Stanley Cup hangover? No such thing for the Panthers

Over the years, the common notion has been that a championship team will have a slight slump early in the following season.

However, recently, that has not been the case in the NHL.

Last season, the Vegas Golden Knights, fresh off winning the Stanley Cup in 2023, won 11 of their first 12 games. In 2024-25, the Florida Panthers are doing their part of shaking off any potential lapse after claiming the franchise’s first championship last spring.

Through seven games, the Panthers have gone 4-2-1, one of 10 teams to have four wins on their record already this season. Their nine points through seven games is the most of any team in the Atlantic Division.

Tyler Yaremchuk: It feels like people backed off the Florida Panthers a little bit…they’re off to a great start. They’re sitting atop the division. There’s been no hangover in Florida…Were you surprised that maybe people weren’t so bullish on the Panthers coming into this year, and do you think they have an outside shot at repeating or even going on another run?

Jonny Lazarus: I don’t know if they can go on another run just because they played so much hockey…Florida’s one of those teams now, what they’ve become, is similar to like a Boston or a Carolina where no matter who wears the jersey, you know exactly the type of standard they’re going to play to.

With [Sergei] Bobrovsky and Sam Reinhart playing the way that he is, he’s been off to a hot start. Sam Bennett’s gotten off to a hot start. This Florida team, you know exactly what to expect, but I don’t have them getting back to the Stanley Cup Final this year. Obviously, they’re going to be competitive in the playoffs, they always are.

On Tuesday’s edition of Daily Faceoff LIVE, Tyler Yaremchuk and Jonny Lazarus break down what has worked for the Panthers through the first few weeks of the season.

You can watch the full segment and entire episode here…