Three Florida Panthers to remember when playing a game of ‘Puckdoku’

Credit: Lou Capozzola-USA TODAY NETWORK

Puckdoku is the trivia game sweeping the hockey world. It’s the NHL equivalent of the “Immaculate Grid“, a three-by-three fill-in-the-blank puzzle which originated as an MLB game but quickly spawned variants for all kinds of other sports leagues.

The concept is simple: for each square, try to think of a player who fits into the criteria established by both the corresponding X- and Y-axis labels. For example, Ray Bourque would fit perfectly into a Boston Bruins/Colorado Avalanche square. Patrick Roy would do just fine for Colorado/Montreal. You get the idea.

Of course, it goes a little deeper than that. Sometimes, instead of teams, Puckdoku uses statistical thresholds (“200+ goals”) or career achievements (“Olympic gold medallist”) as categories. Also, if you want to use a Minnesota North Stars player for the Dallas Stars or an original Winnipeg Jets player for the Arizona Coyotes, you can.

Naturally, some players are more useful for Puckdoku than others. Someone like Maurice Richard, who spent his entire career with the Montreal Canadiens, is pretty much useless for the game unless a Habs label happens to intersect with the right statistical category.

On the flip side, players who spent time with several NHL teams are among the most valuable for Puckdoku purposes. And the more obscure the player, the lower (and better) your “uniqueness” score will be. Both Jarome Iginla and Blake Comeau are valid answers for Calgary/Pittsburgh, but one is a little less well-known than the other.

Over the next few weeks, we’re going to spend some time here at Daily Faceoff highlighting three players connected with each NHL franchise who are particularly useful in games of Puckdoku. We’ll press onward today with the Florida Panthers.

Olli Jokinen

Teams: Los Angeles Kings, New York Islanders, Florida Panthers, Phoenix Coyotes, Calgary Flames, New York Rangers, Winnipeg Jets, Nashville Predators, Toronto Maple Leafs, St. Louis Blues

Many years before Jonathan Huberdeau and Aleksander Barkov ever came along, Olli Jokinen was the face of the Florida Panthers. The big Finn left the Panthers in 2008 as the franchise record-holder in practically every offensive category, although the team never qualified for the Stanley Cup Playoffs during his tenure. Jokinen ultimately appeared in just six playoff games in his entire NHL career.

The Los Angeles Kings originally selected Jokinen with the No. 3 overall pick in the 1997 NHL Draft, but he struggled to make his mark over parts of two seasons with the team before being traded to the New York Islanders in 1999. Then, after just one year on Long Island, Jokinen was sent to the Florida Panthers in a horribly lopsided trade that also saw Roberto Luongo head south.

Although Luongo almost immediately established himself as a top goaltender in Florida, it took Jokinen a bit longer to find his game. Jokinen finally broke out with 36 goals and 65 points in the 2002–03 season before outdoing himself immediately after the lockout, tallying 89 points in 2005–06 and 91 in 2006–07. It took 12 years for Huberdeau and Barkov to break Jokinen’s single-season points record. Jokinen served as captain of the Panthers from 2003 to 2008, when he was traded to the Phoenix Coyotes.

Jokinen lasted less than a full season in the desert before being sent to the Calgary Flames at the 2008–09 trade deadline. He spent parts of four seasons in Calgary over two stints with the Flames, with whom he also reached the playoffs for the first (and only) time in 2009. Later, with the New York Rangers in 2010, Jokinen had a chance to help keep the team’s playoff chances alive in a shootout against the Philadelphia Flyers, but was stopped by Brian Boucher — who ultimately helped backstop that year’s Flyers to the Stanley Cup Final.

After splitting his final season between three different teams, Jokinen retired from the NHL in 2015 with 321 goals and 750 points in 1,231 career games with the Kings, Islanders, Panthers, Coyotes, Flames, Rangers, Winnipeg Jets, Nashville Predators, Toronto Maple Leafs, and St. Louis Blues. He also represented Finland at three Winter Olympics, winning silver at Turin 2006 and bronze at both Vancouver 2010 and Sochi 2014.

