FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — Champagne was swilled and spilled, cigars were smoked and the Stanley Cup was hoisted a few more times, all with about 400,000 people watching.
The Florida Panthers are getting pretty good at these parades.
The back-to-back Stanley Cup champions had their championship parade and rally on Fort Lauderdale Beach on Sunday, the same setup as last year — except this time, bright sunshine greeted the champs as opposed to downpours and lightning a year ago.
«It's a little better day today than it was last year, but still, this is amazing,» Panthers captain Aleksander Barkov said. «What a day we're having with you guys.»
Panthers coach Paul Maurice declared this «the summer of love» for fans of the team, doing so while wearing another shirt featured his beloved cats Poppy and Penny — a shirt made by his daughter. He wore a similar shirt to last year's parade, also made by his daughter.
There were cries of «Thank you, Boston» when Brad Marchand — who came to Florida in a trade with the rival Bruins — was introduced. Marchand, a free agent, again indicated that he wants to be back with the Panthers, who won this season's Cup by topping the Edmonton Oilers in six games.
«I'm so happy that I don't have to play against these guys anymore,» Marchand said, pointing to his Florida teammates.
Panthers forward Matthew Tkachuk drew loud roars when he told the crowd that he «would like to apologize to absolutely… nobody because a double champ does whatever… he wants,» copying a line used by Conor McGregor when he became a double UFC champion.
«I could get used to this,» Tkachuk said as he looked out at the crowd — some of whom were in the water, with most others packed hundreds of yards deep down the sand. Tkachuk
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