FORT LAUDERDALE.
Holy shit, what a decision for the NHL season! I dare say that the final series between Florida and Edmonton was the most colorful in the modern era in terms of the arc of the drama in all its craziness. Just over a week ago, the final series was getting what many consider to be a flat decision, when Florida won it 3–0. It had a chance in Edmonton for its first 4-0 win in the finals since 1998.
What else.
Edmonton staged an incredible comeback while Florida’s hand began to shake. And be that as it may, just a few days later my finals caravan was on its way to the seventh game in South Florida, Sunrise. The NHL had not seen such a change of direction in 82 years.
However, Florida showed the toughness of its captain Alexander Barkov under.
Florida, who has received in previous years from the hand of the father at any time. It has been a good team for a long time, but especially its big brother, local rival Tampa Bay, has taught the pack of cats many lessons. This Florida has experienced many growing pains and had to learn the hard way. However, it experienced the toughest challenge during the previous week – losing a clear lead in the final series must have been a tough spot for the team.
However, this Panthers was ripe for a winner.
It played clearly better on Monday than in the previous games and truly deserved its victory.
Finns in a big role
There was also something unprecedented for Finns.
On such a wide front, we have never before seen a Finnish master in the ranks with his operas. Four played and Tuomo Ruutu served as an assistant coach.
As captain, Barkov is his own chapter. Edmonton only Connor McDavid’s incredible dominance prevented the Tampere, twice chosen as the league’s best defender, from winning the award for the most valuable player of the playoffs. This was all the final series that opened the eyes of the general public in North America to Barkov.
At last, it is now widely understood in the NHL that there is no other equally comprehensive player in the hockey world. The Tappara native made domestic ice hockey history by being the first Finnish captain of a championship team with taala ice.
This was Barkov’s team. Although there was a lot of different specialized skills in the group, the Tappara man’s incredible level of performance and quiet self-confidence laid the foundation for Florida’s greatness. With the win, Barkov cemented his position as Finland’s best ice hockey player of all time. A place in the NHL’s gallery of honor, jersey freezes and statues will come later. It may be that Barkov’s greatness is not even fully understood yet. Only time will give a final perspective on how great a player he is.
And that’s not all.
Named Baby Barkov Anton Lundell, 22, has risen bewilderingly quickly to the top level, all the way to the NHL playoff world. The player from Helsinki is young, but still already a player who can play in all possible situations and, if necessary, act as a glue player in any chain.
Lundell, for example, placed Sam Bennett in the middle of the second chain earlier in the spring. During that period, Lundell, Matthew Tkachuk and Carter Verhaeghe won their game 7–2. When Lundell returned to his place in the chain of three, this was about to decide the place in the finals and even the playoff from there.
Then there was Eetu Luostarinen.
Did anyone notice in the winter of 2020 that by Vincent Trocheck and Erik Haulan there was also a player named Eetu Luostarinen in the starred player shop? Tokkopa.
A couple of years after the trade, Luostarinen already scored 17 goals and +19 in the power statistics. Now the man from Siilinjärvi was a completely central factor in the champion team’s triple line, an exemplary player who usually plays. Luostarinen’s hungry hunting and exploitation led to gigantic goals in some places during the spring.
The underpowered responsibility and the management’s protection at the end spoke volumes about the appreciation of the coaching.
The same trust was enjoyed by Kiiming’s jja, Niko Mikkola At the stern of Florida. Mikkola played throughout the spring in the second pair Brandon Montour with against the opponent’s top players. And in what way! Mikkola is an excellent base defender who uses his size to great advantage, but still doesn’t get tired of running around the rink. The big understrength responsibility and the substitutions at the important moments of the match were handled with style.
Mikkola was the true wild card of the champion team, who turned out to be a fantastic find on the free market.
Great moves by the club manager
Of course, there were other wild cards and a big part of Florida’s story was the sports boss Bill Ziton wonderful club management work. When talking about Florida’s champion team, it is important to remember that an American with a strong Finnish background through his player-agent career turned the entire team around in less than four years.
Zito was hired for the position of GM in September 2020. From the team that was on its feet at that time, they were playing again on Monday To Sergei Bobrov, Aaron EkbladAleksander Barkov, Ryan Lomberg and Eetu Luostarinen.
Zito immediately put on a mankel, the likes of which has not been seen in a while. Over the years, it has been taken in through player trades Sam ReinhartMatthew Tkachuk, Brandon Montour, Sam Bennett, Steve Lorentz, Kyle Okposo and Vladimir Tarasenko. For example, the entire second chain led by Bennett (Tkachuk and Verhaeghe) was built by Zito.
Zito captured Verhaghe from the free market, by Evan Rodrigues, Nick Cousins, by Kevin Stenlund, Dmitri Kulikov, by Oliver Ekman-LarssonNiko Mikkolan and the reserve goalkeeper by Anthony Stolarz. From the transfer list, Florida picked up the one rejected by Carolina and then rose to the defender elite in a wonderful way by Gustav Forsling.
Zito seems to have succeeded in almost all the changes he made. It is often said that you can only build a championship team by booking – Florida puts this old truth in a different light. Among the champions, only Barkov, Lundell and Aaron Ekblad are the club’s own reservations.
The club management has put together an incredibly high-quality team and even more so at an unimaginable price. Bennett and Verhaeghe play for only four million, Forsling with the new contract only for a good five. Monastic three million, Lundell operates with a rookie tag of less than a million and so on. Very quickly, Florida will also get into trouble with the situation, because such a high-quality team will not fit under the salary cap for a long time.
However, there is no need to worry about that now. Throughout the season, Florida was the best team in the NHL and it was exactly the combination that looked like a future champion from fall to summer. The Panthers are a top organization at all levels, starting with the front office and ending with the coaching staff. This team has earned its celebration.
And it wouldn’t be a big surprise if the same group celebrated again next summer. The smell of dynasty is in the air.