Palm Panthers Make Headlines with Social Media Buzz

The back-to-back Stanley Cup champions are now making waves off the ice.

Star forward Matthew Kachuk had some interesting things to say about model Sommer Ray after discovering she appeared in Captain Alexander Barkov’s Instagram search history.

“Sorry for bothering @sommerray… but our friend Anton Landell!! I think he’s a great guy,” Tkachuk, 27, mentioned in a post on X.

The unusual turn of events kicked off last week when the Panthers triumphed over the Oilers for the second consecutive year in the Stanley Cup final.

Barkov, who has been captain since 2018, went live on Instagram and stated that there were only two names in his search history: Sam Reinhart and Ray. “The search column has two names, Sommer Ray… and Sam Reinhart,” the 29-year-old explained. “I wanted to write Sam Reinhart, but it showed as Summer Ray instead.”

Of course, this sparked quite a bit of chatter on social media, with Tkachuk playfully trying to set up a connection on Landell’s behalf.

Ray, who has around 1.3 million followers on X, hasn’t responded publicly to Tkachuk’s comments yet, as of Monday.

This particular Panthers victory is a noteworthy one. Florida clinched the Stanley Cup against Edmonton in a six-game series, finishing with a decisive 5-1 win at home last Tuesday.

In that championship game, Reinhart scored four goals, while Tkachuk added one of his own. Although the cup remained intact, it suffered some minor damage that night with a cracked bowl and dented bottom.

The celebrations carried on into Sunday at the Championship Parade in Fort Lauderdale.