How playoff pressure is different for Seth Jones, other Panthers without a ring

RALEIGH, N.C. -- When Nate Schmidt looks astir the Florida Panthers' locker room, helium sees players who person thing helium doesn't have. At slightest not yet.

A Stanley Cup ring.

Most of them won a ringing past play erstwhile the Panthers hoisted the Cup for the archetypal clip successful franchise history. Brad Marchand won his arsenic a rookie with the Boston Bruins successful 2011. Nico Sturm, different caller addition, won his with the Colorado Avalanche successful 2022.

This is thing that has fixed Schmidt immoderate anxiety. He doesn't privation to beryllium the feline without a ringing who messes it up for the ones who person one.

"You cognize what? It's thing that I've tried to conflict with this year," said the seasoned defenseman, who signed a one-year escaped cause declaration with Florida past summer. "You privation to add, right? You privation to adhd arsenic overmuch arsenic you tin to an already winning formula."

Schmidt is 1 of 7 Panthers connected the playoff roster who haven't won the Stanley Cup. It's a database that includes forwards Jesper Boqvist, A.J. Greer and Tomas Nosek; backup goalie Vitek Vanecek; and defensemen Seth Jones and Jaycob Megna.

Jones is successful his 12th NHL season, having played 860 regular-season games since being drafted 4th wide by the Nashville Predators successful 2013. Before this tally with the Panthers, Jones had appeared successful lone 37 playoff games with Nashville and Columbus, having ne'er made the postseason during his 4 seasons with the rebuilding Chicago Blackhawks.

"It was conscionable the timeline with that organization. It's thing against them," Jones said of the Blackhawks. "I deliberation they're going to beryllium precise palmy successful the future. They conscionable wanted to physique from the crushed up. Nothing incorrect with that."

The defenseman said that helium "wasn't playing the top hockey successful Chicago" erstwhile helium was acquired by Florida connected March 1 for a first-round prime and goalie Spencer Knight. He wanted out. He wanted a accidental to play important games. Now, they're each important.

"It's been a whirlwind the past fewer months, but I'm highly blessed that I've gotten this accidental with this franchise," helium said.

PANTHERS COACH PAUL MAURICE said that Jones has settled successful with Florida due to the fact that he's not expected to beryllium a marquee attraction.

"Seth Jones comes into our country and into a spot wherever the camera's not going to beryllium connected him each the time, right? He's not the large canine connected the backmost end," Maurice said. "He's not the highest-paid feline successful the room. He's 1 of the guys. So, helium tin conscionable benignant of fold into the room."

Maurice compared the commercialized for Jones with erstwhile the squad acquired Marchand from the Bruins successful a still-stunning deadline deal. The Panthers had mislaid immoderate talkative players from past season's Stanley Cup champions, with defenseman Brandon Montour and guardant Ryan Lomberg leaving arsenic escaped agents. Marchand is, among galore different things, a talker.

"Marchand's property took immoderate unit disconnected the remainder of the guys. I really had much quiescent guys than we person large guys. And they're like, 'OK, Marchy's here, helium tin bash each the talking and past we could conscionable relax,''" Maurice said. "Brad took immoderate unit disconnected these guys. While erstwhile Seth came in, I deliberation our squad took immoderate unit disconnected of him."

Jones said not having won a title hasn't added other unit to his postseason.

"No, not really. I deliberation this locker country is decidedly special," helium said. "The infinitesimal I came into this locker room, you could consciousness the intensity. You tin consciousness the thrust and the willingness to triumph from apical to bottom."

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Brad Marchand's OT victor sparks pandemonium from Panthers crowd

Brad Marchand scores a monolithic overtime extremity to present the Panthers a 5-4 triumph implicit the Maple Leafs.

The Panthers pridefulness themselves connected their homogeny. There are large names connected this roster -- Matthew Tkachuk was a impermanent connected "The Tonight Show" aft the 4 Nations Face-Off, for reference. Jones and Marchand were NHL All-Stars earlier successful their careers. But erstwhile they arrived successful Sunrise, Florida, the players assimilated into wide manager Bill Zito's Borg Collective of relentless, effectual and ravenous competitors -- successful theory, nary much important than the others.

"It's a household environment, whether you're the champion subordinate connected the squad oregon you're not successful the lineup. Everyone's treated the aforesaid way," Jones said. "We recognize that everyone is needed to win. It's not conscionable connected 1 line, 1 brace of defensemen. So, it's a large situation to beryllium in, and we privation to support it going."

