George Richards, FHN Publisher
FORT LAUDERDALE — The world of professional hockey is a small one. Nothing more exemplifies that than the upcoming playoff series between the Florida Panthers and New York Rangers.
The two teams will meet in the postseason for the first time since 1997 when the Eastern Conference final kicks off Wednesday night at Madison Square Garden.
However, as is the case with so many other playoff matchups, there are many ties between them.
Both teams have players who were teammates and friends on the other side of the ice, whether it is former Florida fan favorite Vincent Trocheck or 2023 New York trade acquisitions Vladimir Tarasenko and Niko Mikkola.
“Whenever we play each other, we cross paths and maybe say hi,’’ Sasha Barkov said of Trocheck on Tuesday night from New York.
“Obviously not this time, maybe after.
“I am happy for him. He is doing well here, playing really well here, and I am happy for him.’’
New York center Alex Wennberg spent the start of his career in Columbus with Bill Zito and Sergei Bobrovsky; he also spent the 2021 season with the Panthers.
While the two coaches have a history as they replaced each other as coaches of the Carolina Hurricanes, Florida’s Paul Maurice says he and Peter Laviolette are not necessarily close.
But there are friends on both sides of the ice, something the Panthers dealt with in the opening round when they played Anthony Duclair and the Lightning.
“I don’t think it affects you even a bit,” Maurice said on Monday. “You don’t think about it. That puck drops and that is so far from something you would consider. You’re not laying off hits on a guy. You go as hard as you can, as fast as you can, you get off the ice.
“I think it’s great stories on the way in. I think it makes for a good handshake line. But I don’t think it will affect the series at all.”
The strongest link between the two teams is Trocheck, the former Florida prospect turned All-Star who developed into a top player after being a third-round pick by the Panthers in 2011.
Trocheck was not only a fan favorite but a legitimate part of the Florida core, along with the likes of Barkov, Aaron Ekblad, Jonathan Huberdeau, and Nick Bjugstad.
However, his time with the Panthers ended in 2020 when then-GM Dale Tallon needed to find a way to kickstart his disappointing team.
Florida had high aspirations that season and went into the All-Star break with a four-point lead on a playoff spot.
Then the Panthers lost nine of 13 going into the trade deadline.
“I love these guys, love this organization,’’ Trocheck said the night before the deadline. “My focus is just trying to get this team into a playoff spot.’’
While the team was getting ready to leave Las Vegas, news broke of Trocheck being traded to the Hurricanes for four players—only one of whom, Eetu Luostarinen, remains.
Trocheck said goodbye to his longtime teammates in the Bellagio lobby.
“You see the guy every day for seven years, and we kind of shared everything here,” Barkov said then. “He has been here since my first day of training camp. It was tough this morning, tough to wake up to the news. Then to see the guy, it was a sad moment. He was the guy who was here forever. It’s just tough.”
Of course, that was four years ago. Trocheck and the Panthers have played each other quite a bit since, and the only teammates he shared a room with are Barkov, Ekblad, and Bobrovsky.
Tarasenko and Mikkola were both with the Rangers last year after being acquired from St. Louis at the trade deadline.
After the Rangers lost to the Devils in the first round, former Florida coach Gerard Gallant was fired — and New York also moved on from Tarasenko and Mikkola.
Tarasenko signed a one-year deal with Ottawa, while Mikkola got a three-year contract with Florida. The Panthers traded for Tarasenko before the March 8 deadline.
Then there is Sergei Bobrovsky and Artemi Panarin.
The two were close friends with the Columbus Blue Jackets and were considered a package deal as free agents in 2019.
Florida tried to sign both, but the money did not work out.
“Here’s the deal: We were hot after both of them, together, and it was getting close,’’ Tallon said then. “When it looked like it would not come together, we decided to go in a different direction and add more balance to our team and address some needs which would make our team better — not that (Panarin) wouldn’t make us better.”
Bobrovsky signed a seven-year deal worth $10 million annually with the Panthers; Panarin got seven years with the Rangers at $11.6 million.
“I think it would have been tough for us to have joined the same team,’’ said Bobrovsky, who played for Laviolette in Philadelphia. “It ended up as it ended up. I think we’re both happy; I am happy here, and he is happy there. The reality is we ended up in good spots and life goes on.’’
Blake Wheeler did not play for the Panthers — but he was Maurice’s captain when the two were together in Winnipeg.
Wheeler has been out since Feb. 15 with a significant leg injury but could return to the lineup during this series.
Maurice hopes he does.
“I am hoping he plays, for him,” said Maurice, who also had Rangers Jacob Trouba and Jack Roslovic in Winnipeg. “He is a hard-working man and that injury, to come back from it and be good, he would have done everything he could to get back.’’