8 hours ago
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The Stanley Cup-winning Florida Panthers are on a wild, party-filled tour.
After defeating the Edmonton Oilers in six games, the Panthers attended E11EVEN in Miami, where they reportedly spent an obscene $500,000 on the night.
The club, open 24 hours a day during weekends in Miami, hosted the team until the wee hours of the morning and some of the players didn’t want to leave.
Captain Aleksander Barkov had to pull Brad Marchand away from the club at 5 a.m. ET once he found out the bill was comped.
“He was going to pay before he realized it was a $500k comp,” Panthers forward Matthew Tkachuk said on Barstool Sports’ “Spittin’ Chiclets” podcast. “We’re treated pretty well there. They do a good job, they’re classy.”
The team also had its parade on Sunday in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., as the celebration raged on.
Ex-NHLer, TV analyst and “Spittin’ Chiclets” co-host Paul Bissonnette added on the podcast that there was a lot of “pent-up partying that was on display between E11EVEN, the parade, dunking in the ocean… it was an all spectacle that definitely rivals that 2019 Washington team.
“Seeing Marchand holding the cup crowd surfing at E11EVEN was out of control,” former NHLer Ryan Whitney added on the podcast.
Marchand was seen crowd-surfing with the Stanley Cup while “Pink Pony Club” by Chappell Roan played as his teammates hoisted him in a wild frenzy.
Rising free agent Aaron Ekblad appeared to give a speech to his teammates during the wild outing, which fans were able to purchase tickets for.
“I am so grateful,” Ekbald said while at the club. “Eleven f–king years you guys believed in me.”
Florida has most of its core starters under contract but plenty of role players will likely be available come free agency.
Barkov and his teammates had previously knocked on his neighbors’ doors at 5 a.m. to celebrate with the trophy after their clinching win and the party has only escalated since.
English (US)