Last week, the Florida Panthers were featured on Good Morning America.
Defenseman Aaron Ekblad and forward Carter Verhaeghe stood in for a live interview on the national morning show, and the pair did a bang-up job representing the back-to-back Stanley Cup Champs.
While watching Ekblad and Verhaeghe doing their thing in front of a coast-to-coast audience, a thought occurred to me.
It was more of a question, really.
Would any Florida Panthers make a good talk show host?
Considering some of the personalities on the team, the fun they seem to get into when away from the rink and the amusing moments that have come from many of Florida's media scrums, the question felt more valid the more it was pondered.
Here are some of the top candidates we came up with.
Matthew Tkachuk – Is there a bigger personality on the Panthers roster than the guy on the cover of NHL 26? Tkachuk would be great on a late-night talk show, whether it be starting out with a funny monologue or chopping it up with celebrities.
Sasha Barkov – Barkov’s lowkey dry humor isn’t going to be caught in most media scrums, but his teammates always swear that Barky is hilarious and extremely quick with some of his one-liners. Don’t act surprised when Barkov’s new show is the talk of late-night.
Niko Mikkola – If there’s one thing I’ve learned over the past two Stanley Cup celebration-filled summers it’s that Niko Mikkola is a guy that knows how to have a good time. He would surely be a hit as a late-night host in Finland, but even if he did it here in North America, while may not understand half the stuff he says, Mikksie would be equally interesting and hilarious while interviewing celebrities.
Paul Maurice – Just give the man a microphone and let him roll. Maurice’s postgame press conferences have become legendary in recent years. He finds a way to make you laugh while still making his point about a player scoring a goal or taking a penalty or whatever the topic may have been. He's also got a ridiculous recall ability and while happily self-deprecating for a good laugh, Mo can wax poetic on more than you probably give him credit for.
Aaron Ekblad – Ekblad is an extremely intelligent guy, great a carrying on conversations while discussing a multitude of topics. Like basically everyone on the roster, Ekblad has a sharp sense of humor, and he’s a bit of a renaissance man, spending his off time captaining boats and flying airplanes.
Brad Marchand – The future Hall of Famer has a great sense of humor and is incredibly outgoing. He would undoubtedly do well at both making his guests comfortable and keeping things extremely funny.
There are several great candidates for this list that are among players who recently departed the Panthers.
They include Nate Schmidt, whose positive attitude and beaming smile were infectious last season, Ryan Lomberg, a fun and outgoing guy who was happy to be on either side of a joke, and the combination of Brandon Montour and Nick Cousins definitely could vibe like Johnny Carson and Ed McMahon, Conan O’Brien and Andy Richter or Jimmy Kimmel and Guillermo.
Did we miss anyone? Let us know in the comments section below!
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Photo caption: Jun 7, 2024; Sunrise, Florida, USA; Florida Panthers left wing Matthew Tkachuk (19) speaks to reporters during media day in advance of the 2024 Stanley Cup Final at Amerant Bank Arena. (Sam Navarro-Imagn Images)