It’s no secret that in recent years, good things have happened when players have joined forces with the Florida Panthers.
Particularly, there is a growing list of defensemen who have found that they played some of the best hockey of their careers while wearing a Panthers sweater.
First it was Brandon Montour revitalizing his career in South Florida, earning a massive offer from the Seattle Kraken after three excellent seasons, and postseasons, with the Panthers.
Radko Gudas took a pay cut to sign with Florida in 2020 as a 31-year-old, only for his next offer from Anaheim three years later to come with the highest average annual value (AAV) of his career.
Then Oliver Ekman-Larsson signed with the Panthers during the summer of 2023 for a fraction of what he’d previously been making after two very tough seasons in Vancouver. He parlayed a bounce-back season in Sunrise, at age 32, into a four-year, $14 million deal with Toronto.
The situation for Florida’s newest defensive signing, veteran Jeff Petry, may be a little bit different.
The 37-year-old is entering the twilight of his career, and in addition to knowing how well defensemen have fared recently when joining the Panthers, he’s also quite keen on trying to hunt down a championship before hanging up his skates.
“An important part of my decision was wanting to be in the playoffs, wanting to compete for a Stanley Cup again,” he said. “That feeling of being really close in Montreal, and then losing in the Final, that was a tough feeling. I always said, before my career is over I want to be in that position again and be on a team that can compete for a Stanley Cup. Coming to Florida, that gives me a very good opportunity to do that.”
To be fair, the aforementioned success found by newcoming blueliners who join up in South Florida is something that absolutely factored into Petry’s decision to sign with the Cats.
“You consider all things, and the track records of the players (who have come and gone) is apparent,” said Petry. “I think it speaks to the group that they have, that you can bring a new player in, and they fit in and do well.”
Indeed, it’s an incredibly welcoming group, as long as you are willing to put in the work.
One of the main reasons the Panthers have found so much success, and teams have not found a way to match Florida’s intensity and style of play, is that it is incredibly difficult, physically demanding and mentally challenging to play within the Cats’ systems.
If the Panthers pursued Petry, it’s because they feel he can thrive within those systems.
Usually, when Florida targets a player, they turn out to be a good fit.
“I’ve heard from several people that you’re not expected to be something that you’re not,” Petry said of joining the Panthers. “They want you to come in and be the player and person that you are and not try to do something that isn’t within your characteristics.”
For now, it seems like a good match between Florida and their newest defenseman.
Petry is a smooth skating, high hockey IQ blueliner who should acclimate well to Florida’s way of doing things.
His size, strength and above-average mobility will suit him well with the Panthers.
The excitement and desire certainly seem to be there, as Petry explained it was a pretty easy decision once Florida reached out.
“When I got the call that there was interest (from the Panthers) in me coming there, I saw (Sam) Bennett and (Aaron) Ekblad and (Brad) Marchand re-signing, so when they called it was a no-brainer,” he said. “You hear about the group, what they do together on the ice and off the ice, you hear so many good things about it.”
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Photo caption: Nov 29, 2024; Detroit, Michigan, USA; Detroit Red Wings defenseman Jeff Petry (46) looks on during a faceoff in the first period against the New Jersey Devils at Little Caesars Arena. (Brian Bradshaw Sevald-Imagn Images)