Not Since 2019: No Florida Panthers or Tampa Bay Lightning in Stanley Cup Final

The Panthers did not make the playoffs in what turned out to be an injury plagued season; the Lightning were knocked out of the first round for the fourth straight postseason on Sunday night when it lost 2-1 to the Montreal Canadiens in Game 7.

No, this summer, the NHL’s traveling party will be spending June somewhere else than Florida.

Perhaps it will be in Buffalo, maybe Montreal or Raleigh. Perhaps even Philadelphia.

Regardless, it will not be here.

Not this summer.

And that’s OK.

Just look how far things have come.

***The Florida Panthers celebrate the 2025 Stanley Cup championship, the team’s second straight title, in Sunrise.***Credit: Sam Navarro-Imagn Images

The 2019 Stanley Cup Final between the eventual champion St. Louis Blues and Boston Bruins was the last championship round without a team from Florida.

The Lightning were Presidents’ Trophy winners that year — only got swept by Sergei Bobrovsky and the Columbus Blue Jackets in Round 1.

The Panthers didn’t even make it to the playoffs in 2019, but the tide seemed to be turning for the franchise when Vinnie Viola opened his checkbook wider than any other Panthers owner by signing Cup championship coach Joel Quenneville to a very lucrative deal — then going hard after Bobrovsky and pal Artemi Panarin.

Panarin decided he wanted to play in New York, but the Panthers landed Bobrovsky with the largest contract (seven years, $70 million) the team had previously ever handed out.

Life, as we knew it, would change in 2020 when the world was shutdown due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

After a long way away from the game, the NHL resumed with ‘bubbles’ in Toronto and Edmonton — with the Lightning beating the Dallas Stars for its first Stanley Cup championship since 2004.

The Panthers would have to wait a few more years to get their chance.

But they got it, and are ready to make another run at the Cup next season.

Hey, seven out of eight years for hockey in Florida would still be pretty good.

Florida Panthers coach Paul Maurice celebrates the 2024 Stanley Cup championship with his team and at least six fans on Fort Lauderdale Beach. Credit: Jim Rassol-Imagn Images

LOOKING BACK AT 2019

• **Top Rated TV Show:**The Big Bang Theory
• **Top Box Office Movie:**Avengers: End Game
• **Billboard Top 100:**Old Town Road – Lil Nas X featuring  Billy Ray Cyrus
• Gas Price: $2.72
• Notable Sports Moments: Tiger Woods wins the Masters; U.S. wins Women’s World Cup
• Stanley Cup Champions: St. Louis Blues
• **Super Bowl Champions:**New England Patriots
• World Series Champions: Washington Nationals
• **NBA Champions:**Toronto Raptors
• **Tampa Bay Lightning:**Swept in Round 1 by Sergei Bobrovsky and the Columbus Blue Jackets
• **Florida Panthers:**Missed playoffs; hired Joel Quenneville, signed Bobrovsky

ON DECK: FLORIDA PANTHERS OFFSEASON

• NHL Draft Lottery: Tuesday; Secaucus, NJ
• NHL Draft: June 26-27; KeyBank Center, Buffalo
• **NHL Free Agency:**Opens July 1
• Panthers Development Camp: Late June/Early July; IcePlex, Fort Lauderdale
• **Panthers Rookie Camp/Tournament:**Late August/Early Sept.; Site TBA
• Panthers Training Camp: Early/Mid September; Fort Lauderdale
• 2026-27 NHL Season Opens: Late September; Site, Opponent TBA

This article: Not Since 2019: No Florida Panthers or Tampa Bay Lightning in Stanley Cup Final originally appeared on Florida Hockey Now.