Every NHL Postseason Needs a Villain to Boo; i.e., Florida Panthers

[Pink Freud]

Obviously this writer has no love for those likable (off the ice) St. Louis brothers with the sneeze-like Ukrainian name***.

From today's The Athletic:

"The Florida Panthers have become what they set out to destroy. The Panthers’ road to their first Stanley Cup win last June was long and full of disappointments, many of the latest at the hands of their Floridian rivals, the Lightning. Tampa Bay’s 2021 Cup win, its second in a row and third of the century, had included a first-round triumph over the Panthers. That was the first time the two met in the playoffs, which was mainly because the Panthers were almost never in the playoffs before then.

Now, the Panthers aren’t just the reigning champs. I declare them the unambiguous casual fan’s villains of these hockey playoffs. The historically woebegone Florida Panthers have the trophy the rest of North America wants, and as they tussle with Tampa Bay for the fourth time in five playoffs, it is the Lightning who seem like the sympathetic side to root for.

Florida leads 2-0 ahead of today’s Game 3, starting at 1 p.m. ET on TBS. How did the Panthers reach this treachery? I say it’s three things:

Florida nearly completed an all-time collapse in last year’s final, letting a 3-0 series lead to the Oilers slip away before rebounding to swipe Canada’s long-awaited Stanley Cup. That leaves a bit of that getting-away-with-it stench on them. Haters will hate.

The Panthers have their very own Tkachuk brother: Matthew, a chippy-maybe-dirty star. It’s been a while since the 27-year-old served a suspension for poking an opposing goalie in the eye, at least. But Tkachuk is really good, and although he missed the last 25 games of the regular season after getting hurt in the 4 Nations Face-Off — an event he and brother Brady highlighted by getting into fights with Canadian players — he returned for Game 1 and scored two goals. Villainous, yes, but a baller.

The Panthers swung a trade deadline deal for Brad Marchand, his generation’s defining very good and very dirty star. (Don’t just take it from me, but from his fellow players.) Marchand, 36, is years removed from doing his most infamous dirt, but he was Tkachuk before Tkachuk — a point that was evident as far back as three years ago. The Panthers are building a collection of deeply annoying talent.

I was wondering if it was just me feeling this way. Fortunately, Sean McIndoe ranked the Panthers dead last on his list of playoff teams by rootability, confirming all my priors. All my apologies to the delightful and sportsmanlike Finnish center Aleksander Barkov.

If the Panthers make another deep run, I predict many hockey fans will be ready to march on Sunrise, Fla., to stop them. They’ll just have to first establish where that is. (Directly across the street from a mall about 40 miles north of South Beach, if you wondered.)"

--- Alex Kirshner and Sam Settleman, The Athletic

*** For those who wondered why Keith Tkachuk's nickname was Walt, here's the original, but spelled differently: Longtime NY Rangers center Walter Tkaczuk, who as a rookie originally had his name pronounced by Dan Kelly as "TAY-chuk", then later corrected.
https://tinyurl.com/376uzepx

[DawgDad]

Well, they don't have Corey Perry, that's something.

[Pink Freud]

Well, they don't have Corey Perry, that's something.

I'm a huge fan of Canada and of all the Canadian teams --- except Winnipeg right now --- and especially fond of the Edmonton Oilers, but man....I really wish somebody would (ahem) accidentally pole-axe Evander Kane and Corey Perry.

With Winnipeg, Edmonton, my beloved Toronto, AND Montreal in the postseason, there's never been a better chance of Canada finally taking home their Stanley Cup for the first time since 1993 (thank you, Marty McSorley and Jacques Demers).

[STL fan in MN]

Big fan of the Panthers. Love the way they play the game.

This seems like a weird article. Who even wrote it? A Lightning fan? It’s a Lightning player that just got suspended for a dirty hit on a Panthers player so it seems oddly timed. Yeah, the Panthers have Tkachuk, Bennett and Marchand but admit it, we’d all love it if those 3 were on our side.

[DawgDad]

Big fan of the Panthers. Love the way they play the game.

This seems like a weird article. Who even wrote it? A Lightning fan? It’s a Lightning player that just got suspended for a dirty hit on a Panthers player so it seems oddly timed. Yeah, the Panthers have Tkachuk, Bennett and Marchand but admit it, we’d all love it if those 3 were on our side.

Door #3 can stay closed.

[Sunny's Teeth]

Big fan of the Panthers. Love the way they play the game.

This seems like a weird article. Who even wrote it? A Lightning fan? It’s a Lightning player that just got suspended for a dirty hit on a Panthers player so it seems oddly timed. Yeah, the Panthers have Tkachuk, Bennett and Marchand but admit it, we’d all love it if those 3 were on our side.

100%. The Rat is a badass.

[stljrs]

Big fan of the Panthers. Love the way they play the game.

Yep. They play tough physical hockey. Great blend of toughness and skill. MT is a great villain. Does it all and backs it up.

[seattleblue]

In our series it looks like Brayden Schenn and Dylan Samberg are getting opposing boos

[Pink Freud]

the Panthers have Tkachuk, Bennett and Marchand but admit it, we’d all love it if those 3 were on our side.

100%. The Rat is a badass.[/quote]

Too bad Pat Verbeek already claimed the label "little ball of hate".

[MikoTython]

the Panthers have Tkachuk, Bennett and Marchand but admit it, we’d all love it if those 3 were on our side.

100%. The Rat is a badass.

Too bad Pat Verbeek already claimed the label "little ball of hate".

meh, third rounder

[Lets_Clinch]

Brad Marchand=never on my beloved team not even if he played for free. There are a couple others, but I don't want to offend anyone else other than the aforementioned BM fans from above. BM also stands for bowel movement. The thought of that guy in a Note sweater makes me want to have one.