Modern NHL makes Panthers’ repeat Stanley Cup win all the more rare

The champagne and beer were still flowing in the Florida Panthers locker room when the questions began

Can this team actually three-peat? Is this a dynasty in the making

It's a possibility, but in the modern NHL, there are hurdles to overcome, and most of them have to do with dollars and cents

The Panthers beat the Edmonton Oilers in dominating fashion in Game 6 Tuesday to close out the series four games to two

They became just the 10th franchise in league history to win the Stanley Cup back-to-back

and the first to do it since the Tampa Bay Lightning in 2020 and 2021

They beat a team with perhaps the two best players in the league with ease

and they kept the Cup for another year. Everybody wrote us off from starting our playoffs

They had everybody beating us in every round, and we just had that fire

We knew we had something special, and it's incredible to be part of this group right now

Some guys played some big minutes shutting down some, I mean, two of the best players in the world

And that's not an easy job by any means. So, yeah, it really took everyone and everyone bought in

But can they buy in for a third year? A three-peat has not been accomplished since the New York Islanders 42 years ago

Take, for example, the guy we just heard from, Sam Bennett. He won the Conn Smythe Trophy as playoff MVP after leading the team with 15 goals

He's a free agent this offseason and will command some big bucks

If the Panthers want to make another run, they'll probably need to pay up

His coach Paul Maurice says it well deserved For Sam Bennett to be here today with this group of guys to have the success he had there a lot of heaviness that he had to unload There a lot of work that had to go into it He

just didn't show up with this talent and say, okay, feed me and I'll show you how good I am

Other impactful free agents include defenseman Aaron Ekblad, a Panthers lifer who's been with

the team 11 seasons, and future Hall of Famer Brad Marchand, who was acquired at the trade deadline

from Boston. All Marshawn did was score goals in four of the six final games and post 20 playoff

points. The league salary cap means they can't keep everyone and now that they're champions for

a second straight time other teams are going to pay top dollar for their services. I truly don't

think we win a Stanley Cup without him. He his leadership his his will to win it's inspiring

Marshawn may not return, but the Panthers have mastered the revolving door of players

Just look at last offseason, when key stars like Brandon Montour and Oliver Ekman-Larsen left for bigger contracts

Another factor that may be somewhat overlooked, after making their third straight trip to the finals

the Panthers have now played in 314 games, the most in NHL history over a three-year stretch

The mental and physical grind of that gauntlet, along with travel from the far southeastern corner of the country, will take its toll at some point

That means the roster depth Florida leaned on to win the last two Stanley Cups will be needed even more if they're going to make a run at a third straight

For the next couple weeks, it's going to be one big Panther party, but the grind starts again in just three short months

For Straight Arrow News, I'm Chris Francis. you