George Richards, FHN Publisher
When Sasha Barkov walked into the Eaton Hotel in Fort Lauderdale on Friday afternoon, he was greeted with a collage of pictures documenting his first eight seasons with the Florida Panthers.
Once exiting the elevator on the ninth floor, big screen televisions played a year-by-year highlight loop of Barkov’s exploits with the Panthers.
From his rookie season to playing with Jonathan Huberdeau and Jaromir Jagr to being named captain of the team, Barkov has grown up with the Panthers.
And after signing an eight-year contract extension with the team, he will continue to grow old with the team as well.
General manager Bill Zito and Barkov’s agent Todd Diamond hammered out a long-term extension which will keep Barkov with the Panthers for a long, long time.
“Seeing those photos and the videos, it doesn’t feel like it has been that long ago,’’ Barkov said as he sat down with Florida Hockey Now following his poolside press conference overlooking Fort Lauderdale.
“It really feels like I have been here one or two years. It has gone by fast.”
The money, and the way it is structured to be paid out, is fantastic.
And it is deserved.
“I am so excited,’’ said Aaron Ekblad, who has played with Barkov the past seven years. “He is our captain, one of our best friends. I have been playing with him for quite a while now and am just so happy for him. It’s a huge deal. It’s a amazing. We love it.”
Barkov’s new contract will pay him on average of $10 million per year and is the richest contract ever given out by the franchise eclipsing those given to Sergei Bobrovsky and Pavel Bure in the past.
“I’m going to be here for a long time,” Barkov said at a press conference attended by dozens of local media.
“Being in the organization that drafted me and gave me a chance to play here, developed me into the player and human being I am right now is a huge thing for me. I’ve really loved every second here, my whole career. Never thought about anything else other than being here, playing here and trying to win a Stanley Cup here.”
A photo montage of Sasha Barkov’s time with the Florida Panthers greets those heading to the ninth floor of the Eaton Hotel for his press conference Friday in Fort Lauderdale. // @GeorgeRichards
Barkov could have signed for more money had he hit the open market after his current contract expires this coming summer, or he could have hammered the Panthers for even more.
The Panthers probably would have given him anything he wanted.
But what Barkov wants is to win.
This contract, even at its price point, helps that along.
It allows Zito to continue adding pieces to the team and should also help him to continue to keep the players the Panthers already have — and want to reward as well.
“I’m thrilled,’’ Zito told FHN. “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. Todd (Diamond) was very understanding because we were almost partners in trying to make this work.”
A DEAL GETS DONE
Although the extension perhaps wore on than some had thought it would — Barkov was first eligible to sign a new deal in late July — there was little doubt on either side that it would get done.
According to Barkov, the two sides were very close by Thursday and he officially signed the paperwork on Friday.
“I didn’t want anything else but to be here for a long time,” Barkov said. “Both parties agreed to that right away. It was just a matter of time before it got done.
“It was a busy summer for the Panthers and for Bill; I respected his time and his commitment to what he was doing for the team. He brought in new players to the organization, he made the organization better. We were waiting our turn. But I have a great group of people who help me with this and I didn’t have to worry about it. I just play hockey.”
Times have not always been great with the Panthers and, in years past, some of the top players have wanted out.
Zito said that when he was interviewing to be hired, owner Vinnie Viola made it a point that the organization had to be in the right shape so that Barkov would not consider leaving.
Barkov stresses he never thought about leaving the Panthers behind.
“Honestly, not really,’’ he said. “You see other teams play well and you dream about being there and winning. I want to win the Stanley Cup, I want to be in the playoffs. But at the same time, you think about how I can do better. How can I help my team be better?
“Obviously, right now, it’s all coming together. We are getting great people around this organization to help us take those next steps to win the Cup. And that’s what we’re trying to do here.
“So I can’t say I thought about anything else. I just thought about winning the Stanley Cup. And I really want to do here down in South Florida with the group a group of guys we have right now.”
DRAFT DAY DECISION
Barkov was the second overall pick of the 2013 NHL Draft, one in which Dale Tallon had been rumored to be leaning toward drafting blue-chip defenseman Seth Jones.
But with the knowledge the team could not make a financial offer to pending free agent Stephen Weiss what with the team secretly up for sale, the Panthers needed a center who could step in and play right away.
Barkov was that guy.
And, it turned out, a whole lot more.
Sasha Barkov, 17, walks through the Prudential Center in Newark to meet the media after being the second-overall pick of the 2013 NHL Draft by the Florida Panthers. // @GeorgeRichards
“He makes other players around him better,’’ Tallon said then, adding he made his decision to select Barkov second after their final interview.
“He has great vision, great hands. He’s a rare commodity, a big center with skill. He fits into what we already have coming in size and speed. He gives us real strength up the middle.’’
Barkov replaced Weiss as Florida’s top-line center as his rookie year went along and has transformed into one of the league’s elite centers.
Since coming to the Panthers, Barkov has been honored with the Lady Byng Award as well as the franchise’s first Selke Trophy this past season.
As good as the Panthers hoped Barkov would be eight years ago, no one could have seen this coming.
