The Florida Panthers are typically seen arriving to work in sharp suits, but recently, they’ve swapped their usual attire for something a bit more relaxed — robes. Here’s the backstory: The Stanley Cup champions were gifted personalized bathrobes by the team for their two-game trip to Finland last week. The players embraced the new look and wore the robes to both games, which turned out to be a winning streak as the Panthers came out on top in both matchups.
With the team on a hot streak, it’s no surprise that the players have kept the robe tradition alive. On Thursday, each Panther showed up at the arena sporting their signature robes, which, as luck would have it, have now become an undefeated symbol of success. The result? Florida dominated Nashville with a 6-2 victory, keeping the robe trend going strong.
“I think we’re just going to ride it out until our luck runs out,” Panthers forward Matthew Tkachuk said.
So, the robes will be worn again when the Panthers return to the ice Saturday?
“There’s a very good chance,” Tkachuk said.
The idea for the Panthers to wear robes came about spontaneously, inspired by Finland’s sauna culture, ahead of their games in Tampere last week. On Thursday morning, during their skate session, the defending Stanley Cup champions decided to keep the tradition going. Captain Aleksander Barkov took to the team’s group chat, urging everyone to wear their robes to the arena for the game.
“You’ve got to be some kind of superstitious at some point, right?” Barkov said. “While it’s working for us, we’ll keep going with that.”
Apparently, some players were doubtful, wondering if they were being set up for a prank. Aaron Ekblad wasn’t fully convinced until Tkachuk sent a photo of himself in his robe, driving to the arena, which finally persuaded him.
“Everybody thought there was a prank being played on them,” Tkachuk said. “I tell you what, it’s the most comfortable thing ever. It’s nice and we’re having fun with it. We’re a very professional team when it comes to work. We come to the rink and we work. But it’s such a long year. You’ve got to have fun.”
According to Panthers general manager and president of hockey operations Bill Zito, the idea for the robes actually originated with Lucy Tallas, the wife of Florida’s goaltending coach, Robb Tallas.
“We have to give the true credit — it was Lucy’s idea,” Zito said earlier this week.
Florida coach Paul Maurice is a big fan of anything that strengthens team unity, and the Panthers’ new robe-wearing tradition seems to be doing just that. The players are fully embracing the relaxed, fun ritual, which has become a source of shared enjoyment and camaraderie for the whole team.
“Those are the best that have nothing to do with anything but the players,” Maurice said. “Those are the best things that happen. It took some courage to walk into an NHL rink in a robe and I think it got them to start on time.”
Maurice received a robe in Finland too, but he’ll stick with his usual style, arriving in a suit on Saturday—just as he did on Thursday.
“Nobody — nobody — needs to see that,” Maurice said. “These fine people pay way too much money to be subjected to those nightmares.”
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