The Florida Panthers showed Miami how it’s done after taking home their first-ever Stanley Cup. The South Florida-based team — who defeated the Edmonton Oilers 2-1 on Monday, June 25 in a history-making moment in the NHL — partied to the nines following the win, kicking off the festivities at South Beach hotspot CATCH Miami Beach before taking the party to nightclub E11EVEN Miami.
While CATCH Miami Beach was filled with all 40 members of the Florida Panthers, all patrons at the restaurant were treated the celebratory activities, which included team captain Aleksander Barkov parading through the dining room holding the Stanley Cup over his head. Everyone erupted into cheers and applause while cameras flashed wildly as Barkov made his way throughout the room. Matthew Tkachuk — who also waded into the Atlantic with the gigantic silver trophy — and Aaron Ekblad took turns drinking beer from the Cup.
The Panthers only ramped up the celebratory vibes even more when they headed to E11EVEN Miami to sip on some drinks, blast that music — what else but Queen’s iconic rock anthem, “We Are the Champions”? — and hit the red carpet. The team sprayed 10 bottles’ worth of champagne on the revelers as Carter Verhaeghe, Kyle Okposo, and Sam Bennett passed the Cup around the bar. Tkachuk, for his part, showed no signs of slowing down — going from chugging some brew out of the Stanley Cup at CATCH Miami Beach to crowd-surfing at E11EVEN.
While the players enjoyed the night of debauchery as a team, they also made sure to do it up with their fans, too. Barkov posed for countless selfies with hockey fanatics throughout the night while Tkahuk relied on his fellow club patrons to literally keep him afloat as he crowd surfed through the venue.
