“We’re in the final once again, and we want to win the Stanley Cup just like any other team,” remarked Florida Panthers’ Aleksander Barkov. The team captain said so after a come-from-behind win against the Carolina Hurricanes in Game 5 helped the Panthers clinch their third straight conference final. That makes Bill Zito’s team only the second team to do so since the New York Islanders and Edmonton Oilers in the 1980s.

While the Tampa Bay Lightning played three Stanley Cup finals from 2020 to 2022, the Panthers have taken up that mantle since 2023. So, what makes the three straight Eastern Conference Finals winners so special that they became one of only two teams to recapture what the Islanders and the Oilers did when they won consecutive Stanley Cups in the 80s? That’s exactly what the media asked the Panthers’ GM.

The question made Bill Zito pause for a second before he revealed the Panthers’ secret, and that’s their stars. “The core of this group is a function of our best players, our stars,” revealed the Panthers GM. Yet, even among those stars, one name stood out. “It starts with Sasha (aka Aleksander Barkov),” Zito told the media. As per Zito, no one pushes others to do better like Barkov does.

“Paul’s talked about this, I’ve talked about it, the players have talked about it. The only person who doesn’t talk about it is Sasha, but how caring he is as a human and as a teammate and how it forces you to be better,” the Cats’ GM said after his team beat the Cane 5-3 yesterday. And he was right about the players crediting their captain’s contribution to the team.

Carter Verhaeghe, who scored the Cats’ fourth goal, explained just how much of a difference-maker Barkov can become. “He took on one guy, then two guys, and then gave the puck to me with a pretty open net. So, it was an unbelievable play by ‘Barkie’ at a critical point,” Verhaeghe said after the win. However, the players Bill Zito praised wouldn’t shine if it weren’t for him.

Matthew Tkachuk revealed Bill Zito’s contribution

While Zito explained that the players like Aleksander Barkov, Matthew Tkachuk, and Aaron Ekblad have the major role behind the Panthers’ success, the players believe their GM has played an equally important role. Alternate captain Matthew Tkachuk had nothing but praise for the man who brought him on board the Cats’ ship.

“I think it’s all built on great guys and hard workers, guys that fit really the style of game that we want to play here. Each addition has been great,” Matthew Tkachuk said about the addition Bill Zito has made to the team, as per Sportsnet’s Eric Engels. The Florida Panthers’ GM has indeed put together a squad of players who have flipped the script for the now-defending champion.

Before Zito’s arrival, it was a different story. In the roughly four and a half years the 60-year-old has spent as the Panthers’ GM, he has taken a team that missed seven playoffs in the decade before his arrival to three consecutive Stanley Cup finals. No wonder Matthew Tkachuk heaped praise on his GM. “We’re so lucky to have some of the best guys in the league,” he said.

“He’s built a great culture in there for us just to come in… He’s done a great job, and hopefully we can reward him with a win…” added Tkachuk. It may be safe to assume that’s a statement the entire Florida Panthers squad will agree with. So, as much as Bill Zito credits Aleksander Barkov and his fellow teammates, they feel their GM is also part of the secret to Florida’s NHL success.