The Florida Panthers skated in Fort Lauderdale on Monday for what must have felt like the first time in forever.
After sweeping their five-game road trip that took them through New York and Finland, the Cats are finally back home, sitting atop the Atlantic Division with a 9-3-1 record.
Florida’s next game isn’t until Thursday, when they host the Nashville Predators at Amerant Bank Arena.
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That gives the Cats a few days to get re-acclimated to the timing of their normal schedules – they just spent a week seven hours ahead of Eastern Standard Time – and settle back into their typical routines.
As Florida prepared to resume their Stanley Cup defending schedule, the man who is responsible for putting this Panthers team together took some time to answer a few questions from the media.
Here’s everything that Florida GM Bill Zito had to say on Monday.
Zito on the Finland trip: “I think you plan it, and you have an outline of the things that you need to do, (such as) team building. But I couldn’t have appreciated the level of – double appreciation here – the level of appreciation that our guys had for the hospitality and the effort that the Finns put in. It was one of those things, maybe where your parents do something really special for you, and you know how hard they work for a birthday party, and in that moment, you actually did show your appreciation, and it was real, so that was really neat. I think it was special and great. I think everybody had a fun time. The hospitality was excellent, it was well-run, the league was great. Everything. It was one of those things where it was just wonderful.”
On new players acclimating so well: “It happens because the room is set up that way, and it’s the guys who welcome other people who come in. It doesn’t really matter where you’re from or who you are, you’re welcome to be yourself and to be one of us and do your best. It starts with them.”
On Florida’s new-look fourth line: “I think it’s a work in progress. You know that the lines are always changing, and that there’s ebbs and flows with everybody, but I’ve been real happy with everyone so far and with how they’ve done. I think that the deployment of guys over time is, it ebbs and flows, but the individuals have all…I’m excited about what everybody’s done.”
On signing Gracyn Sawchyn and Hunter St. Martin, and not having to rush Florida’s prospects: “It’s really important that they can develop the right way, and the right way for you might be different than the right way for me. So if we can provide those opportunities – the players are all obviously on the best development path for them, as individuals – but then we’re going to reap the benefits, and that’s something that we have to do. It’s vital. And kudos to our scouting staff for finding these guys. I’m excited for both of them. You saw them in training camp, both those guys earned it.”
On signing Paul Maurice to a multi-year extension: “There’s so many levels to that. There’s Paul the person, Paul the friend, Paul the leader, Paul the coach. I suspect if you had the conversation with almost every player, it comes back, ‘He’s the best coach I ever had.’ We’re so lucky to have him. We’re lucky to have the family, lucky to have (Paul’s wife Michele) here too, and just all the experience and the character and the quality…it’s great. It’s a blessing.”
On the faith and belief that the Panthers players and managers have in Maurice: “I think it comes down to trust. When he first came, very quickly, we weren’t even doing that well, but I made a comment that the guys trust you. They do. They trust you. And then as we evolved, they believe in him, right? And so trust is, you know that he’s well intended, and to believe in it. You take that to the next level and say, ‘Yeah, when things aren’t going great, I’m not going to question it.’ And I think that’s the case, not only on a technical hockey level or an individual skill evaluation level, but on a human level as well. I think the guys know how much he cares about them and how sincere he is. I’ll be his agent, I guess. He’s done a wonderful job.”
On the robes that Florida’s players were wearing in Finland: “I’ve got to give full credit to Rob Tallas, well, (Rob’s wife) Lucy Tallas, it was her idea. She had made some robes for us, and Rob Tallas is the kind of guy who is very, very thoughtful, and I think it’s probably Lucy, but when he gives a gift, he puts thought and time and energy into it and then explains it. He’s just special that way. So we have to give the true credit, it was Lucy’s idea, and then, actually, you guys (the media) have a role, because you kind of need the robes, right? Like, the layout of the locker room is such that it’s probably appropriate. So the timing was good, and then, came to Finland and the boys really liked it.”
On Spencer Knight’s season thus far: “Anytime you look at an individual’s progress, you have to pause and realize from what lens are you examining it. And sometimes different people progress on different time frames. So for me, he’s just being Spence, and as with any goalie, you don’t get really too high or too low. He’s doing the things that we thought that he would do, and most important, I think that he’s really enjoying playing hockey.”
On the play and maturity of Uvis Balinskis: “When Kenny Holland was running Detroit, I was an agent, and he used to say to me, ‘We have the guys in Grand Rapids until they’re over-ripe.’ What he meant was, yeah, they could have been ready before, but it’s not really going to hurt them to get them (more time), and sometimes there’s not opportunity. For example, if you’re a wonderful young center, are we going to sit Sasha (Barkov)? So there also has to be that right opportunity for you to come in and do it, and Uvis did a great job waiting for a chance. And every time he’s gotten in the lineup and gotten a chance to play, he does whatever is asked of him. He was a puck moving, play-making guy before he came, and certainly was with the Latvian national team as well, and he just continues to take whatever’s there and make the most of it. We’ve been real happy with him and, like I said, I think his personality is such as well that whatever you throw at him, he just does what he can do, and he’s happy to contribute in any way.”
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