Stenlund receives Stanley Cup ring before facing old team

With the Florida Panthers in town, Kevin Stenlund got to catch up with some old friends and got a long-awaited gift.

The Utah Hockey Club forward, who won the Stanley Cup with the Panthers last season, enjoyed a team dinner on Tuesday with some of his former teammates. After greeting his old teammates grinning ear-to-ear, he got to try on his Stanley Cup championship ring.

“Just gets better every time,” Stenlund said as he opened the box to reveal the ring. “That’s pretty nice, eh?”

The Panthers face off against Utah on Wednesday night at the Delta Center.

Over the summer, the Swedish forward took the Stanley Cup to his hometown ice rink in Tumba, Sweden, where he grew up playing hockey.

Stenlund joins a growing list of eight former Panthers players who have now received their championship rings. Calgary Flames forward Ryan Lomberg got his back in December, as well as Seattle Kraken defensemen Brandon Montour and Josh Mahura. Nick Cousins got his in Ottawa in October. Defenseman Oliver Ekman-Larsson, forward Steven Lorentz and goalie Anthony Stolarz got their rings when the Toronto Maple Leafs visited the Panthers at the end of November.