Florida has had a vice grip on the Stanley Cup this decade.
The Florida Panthers blew out the Edmonton Oilers 5-1 in Game 6 of the Stanley Cup Final on June 17, becoming NHL champions for the second straight season. They became the first back-to-back champs since … well, since the cross-state rival Tampa Bay Lightning won it all in 2020 and 2021.
The Sunshine State has been represented in the Stanley Cup Final for the past six years. The Lightning lost in their bid for a three-peat in 2022, while the Panthers came up short in their surprise run to the Final in 2023. They’ll get a chance at hoisting the Cup at the Elbo Room for the third straight year in 2026.
South Florida now has three back-to-back champions in its professional sports history: the 1972-73 Miami Dolphins (who won their first Super Bowl by capping the only undefeated season in modern NFL history), the 2012-13 Miami Heat (who made four straight NBA Finals with LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh) and these Panthers. The list of consecutive champs in NHL history is a bit longer over the league’s 107-year history.
How many teams have won the Stanley Cup back to back?
There have been 19 teams that have won consecutive Stanley Cup championships in NHL history. Ten franchises have accomplished the feat, with the Pittsburgh Penguins, Edmonton Oilers, Montreal Canadiens and Toronto Maple Leafs doing so on multiple occasions.
The longest streak goes to the Montreal Canadiens, who won five straight titles from 1956 to 1960. The last team to win more than two consecutive Stanley Cups is the New York Islanders, who won four in a row from 1980 to 1983 before Wayne Gretzky’s Edmonton Oilers dynasty took over, winning four titles over the next five seasons.
Back-to-back Stanley Cup champions
This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: How many teams have won back-to-back Stanley Cups? Florida Panthers join historic list
Reporting by Dan Rorabaugh, USA TODAY NETWORK – Florida / Palm Beach Post
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
