George Richards, FHN Publisher
Two years ago on Thursday, the Florida Panthers made a change when they made Sasha Barkov the 10th captain in franchise history.
The moment was captured for all to see — or at least those media members gathered at BB&T Center as Derek MacKenzie passed the captainship over to Barkov outside the team locker room.
MacKenzie, the Panthers’ captain since 2016, came out with Barkov and the two posed for photos with Barkov’s new sweater.
Barkov, who was 23 at the time, had become the team’s most respected player both at home and abroad.
“This is awesome and a dream come true. This is probably the biggest honor of my life, to be the captain of an NHL team,” Barkov said then.
“To be drafted here and grow here, it’s a real honor. I like to work hard and hopefully someone will look up to me, try and work as hard as I do, love the game as much as I do.
“It’s not just me [leading]. It’s everyone in our room. We are going to do this together.”
There had been plenty of rumors that MacKenzie would not be the Panthers’ captain during the 2018-19 season and the move turned out to be timely.
The concern was, MacKenzie as Florida’s fourth-line center, wouldn’t be on the ice enough to serve as a captain.
Turns out, he aggravated a shoulder injury he was trying to play through in the Panthers’ opener in Tampa Bay and had surgery which ended his playing career.
MacKenzie soon started helping out as an assistant coach and was named to Joel Quenneville’s staff full-time last year.
“I was honored and cherished being able to wear the ‘C’ but it was heartfelt and an easy decision,” MacKenzie said.
“We have always had a great line of communication. When I took the ‘C,’ I knew it was going to be for a year or two to give these guys a chance to grow and really enjoy playing hockey. These guys have always controlled the room.’’
So, while it was a given that MacKenzie was going to give up the captain spot (he said he was simply a placeholder when he was originally given it in 2016) was Barkov the right choice?
Barkov is not your traditional captain when it come to the rah-rah stuff.
Barkov is not going to get up and scream at a teammate and even if he did, it’s doubtful the soft-spoken Barkov would be taken seriously.
The other option for captain, in my opinion, would have been Aaron Ekblad. Like Barkov, Ekblad is a high-end player just coming into his prime.
At the time, some had wondered whether a high-intensity personality such as Vincent Trocheck would have been a better choice.
Truthfully, the decision came down to Barkov or Ekblad.
While I think Ekblad has matured into a player teammates search out, Barkov was the right pick to become the 10th captain in Panthers’ history.
Although he doesn’t always say the right things at the right time (English is his third language after all), he was not chosen as team captain for what he says.
It was for what he does.
No player on the Panthers, save perhaps for Sergei Bobrovsky, works harder on and off the ice than Barkov.
His workouts have become legendary around the team and it is a trait he picked up from former linemate Jaromir Jagr.
While Barkov isn’t sneaking into the IceDen at 2 a.m. for a workout like Jagr may have done, Barkov is constantly working to become a better player.
And that is something every player on the Panthers could do more of.
On the ice, Barkov is usually Florida’s best player. He has gotten better each year he has been in the league although last season was one in which he fought through various injuries.
Choosing Barkov as captain was a tangible reminder of what he means to the team — and that come into play next year when it comes time to start talking about a new contract.
Barkov, who set the franchise record by scoring 96 points in a single season in 2019-20, has two years left on his bargain contract which he signed in 2016.
To keep Barkov around, money will play a factor; he will get a raise over the $6 million he currently makes, no doubt.
There is no indication Barkov wants to leave and being the team captain, one would think, would make it harder for him to walk away.
That, of course, is a conversation for another day.