“Hell yeah. Absolutely, absolutely,” Matthew Tkachuk said, declaring the Panthers as an NHL dynasty after hoisting back-to-back Stanley Cups. Although some may still say that Tkachuk and Co. still have to win at least another Stanley Cup before calling the Cats team a dynasty, it’s clear that the Panthers are currently unbeatable. Even a surging Oilers, despite performing better than last year in the playoffs, couldn’t dethrone the defending champions.

It’s clear that the Panthers worked like a well-oiled machine. However, an interaction between Sam Reinhart and Matthew Tkachuk, following Head Equipment Manager Teddy Richard’s interview, showed just how easygoing the mood behind the scenes really is. So what happened? Well, it started with Game Notes host and former NHL star Colby Armstrong asking Richard about “Players that were as low maintenance as I was as a player.”

Richard’s answer wasn’t a straightforward one. “Funny question,” he said, before revealing how Matthew Tkachuk asked the equipment manager who was the higher maintenance between him and Sam Reinhart. Richard told the Game Notes host that he chose Tkachuk. “And they’re both very, very low maintenance. But I said, Matthew, like you, you know, you use one pair of gloves a year, one pair of skates a year, four games, one stick, you win, like you’re the guy. Reinhart was so upset,” said Richard. And guess who saw that clip? Sam Reinhart.

Reinhart immediately took to the comments section, tagging Tkachuk in his comment. “Fake news. 6 other trainers have a laundry list for @matthew_tkachuk,” joked Reinhart. What’s more? The alternate captain responded, revealing even more locker room secrets. “@samsonreinhart, thank you again for the honesty, Teddy!” he wrote, praising Teddy Richard.

“I like this 3 new sticks thing for next year, btw!! @eetuluostarinen (Eetu Luostarinen) is a budget killer!! @gustavforsling (Gustav Forsling) uses the most towels,” added the 27-year-old. While it was clear that all of them were joking, the whole sequence showed the kind, easygoing culture of the Florida Panthers.

Captain Aleksander Barkov said it best. “It’s been amazing how every single guy who works here and who plays here is having so much fun every single day,” Barkov said during the end-of-season presser. However, nothing says ‘no pressure’ like another locker room secret that Matthew Tkachuk revealed during the playoffs.

Matthew Tkachuk’s confession on the overtime winner

Well, this isn’t the only time the Cats’ alternate captain has revealed something truly interesting about what goes in behind the scenes. In fact, what the hockey forward said after Stanley Cup Final Game 2 against the Edmonton Oilers shocked many. What was so shocking, you ask? Well, just like Game 1, the second game of this season’s final series went to overtime.

With Connor McDavid and Draisaitl winning Game 1 in spectacular fashion during OT meant the pressure was on the defending champions. The fact that the Oilers had home ice advantage at Rogers Place was another hurdle. Or so you’d think. The reality inside the Florida Panthers locker room was different, as Matthew Tkachuk and Co. were “hooting and hollering.”

In fact, they were guessing on who’d score the winning goal. You’d think the prospect of going into overtime at such a high-stakes game would be hard on the nerves for most teams, but not  Florida. “A lot of guys had Marchy,” revealed Matthew Tkachuk. It would turn out that a lot of Panthers were right when Brad Marchand scored the winning goal in double OT.

So it’s no wonder the alternate captain believes his team is an NHL dynasty. After all, how many teams can claim to be oozing with so much confidence ahead of a Stanley Cup Final OT? Yet, what did you think about the hilarious exchange between the Panthers’ star, who now has a lot of free time after winning the ultimate NHL prize for the second year in a row?