands with the Carolina Hurricanes when the Eastern Conference final ended.

A controversy — a creamy, delicious one — has been brewing in the Florida Panthers' locker room, surrounding some potentially decadent behavior on the part of Brad Marchand during Game 3 of the Eastern Conference finals against the Carolina Hurricanes.

The Florida Panthers are one win away from a return trip to the Stanley Cup Final.

Sam Reinhart did not play for the Florida Panthers in Game 3 of the Eastern Conference finals against Carolina on Saturday night because of a left knee injury, one that happened Thursday when he was skated into by the Hurricanes’ Sebastian Aho.

Carolina Hurricanes forward Taylor Hall and Florida Panthers defenseman Seth Jones have gone from playing for a rebuilding team in Chicago to battling in the Eastern Conference final.

The Florida Panthers showed their championship mettle from last year's run to the Stanley Cup by taking control early in their 5-2 win against the Carolina Hurricanes to open the Eastern Conference final Tuesday night.

Sergei Bobrovsky made 19 saves, Florida scored three times in a 6:24 span in the second period and the Panthers routed the Toronto Maple Leafs 6-1 in Game 7 on Sunday night to advance to their third straight Eastern Conference Final.

With a trip to the Eastern Conference Final against the Carolina Hurricanes on the line, the Florida Panthers and Toronto Maple Leafs will meet Sunday at 7:30 p.m. ET at Scotiabank Arena.

Auston Matthews got his first goal of the series to break a scoreless tie in the third period, Joseph Woll stopped 21 shots, and the Toronto Maple Leafs kept their season alive by beating the Florida Panthers 2-0 in Game 6 of their Eastern Conference semifinal series Friday night.

The Panthers are heading to Toronto again.

Connor Hellebuyck is starting to again look like the goalie that was so dominant in the regular season for Winnipeg.

The Cats are ready to hit the road and play against the Maple Leafs

Paul Maurice’s Florida Panthers, who had a remarkable third period comeback in Game 4 of their first-round series against the Tampa Bay Lightning, know the formula for Game 5.

The wild-card berth has suited Minnesota well.

The Florida Panthers are waiting to see if captain Aleksander Barkov will be able to play Saturday when their playoff series resumes against the Tampa Bay Lightning.

Florida captain Aleksander Barkov missed the final 10:09 of the Panthers’ win in Game 2 of their Eastern Conference first-round series at Tampa Bay on Thursday night, after taking a hit from the Lightning’s Brandon Hagel.

Home-ice advantage hasn’t really existed over the past couple of years in the Stanley Cup playoffs.

Matthew Tkachuk returned to the lineup and was back to his old self quickly for the Florida Panthers on Tuesday night.

Matthew Tkachuk returned to the lineup and was back to his old self quickly for the Florida Panthers on Tuesday night.

It appears the Florida Panthers will get their star forward back for Game 1 against Tampa Bay.

It’s been a long month for Aaron Ekblad.

Brad Marchand got his first Florida goal to cap a three-goal second period, and the Panthers rallied to beat the Detroit Red Wings 4-1 on Thursday night for their second consecutive win.

Brad Marchand's debut in a Florida Panthers uniform was an unqualified success.

The Florida Panthers have been playing without injured top forward Matthew Tkachuk for a month.

Brad Marchand stepped back onto the ice at the TD Garden in a Panthers practice jersey as the longtime Bruins player returned to Boston for the first time since he was traded to Florida.

Aleksander Barkov looked across the Florida Panthers’ locker room on Saturday morning and noticed a new addition.

The Cats are facing a familiar opponent on Thursday.

The Panthers are getting testing on one of their star players.

The Panthers returned to practice on Thursday.

The Washington Capitals are the top team in the NHL more than halfway through the season.

Sam Reinhart got his 30th goal of the season and added two assists, Matthew Tkachuk scored for the third time in the last four games and the Florida Panthers beat the Chicago Blackhawks 5-1 on Saturday.

The Florida Panthers have given out another big contract extension — this one, to their Stanley Cup-winning coach.

Panthers head coach Paul Maurice is here to stay.

The Florida Panthers opened the 2024-25 campaign with a bang, first watching their first Stanley Cup Championship banner rise high into the rafters Tuesday at Amerant Bank Arena before knocking off the Boston Bruins, 6-4.

What happened on the ice on the night of June 24 was something that the Florida Panthers will never forget.

The Cats with another celebration of their greatest season ever.

The Florida Panthers brought a female coach in for training camp to help out for a few days.

The Florida Panthers were back on the ice Thursday, kicking off their first day of training camp as they prepare for another shot at Lord Stanley.

The puck went into the corner, to the left of Florida goalie Sergei Bobrovsky, with 14 seconds left in Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Final.

