The Florida Panthers won a pivotal Game 5 of the 2025 Stanley Cup Finals, giving them a 3-2 series lead over the Edmonton Oilers with the scene shifting back to Florida for Game 6. The Panthers have a chance to win the Stanley Cup on home ice. There's no better feeling than that.
Doing so would be easier said than done, of course, and their franchise history when it comes to winning Stanley Cups proves just that.
How many Stanley Cups have the Panthers won?
Last year's Stanley Cup Final resulted in Florida lifting the trophy for the first time in the franchise's 31-year history. Now, they're one win away from doing so in back-to-back seasons. Winning one Stanley Cup is hard enough, but doing so twice in a row is incredibly rare in this sport.
It took the Panthers three decades to finally win it all, but they finally got the monkey off their back last season and are dangerously close to repeating. Frankly, with the core that they have in place and the culture they've built, it wouldn't be shocking to see them add to their trophy case in the not-too-distant future, too.
How many appearances do the Panthers have in the Stanley Cup Final?
While they only have one trophy, the Panthers have advanced to the Stanley Cup Final four times in their history. They won it their third time around and are hoping for back-to-back wins.
Year | Opponent | Result |
|---|---|---|
1995-96 | Colorado Avalanche | 4-0 L |
2022-23 | Vegas Golden Knights | 4-1 L |
2023-24 | Edmonton Oilers | 4-3 W |
Their first appearance came in the 1995-96 campaign, their third year of existence. It was impressive for Florida to have gotten to the Finals so soon, especially after missing the playoffs entirely in their first two years, but Patrick Roy and the Colorado Avalanche completely overmatched them. The Panthers were swept in four games and managed to score four goals in total.
Their second appearance would come nearly three decades later, but end in a similar result. The Panthers impressively advanced to the Cup Final despite narrowly making the playoffs, but were thoroughly outplayed by the Vegas Golden Knights and wound up losing in five games.
Thankfully, the tides turned in a big way the following season as the Panthers not only won more than a game, but won the series against the Oilers. Now, just one year later, they hope to win it all again. This is Florida's third straight appearance in the Cup Final after they had just one appearance in nearly three decades in franchise history. A second win would go a long way.