Long Road Leads Dmitry Kulikov to 1000th NHL Game Tonight

A few days before Dmitry Kulikov made his NHL debut with the Florida Panthers, general manager Randy Sexton had some high praise for his new defenseman.

“I think Dmitry is going to be a core part of our organization for several years to come,” Sexton said in 2009. “He’s going to be a cornerstone of our franchise. … He is a wonderfully gifted player and an even better human being. He’s going to make for a great Panther for many years to come.’’

Sexton, who drafted Kulikov with the 14th overall pick at the 2009 draft in Montreal, is now in the front office of the Minnesota Wild.

And is probably smiling today.

Kulikov, after all, did become a big part of the Panthers in the years following that draft.

Much later, he became a Stanley Cup champion with Florida.

And tonight, Kulikov plays in his 1,000th NHL game.

“Old guys, that’s what I think of,’’ Kulikov said before the Panthers left on their recent road trip in which he played in Games No. 996-999.

“That’s a lot of games. When I first heard of someone that many, the number didn’t mean anything because it was so many games, I just couldn’t understand how someone could get to that point and how many years it would take.

“Now I am coming up on 1,000 — and it still doesn’t make sense. It feels like I just started, you know, last year. Now it’s Year 16 and I’m at 1,000.’’

Kulikov is the 13th player in franchise history to reach 1,000 games while with the Panthers — although none of them played all of their games with the Panthers.

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Kulikov becomes the fifth Florida draftee to hit the mark joining Radek Dvorak (1,260), Jay Bouwmeester (1,240), Rob Niedermayer (1,153), and Ed Jovanovski (1,128).

Kulikov and Dvorak are the only two to play their 1,000th game while being members of the Panthers.

The Panthers plan to honor Kulikov before playing the Islanders on Sunday.

“It’s a journey and you learn things along the way like being a professional, a good teammate,” Kulikov said. “You learn how to play the game the right way. I’ve had a lot of different teammates and different coaches. But the league demands you to be professional and to take care of yourself and your teammates. That’s all I worry about. … Take it day by day, and it’s Year 16.’’

Florida Panthers defenseman Dmitry Kulikov lifts the Stanley Cup so his son can kiss it after Game 7 of the on June 24 in Sunrise. (AP Photo/Wilfredo Lee)

Kulikov started his career with the Panthers in 2009 — making his debut against the Blackhawks in Helsinki on Oct. 2 — and spent seven seasons with Florida before being traded to Buffalo during the 2016 draft.

His career took a long and winding path following his time with the Panthers, Kulikov playing for seven different teams before returning to Florida in 2023 with a one-year contract.

Although he had hoped to be traded by the Panthers during some of the dark years, he admitted in 2023 that he always hoped the franchise would turn around and he would never have to leave.

But leave he did.

And hoped to return one day.

Which he, obviously, did.

“To be honest, I never wanted to leave in the first place,” Kulikov told FHN before the start of last season.

“I always wanted to come back here, it just did not work out. When the opportunity opened up this summer, I did not want to go anywhere else. I am happy. I am really happy.”

So are the Panthers.

One of the teams Kulikov played for during his Florida hiatus were the Winnipeg Jets.

After a back injury cut short his one season in Buffalo, he signed a three-year deal with Paul Maurice’s team in 2017.

Maurice was more than happy to be reunited in South Florida.

“We never saw this Dmitry Kulikov,” Maurice said last season before Kulikov played in his 900th game. “He looks like he is getting younger.”

Said Kulikov: “I kept telling Paul, ‘you haven’t seen me healthy.’ I had some injuries, had some streaks with injuries and it gets hard to get back into the lineup. I may be 33, but I feel better than I did at 27. It’s good. Not to take away from anything, but I have worked hard to stay in good shape and try to be healthy.”

Florida Panthers rookie defenseman Dmitry Kulikov, then wearing No. 43, is pictured on Oct. 30, 2009, in Dallas. (AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez)

Kulikov, who said he cannot go east on Sunrise Boulevard anymore without thinking of the team’s rainy Stanley Cup parade, played a big role in the team winning its first championship.

