Traded from rebuilding team to contender, Nico Sturm embracing chance with Panthers
Nico Sturm went from playing for a Colorado Avalanche team that won the Stanley Cup in 2022 to spending the next two-and-a-half seasons played for a rebuilding San Jose Shark team that was consistently at or near the bottom of the NHL standings. He had no chance of even sniffing the playoffs again in that span, let alone a chance to chase another Stanley Cup.
That all changed Thursday when the Florida Panthers traded for him to add an adept faceoff winner who would improve their fourth forward line and add another quality forward on the penalty kill.
So it was easy to understand why Sturm was happy following the Panthers' 4-0 win over the Buffalo Sabres — the team's sixth consecutive victory which moves them to 40-21-3 — on Saturday in his team debut.
He didn't log a point but his time on the ice was critical to the win. As Florida's fourth-line center with A.J. Greer and Tomas Nosek on the wings, Strum was on the ice for 11:23, won 7 of 10 faceoffs, had three shots on goal, logged three hits and blocked a shot.
When he played for San Jose, a team that won 48 total games during his two-and-a-half season stint there, a performance like that could easily get overlooked because it would typically happen in a loss. With the Panthers, those type defense-centric moments are critical in their wins.
'I haven't won a lot of games in the last couple of years, unfortunately,' Sturm, 29, said. 'For the role that I play, [winning] means something. It has an impact on the game. If you kill penalties and you still give up five goals every game, it feels like your role is a little bit irrelevant. But today, it's like even though I'm not on the score sheet, we kill big penalties, get a big block, the team wins. That's your reward. It feels good. You contribute to the team, and I enjoy that.'
Florida coach Paul Maurice had nothing but praise for Strum following his Panthers debut.
'Oh, he's a smart man and covers ice,' Maurice said.
The way the Panthers play will enable Strum to play to his strengths, and that in turn will only strengthen the production from the bottom of the Panthers' lineup. On Saturday, The Panthers controlled 75 percent of shot attempts while he was on the ice at five-on-five, outshot Buffalo 10-1 and had a 6-1 edge in scoring chances.
'I think the system's great for me,' Strum said. 'The way I play is straight-line hockey. That's the way I've played my whole career. Obviously, there's some differences to the system that we played in San Jose, but I think in general, I fit well into this system here.'
He was part of Florida's lead forward pairing on the penalty kill with Eetu Luostarinen. They were on the ice for more than half of Florida's four minutes playing a man down, with the Panthers holding the Sabres without a shot on goal on their two power-play opportunities.
'Just in general, getting traded to what I think is the best team in the league is a big compliment for me as a hockey player,' Strum said. 'The PK is obviously a big part of my game. Throw me right out into the fire. I love that. That's the best way to learn a new system. You're gonna make some mistakes. We're gonna watch video of stuff that I did wrong, and then we'll adjust from there.'
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