Panthers pack agitator one-two punch in Tkachuk and Marchand
When Connor McDavid took his seat at a table on Media Day Tuesday, the Edmonton Oilers captain looked over his left shoulder and saw this giant photo of Matthew Tkachuk, grinning from ear to ear with the Stanley Cup over his head.
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Did the agitating Florida Panthers winger have anything to do with that?
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No, he's not that conniving. This was the NHL's seating chart.
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'Doesn't matter where you sit. There's lots of pictures around here,' said Tkachuk, not into any gloats.
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Indeed, the NHL had hung several other celebration photos on the wall. Sidney Crosby with hockey's Holy Grail, a tooth-gapped Alex Ovechkin, also Wayne Gretzky when he was just a baby as Oilers captain, but there was Tkachuk's mug behind 97, as if to say, 'Hey, Connor here's what's ours.'
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'He's the best player in the world and I've said it bunch since we figured we were playing them,' said Tkachuk about McDavid. 'We're the two best teams in the league and I don't think there's any debate. We're both here two years in a row. It's the hardest trophy in sports to win and credit to both of us for getting back. I mean some teams are two months into their summer training.'
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'I'm sure he and the rest of their team is as motivated as we were last year. We're three years into this and they're two They're been knocking on the door for a while with the conference finals. They've been past the first round so many times,' said Tkachuk.
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But how is this time around for the Panthers after winning last June 24 in south Florida in Game 7 after starting their three trips in a row with a five-game finals loss to Vegas in 2023.
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'Makes you greedier. It was such an incredible, life-changing moment last year. You want to do it again,' said Tkachuk, dismissing any thought that the Panthers might be satisfied with one group photo around the trophy and maybe not as hungry.
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'It's the Stanley Cup, the most motivating thing in hockey,' said Tkachuk, as if it was the dumbest question.
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'I couldn't articulate very well the experience of it last year or the unknown prior, and then it happens and you have this incredible experience with a group of guys you care so much about. Then you're back and you want to do it again because it's so wonderful,' said Maurice.
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