Memories of Florida’s run to the Cup just pop up.

“You have these flashbacks of memories from time to time, and certain things set them off,’’ Kulikov said. “You see a picture or a billboard. It takes you back to the playoffs and you relive it. Or a picture pops up on your phone.

“Every time, chills, goosebumps, when I think of that Game 7. At the time, it felt like another game because that’s how you have to approach it. But everything mattered in that game.’’

During the second period of Game 7 of the Final, Edmonton had a fantastic scoring chance and should have taken a 2-1 lead.

With the puck sitting near the goal and Sergei Bobrovsky on the other side of the net, Kulikov made one of the biggest plays of the night.

After being hit by Dylan Holloway, Kulikov dove forward and cleared the puck into the corner where Carter Verhaeghe picked it up.

Moments later on the other end of the ice, Sam Reinhart fired off a shot from the right circle that beat Stuart Skinner and gave the Panthers a 2-1 lead.

That was the final goal scored.

“It happened so fast,” Kulikov said after Game 7. “The puck just came out in front, I was looking at it, I got pushed from behind and I just cleared it out. Then our guy picked it up and we scored.

“Honestly, I just blacked out.”

Sasha Barkov has played in 778 games — all with the Panthers — and spent three seasons with Kulikov before the trade to Buffalo.

He said he was “lucky” to be able to play with Kulikov, “who was one of the main guys who pretty much showed me the path here in Florida when I first got here. My first three years, I stayed with him a little bit and obviously spent a lot of time with him speaking the same language. He’s an unbelievable guy.’’

The fact that Kulikov helped the Panthers win the Stanley Cup was not lost on Barkov.

“I guess that it was always meant to be,’’ Barkov said last summer, “that he is the man who comes here and makes the saving play at the end and wins the Cup with the team that drafted him.”

Not only did Kulikov play in 76 games for the Panthers last season, but he also played in all 24 postseason games.

On July 1, he signed a new four-year contract with the Panthers pretty much assuring the 34-year-old will end his career where it all started.

Dmitry Kulikov during the 2023-24 NHL season. // Photo courtesy @FlaPanthers

Of course, after playing for seven different teams in a span of seven seasons, Kulikov knows nothing is assured.

“I have had contracts that weren’t for one year, and I was still traded,” he said with a nervous laugh.

“But, it was nice to re-sign here. This is where I want to be, where I want to keep playing.’’

Even though Kulikov’s 1,000th game tribute photo will have him wearing eight different uniforms — nine, if the Panthers split him up from his two separate stints with the team — it would be hard to picture him playing anywhere else.

Kulikov, as Sexton alluded to almost 16 years ago, has become a cornerstone player in Panthers history.

It just did not travel the path everyone thought it might.

“Everyone has their own journey, and mine has been like this,’’ Kulikov said. “I was fortunate I was able to come back this past year with the Panthers.

“This is my best memory, this past year, of my whole career.’’

ON DECK: GAME No. 52

LOS ANGELES KINGS at FLORIDA PANTHERS

• When: Wednesday, 7 p.m.
• Where: Amerant Bank Arena, Sunrise
• Local TV: Scripps Sports — WSFL 39 (Miami/FtL); WHDT 9 (WPB); LAFF 36.3 (SWFla)
• Streaming: Panthers+, ESPN+
• Radio: WQAM 560-AM; WBZT 1230-AM (Palm Beach); WCTH 100.3-FM (Florida Keys); SiriusXM
• Panthers Radio Streaming: SiriusXM 932, NHL App
• Betting Odds — Kings Favored: Money Line (-115); Puck line (-1.5, +195); Over/Under 5.5 (-105/-115)
• Last Season: Tied 1-1
  
• This Season (Kings Lead 1-0) — At Los Angeles: Kings 2, Panthers 1 (Jan. 22). At Florida: Wednesday.
• All-time Regular Season Series: Los Angeles leads 27-15-0, 3 ties
• Up Next for the Panthers: Saturday vs. Chicago Blackhawks, 1 p.m. (ABC)