With Panthers in Finland, the team's Finnish players are soaking in 'really meaningful trip'

A lot has changed since the last time the Florida Panthers played in Finland as part of the NHL Global Series in 2018.

Tampere native Aleksander Barkov was 23 years old and in his first season as the Panthers’ captain, still well on his way to becoming one of the league’s top two-way forwards who would ultimately find his name at the top of nearly every career record in franchise history.

Anton Lundell watched from the stands in Helsinki, about a half hour drive from his hometown Espoo, as a budding 17-year-old hockey player. He was just one month into his first season playing in Finland’s top hockey league (Liiga) and two years from being drafted by the Panthers with the No. 12 overall pick.

Paul Maurice was behind the bench for the Winnipeg Jets, with whom the Panthers split the two-game series that year by identical 4-2 scores.

Fast forward six years, and here they are back in Finland again with the Panthers set to face the Dallas Stars in Tampere as part of the 2024 NHL Global Series.

This time, though, all three are with the Panthers.

And all three are there coming off winning the Stanley Cup for the first time last season.

“It’s very special,” Lundell said. “I don’t think it could be any better timing to go back home to play.”

Added Barkov, the first Finnish captain in NHL history and the second player from Tampere (also Ville Nieminen in 2001 with the Colorado Avalanche) to win a Stanley Cup: “I’ve been thinking about them all the time, obviously ever since they got announced and waiting for this this day, actually to travel there and go home again. I was there once in Helsinki. We played two games. But this is going to be even more special. It’s in my hometown and the rink where my team plays. So, it’s going to be a one-of-a-kind experience, for sure.”

The games will be played at 1 p.m. ET Friday and 11 a.m. Saturday at Tampere’s Nokia Center, the same arena where Barkov held a celebration rally during his day with the Stanley Cup this summer.

More than 15,000 packed the arena that day.

“It was a special and amazing moment for me and forever thankful, grateful for the city of Tampere to be that kind and letting me celebrate the big moment of my life with with pretty much the whole city and having the chance to take the Stanley Cup, from place to other place,” Barkov said. “And obviously the big, big celebration at the arena with all my teammates from Finland. Not enough words to say how special that moment was for me.”

Barkov and Lundell are two of five Finns with the Panthers, along with forward Eetu Luostarinen (Siilinjavri), defenseman Niko Mikkola (Kiiminki) and assistant coach Tuomo Ruutu (Vantaa). The Stars have three Finnish players of their own in Miro Heiskanen (Espoo), Roope Hintz (Nokia), Esa Lindell (Vantaa).

“That puts less pressure on me for the game,” Mikkola said with a laugh. “It’s great. And Dallas has guys too, so it’s gonna be a lot of Finns out there.”

But before the puck drops, the team is taking its time to enjoy the scenes of Finland. The team arrived in Helsinki on Tuesday, taking a seven-hour trans-Atlantic flight from New York immediately after their 5-2 win over the Buffalo Sabres on Monday. They practiced there Wednesday before going two hours north to Tampere for the rest of the trip.

Lundell was the appointed tour guide for the Helsinki portion of the trip; Barkov will take over host duties in Tampere.

Among items on the to-do list: Saunas, a tour of local food (particularly salmon soup and chocolates) and hopefully a chance to jump into a lake.

And, of course, there will be the celebration of hockey. The Panthers won their first Cup last year. The Stars made it to the Western Conference final. Both are expected to be major factors in the playoffs again this year.

Friends and family will be in attendance. Younger hockey players, like Lundell six years ago, will be at the games as well.

“It’s a really meaningful trip for these four guys,” Maurice said of his four Finnish players. “It’s not just a couple of guys coming back who happen to play in the NHL. It’s coming off the year we did, and they are prominent on our team. I think one of the things that our players do well, they celebrate each other’s successes. They really cheer for each other. And that will be the story for us. We get to go home with four of our really important players and celebrate their nationality and their success.”

Added Mikkola: “Hopefully a lot of junior players and young people, kids come to watch the games and get inspired about it. It’s good for everybody.”

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