When Nate Schmidt looks around the Florida Panthers' locker room, he sees players who possess something he doesn't have. At least not yet. A Stanley Cup ring. Most of them won a ring last season when the Panthers hoisted the Cup for the first time in franchise history.

Things have worked out very well for Jones, who singed some bridges on his way out of Chicago but now finds himself on the verge of the Cup Final mere months later.

Florida Panthers' Brad Marchand, left, is separated by officials from Carolina Hurricanes' Shayne Gostisbehere (4) during the third period of Game 1 of the NHL hockey Stanley Cup Eastern Conference finals in Raleigh, N.C., Tuesday, May 20, 2025. (AP Photo/Karl DeBlaker) AP

He certainly is enjoying life, both on and off the ice. The hope is that another Stanley Cup is on the horizon. Lion and Adalee already got to experience it once, with Gadjovich and wife Allison putting both of them inside the Cup as the Panthers celebrated the victory last June.

NHL referee Chris Rooney hopes to return to the Stanley Cup playoffs after suffering a black eye in a high stick accident during Game 7 between the Toronto Maple Leafs and Florida