SUNRISE, Fla. >> Nate Schmidt locked eyes with Panthers captain Aleksander Barkov.

Barkov was carrying the Stanley Cup for the second time in his career. Schmidt, who joined Florida in the offseason, was eagerly awaiting his turn to hoist the most famous trophy in American sports.

Normally, Barkov would have given the trophy to assistant captain Aaron Ekblad or Matthew Tkachuk next. Instead, he skated over and handed it to Schmidt.

“I did not know until Chucky looked at me and then (Barkov) gave me his eyes locked right onto me,” said Schmidt, a St. Cloud native and Gophers alum.

“Happiness,” Schmidt added. “Want to cry tears of joy. It’s everything you’d hope it would be.”

From Schmidt, the trophy went to defenseman Seth Jones, who was traded to the Panthers in March. Then to Tomas Nosek, who had an emotional moment with coach Paul Maurice. Then backup goalie Vitek Vanecek, fourth-liners A.J. Greer and Jesper Boqvist — players who were not on the team last year.

“So many guys that came in here and had such an impact for our group,” three-time Cup champion Carter Verhaeghe said. “And some guys haven’t won it before, and they gave us so much energy throughout the season. We have such a great group. Everyone buys in and we love each other.”

Florida’s returning players credited the newcomers — especially those who had not won a title before — for energizing the Panthers throughout the championship run.

Schmidt, who had 12 points and a plus-9 in the postseason, played well in his first year with the team and became a major locker-room presence.

Jones joined the team and quickly acclimated to Florida’s style of play. He took on a top defensive role while long-time defender Aaron Ekblad served suspensions, then settled onto the second defensive pairing with Niko Mikkola when Ekblad returned.

“I’ve been asked the question, ‘How long would it take before Seth could get to form here?’” coach Paul Maurice said. “And I thought it would be a year. And the reason for that is I thought it took Aaron almost a year (of) the regular season before he came into kind of his true style.

“This guy is a Norris Trophy candidate all day long.”

Jones had four goals and five assists in the playoffs, notching a plus-11. Jones, who joined Florida after spending years with a struggling Blackhawks team, led the Panthers with an average ice time of 25:30 in the postseason.

“Quite a change, right? Quite a change from where I came from,” Jones said. “I can only speak about this. I’m so happy about Bill Zito taking the chance and getting me and allowing me to help this team win. And the pieces are all here. The group of guys in that locker room are so special. The love these guys have for each other, I feel like I’ve been here for 10 years when I got here. Just a special, special group.”

Nosek, a fourth-line forward, hurt Florida’s chances early in the Final. His delay of game penalty in overtime of Game 1 set up the winning power play for the Oilers. Now he got to carry the Cup for the first time in his career.

“It’s a tough way to start your Final, right?” Maurice said. “So he and I both shared things; I missed a line change in one of the games that cost us a goal that cost us the game, in my mind. But the players rallied around you and took care of us. So that was kind of like the two guys that screwed up.

“So thankful that we won.”