The Florida Panthers, fresh off their historic Stanley Cup victory, are officially back in action as they prepare to defend their title.

The Florida Panthers Stanley Cup Champions celebrated with their fans on Sunday in Fort Lauderdale Beach.

The Florida Panthers Stanley Cup Champions celebrated with their fans on Sunday in Fort Lauderdale Beach.

The Florida Panthers have won their first Stanley Cup in franchise history.

Paul Maurice was once the last player picked in the NHL draft. An afterthought, almost. He never made it to the league as a player. And there were many times when he wondered if his name would ever be on the Stanley Cup. Wonder no more.

The Florida Panthers will host the Edmonton Oilers on Monday night in Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Final.

It’s very simple for the Florida Panthers now.

It’s the greatest offer a team could get at the start of a season: Reach Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Final, and as an added bonus, play host to it in your rink.

Edmonton Oilers coach Kris Knoblauch and his staff successfully challenged a goal by the Florida Panthers at a crucial juncture of Game 6 of the Stanley Cup Final.

Florida Panthers fans are set to fill up the Amerant Bank Arena on Friday night in Sunrise. The tickets for the game watch party available at noon were as low as $44.

The Stanley Cup will be in the building once again Friday night with the Florida Panthers getting their third chance to win the first championship in franchise history in Game 6 against the Edmonton Oilers.

The Florida Panthers got some practice in at the Baptist Health IcePlex in Fort Lauderdale before flying north Thursday as they hope to secure a Stanley Cup victory in Game 6 against Edmonton Friday night.

Yes, the Florida Panthers have lost their last two games and gotten embarrassed in one of them.

The Panthers arrived in Edmonton less than 24 hours before Game 3 of the Stanley Cup Final after storms in South Florida delayed their lengthy cross-continental flight.

Kris Knoblauch engaged Evander Kane in a conversation before the Edmonton Oilers started practice. The chat lasted roughly five minutes, and Kane left the ice just after hearing from his coach.

Florida captain Aleksander Barkov practiced again after being knocked out of Game 2 of the Stanley Cup final in the third period after Edmonton forward Leon Draisaitl launched toward him and hit him in the head.

As the Edmonton Oilers boarded their flight back to Alberta for Game 3 of the Stanley Cup Final on Tuesday, the Florida Panthers remained in South Florida.

The Panthers are waiting on their captain.

Sometimes it is not easy for the Florida Panthers to score goals, in large part because their brand of hockey is so predicated on keeping their opponent from doing so.

Evan Rodrigues had two goals in the third period, Niko Mikkola and Aaron Ekblad also scored and the Florida Panthers beat the Edmonton Oilers 4-1 to take a 2-0 lead in the Stanley Cup Final.

A year after a broken leg sidelined Eetu Luostarinen for the Stanley Cup Final, the flexible Finn is healthy this time around.

Including playoffs, Florida coach Paul Maurice has 935 wins as an NHL head coach.

Florida Panthers head coach Paul Maurice certainly wasn’t shy about his words as his team gets ready to collide with the Edmonton Oilers in Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Final on Saturday morning.

It's not exactly uncommon for a team that gets a championship shot and falls short one year to say that it'll be back the next.

Sergei Bobrovsky stopped 23 shots, Sam Bennett and Vladimir Tarasenko scored, and the Florida Panthers are headed to the Stanley Cup Final for the second consecutive year after beating the New York Rangers 2-1 on Saturday night.

Sergei Bobrovsky stopped 23 shots, Sam Bennett and Vladimir Tarasenko scored, and the Florida Panthers are headed to the Stanley Cup Final for the second consecutive year after beating the New York Rangers 2-1 on Saturday night.

The Cats are playing the most important game of the season on Thursday night.

The Panthers are hoping to bounce back against the Rangers.

The Florida Panthers are hoping to take two road games from the Rangers.

Sergei Bobrovsky stopped 23 shots for his first shutout of the postseason, Matthew Tkachuk had a goal and an assist and the Florida Panthers beat the New York Rangers 3-0 on Wednesday night in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference final.

The Panthers are getting ready to start the Eastern Conference Finals.

Aleksander Barkov had two game-winning goals in Florida's series against Boston.

The Florida Panthers will play the New York Rangers for a spot in the Stanley Cup Final.

Gustav Forsling scored the tiebreaking goal on a rebound with 1:33 left to lead the Florida Panthers to a 2-1 victory and eliminate the Boston Bruins from their second-round playoff series in six games.

The biggest controversy so far in the NHL playoffs came in the first round when the Tampa Bay Lightning on the wrong end of a couple of questionable goaltender interference rulings in the game they were eliminated by Florida in the first round.