Panthers can set foundation for 3rd straight Stanley Cup win at training camp

Legendary hockey reporter Stan Fischler writes a weekly scrapbook for NHL.com. Fischler, known as "The Hockey Maven," shares his humor and insight with readers each Wednesday. The beginning of NHL training camps this week presents a look at how key preseason decisions led to Stanley Cup triumphs for the Toronto Maple Leafs in 1947 and Florida Panthers in 2024, and perhaps Florida trifecta next June.

Can a training camp be a major factor in helping a team win the Stanley Cup?

It certainly can.

It did in 1946 for the Toronto Maple Leafs and 2024 for the Florida Panthers. Though each camp was conspicuously different from the other, the results were the same, a Stanley Cup championship.

When the Maple Leafs opened camp for the 1946-47 season, general manager Conn Smythe had little hope for winning the Cup after missing the Stanley Cup Playoffs the season before.

"There are too many old men on our team," Smythe said.

By contrast, Panthers GM Bill Zito took a different tactic when the first-time Stanley Cup champions practiced last September at Baptist Health IcePlex. Zito believed that with judicious replacements, and perhaps a major trade, they could repeat as champs.

The plan worked to perfection. Florida acquired Brad Marchand from the Boston Bruins and Seth Jones from the Chicago Blackhawks before the NHL Trade Deadline on March 7.

"The Panthers have grown into a team with no soft targets," wrote David Dwork in "The Hockey News Yearbook" previewing the 2025-26 season. "They will beat you with their skill and physicality."

After free agent defenseman Nate Schmidt signed a three-year contract with the Utah Mammoth on July 1, the Panthers signed Jeff Petry to a one-year deal. Undrafted defenseman Uvis Balinskis is back at camp after his playing time was limited once Jones arrived March 1.

The Maple Leafs discovered speedy right wing Howie Meeker and signed him to a free agent contract April 13, 1946. Meeker would win the 1947 Calder Trophy given to the NHL rookie of the year and contribute to Stanley Cup-winning teams in 1947, '48 and '51.

"Meeker was a sassy little guy who stood no more than [5-foot-8]," wrote Jack Batten in "The Leafs in Autumn."

"He worked out beautifully from the start of camp and ignited the team."

Speaking of sassy and little, Marchand (5-9, 180) is in first training camp with the Panthers after signing a six-year contract. The 37-year-old had 20 points (10 goals, 10 assists) in 23 postseason games and formed a ferocious third line with left wing Eetu Luostarinen and center Anton Lundell.

With one notable exception -- defenseman Bill Barilko was promoted from Hollywood of the Pacific Coast League on Feb. 6, 1947 -- the Maple Leafs acquired all their 1946 camp additions in one swoop. The newcomers included defensemen Gus Mortson, Jimmy Thomson and Garth Boesch, and forward Vic Lynn.

"This rebuilding job won't be easy," Smythe told author Ed Fitkin in "C'mon Teeder!"

Smythe then made a prediction: "It may take us two years, and it may take us five!"

The 1946-47 season was all that was needed. The Maple Leafs unveiled a productive 'Kid Line' and all four starting defensemen were rookies by the time they were Stanley Cup champions.

"From the first day of camp, coach Hap Day came up with a new, winning forward unit -- Ted Kennedy, Vic Lynn and Howie Meeker," wrote legendary play-by-play broadcaster Foster Hewitt in Sport Magazine. "That Kid Line was outstanding in the '47 playoffs."

And like those Maple Leafs, the Panthers have been backed by a well-tested goalie. Day relied on 32-year-old Turk Broda, who would enter the Hockey Hall of Fame with the Class of 1967. The Panthers became back-to-back champions behind Sergei Bobrovsky, who turns 37 on Saturday.

The Maple Leafs then and the Panthers now also share a strong sense of camaraderie. "Nobody pops anybody on my club without getting popped back" was Smythe's mantra. The contemporary Panthers share that philosophy.

"The Leafs grew together since that training camp in 1946," historian Kevin Shea wrote in "The Toronto Maple Leaf Hockey Club: Official Centennial Publication."

"Players became close on and off the ice and rallied behind each other with the best result -- they won the Stanley Cup three years in a row."

Now it's the Panthers' turn to try and duplicate the feat.