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Greg Wyshynski
RALEIGH, N.C. — When Nate Schmidt appears to be like across the Florida Panthers‘ locker room, he sees players who possess something he doesn’t have. No less than not but.
A Stanley Cup ring.
Most of them received a hoop final season when the Panthers hoisted the Cup for the primary time in franchise historical past. Brad Marchand received his as a rookie with the Boston Bruins in 2011. Nico Sturm, one other current addition, received his with the Colorado Avalanche in 2022.
That is one thing that has given Schmidt some anxiousness. He doesn’t need to be the man with out a ring who messes it up for those who’ve one.
“You know what? It’s something that I’ve tried to battle with this year,” mentioned the veteran defenseman, who signed a one-year free agent contract with Florida final summer time. “You want to add, right? You want to add as much as you can to an already winning formula.”
Schmidt is considered one of seven Panthers on the playoff roster who haven’t received the Stanley Cup. It’s an inventory that features forwards Jesper Boqvist, A.J. Greer and Tomas Nosek; backup goalie Vitek Vanecek; and defensemen Seth Jones and Jaycob Megna.
Jones is in his twelfth NHL season, having performed 860 regular-season video games since being drafted fourth general by the Nashville Predators in 2013. Earlier than this run with the Panthers, Jones had appeared in solely 37 playoff video games with Nashville and Columbus, having by no means made the postseason throughout his 4 seasons with the rebuilding Chicago Blackhawks.
“It was just the timeline with that organization. It’s nothing against them,” Jones mentioned of the Blackhawks. “I think they’re going to be very successful in the future. They just wanted to build from the ground up. Nothing wrong with that.”
The defenseman mentioned that he “wasn’t playing the greatest hockey in Chicago” when he was acquired by Florida on March 1 for a first-round decide and goalie Spencer Knight. He needed out. He needed an opportunity to play vital video games. Now, they’re all vital.
“It’s been a whirlwind the last few months, but I’m extremely happy that I’ve gotten this opportunity with this franchise,” he mentioned.
PANTHERS COACH PAUL MAURICE mentioned that Jones has settled in with Florida as a result of he’s not anticipated to be a marquee attraction.
“Seth Jones comes into our room and into a place where the camera’s not going to be on him all the time, right? He’s not the big dog on the back end,” Maurice mentioned. “He’s not the highest-paid guy in the room. He’s one of the guys. So, he can just kind of fold into the room.”
Maurice in contrast the commerce for Jones with when the crew acquired Marchand from the Bruins in a still-stunning deadline deal. The Panthers had misplaced some talkative gamers from final season’s Stanley Cup champions, with defenseman Brandon Montour and ahead Ryan Lomberg leaving as free brokers. Marchand is, amongst many different issues, a talker.
“Marchand’s personality took some pressure off the rest of the guys. I actually had more quiet guys than we have loud guys. And they’re like, ‘OK, Marchy’s here, he can do all the talking and then we could just relax,”” Maurice mentioned. “Brad took some pressure off these guys. While when Seth came in, I think our team took some pressure off of him.”
Jones mentioned not having received a championship hasn’t added additional strain to his postseason.
“No, not really. I think this locker room is definitely special,” he mentioned. “The moment I came into this locker room, you could feel the intensity. You can feel the drive and the willingness to win from top to bottom.”
1:30
Brad Marchand’s OT winner sparks pandemonium from Panthers crowd
Brad Marchand scores an enormous additional time purpose to ship the Panthers a 5-4 win over the Maple Leafs.
The Panthers pleasure themselves on their homogeny. There are large names on this roster — Matthew Tkachuk was a visitor on “The Tonight Show” after the 4 Nations Face-Off, for reference. Jones and Marchand had been NHL All-Stars earlier of their careers. However as soon as they arrived in Dawn, Florida, the gamers assimilated into normal supervisor Invoice Zito’s Borg Collective of relentless, efficient and ravenous opponents — in principle, none extra vital than the others.
“It’s a family environment, whether you’re the best player on the team or you’re not in the lineup. Everyone’s treated the same way,” Jones mentioned. “We understand that everyone is needed to win. It’s not just on one line, one pair of defensemen. So, it’s a great environment to be in, and we want to keep it going.”
