Skip to Content Facebook Feature Image

Stanley Cup champion Panthers getting back to work, insisting it's time to look forward

Sport

Stanley Cup champion Panthers getting back to work, insisting it's time to look forward
Sport

Sport

Stanley Cup champion Panthers getting back to work, insisting it's time to look forward

2024-09-19 01:39 Last Updated At:01:41

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (AP) — The Stanley Cup is still making its championship tour of South Florida. It was on a basketball court with the Miami Heat this week, is going somewhere else on Thursday and there’s a few more appearances to make after that. So, in some respects, the party that comes with winning the NHL title is still going strong.

That is, except at the Florida Panthers’ practice facility. The champs are back to work.

Florida opens training camp on Thursday and coach Paul Maurice is making this much clear: It’s time to start building for the next title run, not time to keep reveling in the title run that was completed in June.

“There are going to be, and rightfully so, some backward-looking things. We’ll deal with the banner raisings, ring ceremonies, all those good things you get to enjoy,” Maurice said Wednesday as the team gathered for its annual media day. “But we’ll be very sure that our day is completely focused on what we’re doing, not living in the past.”

Evidently, that message is already getting through.

Players have been back in South Florida for at least a couple weeks, for the most part. And Maurice said the returning Panthers all came back in better shape than they were at this time last season, as proven by the pre-camp conditioning tests. The real test comes Thursday with the first practices, and Maurice’s training-camp sessions are notoriously tough.

“The hangover concept, we won’t believe in it,” Maurice said. “It’s certainly not a physical issue with us. We’re stronger than we were last year at this time and that’s a credit to them because they certainly couldn’t have made improvements without spending the time to do it.”

Florida has its top eight scorers — Sam Reinhart, Matthew Tkachuk, Aleksander Barkov, Carter Verhaeghe, Sam Bennett, Evan Rodrigues, Gustav Forsling and Anton Lundell — all back from last season. Verhaeghe and Reinhart had the goals in Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Final when Florida held off Edmonton 2-1 to win its first title and avoid what would have been an epic collapse after winning the first three games of that series, and goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky returns to begin his sixth year as the Panthers’ go-to guy in net.

There are some roster spots up for grabs, but the core from the title run returns largely intact. And even though the Cup has now been won, capping a lifelong quest for Maurice and the players, there’s a slew of motivation to try to win it again.

“At the end of the day, I love what I do,” Bobrovsky said. “It’s a blessing for me to be here today and I’m excited for compete for the dream again. And yet, you know, it doesn’t really matter what happened in the past. I only care about the moment in my hands right now, and that’s this moment.”

Things will start happening quickly. Practices start Thursday and Florida plays its first two preseason games Sunday — the annual doubleheader against Nashville, where most if not all the 50 or so available players in camp will get some game action.

The Cup banner goes up on Oct. 8 when Florida plays host to Boston and opens the regular season. And with that, the 82-game grind will be off and running. But Maurice insists that he’s not skipping any steps, not even thinking about opening night yet or anything between now and then.

“I’m not ready for anything but Day 1. I don’t want to think about Day 2,” Maurice said. “You can’t win the Stanley Cup on September 19th, the first day of practice. But you can start the process giving yourself a chance. This will be what Day 1 on the ice is. You have to be respectful of exactly how hard it was and do the work and pay the price just to give yourself a chance.”

AP NHL: https://www.apnews.com/hub/NHL

Florida Panthers goalkeeper Sergei Bobrovsky speaks during NHL hockey media day, Wednesday, Sept. 18, 2024, in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)

Florida Panthers goalkeeper Sergei Bobrovsky speaks during NHL hockey media day, Wednesday, Sept. 18, 2024, in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)

FILE -Fans wait in line to watch Game 4 of the Stanley Cup Final between the Florida Panthers and the Edmonton Oilers, at a watch party at Amerant Bank Arena, Saturday, June 15, 2024, in Sunrise, Fla. (AP Photo/Wilfredo Lee, FiIe)

FILE -Fans wait in line to watch Game 4 of the Stanley Cup Final between the Florida Panthers and the Edmonton Oilers, at a watch party at Amerant Bank Arena, Saturday, June 15, 2024, in Sunrise, Fla. (AP Photo/Wilfredo Lee, FiIe)

Florida Panthers head coach Paul Maurice speaks during NHL hockey media day, Wednesday, Sept. 18, 2024, in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)

Florida Panthers head coach Paul Maurice speaks during NHL hockey media day, Wednesday, Sept. 18, 2024, in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)

LOS ANGELES (AP) — A$AP Rocky turned down a final prosecution plea offer of 180 days in jail, risking the possibility of a guilty verdict and years in prison as jury selection began at his trial on Tuesday.

