The Fightin' is Rounds

Florida is built to go the distance. They know what it takes. They might be the only team right now that does. And the Stars might be further away than they think.

The Florida Panthers go back-to-back

Every late summer, when players start trickling back into town and reassemble as groups to try it again, there’s always optimism. For most organizations and fan bases, the good feels come from the usual blind or informed optimism, while taking in the sights and sounds of the guys in practice gear, darting and circling, shooting and passing, and laughing and joking on the ice. The long summer is ending, last season is well in the rearview mirror, and we can all start talking about how good we feel about our team.

The good feels also come from forgetting your shortcomings and living in denial. We all do this to some extent with our favorite teams.

When training camp starts - everyone’s a contender they say.

The only thing is - that’s not true for the majority of teams entering the season. The bitter truth is - there’s only a handful of teams that will seriously contend.

And the harder pill to swallow - right now - there's only one team in the NHL that has it figured out. The Florida Panthers get playoff hockey. It’s different. They’re different. They can go four rounds. They get better round by round. They managed their way through the regular season, but didn’t turn any heads. No matter - the Florida Panthers are different and so are the Stanley Cup playoffs.

Florida GM Bill Zito is different. Bill Zito makes very hard and unpopular decisions, including trading sacred cows and not hiring the wrong coach. His coach keeps his pedal on the gas. He pushes them hard, and then harder. His players don’t run to Zito when they think the world is unfair.

32 teams start each season. 16 don’t make it past the regular season. Another 8 fall two weeks later. Meaning, for 24 teams and fan bases who started the season hoping for a big year - it’s over without a playoff series win. 75% of the league doesn’t get out of the first round.

We don’t think about that when we watch the players in August and September trickling back in. We’re stuck in a bubble of our own creation, an echo chamber comprised of fellow fans who think the same way, and local media and fan bloggers who reinforce our worldview, regardless of any and all evidence that pops up to the contrary.

Seth Jones, a very good player stuck in horrible circumstances with the continuing shitshow that is the Chicago Blackhawks, and who was liberated on trade deadline day and moved to Florida, said last night on the ice after lifting the Stanley Cup -

“All these guys care about is winning a Cup. That’s it.”

Lots of teams say it. Most teams are full of shit.