The Florida Panthers welcomed back their gold medal winners on Thursday.
Before their game against the Toronto Maple Leafs at Amerant Bank Arena, the team held a special pregame ceremony to celebrate forward Matthew Tkachuk, general manager Bill Zito and equipment manager Teddy Richards for winning the gold medal with Team USA at the Olympic Winter Games Milano Cortina 2026.
Richards, with Zito next to him, performed the ceremonial puck drop between Tkachuk and Maple Leafs and Team USA captain Auston Matthews.
Tkachuk and Matthews helped the United States men’s hockey team win their first gold medal since 1980 when they defeated Canada 2-1 in overtime on Sunday in Milan.
After the puck drop, Matthews skated around while draped with the American flag and then shook hands with a 101-year-old World War II veteran.
Up north at TD Garden, Boston Bruins fans gave USA defenseman Charlie McAvoy and goalie Jeremy Swayman a standing ovation for their accomplishment.
