It’s no secret that the Florida Panthers have evolved into one of the more disliked teams in the NHL.
The combination of playing an aggressive, physical style and doing a lot of winning while playing that style will have that effect.
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Those who have been watching Florida during their ascension know that they have an impressive collection of players who can combine skill and grit, and each has played their own crucial role in Florida’s success.
One of those players has been singled out as a villain.
Don’t worry, it’s meant as a compliment. Sort of.
Over the weekend, The Athletic’s NHL staff put out an interesting piece listing an on-ice villain for every NHL team.
So basically, whichever player they believed to have tormented a team and its fans the most would be that team’s villain.
Interestingly, one Panthers player was singled out as the biggest bad guy for not one, but two different teams.
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And perhaps even more interestingly, it’s not someone with the last name Marchand or Tkachuk.
No, that honor went to the man who took home the 2025 Conn Smythe Trophy while helping Florida to their second straight Stanley Cup championship: Sam Bennett.
According to The Athletic, no player has tormented either the Tampa Bay Lightning or Toronto Maple Leafs more than Bennett.
It’s a solid choice.
Bennett has shown a propensity for taking his game to another level during the playoffs, where he’s helped the Panthers win four of the six combined series against the Lightning and Leafs that he’s been a part of.
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That includes four straight series wins, two against each team, in which Bennett racked up eight goals and 14 points in 19 games.
On the flip side, the player deemed most villainous to the Panthers franchise was Tampa Bay Lightning superstar Nikita Kucherov.
I mean, yeah, I guess.
He’s put up big numbers against Florida – more than a point per game in both the regular season and playoffs – but doesn’t he do that against everybody?
When thinking of a Lightning player as a villain for the Panthers, the first player that comes to mind lately is Brandon Hagel.
Now to be fair, it’s mostly for the physical elements of the game and less for his scoring contributions. While 16 points in 22 regular games against Florida is nothing to sneeze at, he’s only put up five points and a minus-8 on-ice rating in 12 postseason meetings with the Panthers.
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So what do you think of these villainous choices?
Let us know in the comments if you agree, and if not, who you think should be on the list instead.
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Photo caption: Nov 28, 2023;Toronto, Ontario, CAN; Florida Panthers centerSamBennett(9) fights withTorontoMaple Leafs center Max Domi (11) during the second period at Scotiabank Arena. (Nick Turchiaro-USA TODAY Sports)
