For the Panthers, wearing bathrobes to work has been a welcomed sign of good fortune...and comfort
For the Panthers, wearing bathrobes to work has been a welcomed sign of good fortune...and comfort
Picture your boss telling you it is acceptable to wear your bathrobe to work.
Sounds strange, but the Florida Panthers have received clearance from Head Coach Paul Maurice and captain Aleksander Barkov to do just that.
The team has won every game since they started wearing the robes to the arena, a trend that began last Friday in Finland.
Now, three victories later, the team does not want to tempt fate and give in to the streak.
The robes are now considered as part of the official team pre-game uniform in North America.
Thursday morning, Barkov texted the team and floated the idea of wearing the robes to the arena that night. Call it what you will, but the Cats won the game decisively.
“You've got to be some kind of superstitious at some point, right?" Barkov said after Florida defeated Nashville 6-2. "While it’s working for us, we'll keep going with that.”
Panthers forward Matthew Tkachuk is in favor of wearing the robes and sticking with the superstition as long as it can go.
“I think we're just going to ride it out until our luck runs out,” Tkachuk said.
You can believe the Panthers will wear them to the arena when they host the Philadelphia Flyers on Saturday evening.
“There's a very good chance,” Tkachuk said.
Tkachuk said he initially thought Barkov was pranking everyone, but that notion was quickly dismissed. The Panthers are on a three-game winning streak with the robes. It also does not hurt they are more comfortable to wear than a suit and tie.
“Everybody thought there was a prank being played on them,” Tkachuk said. “I tell you what, it's the most comfortable thing ever. It's nice and we're having fun with it. We're a very professional team when it comes to work. We come to the rink and we work. But it's such a long year. You've got to have fun.”
One person who will stick to the suit and tie is Maurice. He is more traditional.
He also does not want anyone else to see him outside of his usual coaching garb.
“Nobody — nobody — needs to see that,” Maurice said. “These fine people pay way too much money to be subjected to those nightmares.”
Just because Maurice is not wearing the robe, it does not mean he is not in favor of the team unity in wearing the Finnish robes.
“Those are the best that have nothing to do with anything but the players,” Maurice said. “Those are the best things that happen. It took some courage to walk into an NHL rink in a robe and I think it got them to start on time.”
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