The defending Stanley Cup champions received more praise on Thursday.
For the second straight season, a collective group of reporters from The Athletic polled roughly three dozen players at this summer’s media tours in North America and Europe.
While many of the questions posed to players were big picture inquiries on topics such as state tax benefits, possible expansion club sites and such, two narrowed in on individuals.
The first asked which NHL captain other than their own they’d most like to play with.
While Pittsburgh’s Sidney Crosby and Edmonton’s Connor McDavid received the most votes, Panthers captain Aleksander Barkov was one of just two other players to get enough votes to not to be thrown in the “other” category, finishing tied with Nashville’s Roman Josi.
“I’ve played with Barkov since I was 10 years old, so it’d be cool to play with him,” Predators goaltender Juuse Saros said.
The second question asked which coach other than their own they’d like to play for.
Was there any doubt that Paul Maurice would be a popular pick?
With players pointing to his humor and knack for a good quote, Florida’s bench boss garnered a whopping 27.3% of the vote, placing him behind only Tampa Bay’s Jon Cooper at 39.4%.
Other than those two, no coach received more than 6.1% of the vote.
Quickly becoming one of the top destinations in the NHL, the Panthers will kick off their quest to repeat at Stanley Cup champions when they open training camp on Thursday at Baptist Health IcePlex.
Whether it’s on or off the ice, players around the league clearly have their eyes on South Florida.
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