Panthers' names engraved on Stanley Cup

The Florida Panthers are officially etched into NHL history.

The 2023-24 Stanley Cup champions' names were engraved on the Stanley Cup this week.

In a picture posted to social media, 53 members of the Panthers team and staff were added to the trophy. Owner Vincent Viola and his family kick off the list, followed by general manager Bill Zito and head coach Paul Maurice.

Captain Aleksander Barkov is the first player listed, followed by his teammates in alphabetical order. Of the 24 players named on the trophy, 22 of them are engraved onto the Cup for the first time.

Forward Vladimir Tarasenko, who won the Cup in 2019 with the St. Louis Blues, and forward Carter Verhaeghe, who won with the Tampa Bay Lightning in 2020, are the only two players whose names are being engraved for the second time.

Hall of Fame goalie Roberto Luongo, who works as a special assistant to the general manager, was also engraved on the trophy for the first time.

Players who appeared in at least 41 regular-season games or one game in the Stanley Cup Final automatically get their names on the Cup, meaning Florida had to petition to have defenseman Josh Mahura (now with the Seattle Kraken) and forward Jonah Gadjovich's names engraved. 

In June, the Panthers won their first Stanley Cup championship after defeating the Edmonton Oilers in seven games.

The Stanley Cup will begin its summer tour next week, spending a day with each member of the Panthers. Goalie Anthony Stolarz, who signed with the Toronto Maple Leafs in free agency, will be the first player to have his day with the Cup.

This is the second time the engraving has taken place before the tour, following the 2022-23 Vegas Golden Knights last year. Prior to that, the names were usually engraved on the trophy in later September or early October.