Gary Bettman bends the rules for the Florida Panthers: blatant favoritism

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Graham Montgomery
July 13, 2024 (8:34 PM)

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The Florida Panthers have officially had their names etched into the Stanley Cup, and two players have had their names added despite not playing in the playoffs at all.

The NHL has a rule where only certain players are allowed to have their names put on the Stanley Cup. Players must play at least 41 regular season games for the club or they must play in at least one game in the Stanley Cup finals. For goaltenders, the requirements are slightly different, with players have to be a backup for at least one game in the finals. However, the league also has a process in place in which players who do not meet these requirements may also get their name on the trophy. The team must petition the league for them to do so and await approval. In this case, the Florida Panthers petitioned to have Jonah Gadjovich and Josh Mahura added to the cup, both of whom were accepted.

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.

Both players came close to meeting the requirements as it were. Gadjovich was the closer of the two players, having appeared in 39 regular season games, just two shy of the requirement. As such, it is understandable why the league would approve his addition. Mahura was a bit further from reaching the requirements, having appeared in just 30 regular season games. However, he did appear in every game of the 2022-23 season in which the Panthers lost in the finals. Neither player suited up for even a single playoff contest.

This is not the first time players who did not meet the requirements had their names put on the cup. Perhaps the most famous incident of this came in 1998 when the Red Wings won the Cup for the second year in a row. Vladimir Konstantinov, who was a big part of the team's Cup win the previous year, tragically had his career cut short after he was paralyzed in a car accident prior to the 1997-98 season. However, the Red Wings petitioned to have his name added to the Cup that year anyways, and that request was also approved.

On this day in 1998, the Detroit Red Wings became back-to-back Stanley Cup champions, and Steve Yzerman handed the Cup to Vladimir Konstantinov in one of the most powerful moments in hockey history. #LGRW