Patric Hornqvist 'super thankful' for time with Panthers
Hornqvist took a job in Florida's front office after spending the final three years of his career with the Panthers
On Friday night, the Florida Panthers honored former forward and current executive Patric Hornqvist.
The two-time Stanley Cup Champion retired after last season but has remained with the team, holding a hands-on role as a scouting and development consultant.
Hornqvist was the first player added to the Panthers roster by General Manager Bill Zito after he was hired in September of 2020, and it was a move made for a specific reason.
Throughout his career, Hornqvist had established a reputation as not only an extremely hard worker, but also the kind of teammate who simultaneously has your back and pushes you to be your absolute best.
It’s not a coincidence that there has been a clear shift in the culture in and around the Panthers over the past three-plus years.
It's also why, even with his playing career over, Florida wants to remain in the Patric Hornqvist business.
Now that Hornqvist has made his retirement official, it was fitting that the Panthers honored him on a night his former teammates, several of whom he won his Stanley Cups with, were on the ice.
Before the game, Florida played a tribute video for Hornqvist, complete with messages from Zito, Sidney Crosby, Marc-Andre Fleury and several others.
Hornqvist then dropped the ceremonial puck before the game, between Sasha Barkov and Crosby, the last two captains he played with.
“It says a lot about the Panthers organization to really celebrate my retirement like that,” Hornqvist said. “I've only been here three years but this organization is for real now, and that's why I decided to work with them too. They really have something good going and Bill (Zito) turned it around. You can see it on the ice. Every layer of the franchise is really rolling right now.”
Check out Hornqvist’s full press conference in the video at the top of this page.
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