Fans arrive on Fort Lauderdale Beach for Panthers parade and rally

FORT LAUDERDALE, FLA. (WSVN) - Thousands of people flocked to Fort Lauderdale Beach for a massive parade celebrating the Florida Panthers’ second consecutive Stanley Cup win.

Fans began gathering early Sunday morning to secure a good viewing spot where the oceanfront along A1A provides a tropical setting to the parade and rally paying tribute to the hockey team.

“We’ve been out here since 9 o’clock. Who else can throw a better championship parade than the Panthers?” said a fan at a bar in Fort Lauderdale. “Nobody else has this stuff. Two great years, we’re looking for a third year next year. It’s awesome.”

Despite high temperatures and a chance of rain, the traffic getting to the beach was jammed hours before the parade kicked off from A1A at Riomar Street at noon.

Ever since they clinched the Stanley Cup Final for a second year in a row, the Panthers have been Team No Sleep. On the morning of a parade that drew tens of thousands of people, fans were expecting the players to keep the same energy.

“It feels great. It’s the first Stanley Cup I won; it was an awesome experience. The city’s on fire right now. Everyone is enjoying it with each other,” said Seth Jones Saturday at a meet and greet in MAI-KAI held Saturday.

“Very excited to be doing this two years in a row, very fortunate after 30 years and now 31 years, to get two back-to-back wins, and we’re going to go for a threepeat,” said fan Tim Ellis.

“You see them finally get their reward, the enjoyment of all the fans coming together and showing support. That’s what Florida is about,” said another fan.

“I mean, we’re so lucky. I mean, we have a great organization that can put us in this position. I mean, go panthers.” said the fan who spoke with 7News from the Fort Lauderdale bar.

7News provided coverage throughout the parade route and at the stage where the rally was held.

“We’re gonna catch these guys, maybe walk down to the stage, see the presentation, but, I mean, we’re having a great time.” said the fan at the Fort Lauderdale bar.

As the Panthers and management arrived to the oceanfront, Florida Panthers General Manager Bill Zito gave 7News an opportunity to hop on the bus and ask about the prospect of keeping the winning team together.

“We want to keep everybody together. If we can’t, it’s okay.” said Zito. “People get paid, and there’s a salary cap, but we’re going to try. You can’t say, ‘Oh we’re going to ‘threepeat,’ but certainly, every day we go to work it’s to win. That’s it. All we care about is winning, wo when we start from there, actually, fun becomes a part of winning, and that’s what we think fuels the fire.”

Copyright 2026 Sunbeam Television Corp. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.