Scratch Panthers off Vegas’ hockey list; team finds rebirth in Florida
SUNRISE, Fla. — It was last June at the NHL Awards Show at the MGM Grand Garden and Aaron Ekblad had just accepted the Calder Memorial Trophy as the league’s rookie of the year.
The Florida Panthers defenseman was asked about receiving such an honor playing for a team which had missed the playoffs and had one of the worst attendance numbers in the league.
Ekblad said without hesitation, “That’s going to change.”
Who knew he meant this year?
The Panthers have been one of hockey’s feel-good stories this season. After missing the postseason 13 of the last 14 years, they lead the Atlantic Division and barring a monumental collapse, appear headed for the playoffs come April.
The fans are starting to notice. Attendance is up by over 3,600 per game after the Panthers averaged just 11,265 a game in 2014-15, worst in the NHL. Things were so bad that there was a talk the team was going to relocate, if not to Quebec City, then perhaps Las Vegas, where Bill Foley has spent the last year chasing an expansion team for the city.
But with the team’s turnaround on and off the ice, talk of leaving has melted like a freak snowstorm. In December, Broward County committed $86 million to keep the team in Florida at the BB&T Center, located near the Everglades and a 40-minute drive from downtown Miami.
“We’re getting there,” Panthers general manager Dale Tallon said. “It’s a lot better. We’re up 30 percent (in attendance). The fans are coming back. Everything in the organization is better. The players enjoy coming to the rink. It’s more fun.”
The Panthers are an interesting mix of young, talented players along with veterans who literally have found the Fountain of Youth in Florida. And no one is enjoying it more than Jaromir Jagr, the future Hall of Famer who at age 44 is playing at a high level not seen since his days as a Pittsburgh Penguin back in the 1990s.
Jagr, who joined the team last year and played 15 games, leads the Panthers in scoring this season with 20 goals and 43 points. He’s averaging 17 minutes of ice time per night and the fans elected him captain of the Atlantic Division All-Stars. He has kept himself in amazing shape and has been a role model for the Panthers’ younger players with his work ethic.
“Just to play at my age is a big challenge every day,” Jagr said at last month’s NHL All-Star Game. “But I’m having fun and it’s a great group of guys. If I can contribute, why not keep playing?”
Ekblad, who is only 20, said of Jagr’s presence in the locker room: “I think it’s inspiring. It’s inspiring for a guy like me to want to play 25 years in the League, but it’s inspiring for a guy that’s played 15-20 (years) to want to play a couple more and to work harder so they have the opportunity to continue to play.
“You hear that from a guy like (defensemen) Willie Mitchell or Brian Campbell. I mean, they take care of themselves. But they’re doing that exta little bit more because they have the aspiration to be like (Jagr). We all kind of feel that way.”
Roberto Luongo, the Panthers’ starting goaltender who is 37, has also regained his form. He too was at the All-Star Game last month along with Jagr and Ekblad and currently ranks seventh statistically among NHL goalies.
“It’s been great,” said Luongo, who has a record of 25-14-5, a goals-against average of 2.26, a save percentage of .925 and four shutouts. “I feel like we have a chance to win every night with the guys we have. It’s like being reborn. And when I look at (Jagr), I feel like I should be in diapers again.”
Tallon, who brought the veterans to Florida hoping they had something left, said it was a calculated gamble.
“You never know,” he said. “You hope it comes together and you hope it sticks.”
He also found the right coach in Gerard Gallant, who was hired in June 2014 and has gotten the most out of the veterans while expediting the growth of his youngsters in his second year behind the bench.
“He deserves a lot of credit for our success,” Tallon said of Gallant. “He’s got our guys competing every night and they like playing for him. I’m probably the most proud of that.”
With 23 games remaining, the Panthers are in the unusual position of being the hunted as they continue to lead the Atlantic heading into Thursday’s game against Arizona which wraps up a six-game homestand. Tampa Bay is five points behind in second place. Detroit is gunning for them. So is Boston. And with the NHL’s trade deadline next Monday, the Panthers are buyers, not sellers as they may be looking to add a little more scoring or another defenseman. There’s been talk Florida is interested in Winnipeg’s Andrew Ladd, who has a history with Tallon when both were in Chicago.
“I’m happy with our team,” Tallon said. “I’m not going to mortgage our future to band-aid it. If there’s a piece that can help us, we’ll look at it.”
It’s also a future that appears will have Sunrise, not Quebec City or Las Vegas as an address.
Contact repoter Steve Carp at scarp@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-2913. Follow him on Twitter: @stevecarprj