Gary Roberts

Teams: Calgary Flames, Carolina Hurricanes, Toronto Maple Leafs, Florida Panthers, Pittsburgh Penguins, Tampa Bay Lightning

One of the NHL’s premier power forwards in his heyday with the Calgary Flames, Gary Roberts overcame a serious neck injury in the middle of his career to play an additional decade with five more teams. He retired from the NHL in 2009, just shy of his 43rd birthday, and has since cultivated a strong reputation as one of the most prestigious personal trainers in the hockey world.

Steven Stamkos might not have grown into the superstar talent he is today if Roberts hadn’t been traded to the Lightning in 2008. Although Roberts only appeared in 30 games with the Lightning during the 2008–09 season, he got to know Stamkos during his rookie season and ended up taking the young sniper under his win during his early days as a trainer. Immediately after he began working with Roberts, Stamkos saw his production jump from 23 goals to 51.

Ironically, Roberts endured criticism for his subpar fitness during his early training camps as a Flames prospect in the 1980s. However, the former No. 12 overall pick quickly turned it around and established himself as a key secondary piece on the Flames’ 1989 Stanley Cup championship team; three years later, Roberts led the Flames with 53 goals and 90 points while also racking up 207 penalty minutes.

Roberts missed significant time in the mid-1990s while dealing with a nagging neck injury, which caused him to miss all but eight games of the 1994–95 season and more than half of the 1995–96 campaign. Roberts earned the Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy after returning to the Flames in 1996 but he subsequently retired from the NHL at age 30 after his neck problems returned; then, after undergoing a new form of treatment during the 1996–97 season, Roberts staged a successful NHL comeback with the Carolina Hurricanes in 1997–98.

After three seasons in Carolina and four with the Toronto Maple Leafs, Roberts joined former Flames teammate Joe Nieuwendyk in signing with the Panthers ahead of the 2005–06 season. Roberts collected 69 points in 108 games with the Panthers before being traded to the Pittsburgh Penguins in 2007; then, after parts of two seasons in Pittsburgh, Roberts signed with the Lightning in 2008.

Over 1,224 career games with the Flames, Hurricanes, Maple Leafs, Panthers, Penguins, and Lightning, Roberts collected 438 goals, 910 points, and 2,560 penalty minutes. He also managed 32 goals and 93 points in 130 playoff games.

Brian Boyle

Teams: Los Angeles Kings, New York Rangers, Tampa Bay Lightning, Toronto Maple Leafs, New Jersey Devils, Nashville Predators, Florida Panthers, Pittsburgh Penguins

Brian Boyle was a lot of fun to watch. There aren’t a whole lot of six-foot-seven players in the NHL — and almost all of them are defensemen. But Boyle was a center, and a very good two-way one at his peak. He was also one of the toughest players in the entire league. And at 33 years old, an age when most bottom-six players are out of the league entirely, Boyle overcame a rare form of cancer to help the upstart New Jersey Devils reach the Stanley Cup Playoffs for the first time in six seasons.

Boyle’s NHL career began with the Los Angeles Kings in 2008, five years after the team selected him with the No. 26 overall pick in the 2003 NHL Draft, but he appeared in just 36 games over parts of two seasons with the Kings before being traded to the New York Rangers in 2009. During his five seasons on Broadway, Boyle set a career-best mark with 21 goals in a full 82 games with the Rangers in the 2010–11 season. He appeared in 25 playoff games in 2014 as the Rangers reached the Stanley Cup Final against the Kings.

The Tampa Bay Lightning signed Boyle to a three-year contract as an unrestricted free agent in 2014, and he skated in 25 more playoff games to helped them reach the Final in his first season with the club. Although he never reached another championship series, Boyle remained a reliable playoff performer for the rest of his career and was coveted by numerous established and aspiring contenders into his late 30s.

Boyle helped the Toronto Maple Leafs end a brief playoff drought in 2017 before signing a two-year deal with the Devils in the following UFA period; then, after a short stint with the Nashville Predators in 2019, Boyle signed a one-year contract with the Panthers for the 2019–20 season. He collected 15 points in 39 games during the regular season before appearing in four playoff contests with the team.

Finally, after one last year with the Pittsburgh Penguins in 2021–22, Boyle retired from the NHL in March 2023. He finished his memorable NHL career with 141 goals and 252 points in 871 games over parts of 14 seasons.

Daily Faceoff Puckdoku series