Panthers meet with fans across Broward as Stanley Cup celebration continues

Fortunate Florida Panthers fans peered over display racks at Dick’s Sporting Goods at Sawgrass Mills for the chance to meet star forward Matthew Tkachuk on Saturday.

“How are you?” Tkachuk said, offering warm greetings and fist bumps as he signed autographs for a crowd of supporters eager to celebrate the team’s first-ever Stanley Cup victory.

“Thank you,” one fan replied, before the familiar anthem of celebration — “We are the champions” — played in the background.

While Tkachuk met fans in Sunrise, Sam Bennett brought the Conn Smythe MVP trophy to the Humane Society of Broward County, sharing the moment with staff, volunteers and animals in need of forever homes.

Elsewhere, other players on the championship roster signed autographs for supporters at the Mai-Kai Restaurant in Fort Lauderdale, giving fans multiple opportunities to celebrate alongside their hockey heroes.

The community events all led up to Sunday’s free Stanley Cup championship victory parade — the second in as many years — set to take over Fort Lauderdale Beach.

The parade route runs along A1A from Riomar Street to Southeast Fifth Street and ends with a massive rally at Fort Lauderdale Beach Park, where the team and its fans will mark a historic back-to-back title run.