Why Panthers center Noel Acciari is heading to bubble even after birth of newborn son
Greyson Drew Acciari will be less than a month old when the Florida Panthers depart for Toronto to enter a bubble and play in the NHL’s expanded postseason, so Noel Acciari faced an agonizing decision to make. The center wants to help his Panthers make a run through the Stanley Cup playoffs, but he also has a newborn child to worry about.
Ultimately, he decided he’s off to Canada to take part in the NHL’s COVID-19 restart and square off against the New York Islanders in the qualifying round next month.
“It was a big decision,” Acciari said Monday. “With bringing in a new child, my wife and I talked about it, and this is our job. We’re paid to be here and our ultimate goal is to win the Stanley Cup, and to have the opportunity to be playing for it is something special and you don’t always get that opportunity.”
Kate Acciari, the forward’s wife, gave birth to the couple’s first child last Tuesday — less than a week before Phase 3 of the NHL’s return-to-play plan began. Typically, the birth would have coincided with hockey’s offseason, giving Acciari plenty of time to raise his son through the first few months of his life. Instead, the coronavirus pandemic triggered a fourth-month shutdown for the NHL, and now the league’s top 24 teams are supposed to head to one of two Canadian hub cities next week to crown a champion. For at least a few weeks, Acciari will have to leave behind his wife and newborn son.
Florida could exit the bubble as soon as mid-August if it loses to the Islanders in the qualifying round. It could also be in a bubble until October if it gets all the way to the Stanley Cup Final. Acciari, who scored 20 goals and dished out seven assists in the regular season, wants to be with his teammates however long the season lasts.
“It’s going to be tough to leave Grayson for the first potential two months of his life,” Acciari said, “but hopefully we can bring back the Cup, and it’ll all be worth it.”
Panthers add assistant from minors
With assistant coach Mike Kitchen opting out of the NHL’s return-to-play plan Monday, the Panthers will also enlist some coaching help from their AHL Springfield affiliate. Geordie Kinnear, coach of the Springfield Thunderbirds, will join Florida when it travels into the bubble next month to serve as the staff’s “eye in the sky” in Toronto, watching games from up in a box.
With Kitchen staying behind, Florida will have to divvy up some of the coach’s responsibilities. Andrew Brunette will take on a larger role in setting the defense, and Derek MacKenzie will handle the penalty kill. The two assistant coaches will coach from the bench with Joel Quenneville. Brunette had primarily spent games up in the box this season.
Still, Kitchen will have a role to play from South Florida.
“We wish him the best with health as we go through this,” Quenneville said. “Obviously, we’ll be in touch with Kitch. He’ll be a part of our staff. He’s influential in decisions we make, and how we change the [defense] and how we run the [penalty kill].”
This story was originally published July 14, 2020 at 3:28 PM.
