No team, no fan in the NHL would want to see their Conn Smythe Trophy winner walking away. Matthew Tkachuk wouldn’t want his teammate of 8 years walking away. Well, then it’s good news, isn’t it, what Sam Bennett declared at the Stanley Cup celebrations? Yes, the top scorer of the 2025 Playoffs wants to stay at the Florida Panthers. All they need to do is come to a contractual agreement.
Well, why would Bennett want to continue at the Panthers? Such an amazing job they have been doing for the last 3-4 years. They are a mini dynasty right now. But for Matthew Tkachuk, there’s more to it. It’s not just the success that’s keeping the core together. And the little anecdote that the Panthers alternate captain shared tells a lot about this organization. So, here’s the scoop.
It’s Jameson Olive again with a Twitter update. The Panthers’ Social Media manager dropped a touching update on June 21. “Tkachuk: “We had tables for 40 or whatever it was for every single dinner on the road this year. No team does that.” The Panthers forward had further added, “Our teams is closer than every team. Players, trainers, the staff that doesn’t get enough credit in our opinion, we’re doing everything together.”
Tkachuk: “We had tables for 40 or whatever it was for every single dinner on the road this year. No team does that. Our teams is closer than every team. Players, trainers, the staff that doesn’t get enough credit in our opinion, we’re doing everything together.”
— Jameson Olive (@JamesonCoop) June 21, 2025
Well, we have heard this culture from time to time about teams having their lunch together. Who comes to mind when we think of having a meal together? Family, close loved ones. Bonding over a meal has been heard to be the most fluid way in which people grow friendships. It lifts your spirits individually. And even a singular person in that group feels warm, that he or she is not alone in this.
It’s so amazing how the Panthers have perfectly fostered the true concept of team in that organization. Coach Paul Maurice spoke of how there is no star culture in the locker room. Matthew Tkachuk spoke during the Conference Finals about how they fight for one another. “Our team will stick up for each other, and we’ve got a great bond in that room. We’ve gone through so much this year and years prior to that, you know? We’ve become a family.”
And when they win, it’s everybody’s win. Not just the ones on the ice. Not just the players. It’s the collective effort of everyone in the organization. So, what Tkachuk did after the Eastern Conference Championship win is apt.
Matthew Tkachuk and his gesture that spoke louder than words
The Panthers have claimed the last 3 Conference Titles. And the world got to see something that set the Panthers apart again. For the presentation of the Prince of Wales Trophy, the whole Panthers contingent joined in for the team photo. In fact, it was Matthew Tkachuk who suggested everyone should be a part of it. And there’s a story behind it.
It was the Panthers coach who detailed the account. And you could tell how proud he is of his alternate captain. “He’s (Tkachuk) very aware of all the people around him. That they all are made to feel special.” In fact, Paul Maurice spoke of the same sentiments that Matthew Tkachuk spoke of when talking about Sam Bennett and the team dinners.
Maurice said, “It’s real. That’s who he is. It’s not like, ‘Hey, the right thing for me to do is make sure all these guys get in.’ It’s, ‘I really want all these people in this. I want to; we’re connected like that’. ‘I want them to feel what we feel because they’re a part of this’.” They dine together, they win together, and they also lose together. But today, they are all Stanley Cup winners.
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