Toronto Maple Leafs centre Nazem Kadri scores on Florida Panthers goalie Roberto Luongo last week in Sunrise, Fla.Nathan Denette/The Canadian Press
Expect to see a whole lot of Sidney Crosby and the Pittsburgh Penguins when the NHL playoffs open next week.
But there's some debate over which team the cameras should turn to after that.
In its second year with full broadcast rights to the NHL playoffs, Sportsnet has an interesting decision to make on how to cover the postseason – the first without a Canadian team in 46 years. There are no obvious storylines among the eight likely matchups, and no ratings blockbuster beyond Crosby's push for his second Stanley Cup.
But if there's a team that might serve as a dark horse to capture Canadian support, it could be the Florida Panthers.
The Panthers, who cruised into Air Canada Centre on Monday night to face the Toronto Maple Leafs, are approaching 100 points and already have a playoff berth in hand. This is only the fifth time in 22 seasons that Florida has made it to the postseason dance, and it has done it with an eclectic mix of veterans and youngsters, savvy and speed.
"There's not a whole lot of middle guys," coach Gerard Gallant said of the demographics. "It's some old guys – Jagr, Luongo and those guys – then you've got a bunch of kids. It's been fun."
It's been fun to watch, too. Florida has emerged as one of the highest-scoring teams in the Eastern Conference thanks to an unbelievable year from 44-year-old Jaromir Jagr and standout seasons from 22-year-old Jonathan Huberdeau and 20-year-old Aleksander Barkov, who both still have a shot at 60 points.
And that's just the Panthers first line.
There are other feel-good stories in the organization. Roberto Luongo turned 37 on Monday and could be a Vezina candidate. Gallant has resurrected his career after an earlier head coaching stint, in Columbus, ended badly nearly a decade ago. At 65, general manager Dale Tallon, the early architect of what's turned into a near-dynasty in Chicago, has another team trending up.
Those three are all Canadian, as are Huberdeau, Aaron Ekblad and a dozen others on the Panthers roster, with representatives from Port McNeill, B.C., to St. John's.
So, with no other clear option, perhaps the Panthers can fill in as Canada's team?
"That'd be awesome," Gallant said. "The underdog team, for sure. There's going to be a lot of Canadian people still watching the playoffs, obviously. They love hockey. I think we're a good story."
"The best reason to watch is we've got a lot of diversity on this team," Ekblad said, "a lot of guys who are great players and up-and-coming players."
Huberdeau's pitch was more succinct: "We're young. We have a lot of skill. We've got Jagr."
The Panthers are used to being followed closely by Canadian fans. Thousands of snowbirds attend games in Sunrise, Fla., every year, and some have adopted Florida as their second team.
There's even a precedent for the franchise going on a run and becoming a cult favourite, as their unlikely trip to the Cup finals in 1996 – during which the fans threw plastic rats on the ice after every goal – remains one of the more memorable underdog stories of that expansion era.
That said, the bean counters at Rogers also have to be realists. They know that established superstars attract eyeballs, which is why Crosby makes perfect sense as the frontman for their broadcasts. It's expected that Sportsnet will put its top broadcast team on the Penguins for as long as they're alive in the postseason, and that could be a while given how well they've played over the second half of the season.
According to Sportsnet's vice-president of programming, Greg Sansone, the other teams they'll focus on in round one include Chicago, Detroit, Boston, Washington and Los Angeles – assuming both the Red Wings and Bruins qualify in the East.
"We have a plan in place," he said.
The Panthers? They're further down the list, but on the radar. In fact, Huberdeau said TVA Sports regards his team as one of the most exciting to broadcast, and it plans on showing some of their games, in part because both he and Luongo are two of the biggest Quebecois stars in the playoffs.
To get more attention from Sportsnet, however, the Panthers will have to upset a team or two, get the rats raining down from the rafters, and make it to the second or third round.
Given how tight the NHL is, that's certainly possible. Gallant likes their chances.
"Our team's on the rise," he said.
Editor's note: An earlier version of this story incorrectly spelled Dale Tallon's first name.