Maurice credit captain Aleksander Barkov with setting that tone.
“I think that’s all Barkov. Truly, if you didn’t know the face and you walked into the locker room or onto the plane, you wouldn’t know who the star was,” he mentioned. “The same goes for Matthew [Tkachuk] and Brad [Marchand]. They’re one of the guys in the room.”
IT HAS BEEN THOSE “guys in the room” who’ve helped the Panthers with out a ring work by way of their anxiousness because the postseason rolled into the Jap Convention finals, the place Florida has a 2-0 sequence lead over the Carolina Hurricanes. They’re not frightened about messing up issues for these earlier champions; as a substitute, the very fact they’re champions provides them the mannequin they should emulate.
“One thing I would actually say has calmed me down recently is that the guys who do have rings understand what it takes,” mentioned Schmidt, who has performed 741 video games within the NHL. “So, you don’t have to go and do anything above and beyond what we’re doing already. Just continue on the path. No sidetracking.”
Greer, who has had stints with 5 groups over his 248-game NHL profession, mentioned he had an inherent belief in his teammates when the playoffs began.
“Obviously, you don’t want to do anything to mess it up. But once you start playing with hesitation, once you start thinking too much, that’s when things go south,” he mentioned. “So, it’s about just being able to stay composed and trust the group. That’s the biggest thing — everyone trusts the game plan.”
Greer mentioned that belief extends from the coaches to the administration to the gamers.
“Once you get a team that starts playing for each other and is able to respect and commit to the game plan every single night, you’ve got a winning recipe,” he mentioned. “As long as you stay consistent with it, I think that that recipe is our best shot.”
However the ringless Panthers additionally need to add one thing to that recipe. For Greer, it was a bit zip to the broth.
“You just try to fit in, come in and not disturb anything. You’re trying to blend in but add a little bit of your spice, I guess you’d say,” the ahead mentioned. “So, for me, coming into a group who had just won the Stanley Cup, I was just trying to inject a little bit of energy. They had a long season and sometimes that can get to you mentally and physically. So, coming in and kind of replenishing that energy, bringing in a new face, and just being myself personality-wise. It was a great fit.”
0:36
A.J. Greer helps Panthers regain 2-goal lead
A.J. Greer scores early within the second interval to assist Florida regain a two-goal benefit over the Hurricanes.
Among the ringless Panthers have come near the Stanley Cup earlier than. Nosek and Schmidt had been on the Vegas Golden Knights in 2018 once they went to the Closing of their inaugural season and misplaced to the Washington Capitals — sarcastically, Schmidt was a member of that Capitals crew earlier than being plucked away by Vegas within the growth draft. Nosek and Schmidt missed the Knights’ Stanley Cup victory by a few seasons.
However lots of the Panthers who’ve but to win are coming from much less profitable conditions. Vanecek was on the last-place San Jose Sharks earlier than Florida acquired him. Jones hadn’t performed within the postseason because the 2020 COVID-19 bubble. For them, the starvation wasn’t simply incomes a hoop — it was enjoying significant hockey once more.
Maurice can relate. The 58-year-old made the playoffs solely 4 instances in his first 16 seasons as an NHL head coach with the Hartford Whalers, Hurricanes, Toronto Maple Leafs and Winnipeg Jets.
“I know what it’s like when your team’s not great. Your chances of making the playoffs are thin. [The players] are trying to set a standard in that room. They’re going to play hard, but they know they’re not 22 anymore. The clock’s ticking on a win,” he mentioned. “At some point, it becomes no fun. The losing takes its toll, especially on your top-end guys. So, now they get a reprieve.”
Because it has been for the earlier two seasons, the last word purpose is in attain for the Florida Panthers. The vast majority of their gamers grew to become perpetually often known as Stanley Cup champions one yr in the past. Jones, Schmidt and others are doing every part they’ll to hitch them.
“I don’t have a ring … but I want that ring, too. That’s one of the reasons I joined the Panthers,” Nosek mentioned. “I don’t think there’s extra pressure [not having one]. There’s always pressure in the playoffs. It’s why I like it.”
