If you’ve been following me on social media for some time now, then you know all about my hatred for Florida sports teams. The fact that a majority of the people in this state can be “fair-weather fans” all of their life, and not get made fun of for it, is one of the biggest atrocities in all of sports. It’s sacrilegious, if you will.

But, I do have to give credit where credit is due. The Florida Panthers are, officially, your 2024-2025 Stanley Cup Champions. They have become the eighth team in league history to accomplish this feat, beating the Edmonton Oilers YET AGAIN four games to two. They did it pretty handily, with dominating performances against the Lighting (4-1), the Maple Leafs (4-3), the Hurricanes (4-1), and now the Oilers.

They earned this championship. They were the best team this postseason, I will admit that. But even though they are great at hockey…..it looks like they’re not the greatest at holding onto really old and expensive trophies. If you catch my drift?

The Panthers straight up broke the Stanley Cup before it even left the ice tonight 😳😭

(Photo by Peter Joneleit/Icon Sportswire) pic.twitter.com/KyDeNdREFz

— Gino Hard (@GinoHard_) June 18, 2025

BEFORE THEY EVEN LEFT THE ICE, the 2024-25 Florida Panthers were able to put a literal crack in the greatest trophy in sports history. During a time where the team was supposed to be celebrating the greatest moment in their lives……they ended up doing this.

For the record; this is not the first time that something like this has happened to the NHL’s top prize. Just a couple of years ago, in 2022, Nicolas Aube-Kubel of the Colorado Avalanche ended up denting Lord Stanley’s Cup after he tripped on his way to the team photo.

lmao pic.twitter.com/gd2xfLu01z

— Dimitri Filipovic (@DimFilipovic) June 27, 2022

Then, in 2011, there was the time when it fell off of a table at a media event during the Bruins’ Michael Ryder’s day with the cup.

It just happens. I hate to say it that way, because of the long standing history that this trophy has. But with big burly humans passing that thing around with reckless abandonment……it’s just something that we have to be cognizant about every hockey season.

If anything though…..I just hope they don’t three-peat. Could you imagine if the league had to send the trophy for the coldest sport in the world back down to the warmest part of the country? I feel like something would explode. I can just feel the “bad juju” from here, and it hasn’t even happened yet.

Congrats again to the Panthers for the win though. I hope you and all 20 of your fans enjoy the upcoming parade. But in the end, as always…..what do I know? I’m just a guy from the Midwest, with a beer and a laptop, trying to make sense of this world.