The agreement offered to the 36-year-old hip-hop star, fashion mogul and actor was to plead guilty to one of two felony counts of assault with a semiautomatic firearm. Los Angeles County prosecutors would also recommend a seven-year suspended sentence, three years of probation and the six-month jail term.

But Rocky, whose legal name is Rakim Mayers, told a judge he respectfully declined.

He is accused of firing at a former friend near a Hollywood hotel in 2021, and could get a maximum sentence of 24 years in prison if convicted. He has pleaded not guilty.

Rocky's attorney Joe Tacopina also revealed for the first time in court Tuesday that the defense plans to call witnesses to testify that a firearm seen on a security video is a starter pistol that Rocky carried as a prop for security.

A panel of more than 100 prospective jurors were summoned to the downtown Los Angeles courtroom and packed into the gallery. Opening statements will come once 12 of them and alternates are seated. That won't be until at least Wednesday, when selection is set to resume. Cameras will be allowed in the courtroom starting with openings.

The Grammy-nominated hip-hop star's longtime partner is Rihanna, and the couple have two toddler sons together. Tacopina suggested that it's unlikely the pop star will show up in court.

Rocky has been named one of the celebrity chairs of the Met Gala in May, and has a major role in a Spike Lee-directed film with Denzel Washington to be released soon after. But his life could be upended with a conviction.

Superior Court Judge Mark Arnold has said he hopes to seat a jury quickly, and is keeping strict limits on how long attorneys can question prospective jurors.

“Mr. Mayers is an entertainer," Arnold told the prospective jurors. "His stage name is A$AP rocky. His life partner is also an entertainer. Her name is Rihanna. Because Mr. Mayers is an entertainer, a celebrity, that cannot harm him, and it cannot benefit him."

Of the initial 12 jurors questioned, four said they knew who Rocky was, and 10 said they knew who Rihanna was.

In 2023, another judge ruled after a preliminary hearing that Rocky should stand trial on charges that he fired a gun at Terell Ephron, a childhood friend who testified that their relationship had soured and a feud came to a head on the night of Nov. 6, 2021. Ephron testified that bullets grazed his knuckles.

Initial questioning on Tuesday revealed that the recent Los Angeles-area wildfires have affected many of the potential jurors' lives, including one woman who is fostering many displaced animals, and at least one man who had to evacuate. The judge himself revealed he had to evacuate from his home for 11 days.

“Luckily the house didn’t burn down," Arnold said.

One man was excused early in the process because he said his anti-gun feelings were too strong for him to be fair.

Tacopina tried to explore the potential jurors' feelings about hip-hop artists and their music, and several said they had negative feelings, though not overwhelming ones. Some cited parenting as the reason.

“I used to love it but then I had a kid,” one panelist said.

Deputy District Attorney John Lewin, questioning for the prosecution, told those with negative feelings, “You will not be called upon to render a verdict on how you feel about rap music, do you understand that?" All said yes.

Tacopina, who like his client Rocky is from New York and has represented President Donald Trump, also asked whether anyone on the jury is rubbed the wrong way by New Yorkers, bringing laughs throughout the room.

“When I get up here with this ridiculous accent, which I try not to have but I do, is anyone going to have a problem?" he said. “I will point out that we gave you guys the Dodgers a few years ago.”

No one conceded any negative feelings.

“I love LA," the lawyer added.

FILE - A$AP Rocky, left, and Rihanna attend The Metropolitan Museum of Art's Costume Institute benefit gala in New York on Sept. 13, 2021. (Photo by Evan Agostini/Invision/AP, File)

FILE - A$AP Rocky, left, and Rihanna attend The Metropolitan Museum of Art's Costume Institute benefit gala in New York on Sept. 13, 2021. (Photo by Evan Agostini/Invision/AP, File)

FILE - Rapper A$AP Rocky at Pre-Grammy Gala And Salute To Industry Icons in Beverly Hills, Calif., on Feb. 9, 2019. (Photo by Richard Shotwell/Invision/AP, File)

FILE - Rapper A$AP Rocky at Pre-Grammy Gala And Salute To Industry Icons in Beverly Hills, Calif., on Feb. 9, 2019. (Photo by Richard Shotwell/Invision/AP, File)

FILE - Rapper A$AP Rocky appears in a Los Angeles Superior courtroom on Aug. 17, 2022, where he pleaded not guilty to two felony counts of assault with a semiautomatic firearm. (Irfan Khan/Los Angeles Times via AP, Pool, File)

FILE - Rapper A$AP Rocky appears in a Los Angeles Superior courtroom on Aug. 17, 2022, where he pleaded not guilty to two felony counts of assault with a semiautomatic firearm. (Irfan Khan/Los Angeles Times via AP, Pool, File)

Recommended Articles
Hot · Posts