Gadjovich savoring opportunity in Stanley Cup Final with Panthers

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. -- Jonah Gadjovich is having a much different experience in the Stanley Cup Final than he did a year ago.

Last year, the Florida Panthers forward was a healthy scratch for the entirety of his team’s run to the Stanley Cup championship.

Earlier this postseason, Gadjovich found himself in a similar situation prior to receiving his opportunity.

The 26-year-old was scratched during Florida’s five-game series win over the Tampa Bay Lightning in the Eastern Conference First Round before Panthers coach Paul Maurice went up to him on a plane ride back from Toronto.

Florida had just dropped the first two games of the second round against the Maple Leafs and Maurice had a simple message to Gadjovich: “You’re in.’’

He has not come out since for the Panthers entering Game 3 of the Stanley Cup Final against the Edmonton Oilers at Amerant Bank Arena on Monday (8 p.m. ET; MAX, truTV, TNT, SN, TVAS, CBC). The best-of-7 series is tied 1-1.

“Obviously, I was around last year just watching what the guys were doing and trying to learn from them even though I wasn’t in the lineup,’’ Gadjovich said.

“I tried to, I guess, carry my experience over this year. My goal and focus was to just stay ready. I knew that if I was called on to get in the lineup that I would be ready. I’ve just been having fun with it. There’s honestly a lot of stresses and anxieties that come along with playing in the NHL, but I’m just trying to have fun and check those aside and just enjoy what I’m doing.”

Gadjovich ended up scoring a goal in his first NHL playoff game in Florida’s 5-4 overtime win against the Maple Leafs in Game 3 on May 9. He scored twice in the series, including in Florida’s 6-1 win in Game 7.

After Game 2 of the Toronto series, Maurice decided to swap out his entire fourth line. Tomas Nosek came back at center, with A.J. Greer and Gadjovich on the wings.

Nosek and Gadjovich have played in every game since.

“In the last six weeks of our season, we had a very difficult schedule,” Maurice said. “That’s when Greer, Nosek, and Gadjovich went together. They were really good, and some nights they were our best line. It’s not always about the goals you score, but it’s about energy level, consistency of systematic routes, the basics. When they came into the Toronto series, that, for me, was the inflection point. They got us back more to our style of game. Jonah is a big part of that.’’

Gadjovich has three points (two goals, one assist) in 12 games this postseason, and although he did not play in the playoffs last year, it was a very special time in his life.

During the Eastern Conference Final against the New York Rangers, Jonah and his wife, Allison, welcomed twins, Lion and Adalee. When Gadjovich rejoined the team in New York, Niko Mikkola gifted him the game puck after Florida’s 3-2 win in Game 5.

Gadjovich was then on the ice after the Panthers defeated the Oilers 2-1 in Game 7 of the 2024 Stanley Cup Final.

Like the other Panthers who were not playing, he got dressed in his full uniform as the game was winding down to celebrate on the ice if Florida ended up holding on for the victory.

“I think it started at like the 10-minute mark in the third,’’ Gadjovich recalls. “We would run and throw something on, a shin pad, or your pants, then run back to the TV. You would hear the whistle again, then continue to get dressed. We all slowly got dressed while having our eyes glued to the TV.”

The Panthers did hold on for the win and bedlam soon ensued on the ice at Amerant Bank Arena.

Gadjovich’s photo op with the Stanley Cup turned out to be one of the most memorable from that night in Sunrise, Florida.

After hoisting the Cup and taking it for a lap, Gadjovich’s wife brought the twins over. The two infants were placed inside the bowl of the Stanley Cup as their parents smiled over them and the cameras clicked away.

On Sunday, Lion and Adalee were running around the second floor of the Panthers’ practice rink seeming to enjoy watching their daddy down below on the ice.

It has been a long year.

“I see those pictures all the time,” Gadjovich said. “I always go through the photos of them on my phone, and I always see the picture of them in the Cup. Obviously, I'd love to be able to do that again this year.

“But honestly, you just live in the moment. That’s how it is now. And I think it's easy to maybe not do that. I think it's easy to maybe look ahead or look back. I’m just enjoying where I'm at. This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, and I'm having a lot of fun with it, having fun coming in every day.

“It's such an incredible opportunity for this group to be back here again this year. I'm just having fun being in the lineup and trying to contribute anyway I can.”