Forsling contributing to Cup run for Panthers after waiver claim

SUNRISE, Fla. --The Florida Panthers' run to the Stanley Cup Final has been fueled by a series of high-profile moves that brought in, among others, former Vezina Trophy winner Sergei Bobrovsky, and first-round NHL Draft picks Sam Bennett, Sam Reinhart and Matthew Tkachuk.

Defenseman Gustav Forsling, meanwhile, arrived in an under-the-radar transaction, the kind only the most diehard NHL fans even notice.

But two-and-a-half years after the Panthers claimed him off waivers from the Carolina Hurricanes on Jan. 9, 2021, Forsling has emerged as one of the most important pieces on the 2023 Eastern Conference champions.

Playing on the top defense pair with Aaron Ekblad, Forsling is averaging 26:44 of ice time per game in the Stamley Cup Playoffs, second on the team behind defenseman Brandon Montour (27:35). He also leads Florida in average time on ice on the penalty kill (3:11) and is third in plus-minus (plus-9), behind Carter Verhaeghe (plus-11) and Tkachuk (plus-10).

"Well, he plays on our No. 1 pair, and everybody in that role has the exact same job: play against the single best players in the world every single night, and it's every game, right?" Florida coach Paul Maurice said Tuesday. "He's come into this group like a lot of other players … that needed their opportunity to come, and then value that opportunity. He works incredibly hard. He does not miss games. He's been banged up this year a whole bunch of times and just won't come out of the lineup and drives through it. So, you have these players in the room that are kind of very thankful and they also value their opportunity."

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Forsling has found a home in South Florida at the age of 26 after spending time with three organizations, starting with the Vancouver Canucks, who selected him in the fifth round (No. 126) of the 2014 NHL Draft.

Preparing for his first Stanley Cup Final, he can't help but think about how he got here, how he was traded by the Canucks to the Chicago Blackhawks before playing a game for Vancouver, how he was traded again to Carolina, and how he bounced back and forth between the NHL and AHL prior to joining the Panthers.

"I've been absolutely thinking about it," Forsling said Monday. "It's funny how it works out sometimes. You've just got to stay with it and keep working hard and sometimes you get the opportunity. When you get the confidence from the coach and everything, it's easier to play, but at the same time, you got to work really hard for it too."

The smooth-skating Forsling always has been defensive-minded, but his offensive production has increased every season since he joined the Panthers. He had 17 points (five goals, 12 assists) in 43 games in 2020-21, 37 points (10 goals, 27 assists) in 71 games in 2021-22, and a career-high 41 points (13 goals, 28 assists) in 82 games this season. Forsling has two goals and four assists in the playoffs, including the game-winning goal in a 3-2 victory in Game 2 of the second round against the Toronto Maple Leafs.

Maurice said there's even more offensive potential in Forsling's game.

"He's got a heater, he can absolutely pound the puck," Maurice said earlier in the playoffs. "But he's like so many of the guys in this room that had to fight their way into the League, right? Like they didn't get here at 18. They kind of were in and out or they got picked up on waivers. So, he's had to make sure the base of his game was there to get into the NHL and he put on the backburner any offense. It wasn't going to be offense for him. It's a stick and the skating and closing the gap, and it's defensive reads, so he made that his bread and butter. I think there's some offense there that he'll grow into once he doesn't have to prove himself every day that he comes to the rink."

It's probably safe to suggest that Forsling doesn't have to prove himself anymore.

He may not be as recognizable as Ekblad or Montour, but he's become a core player for the Panthers who keeps getting better.

"I think I'm very stable, like I don't have as many bad games as when I was little younger," Forsling said. "I think I've been a little more consistent this year, especially playing top pair, you've got to play against the best players all the time. It's been a lot of fun.

"I always thought I could play and (in the) NHL, you've got to have that mindset in this business. You've got to believe in yourself, but for sure at times it was hard."