SUNRISE — Vitek Vanecek and Nate Schmidt were back on the ice at Amerant Bank Arena on Tuesday night for the first time since the Florida Panthers won the Stanley Cup in Game 6 of the 2025 Final against the Edmonton Oilers.
Both players spent a short time with the Panthers — Schmidt a full season, Vanecek not as long — but the duo created memories, and a lasting legacy, that will last a lifetime.
The two left South Florida as free agents a week or so after the Stanley Cup parade ended on Fort Lauderdale beach.
On Tuesday, they were back in town with the Utah Mammoth.
One of the interesting unwritten protocols in the NHL is that when former players return with their new team, they catch up with their old mates.
Swap stories, revel in being together again.
Or, as the case with Schmidt, bring up old nicknames only they get.
Like calling Uvis Balinskis ‘Tom Cruvis.’
This usually comes the night before a game as was the case in December when the Panthers hosted Schmidt and Vanecek for dinner in Salt Lake City where they presented them with the sparkling Stanley Cup championship rings.
Pals forever. These players have a common bond that will never be broken.
Until the game starts.
Game day is all business.
Tuesday night, business was good for the now-ex Panthers.
Vanecek not only got the start, but picked up what has been a rare win.
After starting a new season 2-9-2 with the Mammoth, Vanecek had lost 10 straight starts. His last win was on Oct. 26 against Winnipeg.
Wouldn’t you know it, but Tuesday was his night to shine.
Nothing like breaking a losing streak against your old mates and Stanley Cup brethren.
Vanecek made 25 saves and helped Utah beat the Panthers 4-3.
Utah has won nine of the past 11 games and appears headed to the playoffs.
While Vanecek appreciated the first period tribute — it came after one for Schmidt — he was thrilled to help his team sneak out of town with a key win.
“It feels good. I didn’t get a win in a long time,’’ he said afterward. “It was the right time in the right rink to get the win.”
— Florida Panthers (@FlaPanthers) December 10, 2025
Because the Mammoth played in Tampa the night before and were flying to Carolina right after Tuesday’s game, Vanecek’s time with his former team was limited to a few minutes postgame in the “neutral zone” between dressing rooms.
In a way, this visit was much like his time as a Panther – short and sweet.
Vanecek came to Florida in a late season trade with San Jose for prospect Patrick Giles to back up Sergei Bobrovsky after Spencer Knight was dealt to Chicago in the deal which brought Seth Jones to Florida.
In seven starts with Florida he went 2-4-1 with one shutout and a 3.00 GAA.
In the playoffs he backed up Bobrovsky for all 23 games.
For his efforts he lifted the Cup and earned a Stanley Cup ring — not to mention a tattoo of the Cup he was more than happy to share with the large crowd gathered during the Fort Lauderdale parade.
Days later, before free agency opened, the Panthers traded with Columbus for Daniil Tarasov to be Bobrovsky’s new backup.
Vanecek signed a one-year deal at $1.5 million with Utah.
The season has been a struggle.
Vanecek has played well, but has not received much offensive support.
On Tuesday, Vanecek played a team he was very familiar with.
Not only did he see the Panthers’ style a lot while playing for them last season, but while he was with San Jose, New Jersey and Washington earlier in his career.
“It’s always hard to play versus them,’’ he said. “They dump a lot of pucks … and they’re hitting guys. But you have to prepare for it and just work hard.”
Utah coach Andre Tourigny could not have been more pleased with the game outcome and Vanecek finally getting a well-earned win.
“I’m really happy for him. I think he had great games for us,’’ Tourigny said. “We could not find a way to win. We couldn’t give him enough offense. Tonight we gave him a little offense and we got the two points on the back-to-back. A huge win for Vanny. A huge win for us. That’s great. He’s come back here to Florida after winning the Cup. It’s a sweet one.”
Sean Derzi, who scored a second-period goal for a 2-1 lead, said the Mammoth were happy to reward their former Panthers.
“We have a couple former [Panthers] in our room, and they wanted this one pretty bad,’’ Durzi said.
“Obviously [Vanecek] with a performance like that, he deserved it. He has been playing really good for us and we really wanted to put on a good performance in front of him. He deserved it. It’s a big one.”
Florida has little time to belabor the loss.
The Panthers fly to St. Louis this afternoon for an odd central time zone one-off trip to play the Blues on Thursday.
The team flies right back to kick off a three-game homestand which starts Saturday afternoon against Winnipeg.
The Panthers have five games left before the Olympic break with four in the Sunshine State.
“They played hard after going on back-to-back nights, hung around, got the lead with some nice goals. We weren’t good enough,” said Carter Verhaeghe, who scored with 14.6 seconds left to pull the Panthers within a goal.
“We had lots of good chances. Vitek played an awesome game against us. It’s tough. We need the points. But we’re right back at it with a lot of games in a short amount of time. Hopefully we can bounce back quick.”
ON DECK: GAME No. 53
FLORIDA PANTHERS at ST. LOUIS BLUES
