In the lockout shortened 2012-13 season, the Florida Panthers were bad. No, let’s re-write that.
After the 2012-13 season, the Panthers were terrible. They stunk. They were the
worst team in the NHL. The Cats had the fewest wins, the most losses, and were once
again the laughingstock of the league.
Florida had the best chances of winning the first overall pick in the NHL Entry Draft. A 25
percent chance. One out of every four balls in the little ball rotation thingy had a — now
retro version — of the leaping cat logo on it. And everybody knew who was going No. 1
overall that year — Nathan MacKinnon out of Halifax from the Quebec Major Junior
Hockey League.
The Panthers were in desperate need of a center. Hell, the Cats were in desperate need
of everything. In 2012-13, Tomas Fleischmann had been the team’s leading scorer.
MacKinnon fit the bill perfectly. He was a fiery leader as a prospect and oozed with
offensive capabilities. Then, the lottery day came and Florida slipped, just a smidge, to
No. 2 and the Dale Tallon-led hockey operations department fell into one of the toughest
situations a rebuilding and last-place team can be in — determining the second-best
draft eligible player in the world.
It is the worst, most pressurized position in the draft — drafting second behind a
consensus top pick. Drafts are rare where there is a consensus No. 2 selections and this
one would not be the exception. On draft day, MacKinnon expectedly went to the Colorado
Avalanche and the Panthers were on the clock. Nearly every mock draft had Tallon stepping to the podium and calling out the name of Seth Jones — a slick skating, puck-moving
defenseman with size that could immediately step into a Panthers defense that included
Brian Campbell, Dmitry Kulikov, and Erik Gudbranson.
Many in the media treated the marriage of Jones and Florida to be a formality — to be
consummated three minutes after MacKinnon went to the Avalanche. Another option for
the Panthers was Jonathan Drouin. MacKinnon’s teammate at Halifax and a remarkable
scorer in junior, Drouin was a high skill forward that would have immediately improved
Florida’s prospect depth.
Then, there was this Aleskander Barkov guy. He wasn’t a completely off-the-board pick. Barkov was routinely mentioned as a top-5 option in 2013 and was considered ready for the NHL
after playing two years of professional men’s hockey in Finland. He was smart and a
200-foot player with hands that dazzle, but Sasha wasn’t given the same star
projections that MacKinnon, Jones, and Drouin were leading up to draft day.
As Tallon strode to the podium on June 30, 2013 in Newark, New Jersey, he and a
handful of his staff were the only people in the hockey world that knew they were about
to draft the future captain of the franchise. The player that would set the standard of
work ethic, leadership, and competitiveness in South Florida by which all other Panthers
would be measured. The man that would lead the lowly, last place, joke-of-the-league Cats to bathe in the Atlantic Ocean with the Stanley Cup raised above their shoulders.
Tallon could not have known that. Maybe he hoped for it. Envisioned it. Put it on his
dream board, but expected it? No, definitely not. It would be a long time before anybody
following the Panthers could realistically see that path.
When Barkov came to Sunrise, he was slight. He was a freshly minted 18-
year-old at the beginning of the 2013-14 season. He was strong for his age and his
hockey IQ was on display, but he didn’t always look the part of a No. 2 overall pick.
While he didn’t light the league on fire, Barkov did become the youngest player since
expansion to score a goal in the NHL. He played 54 games, scored eight goals,
averaged over 17 minutes a game, and finished 16th in Calder Trophy voting.
MacKinnon won the award with 63 points in 82 games.
The Panthers lost a lot of games that year. Kevin Dineen was fired and Florida once
again was back atop the draft board — this time winning the lottery and selecting defenseman Aaron Ekblad with the first pick.
Year two for Barkov was a completely different experience. Gerard Gallant was brought
in to coach and the Panthers were much more competitive. The Cats were in the playoff
hunt and Tallon made another move that would forever alter the history of Barkov and
the Panthers.
On February 26, 2015, the seemingly ageless Jaromír Jágr came to South Florida in
exchange for two draft choices. Eventually, those picks became Ryan Gropp and Rem
Pitlick. Exactly, who?
Gallant almost immediately put Jágr with Barkov and fellow young gun Jonathan
Huberdeau. Instant chemistry. The trio blossomed as a line in the final 20 games of the
season and Barkov put up 14 points in the final 17 games that year, but it was off ice
where Jágr’s impact would be felt most.
Barkov got an up-close view of a living legend and one of the most fit, dedicated, and
committed hockey players of a generation. He witnessed Jágr’s legendary workouts and
soaked up every bit of knowledge next to him on the bench. Jágr played 181 games as
a Florida Panther and his 130 points are a pale achievement compared to his impact
and influence on Barkov.
In time, Sasha adopted a Jágr-esque workout routine. He committed himself to hockey
and the pursuit of winning. At first the goal was just to make the playoffs. Then to win a
round.
During that struggle, Barkov took his share of criticism. Fans chastised him for not
showing enough fire or emotion. He passes too much. He doesn’t hit. He’s not a leader.
He’s not the right fit for a captaincy. He’s not scoring in the playoffs.
It turns out, Barkov might have been making a checklist. Think about the Barkov
performance from this Stanley Cup Playoffs. He tied for the team lead in points. Four of
his eight goals were game winners. He took over 400 face-offs and won 55.2 percent
including 57 percent in the defensive zone. He averaged six hits per 60 minutes and
blocked 25 shots. And he might have had the toughest defensive assignments of all-
time on the path to a Stanley Cup — shutting down Nikita Kucherov, David Pastrnak, Artemi Panarin, Mika Zibanejad, Leon Draisaitl, and muzzling Connor McDavid, the best player on the planet, for all but two games in the Finals.
Barkov has answered every question and silenced all doubters. He isn’t just the captain
and face of the franchise, he has become the pillar by which Bill Zito built his
championship team.
Matthew Tkachuk doesn’t come to South Florida without Barkov. Paul Maurice doesn’t
come to coach in Sunrise without Barkov. Sam Reinhart doesn’t sign with the Panthers,
twice, without Barkov. This team looks like him. It feels like it is his team. He sets the
tone.
He wasn’t gift-wrapped into the league for fans as a ready-to-deliver product like MacKinnon, but Barkov’s progression from talented prospect, to promising player, to
top-end producer, to unquestioned leader, to indelible and iconic representation of the
Panthers and their identity on and off the ice has been remarkable.
The prayers and dreams of every Panthers fan that watched the 2013 NHL Draft unfold
have been realized and we’ve all witnessed Sasha Barkov’s ascension to a slice of
immortality. He has delivered the Cup to South Florida.
Barkov is the first Panther to be synonymous with the brand. When you think of
the Chicago Bulls, it’s Michael Jordan. When you think of the Pittsburgh Penguins, it’s
Mario Lemieux and Sidney Crosby. When you think of the Los Angeles Lakers, it’s Kobe
Bryant.
When you think of the Florida Panthers — now or in 30 years — you will think of
Aleksander Barkov.