Maurice credits skipper Aleksander Barkov with mounting that tone.

"I deliberation that's each Barkov. Truly, if you didn't cognize the look and you walked into the locker country oregon onto the plane, you wouldn't cognize who the prima was," helium said. "The aforesaid goes for Matthew [Tkachuk] and Brad [Marchand]. They're 1 of the guys successful the room."

IT HAS BEEN THOSE "guys successful the room" who person helped the Panthers without a ringing enactment done their anxiousness arsenic the postseason rolled into the Eastern Conference finals, wherever Florida has a 2-0 bid lead implicit the Carolina Hurricanes. They're not disquieted astir messing up things for these erstwhile champions; instead, the information they are champions gives them the exemplary they request to emulate.

"One happening I would really accidental has calmed maine down precocious is that the guys who bash person rings recognize what it takes," said Schmidt, who has played 741 games successful the NHL. "So, you don't person to spell and bash thing supra and beyond what we're doing already. Just proceed connected the path. No sidetracking."

Greer, who has had stints with 5 teams implicit his 248-game NHL career, said helium had an inherent spot successful his teammates erstwhile the playoffs started.

"Obviously, you don't privation to bash thing to messiness it up. But erstwhile you commencement playing with hesitation, erstwhile you commencement reasoning excessively much, that's erstwhile things spell south," helium said. "So, it's astir conscionable being capable to enactment composed and spot the group. That's the biggest happening -- everyone trusts the crippled plan."

Greer said that spot extends from the coaches to the absorption to the players.

"Once you get a squad that starts playing for each different and is capable to respect and perpetrate to the crippled program each azygous night, you've got a winning recipe," helium said. "As agelong arsenic you enactment accordant with it, I deliberation that that look is our champion shot."

But the ringless Panthers besides privation to adhd thing to that recipe. For Greer, it was a small zip to the broth.

"You conscionable effort to acceptable in, travel successful and not disturb anything. You're trying to blend successful but adhd a small spot of your spice, I conjecture you'd say," the guardant said. "So, for me, coming into a radical who had conscionable won the Stanley Cup, I was conscionable trying to inject a small spot of energy. They had a agelong play and sometimes that tin get to you mentally and physically. So, coming successful and benignant of replenishing that energy, bringing successful a caller face, and conscionable being myself personality-wise. It was a large fit."

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A.J. Greer helps Panthers regain 2-goal lead

A.J. Greer scores aboriginal successful the 2nd play to assistance Florida regain a two-goal vantage implicit the Hurricanes.

Some of the ringless Panthers person travel adjacent to the Stanley Cup before. Nosek and Schmidt were connected the Vegas Golden Knights successful 2018 erstwhile they went to the Final successful their inaugural play and mislaid to the Washington Capitals -- ironically, Schmidt was a subordinate of that Capitals squad earlier being plucked distant by Vegas successful the enlargement draft. Nosek and Schmidt missed the Knights' Stanley Cup triumph by a mates of seasons.

But galore of the Panthers who've yet to triumph are coming from little palmy situations. Vanecek was connected the last-place San Jose Sharks earlier Florida acquired him. Jones hadn't played successful the postseason since the 2020 COVID-19 bubble. For them, the hunger wasn't conscionable earning a ringing -- it was playing meaningful hockey again.

Maurice tin relate. The 58-year-old made the playoffs lone 4 times successful his archetypal 16 seasons arsenic an NHL caput manager with the Hartford Whalers, Hurricanes, Toronto Maple Leafs and Winnipeg Jets.

"I cognize what it's similar erstwhile your team's not great. Your chances of making the playoffs are thin. [The players] are trying to acceptable a modular successful that room. They're going to play hard, but they cognize they're not 22 anymore. The clock's ticking connected a win," helium said. "At immoderate point, it becomes nary fun. The losing takes its toll, particularly connected your top-end guys. So, present they get a reprieve."

As it has been for the erstwhile 2 seasons, the eventual extremity is successful scope for the Florida Panthers. The bulk of their players became everlastingly known arsenic Stanley Cup champions 1 twelvemonth ago. Jones, Schmidt and others are doing everything they tin to articulation them.

"I don't person a ringing ... but I privation that ring, too. That's 1 of the reasons I joined the Panthers," Nosek said. "I don't deliberation there's other unit [not having one]. There's ever unit successful the playoffs. It's wherefore I similar it."