Reminders of this run to the Stanley Cup Final shall be in every single place when subsequent season begins for the Florida Panthers. There shall be a brand new banner to rejoice the Eastern Conference championship. There will inevitably be a spotlight video recapping the very best moments of this postseason.
There can even be scars. Missed video games. And numerous rehabbing.
The Panthers’ purpose for subsequent season is straightforward and apparent – get again to the Cup last and win all of it. But coach Paul Maurice is sounding a cautionary alarm, already conscious that the bodily toll this postseason took on some gamers will carry over into subsequent season.
“We’re going to have a hell of a time making the playoffs next year,” Maurice mentioned. “That’s a fact.”
The math says he’s not fallacious. Florida obtained into the playoffs this 12 months by the slimmest of margins, only one level. There was no room for error, and he already is aware of subsequent season’s opening-night lineup gained’t be the very best one Florida can have on the ice.
There have been at the least 4 Panthers who completed the season with damaged bones. Some gamers will want a couple of weeks to heal. Others will want as many as six months, Maurice mentioned. Surgeries will begin quickly, and one of many few downsides of constructing it to the Cup last is that this – it’s a very brief offseason. Training camp begins in about three months. Some Panthers gained’t be prepared by then.
PHOTOS: Panthers’ harm points from Stanley Cup Final will carry into subsequent season
“We had so many injuries,” goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky mentioned. “The guys played through the broken bones. They found a way. We competed. … Yes, we didn’t go all the way, but we have done an unbelievable job.”
Matthew Tkachuk, an MVP finalist this season, performed a part of the ultimate – and scored a purpose, even – with a fractured sternum, courtesy of successful in Game 3 towards Vegas. He ultimately was hurting a lot that teammates had to assist him get his pads on, get his jersey over his head, and tie his skates. He couldn’t play in Game 5 of the Cup last, when Vegas rolled previous Florida to win its first title and get rid of the Panthers.
Aaron Ekblad broke a foot within the first spherical towards Boston, plus twice went by shoulder dislocations, wanted to cross a concussion take a look at and tore an indirect muscle; he missed one recreation. Radko Gudas ought to have missed six weeks with a excessive ankle sprain; he missed one interval. Sam Bennett was banged-up and saved taking part in.
“There’s no stopping now. There’s no stopping here,” Ekblad mentioned after Vegas’ 9-3 win to complete off the sequence. “Bump in the road and it’s going to sting. It stings now. But we’ll find a way to come back next year and be stronger because of it. How could you not, going through what we went through this year?”
Progress was made. They misplaced within the qualifying spherical in 2020. Lost within the first spherical in 2021. Lost within the second spherical in 2022. And misplaced within the Final this 12 months.
This a lot is evident: The Panthers are getting nearer to hockey’s final prize. This can also be clear: They aren’t there but.
Year 1 of the Tkachuk period in Florida was a hit – even with an ending the Panthers didn’t need. They made it to the Cup last for the primary time in 27 years, have a lot of the key elements of that run underneath contract for subsequent season (many for properly past subsequent season), and now the singular purpose for the franchise is crystal clear.
There’s now not a query as as to whether Florida is sweet sufficient to contend for a championship. It’s now a query of when the Panthers can get it completed.
“All the good things in this game actually aren’t the game,” Maurice mentioned. “The hockey’s great. We love the sport. But the best it can be is in a room like that. It was a brilliant year.”
Just like that, the trip for the No. 8 seeds from South Florida is over.
The Panthers and Miami Heat have been mirror pictures of one another, all the way in which to the tip this season. Both scrambled to make the playoffs. Both snuck in because the final seed from the Eastern Conference. Both pulled off an upset in Round 1, and one other in Round 2, and one other in Round 3.
And then got here the title rounds. The Heat misplaced in 5 video games, in the end falling on the street to Denver – which hoisted the Larry O’Brien Trophy for the primary time. A day later, the Panthers misplaced in 5 video games, in the end falling on the street to Vegas – which hoisted the Stanley Cup for the primary time.
“For sure, it’s something that I’ll remember for the rest of my life,” Panthers captain Aleksander Barkov mentioned. “Every time I step on the ice, whether it’s a practice or a game, I’ll remember this group. Hell of a journey.”
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