“He is the cornerstone we build around from a hockey perspective, from a culture perspective, from a leadership perspective,” Zito said.
“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.’’
When we first met Barkov at the draft that summer day in Newark, he said he was happy to join the Panthers even if he did not know a whole lot about them.
“I know we have very good players, one Finnish player (Sean Bergenheim) and Johnny Huberdeau who won the Calder Trophy,’’ Barkov said. “I’ve always liked the Florida Panthers.’’
He arrived in town later that summer for development camp and famously failed his Florida drivers test before getting his license.
“I didn’t understand the questions,” he said with a sly grin.
The 18-year-old talked about how much he loved the area right from the start and it’s obvious now that has never waned.
“I like it here in Florida, it’s nice,’’ he said. “It’s a place I’m going to enjoy living in. Everyone is nice, I have a lot of friends already. They’ve helped me very much.”
BARKOV AT HOME IN SOUTH FLORIDA
Barkov now says he has two homes: His native Finland and South Florida. He owns part of his hometown Tappara team in Tampere and loves the Miami Heat.
He has made a life in two places and is a huge part of both.
On Friday, one reporter asked Barkov “how could you leave this?” as he pointed at the blue sky and toward the Atlantic Ocean a mile or two to the east.
“I like the snow, too,’’ he said.
Zito said it is the Panthers that Barkov is committed to, not the landscape.
”He did not stay here because of the beach or because he likes palm trees,” Zito said. “He can retire here and live the rest of his life here if that is what he liked. No. He is here because he thinks he can win here.”
When you look around the South Florida sports landscape now, there are few players who mean as much to their teams as Barkov does to the Panthers.
Barkov is a transcendent figure when it comes to the Panthers.
While Roberto Luongo is the first player to have his number retired by the Panthers, it is safe to say no one else will ever wear the No. 16 aside from Barkov.
Huberdeau and Ekblad may have their numbers in the arena rafters as well.
”He is one of the best players in the National Hockey League,” Ekblad said. “We are more than happy to follow his lead.”
These guys mean that much to the organization and their longevity here is something that really hasn’t been seen before.
Barkov will surpass Jokinen for the franchise lead in goals probably within the first few weeks of the season and Huberdeau — who is the longest tenured Panther by a year — isn’t too far behind.
Both Barkov and Huberdeau are first and second in the franchise record books for points and assists and they’ll continue to add to that. Ekblad is the best defenseman the Panthers have ever dressed.
“I’m going back to your word: Cornerstone,” Zito said. “We have that foundation where you have someone you can identify with excellence, someone you can emulate. He represents the stability and competitiveness of our organization. We have guys coming in here who want to play here. He is a big reason for that.”
Derek MacKenzie hands over the captaincy of the Florida Panthers to Sasha Barkov on the eve of the 2018-19 NHL season. // @GeorgeRichards
BIG EXPECTATIONS FOR PANTHERS
The excitement level for the Panthers has, perhaps never been higher. Sure there was the 1996 run to the Stanley Cup Finals and the craze continued the following year when those lovable Panthers got off to a terrific start the following season.
With so many losses in between then and now, it does feel like a lifetime ago.
The Panthers, right now, could be living in their golden age with Barkov and the rest of his cohorts.
Florida, to put it simply, is loaded.
Players like Barkov, Huberdeau and Ekblad don’t come along very often.
Add to the mix guys like Sam Reinhart and Sam Bennett, MacKenzie Weegar, Sergei Bobrovsky and Spencer Knight and the Panthers could have something very special brewing under the Florida sun.
“None of this happens without the encouragement and enthusiasm of the Violas,” Zito said.
Added Barkov: “I have said many times how great the team is, the guys we have in this locker room and within the organization are just terrific. We’re all working toward making this team better and it’s not just the players. I love it here, everyone loves it here. We just enjoy coming to the rink everyday and give everything we have.”
HECK OF A WEEK
Signing his new contract Friday wasn’t the only honor for Barkov this past week.
On Thursday, Finland announced that he was part of their first three named to its Olympic team for the upcoming Beijing Games.
Barkov was just a kid when he went to Sochi with Team Finland in 2014, an NHL rookie who was the up-and-coming player part of a veteran-laden squad.
Now, he’s one of the big dogs, an elite player on an elite team.
And, as Zito said, Barkov is just now scratching the surface of how good he can be.
The Panthers are going to get to watch it happen for years to come.
”What he does not only rubs off on other players, but he will actively engage them and say ‘hey, let’s do this’,’’ Zito said. “As we continue to evolve here, we will tell a player that ‘this is an excellent player, and this is why.’ Look at what he’s doing. But look at him as a person. He is a gracious guy, he is considerate. He thinks about others and he means it. He is a kind guy and a genuine person as there is.
”Sasha is a superstar and he is the most regular guy there is. As a manager, to try and build around that, it’s considerable. When I got here, Matt (Caldwell) and Vinnie told me he was a special guy. I told them I had seen him play. I knew. They were like, no, as a person.
“Yeah, they were right. He is a special guy.”