The Panthers became “only the 10th different franchise in NHL history to repeat as Stanley Cup champions” with their 5-1 win over the Oilers in Game 6 of the Stanley Cup Final last night, also becoming the “third team in South Florida history to win back-to-back titles,” joining the Dolphins of the early 1970s and the Heat in the early 2010s. The team has “become the gold standard of how to run a sports franchise” (PALM BEACH POST, 6/17). The Panthers are now the “toast of sports” after winning their second straight Stanley Cup, complete with a fan base “built from nearly nothing with the kind of success in recent years that rivals the greatest South Florida teams ever” (South Florida SUN-SENTINEL, 6/17).

While the Panthers are “not quite a dynasty yet,” they are “well on their way.” There “have been better clubs in NHL history,” but it might be time to “wonder if there’s been a better back-to-front playoff team” (GLOBE & MAIL, 6/17). Panthers GM Bill Zito has “built the model franchise, not only for South Florida, but for the entire NHL.” He can now “be placed alongside South Florida roster-building heroes Don Shula and Pat Riley.” Zito “has constructed an emerging dynasty” and “will go down in South Florida sports lore” (PALM BEACH POST, 6/17).

Fort Lauderdale Mayor Dean Trantalis said that the team’s championship parade is “tentatively planned for Sunday” and the route “will ‘most likely’ be down A1A in Fort Lauderdale beach.” Last year’s beachfront parade drew an estimated crowd of at least 200,000 people “despite pouring rain and lightning” (South Florida SUN-SENTINEL, 6/17). Admission is “free to the parade and to the rally,” although the team and city “have set up special VIP areas which will not be accessible to the public” (FLORIDA HOCKEY NOW, 6/17).