Photo credit: NPR

The Florida Panthers have had a magical last month after capturing the Stanley Cup, but now, it will be taken away from them after their Cup parade.

Despite almost giving up a 3-0 lead in the Stanley Cup Finals, after 30 years of existence, the Florida Panthers finally got to celebrate their first ever Stanley Cup victory.

The celebrations raged long and hard in south Florida, even with several key players departing the team in free agency. Now however, their celebrations with the Stanley Cup will come to an end, as they now officially give up the Cup to the Keeper of the Cup, allowing their names to be engraved and immortalized forever.

They will join the bottom band of the Stanley Cup that dates back to the Capitals in 2018, and once on there, they will remain there for at least 60 years before being enshrined in the Hockey Hall of Fame. In 2023, the Keeper of the Cup began engraving names much earlier, and with captain Aleksander Barkov heading back to Finland for his day with the Cup, he’ll do so with his name on there.

More history was made in 2024 as the first Evan ever will be engraved on the Cup after a fantastic year from Evan Rodrigues, and when all of these players have their day with the Cup, it will be one they remember forever.
According to NHL.com, Phil Prichard, the keeper of the Cup, packed up the Stanley Cup after a late and festive night following the championship celebration on Sunday in Fort Lauderdale.

On Monday, Prichard flew to Montreal where he handed over the Stanley Cup to Louise St. Jacques, who will work on engraving the names of the 52 players and staff members into the silverware.

According to Dave Stubbs’ article on NHL.com, St. Jacques had to disassemble the trophy, then repair ‘the damage and polish the silver and nickel alloy.'”

– George Richards
The journalist also notes that the Stanley Cup will undergo repairs due to significant damage it sustained in recent days.