Aleksander Barkov's takeaways from his Stanley Cup Final experience and Filip Gustavsson's thoughts on making it in the NHL highlight the new episode of the "NHL @TheRink" podcast.
"That whole run, it made us stronger," said Barkov, the Florida Panthers center and captain, about going to the Cup Final last season. "The core is pretty much the same with the team and now that we've experienced almost everything. We won some series'. We were down and came back and won. We played in Toronto, probably the biggest hockey market, during the playoffs. We experienced that. Carolina, the way they play, we experienced that. Then obviously the finals, I feel it was just a different animal leading up to it. Those couple of days you were there was just different from any other series. Now we experienced that. We know now."
Gustavsson, a goalie for the Minnesota Wild, signed a three-year, $11.25 million contract July 31. A year ago, the 25-year-old wasn't sure if he had a future in the NHL and was thinking about returning to Sweden to play professionally.
"With three years, familywise I know where I'm going to start the season, I know that they believe in me and I don't come into camp with that much pressure on my shoulders to really be on the edge all the time," Gustavsson said. "Now it's more clear. It's not that charming playing in the AHL. No one wants to play in the AHL. Everyone wants to play in the NHL. Going up and down and not really getting settled in the NHL, it's very frustrating.
“And then your thoughts go through your mind if it's more comfortable going back home to Sweden, playing close to family, being home where everything is like it's always been. But then I always said, 'If I still think the organization or the head coach believes in me, I'm going to stay.'"
Co-hosts Dan Rosen and Shawn P. Roarke open the episode by diving into some of the biggest moves of the summer, including the Pittsburgh Penguins acquiring Erik Karlsson and both Patrice Bergeron and David Krejci retiring, leaving the Boston Bruins without a proven top-six center.
They discuss the potential changing of the guard in the Atlantic Division with the rise of the Buffalo Sabres and Ottawa Senators, but both have some reservations about those two teams.
Connor Bedard is a topic of conversation with the co-hosts debating what could be a good season for the heralded Chicago Blackhawks rookie center, the No. 1 pick in the 2023 NHL Draft, and if he should be a runaway favorite for the Calder Trophy.
Later on, Rosen picks the Vancouver Canucks as his sleeper team to watch, and Roarke goes with the Nashville Predators.
The "NHL @TheRink"podcast is free and listeners can subscribe on all podcast platforms. It is also available on NHL.com/multimedia/podcasts and the NHL app.
