‘They trust each other’: How a Panthers team filled with stars plays without ego
Walk into the Florida Panthers’ dressing room and you’ll see the star power.
Aleksander Barkov is the captain and one of the league’s top two-way forwards.
Wingers Matthew Tkachuk and Brad Marchand are the brash, vocal media darlings, who make their presence known through their interview quips just as much as they do with their pesky play on the ice.
Goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky is well on his way to the Hockey Hall of Fame once his career ends.
Carter Verhaeghe is the clutch playoff performer. Sam Reinhart has morphed into one of the league’s top goal scorers. Gustav Forsling is becoming one of the NHL’s top defensemen.
The list goes on and on.
Now, close your eyes while your in that room and try to establish who the top players were based on how the group interacts with each other. That becomes a much tougher task.
“Truly,” Panthers coach Paul Maurice said, “if you didn’t know the face, if you walked into that locker room, or walked on the airplane, or watched him, you couldn’t tell who the star was.”
It’s part of what has driven the Panthers’ success over the past three years, success that has seen them make it to the Stanley Cup Final two years in a row and, entering Game 3 of the Eastern Conference final against the Carolina Hurricanes on Saturday, are two wins away from getting there again.
There’s no ego on this team. Every player understands his role, and every player respects the role he has.
Talent is the first step for success, Panthers president of hockey operations and general manager Bill Zito acknowledges, but talent only gets you so far.
How the talent on the roster meshes together to form a cohesive unit is key, and he’s seeing the fruits of the labor of the roster he has created pan out before his eyes.
“By my way of thinking, it’s the character and culture of that talent,” Zito said. “For the players, it’s that they play as a team. It’s easy to say ‘I’m team first.’ It’s easy to think that you mean it, but these guys live it. It’s not just something they say. It’s what they are, and the way they treat the staff, coaches, myself. It’s cliche to say that the whole is greater than the sum of the parts, but in this instance, it’s a great example of exactly that.
“They respect each other. They like each other. They trust each other.”
Added forward Evan Rodrigues: “It’s obviously a welcoming group, and a very mature group. I think the biggest thing is you don’t really have a choice. You either conform or you don’t. You’ve got to fit the group right? You’ve got to play the way they play. And if you don’t, it doesn’t work. Everyone’s very welcoming. Everyone’s very friendly, and it’s a fun group to be around. And I think when guys come in, they find that very easily.”
How did the Panthers get to that point where the room is as cohesive as it is? Maurice needs to point to just one player.
“I think that’s all Barkov,” Maurice said. “Matthew’s like that too, and Brad, and some of the older guys, some of the guys who make the media — and I understand why they do — but I think it’s all Barkov.”
Florida’s captain since the start of the 2018-19 season, Barkov has instilled a sense of decorum in the dressing room. He’s not the most vocal player, but he commands respect when he does speak.
And he makes sure everyone’s voice is heard, whether you’re one of the stars or wearing a suit on game day as a healthy scratch.
“We’re a team right?” said defenseman Aaron Ekblad, Florida’s second-longest tenured player behind Barkov. We’re all in it together, and we treat everyone the same. It’s worked for us.”
Florida’s depth — they have 15 forwards and seven defensemen who could all easily play on any given night — could create a contentious environment among those vying for the final lineup spots each game.
But there’s been no wavering, no qualms, no issues from the players who ultimately don’t draw in.
“I love all the guys in this group, and you have to check your ego aside,” said fourth-line forward Jonah Gadjovich, who didn’t play at all in the postseason last year when Florida won the Stanley Cup and had to wait until Game 3 of the second-round this year to make his postseason debut. “Obviously I want to play the whole time, every game, but if I were to get called on and I wasn’t ready, that’s on me. We’re treated just like any other guy in the lineup, even though we weren’t in the lineup. It’s such a tight group, top to bottom. We have a lot of fun doing what we do.”
The camaraderie, the open communication nd the understanding of the ultimate goal eliminates any tension that could be created.
“The leadership group, the way that everyone kind of does their day-to-day stuff and the vibe around the locker room, like, no one’s better than anyone,” said forward A.J. Greer, who plays on Florida’s fourth line. “It’s just the way that guys do certain things. You kind of mesh into the locker room as a new guy, you kind of come into the footsteps of guys like Barky, Reino, Forsy, Ekblad, guys that are Panthers legends. So being able to do the same that they do shows the commitment, shows the energy and willingness to win.”
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