The Florida Panthers enter the third month of their Stanley Cup defense season in a good spot in the standings and they’re on a four-game point streak. They are tied with the Toronto Maple Leafs for first in the Atlantic Division with a record 16-9-2 with 34 points. The Leafs own the tiebreak as they’ve played fewer games.
This upcoming February is the 4 Nations Face-Off, this season’s replacement for the All-Star Weekend festivities. The Panthers hold the most selections for the tournament among any other team in the NHL with eight total picks and are one of two teams that have players on all four rosters. This does not include the assistant coaches or front office members from the team that were also taken. This shows just how strong the current roster is.
Team Finland Is Highlighted by the Captain
Team Finland has most of its selections from the Panther roster and coaching staff, which has tons of Finnish talent to boast.
They selected the Cats’ captain Aleksander Barkov, a two-time Selke Trophy winner and a Lady Byng Memorial Trophy winner. This makes him arguably one of the best two-way forwards in the NHL today. This season alone, he’s found the back on the net seven times and assisted on 20 other goals. That puts him third on the team in points.
Related: Panthers Prevail in Crazy Game Against Flyers
Additionally, they brought in forwards Eetu Luostarinen, Anton Lundell, and defenseman Niko Mikkola. Together, they have combined for 12 goals and 28 assists.
Forsling Is the Lone Cat Representative for Team Sweden
To the surprise of very few, defenseman Gustav Forsling was selected to represent the Swedes. He is the only Panther player to be put on the Swedish roster.
Arguably the greatest waiver wire acquisition in Panther history, Forsling has established himself as their number-one defenseman over the past five seasons. Last season alone, he had 39 points (10 goals, 29 assists) and a league-leading plus-53 rating. In his career, he has 50 goals, 123 assists, and a plus-140 rating. This selection is another massive mark on his resume with Florida.
Tkachuk Dons His Nation’s Colors
Joining his brother in Ottawa Senators forward Brady Tkachuk, forward Matthew Tkachuk is the lone Panther selection for Team USA in the tournament.
One of the most impactful players on the roster, the trade for Matthew signaled a culture change within the team. Since being traded to Florida, he’s scored 74 goals and assisted on 151 others. In that same time frame, he’s scored 17 playoff goals and tallied 29 playoff assists in two runs to the Stanley Cup Final. Currently, he’s on a five-game point streak with 13 points (three goals, 10 assists) in that span. He’s going to give America a huge boost in the tournament.
Canada Gets the NHL’s Leading Scorer and Then Some
Team Canada’s forward core is already going to be a problem with the likes of Nathan MacKinnon, Connor McDavid and Sidney Crosby on the squad. But it’s going to get even tougher now that they have the league’s leading goal scorer in forward Sam Reinhart.
Related: How NHL Teams Are Navigating the Injury Bug This Season
On the season, he’s tied for the league lead in goals with 19 goals. Along with 18 assists, he has a total of 37 points, which makes for fifth-best in the league. Furthermore, he’s tied for fifth in the league on power-play goals with six so far. Since being traded to Florida, he’s amassed 280 points (140 goals and assists). With his extension this past offseason, the front office is committed to keeping him in South Florida.
Sam Bennett may come as a shock to cracking the roster with a bunch of other names not being considered. So much so that even he was stunned he got picked.
“My heart started racing when I got that text,” he said. “I called him [Jim Nill] back and he gave me the good news. I was a little bit in shock.”
Sam Bennett on being selected to Team Canada
Regardless of how he feels, the numbers he brings to the table are worthy of supporting his home country. This season, he has 25 points (13 goals, 12 assists) in 26 games while riding a six-game point streak. In his time with Florida, he’s found the back of the net 83 times and was credited with 84 assists. The toughness he also brings to the game could be a huge factor in a push for his team.
There’s a Reason So Many Players were Selected from Them
The roster put together over the last few seasons has led to deep playoff runs, a Stanley Cup, and awards won for the team. This just adds to the many accolades that the squad has collected over that span.
The roster itself is incredibly strong and everyone in this tournament wants a taste of it. The world will soon find out why they are defending Stanley Cup Champions.
