The Florida Panthers do not have to go far to find tour guides on their trip to Finland.
While in Helsinki, captain Sasha Barkov said he handed over tour responsibilities to Anton Lundell.
Barkov, the first captain from Finland to ever win the Stanley Cup, will be in charge of showing the Panthers around his hometown of Tampere when they get there.
Then you have Eetu Luostarinen and Niko Mikkola — not to mention assistant coach Tuomo Ruutu.
Even general manager Bill Zito knows his way around Helsinki as he has spent extensive time in the Finnish capital.
No, the Panthers will not have a problem finding things to do when in Finland.
“I liked the salmon,” said Matthew Tkachuk, who was taken out to lunch by Barkov to try some of his favorite comfort foods. “I am very excited, especially for the Finns on the team. What a cool opportunity to play in front of family and friends, to be back home. This is like a once in a career moment. This is incredible for them. They are very proud of their country and are excited to show it off.”
Said Barkov: “He did good. He likes the food, and Finland, so far.”
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Coach Paul Maurice has been to Finland a couple of times — including in 2018 when his Winnipeg Jets played the Panthers in Helsinki — and says he has always enjoyed himself.
On Tuesday, Maurice sounded like a proud dad watching over his kids enjoying their new toys on Christmas morning.
The Florida Panthers have four players from Finland and a few other members of their traveling party from the country.
They were all looking forward to this trip, and that has rubbed off on their teammates.
“I want to watch their teammates be proud of their country,’’ Maurice said. “Take it all in: Go to the saunas, do all the things. All of the Finnish guys are under a lot of pressure to show Finland off, and I want all of our guys to take it all in. These are all incredible trips. … Five Finns are going to show us Finland in two or three days, then we’ll drop the puck and get after it.’’
Said Zito: “Everyone was excited to come, and we’re obviously excited for our Finnish players who are very proud to be here.’’
Barkov, obviously, has been looking forward to this trip since news leaked out his team would be playing in his hometown during the playoffs.
While he spends parts of his offseason in Finland — and brought the Stanley Cup there over the summer — he really does not get to share his culture with his teammates aside from bringing them Finnish chocolates and other gifts from his homeland.
Aaron Ekblad said he knew how excited Barkov is about showing off his hometown with his teammates and that makes them excited to be part of it.
The Panthers will have Wednesday off from hockey activities with Lundell planning on a number of activities.
Taking in a sauna, and diving into some icy water after the steam, will be involved.
“I don’t want to reveal my secrets yet, but I will have the guys try some different saunas, try some different Finnish foods,’’ said Lundell, who grew up in nearby Espoo and was playing in Helsinki when Florida drafted him in 2020.
“I am going to take them around town a little bit. I think it’s going to be awesome and that they are going to like it. It has been a little stressful, to be honest. Barky told me I would take care of Helsinki. I am happy to show my favorite places and for them to try some traditional things. That will be awesome as well.”
— Dallas coach Pete DeBoer, who brought the Panthers to Finland to kick off the 2009-10 season against the Blackhawks, held a full practice on Tuesday after his team arrived in Finland the day before.
The Panthers landed around 1:30 p.m. local time after flying out of Buffalo, and did a light workout just to get loose.
They will return to practice Thursday in Tampere at Nokia Arena.
They will probably have to skate some things off as well.
— The Panthers have had a long history of Finnish influences throughout the years, with two of their captains being from Finland.
This is Florida’s third trip to Finland — most of any NHL team.
Florida also has had the third-most Finnish players in NHL history (24) with the Stars leading with 31.
“I go back to OJ, Olli Jokinen and a lot of the Finns who had success in Florida,’’ Zito said. “Lots of connections, lots of good feelings for those connections.’’
Video of the Panthers in Helsinki, including Barkov and his Finnish teammates answering questions from the local media, is on the FHN YouTube Channel.
ON DECK: GAME 12
NHL GLOBAL SERIES AT TAMPERE, FINLAND
FLORIDA PANTHERS V. DALLAS STARS
