George Richards, FHN Publisher
After so many years of disappointment in the playoffs during their time with the Florida Panthers, only the toughest critic could not appreciate what Sasha Barkov and Aaron Ekblad are feeling these days.
As much fun as fans are having with the Panthers’ run through these playoffs, Barkov and Ekblad are soaking it in alongside them.
The two longest-tenured members of the team — Barkov started with Florida in 2013, Ekblad a year later — have seen a lot of things go down in their years with the Panthers.
A lot.
They have seen dozens of teammates, many of whom were and remain close friends, traded away. They have gone through numerous coaches after firings or resignations and have seen one season after another end in disappointment.
The tide appears to be finally coming in for the Panthers as they are not only in the playoffs for the third straight year for the first time in franchise history, but are off to the Eastern Conference finals for the first time since 1996.
Even players on the Miami Heat are wearing Panthers jerseys and attending games in Sunrise.
They weren’t even doing that when the two teams shared Miami Arena all those years ago.
“We are living the best time of our lives right now,’’ Barkov said. “Every day is the best time of our life.’’
It has not always been this way, of course.
The Panthers appeared to be back on the upward turn in 2019 after Sergei Bobrovsky joined in a free agent spending spree. But the Panthers failed to get past the Islanders in the 2020 Covid postseason bubble and even bigger changes were on the horizon.
Florida let longtime GM Dale Tallon go and brought in Bill Zito to retool the roster.
What the Panthers got was a complete overhaul.
They have not looked back since, making the playoffs the past three seasons — going farther each year.
“I think over the past few years, I don’t want to say we turned things around, but we just keep getting better,” Radko Gudas, the first free agent Zito signed in 2020, told FHN last week.
“We’re building something here that is not just a one-season thing. It is more of a continous build for the organization and the way we carry ourselves. To see those two here, it is great to be part of.
“They are growing into their prime, getting better and helping take this franchise farther and farther. They didn’t have great success early but they know they’re not 20 or 21 anymore and realize you don’t see this kind of success every day. They’ve helped build this. I think they are enjoying it, management did a great job building around them.”
On Friday night, the Panthers won their sixth consecutive playoff road game and beat the Maple Leafs 3-2 in overtime to advance to the conference finals.
It appeared, not too long ago, that this Florida season would suffer the same fate as so many others have.
Only the Panthers roared back from a 3-1 series deficit to upset the top-seeded Bruins in the opening round and just beat the Maple Leafs in 5 to move within a series of the Stanley Cup Final.
This is how the Panthers pictured things going as they built up — then tore down — their organization over the years.
Barkov and Ekblad, for the most part, are the last guys standing.
“We survived,” Ekblad said in training camp.
Over the years, they shared a ‘promise of tomorrow’ with peers such as Erik Gudbranson, Nick Bjugstad, MacKenzie Weegar, Vincent Trocheck and, of course, Jonathan Huberdeau.
They have been coached by Kevin Dineen, Peter Horachek, Gerard Gallant, Tom Rowe, Bob Boughner, Joel Quenneville, Andrew Brunette and now Paul Maurice.
They have seen things change — and seen things stay, pretty much, the same.
Yet here they are now, enjoying what has come and the great possibility of what is ahead.
While both have always said ‘it is great to be part of the Panthers,’ it really is now.
“This is why we play hockey,’’ Barkov said. “We want to be in the playoffs and go as far as possible. With this group of guys, nothing is better than that. We have had amazing crowds for every game in the playoffs and a lot of support for us. It could not be better.”
And it is not just Barkov and Ekblad basking in the glow of it all.
As one could see from the celebration in the Panthers’ luxury box on Friday night with Roberto Luongo, Robb Tallas, Zito and others lifting each other into the air, this is a fun time to be around the Panthers.
“It is fun in those moments when you can just sit around grown men jumping around and acting like children,” Maurice said Saturday morning before the team left for home.
“They are just so happy. And it’s not just those guys — it’s the equipment guys, the medical guys, the guys who have been here a long, long time.
“I turned after shaking (assistant coach) Sylvain Lefebvre’s hand and there was a pile of trainers behind the bench. Just a great picture in my head. You get to share these moments with people and it shapes a bond. But there is a lot of joy in watching it.”
Both players were drafted high by Tallon; Barkov was the second-overall pick in 2013 and Ekblad was the No. 1 selection in 2014.
The two ended up signing long-term deals with the team — Barkov is now in his second extension, his eight-year, $80 million pact the richest the team has ever given out — and have put down roots in South Florida.
This is where both players want to be, for better or for worse.
For the past couple of years, anyway, it looks like a pretty good place to be.
“I have not been here that long, but I have been close with Barky since I got here,” said Anton Lundell, now in his second season with Florida. “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.”