The Florida Panthers are going to look a little different in the goaltending department during the upcoming NHL season.
Gone is longtime netminder Sergei Bobrovsky, who elected to sign with the Toronto Maple Leafs during the offseason, following a seven-year stint in South Florida that saw him win a pair of Stanley Cups.
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To replace Bobrovsky, Florida traded for a familiar face, acquiring veteran goaltender Jacob Markstrom from the New Jersey Devils
Markstrom, 36, actually broke into the league with the Panthers after Florida selected him in the second round, 31st overall, during the 2008 NHL Draft.
On Wednesday, he joined The Dan LeBatard Show to chat about his return to the Panthers, acknowledging that while he has worn the Florida sweater before, he’s yet to do so since they switched to their current crest logo and away from the leaping panther.
Still, the smile on his face and the excitement in his voice were quite apparent.
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“It’s a privilege and I’m super excited to be back here, to see what Mr. Vinnie Viola has done with this organization, and what Bill Zito and Paul Maurice have done with this team,” Markstrom said. “You see how hockey has grown in South Florida and the Fort Lauderdale area, it’s amazing to be back here and its completely different from when I was here the last time.”
It’s been 12 years since Markstrom was traded to the Vancouver Canucks in March of 2014, a deal that saw Roberto Luongo make his return to the Panthers.
Now, 12 hockey seasons, three teams and 535 NHL games later, it’s Markstrom’s turn to make his South Florida comeback.
Considering all the time that has passed, the miles he’s logged and the experience he’s gained, Markstrom is
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“I’ve learned a lot, it would be weird if I didn’t,” he said with a smile. “When you come in here and move to North America as a 20-year-old, it’s a lot different than being 36 and played over 500 games in the league and played on four different teams, you pick up a lot. You have a lot of coaches and teammates and goalie coaches that you try to learn and take the positive from everyone, and then try to make it your own and build your game.
“So I think the toolbox is a lot bigger, and I’ve got a lot more tools in it now then when I was here, coming in with an empty suitcase, and now it’s full.”
At one point, LeBatard questioned Markstrom on playing a position that he finds “generally terrifying” asked him to explain “the real insanities that are part of your job.”
“I think the goaltending position in general is…if you win the game, you’re doing your job, and if you lose the game, it’s the goalie’s fault. That’s kinda the public opinion of people that don’t really know that much hockey.
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“If a goalie makes a mistake, it’s in the back of the net. If somebody writing an essay or writing something on a keyboard and presses the wrong key, you just delete and put the right letter in. As a goalie, it’s 20,000 people in the stands cheering or booing, and that’s kind of our job and that’s why I love it.”
To watch Markstrom’s full interview with the LeBatard Show crew, check out the video below (the interview begins around the 2:20:30 mark).
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