George Richards, FHN Publisher
When Florida Panthers general manager strode to the podium at the 2013 NHL Draft in Newark, there were audible gasps when he announced he was selecting Finnish center Aleksander Barkov with the second overall pick.
Tallon made a number of good moves in his decade running the Panthers — but selecting Barkov has proven to be his best.
Barkov, who turned 28 last month, made his first trip to South Florida a few days after being taken by the Panthers saying the only thing he knew about Florida was “much sun, good beaches and warm weather.”
Now?
Sasha Barkov is a local.
“Pretty much,” Barkov said last week, a day before starting his 11th season with the Panthers. “It has been a lot of fun getting to know the area. I don’t need a navigator to go anywhere anymore.
“This is my second home. Finland is much different than here, but I have loved living and playing here since Day 1. And now, the organization keeps getting better and I am happier than ever.”
Tonight, Barkov is back in the place where he was drafted, wearing the captain’s ‘C’ on the front of his Florida sweater as he has since Derek MacKenzie handed it over in 2018.
The Panthers may have started this season 0-2, but they are a world away from where they were when Tallon considered selecting Seth Jones or Jonathan Drouin — only to take a center he hoped would lead this team for years to come.
“He wants to be a star,’’ Tallon said 10 years ago, “he wants to play here.”
Barkov has certainly done that — and done it quite weel.
Over the course of his first 10 seasons with the Panthers, Barkov has become not only one of the best players in the NHL but the face of his franchise.
In 2016, he signed a six-year contract extension with the team he helped lead — along with linemates Jaromir Jagr and Jonathan Huberdeau — to the Atlantic Division title.
Five years later, Barkov signed the richest contract in franchise history — eight years for $80 million — all but assuring he will end his career here.
“I’m thrilled,’’ GM Bill Zito told FHN when Barkov signed the new deal. “To have a player of this stature and one who I think there is room to even grow more. There are a lot of things which make him different. His focus on getting better and he wants his teammates to join in on this. It helps us a lot. …
“He is the cornerstone we build around from a hockey perspective, from a culture perspective, from a leadership perspective. You will find in short order as you talk to his teammates that you see it resonate both in the words they use and the tone in which they use them how appreciated Sasha is as a teammate and as a leader. He is an example with his attention to detail.’’
Since he signed that contract on the roof of a hotel in downtown Fort Lauderdale in 2021, the Panthers have reached heights they never had before.
In 2022, the team set a franchise record for wins and points and claimed the NHL Presidents’ Trophy.
Last year, Florida made the playoffs as the No. 8 seed and, like his beloved Miami Heat, went all the way to the Final.
“Things are on the right track,’’ Barkov said. “We just have to keep working, keep putting in the effort and keep building on what we have started here. We want to keep going, keep getting better and we still have a goal we need to achieve. But this is the place to be right now.’’
Barkov had been wanting to play in games of such importance since he got here only more times than not, the Panthers were not around.
Last season brought the Panthers the valued experience of playing in a high-pressure environment and, for the most part, they thrived in it.
“I have not been here that long, but I have been close with Barky since I got here,” Anton Lundell said during the playoffs. “We talked a lot and I could feel his excitement. There was so much change before I got here and last year, so many people were excited and you could feel things are going in the right direction. We have made moves to help us toward our goal of winning the Stanley Cup.
“I am really happy for guys like Ecky and Barky. They have been here the longest. They have been through a lot of ups-and-downs over the years and now they are part of this. We want to bring the Stanley Cup to South Florida and they want that more than anything. That’s something we work to achieve every day.’’
Barkov now owns most of the team records — goals, assists and points — with games played coming up quick.
He goes into tonight’s game against the Devils having played in 666 games with Florida — five away from tying Huberdeau for the all-time lead.
“He is still getting better,’’ coach Paul Maurice said, “and it is hard to get better when you get near the top. There are not a lot of players who can push you to get better. He completely changed his training program this summer and looks much faster. He is lighter, but still a very strong and heavy man. But he is driving himself to get better. That is internal.”
If Barkov plays his next five games, he will tie Huberdeau in this upcoming homestand against Seattle on Oct. 28 — and take the record for his own two days later in Boston.
It has been a long time since Barkov was originally drafted by the Panthers and almost all of the players who were here that rookie season are gone.
At least Florida brought back one of his old buddies in free agency this year.
“It is crazy to think it was 10 years ago,’’ Barkov said. “Kuli is here and so is Robb Tallas. That’s it. A lot of faces have changed but it still feels like I was drafted a week or two ago and first got here.”