How does the Aleksander Barkov injury affect the Florida Panthers?
Two-time defending Stanley Cup champs, first finish captain to ever hoist the Stanley Cup. He’s going to miss the Olympics. And here are their injury report. Those two guys on the left side, devastating losses. Obviously, Evan Rodriguez, what a remarkable player he is. I heard Paul Maurice celebrating his ability to go from a topline wing in the Stanley Cup final, then game seven, play fourth line, play all the way up and down the lineup. But those two guys on the left, huge news in the sport. And you played with them. Boiler, you’ve praised not just what Sasha Barov could do on the ice, but his total impact on the club. Massive. Yeah, he I said it before, he is the conscience of the club and he’s the engine. He is the pace car. He starts practice. He starts every drill and people follow him because of how he plays the game. He’s there’s not a selfish bone in his body. Everything he does is about winning the hockey game, figuring out a way to win his own shift. He’s humble. He’s very gracious. He compliments his teammates. He builds everybody up. That is going to be a big big hole to fill. I think Paul Murray said it perfectly. It’s I’m paraphrasing, but you’re not going it’s devastating. You’re not going to be able to fulfill the fill the boots of Sasha Barkov. You simply cannot do it. He’s he’s that special for all the reasons you just mentioned and the fact that he’s the compass guy. Like that is how we approach the game. That’s how we want to be as an organization is everything that Sasha Barkov is. And I want to say this though, if you think this team is done now because of him, I think you’ve misunderstood this roster in this organization. Agreed. And again, I want to emphasize and Paul Maurice would know better name buddy that uh you can’t replace Asha Barov, but they have a special group there. I Anton Lindell, he is literally Mini Barov. Like that is a He’s not going to be Sasha Barov. No, he can be. But they’ve got guys like he could fulfill that role and he can slide in there. You know, Evan Rodriguez, talk about him, how good he was in the playoffs. I mean Sam Bennett K smite winner. I mean the Matthew Kachchuck, you got to get him healthy, but I I wonder what this team’s going to do moving forward with that cap space or whatever. They are not going away. They are going to be one of the teams to deal with. I still have them as my favorite in the East. Hold on. Hold on. Whoa. Still they’re still my favorite in the East. Yeah. I They’re going to do something to fulfill this hole, but Okay. Hey, this is a to I’ve learned my everybody should learn their lesson about this team. I mean, are we are we serious what we saw? Like I get it. Look what Brad Marshian did. Look at I mean, this is a It’s different. Culture matters. No, it’s a great point because you had Brad Marshan was a captain and a Stanley Cup champion prior to coming to Florida. He can help fill some of the leadership void. You have obviously Kachchuck is out as well. That’s a big that’s a big hole because of what he did when he got to Florida. You have Aaron Ecklbad signed again. You mentioned Evan Rodriguez. I saw the man play in Sydney Crosby’s spot when Sid was trying to rehab in Pittsburgh and have a point a game there. And then when Sid came back, he had to play with me for a while. Then I got to I got to get points because I was playing with Evan Rodriguez. He could play with anybody up and down your lineup. The number one thing that the Florida Panthers have is attitude. Swagger. They they have a swagger about them. You’re right. That it they don’t care who’s in because they’re all in it together no matter what. They don’t care who gets the credit. They believe someone’s going to get the credit. As long as they’re celebrating at the end of the night because they won the game and the objective was taken care of, that is a team that’s that’s what other teams are trying to beat. You you bet you you know you know what that they are listening to they’re listening to people discredit them before the season even starts. So it’s going to hurt not replace a guy like that. You cannot. But this is a good hockey club. I give Boiler credit. He’s the one who said that when players get to Florida, they drink the potion and they become Florida Panthers.
The crew on NHL Tonight discuss how the Panthers will be able to defend back-to-back Stanley Cups despite injuries to Aleksander Barkov and Matthew Tkachuk.
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