Stamkos says 'some of our most difficult and amazing playoff series' have been against Panthers
Stamkos says 'some of our most difficult and amazing playoff series' have been against Panthers
The Florida Panthers are in the midst of the best and most sustained period of success in the franchise’s fairly long history.
Yes, 30 years is a significant amount of time, and yes, four straight years of reaching the postseason and a trip to the Stanley Cup Final are far and away the best four years the Panthers have ever had.
But in terms of the state of Florida and the growth of hockey, they’re a little late to the party.
The Tampa Bay Lightning, the Panthers rival to the north, have already won not one, not two, but three Stanley Cups, and they’re just one season removed from reaching the Final in three straight years.
Two of those seasons it was Tampa that eliminated the Panthers from the playoffs.
While it was obviously a tough pill to swallow for both the Cats and their fans, it was great for the in-state rivalry, which to that point had been more of a meh, kinda-sorta situation of teams that played each other a lot based on their geographic proximity.
It also gave a boost to the idea of hockey in Florida being something to be taken seriously, and when popularity rises, so does fan interest, which leads to parents getting their kids into hockey, youth hockey programs interest rises…you see where this is going.
THN asked Tampa Bay Lightning star and 2023 Mark Messier NHL Leadership Award winner Steven Stamkos for his firsthand opinion about this earlier this summer at NHL Awards in Nashville.
“Oh, it's great. The way hockey has grown in the 15 years that I've played in Tampa, and the state of Florida, it's been amazing,” Stamkos said. “I think a lot more players are staying now and getting involved in the community to help the game, but it grows by having successful teams and having successful ownership groups come in and want to make those areas a desirable place to play.”
Florida will always have its natural geographical attributes, and the no state income tax thing is a nice touch, but when you add to the equation that the hockey teams are actually competitive, that you can come to this beautiful climate and attractive financial situation and still compete for a Stanley Cup, why the hell wouldn’t you give it as much, if not more, consideration than the alternatives?
“Obviously, the weather helps, but the product on the ice is what sells players to come play,” Stamkos said. “When you've had the success that we've had, that Florida has had, I mean, they won the Presidents’ Trophy last year, they go to the Cup Final this year, hockey is just going to continue to grow, and it's been great to see and be part of.”
As to the notion that the rivalry between the Panthers and Lightning is something new, Stamkos is quick to point out that the Florida has been a thorn in Tampa’s side for a while.
Now, with the Panthers being a perennial playoff team and division competitor, the games carry a bit more weight, but the distain between the teams had been festering long before.
“Listen, they've been a division rival for a while,” Stamkos said. “We've had some of our most difficult and amazing playoff series over the past couple of years against them, so it's no surprise, like I said, they were the best team in the regular season last year, they made some changes and you know, they squeak in and go on a run, so we've known that they've been good for a long time, and it's going to stay that way, and it's great. That's another big thing for hockey in Florida, is to have two really competitive teams that have seen each other in the playoffs, and it's been a rivalry for sure.”