For two Florida Panthers, fatherhood and the Stanley Cup playoffs are forever intertwined

Looking back, Florida Panthers defenseman Brandon Montour can only laugh at how the situation unfolded regarding the birth of his first child.

He found out after Game 1 of the 2023 Stanley Cup Final that his wife, was in the hospital, ready to give birth — two weeks before her scheduled due date and 11 days before they had planned to induce. Montour flew solo overnight private plane from Las Vegas to Boca Raton to see his son Kai be born only to quickly turn around to be back with the team for Game 2.

“I don’t think you’re gonna see that too often — our story and my experience, I guess,” Montour said.

His teammate, Jonah Gadjovich, can relate in a sense. The forward left the team at the start of the Eastern Conference final against the New York Rangers as his wife gave birth to twins — son Lion, daughter Adalee — about two-and-a-half weeks before their expected due date.

“It’s a huge moment in my life and my wife’s life to give birth to our babies,” Gadjovich said. “I’m very grateful for the team to give me some time to go and enjoy that and get them settled.”

Montour and Gadjovich have juxtaposing roles on this Panthers team that entered Saturday one win away from winning the first Stanley Cup in franchise history. Montour is a top defenseman, playing on Florida’s second pairing and running the top power play on an expiring contract. Gadjovich is a depth forward, who hasn’t gotten into a postseason game despite produced at times during the regular season on the fourth line but also signed a two-year contract extension.

But their paths to fatherhood will always be intertwined with the Stanley Cup playoffs and the support they got from the Panthers organization along the way.

“This is obviously a huge time for our organization and I didn’t want to come in making noise and make it anything about me or anything,” Gadjovich said, “but as soon as I got there, every single guy was asking how the babies were doing and how my wife was doing.”

And now, the two revel in the next chapter of life that is being a parent. Gadjovich is just getting started, with his twins only three weeks old.

Montour has lived it for a year now with Kai and Baby No. 2, a daughter, is on the way — although she’s not due until December so no worrying about rushing back and forth during the playoffs this time.

“It’s unbelievable to have him in the arena and watch,” Montour said, “but just to have that experience and those stories. We have a lot of fathers on the team and their kids are at warmups. It’s pretty cool.”

“It’s a whole new ballgame with a family,” Montour added. “Win or lose, you go home and the next morning, he wakes up and is smiling and is excited to see you.”

Gadjovich is relishing in the chance to experience that. But after a week helping his wife and the newborns get settled, his focus is back with the team, which has shown endless support toward him.

After each playoff win, the Panthers have their player of the game put a puck in a board in the room signifying how close they are to the Stanley Cup. The winner from the previous game decides the next winner. Following Florida’s Game 5 win over the Rangers, defenseman Niko Mikkola chose Gadjovich to put the puck in the board.

“It just shows we’re a family,” Gadjovich said. “I don’t know. People say that. You can throw that around but in here, these guys are all brothers. To get that puck, man, that was really cool and special. Just very, very grateful for the opportunity to be with this team. It’s special for sure.”

More Father’s Day anecdotes

▪ Forward Kyle Okposo, a father of four (daughters Elliana and Livia, sons Odin and Emmett): “It changes your perspective on how you live every day. As your kids grow, you continue to gain a new perspective. Time is is one of the commodities that is the most valuable commodity in my eyes. I’m just trying to stay in the present every day whether it’s hockey or fatherhood — and especially fatherhood. Sometimes, I think you can get into the trap of wanting to get to the next stage. ‘Oh, I want my kids to be out of the baby stage and into the toddler stage or into school so I have more time or teenagers so they’re more independent.’ That’s the one thing you have to do is just enjoy every moment with them. That’s what I’m trying to do right now. Obviously, my focus has been a little bit distracted [during the playoffs], but I’m definitely looking forward to being more present at home and spending as much time as possible with them.”

▪ Goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky, father of daughter Carolina: “Before, you can’t even imagine what you’re going to deal with or what you’re going to face. There was an imagination, but it’s not even comparable to reality. My daughter changed my life a lot, changed my perspective and changed my priorities.”

“I feel my life is in balance,” Bobrovsky added. “I enjoy it. I enjoy everything — my family, my work, my free time, everything. That gives me energy.”

▪ Forward Ryan Lomberg, father of son Roman and daughter Lennon: “It’s tough to put into words what it means to be a father. Obviously, it’s something that’s bigger than hockey. It’s tough to sometimes take yourself out. Obviously, we have a very fortunate and lucky job and we’ve all been training our whole lives to get to this point, but looking beyond hockey, something I’ve always wanted was a big family. Very excited to welcome another little Lomberg into the family. Very, very lucky and fortunate.”

▪ Defenseman Gustav Forsling, father of son Bo: “Off the ice, I feel like I’ve got more time not focusing on hockey. I feel like I let everything go when I get home. I just get to spend time with him and it’s been amazing. That helps a lot, I feel like.”