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SUNRISE, Fla.— If a TV reporter in Edmonton was dispatched to the airport to do a stand-up around the hockey team from Florida arriving, chances are if they asked two people walking through the terminal, they would be talking about Matthew Tkachuk and Aleksander Barkov.
Different story in south Florida, folks.
When an ABC TV outlet sent a reporter out to talk about the Stanley Cup finals as the Edmonton Oilers arrived, the reporter talked a few folks about the series or as it was TV teased “the enemy has arrived”, Connor McDavid and his greatness came up.
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“Connor McDavid…that’s a new name for me,” the reporter said.
Huh? Now maybe this was a general reporter, not sports.
OK, this is Jimmy Butler and NBA Miami Heat territory.
OK, the reporter probably knows who Tua Tagovailoa and Tyreek Hill of the Miami Dolphins are.
But, as much as the Panthers are one of the two NHL teams still standing and they have a wonderful deep team, this is not hockey country. If you walked through the huge Sawgrass Mills outlet mall, not that far from the Amerant Arena, you can find a Lionel Messi soccer jersey in stores, all year long. True he plays for Inter Miami CF, and has been the best player in the football world.
But McDavid? While he’s a once-in-a-generational player, it’s hockey.
“If you asked people a few years ago about the Panthers, they would know Barkov and (Sergei) Bobrovsky,” said a long-time hockey aficionado. “Now, probably (Sam) Reinhart.” And, likely Tkachuk.
The Panthers shockingly made the finals in 1996 losing to Colorado, but there have a lot of lean years with not much momentum being built and a lost generation of fans.
“You have to remember, the Panthers went 12 years without making the playoffs from 2000 to 2012,” said the fellow who knows his hockey.
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