After a blowout win in Game 5, thanks to Brad Marchand’s heroics, the Florida Panthers are gearing up for Game 6. If they win, then they just successfully defended their status as Stanley Cup Champions, and with it comes the burning question on everyone’s mind: Are they officially a dynasty?
While this is a subjective answer, I’m going to tell you what they have going for them. Since the turn of the decade, the Panthers have:
- Made the playoffs each season except in 2020 (lost in the qualifying round)
- Won the President’s Trophy in 2021-22 - unlike some, I hold this in a higher regard
- Knocked off TWO Presidents’ Trophy winners - Boston Bruins, New York Rangers
- Earned three straight trips to the Stanley Cup Finals
- Won the Stanley Cup Finals, and may win another
Yeah, so it’s safe to say that, if the Panthers win tonight, they can make a case. Plus, even if one doesn’t call them a dynasty yet, chances are this team’s not going to the wayside anytime soon.
Why the Florida Panthers won’t be a dynasty just yet
You can make a strong case that the Panthers aren’t quite a dynasty, and the first one is this: Across the four North American pro sports leagues, most dynasties won at least three championships in a single decade.
If the Panthers win either tonight or, if necessary, in Game 7, it gives them two titles. But they’ll be a lot closer than they otherwise would’ve if they ended up losing in Games 6 and 7. Until they win that third championship, it would be tougher to put them in the same sentence as teams like the New York Islanders and, ironically, the Edmonton Oilers of the 1980s.
Those two teams are objectively dynasties and there’s no question about it. Ditto for the Chicago Blackhawks teams of the 2010s. Even if the Panthers could line up against and beat those squads, it’s still tough to call them a dynasty.
Another step closer is another step closer and the fans couldn’t care less
Nor should you care less. If you ask most Panthers fans about their take on whether winning a Cup in either Game 6 or 7 makes their team a dynasty, they’d probably shrug their shoulders and say, “I’m only worried about them winning back the Cup.”
Or defending the Cup. To many of them, it’s all that’s on their minds and, to be honest, it’s all that should be. Just take either Game 6 or 7, and we’ll worry about winning a third straight Cup. At that point, it’d be no question.
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