Panthers’ Maurice on not playing Bennett with Tkachuks: ‘They’ll be in jail before the puck drops’
Florida Panthers head coach Paul Maurice is well aware of how his team is perceived.
The Panthers, winners of back-to-back Stanley Cups before an injury-riddled down year last season, are perhaps the most reviled team in the NHL, with the reputation for playing a dirty, unethical style.
Florida leaned into that identity this offseason, acquiring net-front menace Brady Tkachuk from the Ottawa Senators in a blockbuster deal.
Brady will join his brother Matthew Tkachuk, center Sam Bennett, and winger Brad Marchand as the Panthers players that best exemplify the antagonistic role this team has assumed.
Why not, then, play three of those players together? The Tkachuks flanking Bennett would be the most hated line in the NHL, something you wouldn’t think the Panthers would be hesitant to embrace.
During a press conference on Wednesday, however, Maurice threw some cold water on the idea of putting the game’s most notorious villains on one line.
“I don’t want to give everybody what they want with the two Chucky brothers together with Sam Bennett in the middle,” Maurice said. “God, they’ll be in jail before the puck drops. I’m going to wait on that one.”
Maurice mentioning that he’s “going to wait” suggests that while we probably won’t see Bennett with the Tkachuk brothers right away, it’s something Maurice is willing to throw together down the road.
In the meantime, Maurice addressed the question of whether Brady will start the season with top-line center Aleksander Barkov.
“We’ve spent time talking about Sasha Barkov and how good he is,” Maurice said. “But he’s never actually played with a big man that could control the puck. He’s played with speed. This isn’t all about Brady and the new guy. It could be great for Sasha, a big man that can control the puck. Because the big man that can control the puck on that line is Barkov. Well, that’s a lot of being big and a lot of controlling the puck, and that’s a lot of wear and tear. You can spread that out over another guy, another big man, and I’ve got a really good shooter there. So between two big guys that you can’t get the puck off easily and a guy who can find the hole and shoot the puck could be really good.”
