It’s become a tradition for the Utah Mammoth that when the Florida Panthers come to town, some of their players walk away with extra weight on their fingers.
The Panthers, of course, are back-to-back Stanley Cup champions. The Mammoth make a point of adding champions to their roster, so there’s been a natural connection between the two teams in free agency the last couple of summers.
Nate Schmidt and Vítek Vaněček got their bling Tuesday evening when they met with their former teammates for dinner.
Last year, it was Kevin Stenlund, who had played a key defensive role for the Panthers in the regular season and especially the playoffs.
“Bit of a waste of time, hanging out with those guys,” joked Panthers star Brad Marchand. “No, it was great to see them again. Both incredible guys, and when you go through winning a Cup together, just the relationship that you create and the bonds that you have, you know, it felt like we were together yesterday.”
Panthers coach speaks on Nate Schmidt, Vítek Vaněček
Schmidt was only in Florida for one season and Vaněček played just seven games — all in the regular season — as a Panther. But that doesn’t mean they weren’t big parts of the group.
“I know Vanny didn’t play in the playoffs, but boy, he played some big games for us, and it allowed us to put (Sergei Bobrovsky) in a position that he could be as good as he was for two months,” said Panthers coach Paul Maurice. “He was really important.”
In Schmidt’s case, it was a redemption story: He gets bought out in Winnipeg, signs a one-year, low-dollar deal to prove himself, and he ends up contributing in a large way to a championship.
“He worked at it,” Maurice said of Schmidt. “By the time our regular season ended, he was a much-improved player.”
A big part of Schmidt’s comeback, Maurice said, was how hard he worked at getting stronger and faster. That combined with the confidence boost that came from playing better hockey culminated in his name on the trophy and a much more lucrative and secure contract in Utah.
As much as the team misses everyone that leaves, Maurice is happy to see them succeed elsewhere.
“We’d love to have a 40-man roster, no (salary) cap, keep everybody. You just fall in love with each other when you win with each other,” he said. “I’m happy for them. Everybody that leaves us goes to important roles and they’re a big part of the team that they go to.”