FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — OK, so maybe it wasn’t quite as difficult as winning the Stanley Cup in two consecutive seasons, but for the Florida Panthers, waiting for all the championship rings to be handed out to the executives and support staffs — and then a dramatic 10-second countdown led by owner Teresa Viola — before opening the box was pretty tough, too.

“That countdown is a culmination of our life’s efforts,” defenseman Aaron Ekblad said.

When they finally opened their boxes at the private ceremony at the War Memorial in Fort Lauderdale on Monday evening, the day before the 2025-26 season begins, there were audible gasps from players and families alike.

“I had the opportunity on a couple of occasions to see versions (of the ring) and I declined, because I wanted to have this be special,” Panthers general manager Bill Zito said. “And boy oh boy was I ever rewarded.”

A ring fit for Back-to-Back Champions 💍 pic.twitter.com/u8Y6fS9Y2f

— Florida Panthers (@FlaPanthers) October 6, 2025

The rings, designed by Jostens, are 14-karat white and yellow gold, with more than 450 diamonds and rubies. The prominent feature is two Stanley Cups, made of diamonds and surrounded by rubies, with “Panthers” in yellow gold set in garnet, meant to evoke the tabs on the sleeves of the players’ jerseys.

One side of the ring has the player’s name in 14-karat yellow gold, with their number set against a yellow-gold sun. The other side says “Florida” in yellow gold and “2025,” studded with 29 diamonds, with the team’s leaping-cat logo, two palm trees (meant to resemble the ones that surround Amerant Bank Arena) and a banner declaring the Panthers back-to-back champions.

The side panels feature 204 hand-set diamonds with 14-karat white-gold palm trees wrapping the finger.

Inside the ring — and this was Sam Bennett’s favorite part — is the phrase, “We apologize to no one.” It’s a … let’s say, lightly edited version of Bennett’s rallying cry during the parade.

“I was shocked,” Bennett said. “That was definitely a quote I said after a little bit too many drinks on the parade bus. It’s awesome. It’s very cool that they used it in the ring.”

Underneath that are each of the four opponents the Panthers beat in the playoffs last spring — Tampa Bay, Toronto, Carolina and Edmonton — with a bold line struck through each one. Finally, at the bottom, is “06/17/25,” the date they became two-time champions.

And just for fun, there’s a black rat featured on the interior palm side of the ring, a nod to the Victory Rat tradition that dates back to Scott Mellanby killing a rat in the locker room with a hockey stick during the Panthers’ run to the 1996 Stanley Cup Final.

As the party continued, the players who were there for both titles wore both rings, catching the light in just the right way and marveling at their own hands — and their own handiwork.

“It’s a Christmas Day kind of thing, because we have no insight into what it’s going to look like,” coach Paul Maurice said beforehand. “There’s no leaked ideas. There won’t be a single picture. They do a really good job of keeping it private. And it’s a great little individual keepsake for everybody.”