Controversy erupts as Florida Panthers reveal unexpected names on Stanley Cup

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Tyler Ball
July 13, 2024 (12:39)

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Today the Stanley Cup was revealed with the new names including Florida Panthers players from the 2024 Stanley Champions.

The Stanley Cup was sent off earlier this month to be engraved in Montreal by Louise St. Jacques. The Florida Panthers had the honor of winning the trophy this summer and having their names engraved. As with any sport, there are requirements for a minimum involvement to be included on the Stanley Cup.

A player is required to have appeared in at least 41 regular-season games with a team, or one Stanley Cup Final game, to be eligible to have his name engraved on the trophy.

Today when the Stanley Cup was revealed with the new names on it two unexpected names appeared on the trophy causing discussion and potential controversy.

Florida Panthers include 2 unexpected names on the Stanley Cup causing controversy

The Stanley Cup has officially been engraved and will now be returned to the Florida Panthers.

When the Stanley Cup was shown off the names of two players Jonah Gadjovich and Josh Mahura were unexpectedly included.

The NHL made two exceptions for players that would get their names on the cup with the #Panthers, despite not reaching the games played eligibility:

Jonah Gadjovich (@jgadjovich) 🇨🇦
Josh Mahura (@joshmahura) 🇨🇦

Both deserved for sure, great to see the team petition to get them on the cup.

At first, fans were calling out that there was favoritism played toward the Florida Panthers by Gary Bettman due to neither of these players playing the required number of games. However, a closer look at the rules shows a stipulation added to allow teams to petition for names to be added.

In 1994, a stipulation was added to allow a team to petition the Commissioner for permission to have players' names put on the Stanley Cup if extenuating circumstances prevented them from being available to play. The management staff engraved on the trophy is determined by the team. However, it must be approved by the Hockey Hall of Fame and NHL. The maximum number of names a championship team can engrave on the trophy is 55.

It seems as though the Florida Panthers filed an exemption on behalf of both Jonah Gadjovich and Josh Mahura and it was approved. This leads to a new discussion about whether or not they petitioned for further names to be added.

Now all of the players with their name on the Stanley Cup including Jonah Gadjovich and Josh Mahura will have their day with the trophy to celebrate with friends and family.