00:00Panthers preseason gets going on Sunday, and if you guys want to get your tickets, go check those out.
00:06FloridaPanthers.com, available there for you.
00:09And very excited.
00:11Hockey's going to be here before we know it.
00:12This Sunday? The preseason starts this Sunday?
00:15It starts this Sunday.
00:17I'm so not used to that.
00:18After the Dolphins game, which will be a pain, we can start looking forward to the Cats because they're going
00:22to do something this year.
00:22Oh, my goodness.
00:23Excited to have this guy in the cast this year, Lars Eller, joining us here on the show.
00:27Hey, welcome to Florida.
00:28Thank you. Good to be here.
00:29It's great to have you.
00:30How did your summer go?
00:32How did it narrow down to the Panthers being an option for you?
00:35Was that one of the things that you were talking about?
00:38That would be fun to get with that.
00:40And just give us a breakdown of that.
00:43Yeah.
00:47The Florida Panthers is a very, I think, for most players, one of the most desirable places to go.
00:53It checks a lot of boxes.
00:56But first and foremost, they have a very competitive team.
01:02They have won recently.
01:04There's no reason to think that they wouldn't be in that mix again.
01:08So that, right off the bat, is a big plus for any player looking into free agency and where it
01:18would be a good place to play.
01:19And, you know, I have a family, two kids, you know, Florida is a good place to live.
01:27And, yeah, I've played in a lot of different teams during my career, but I've never been more south of,
01:33like, Washington.
01:35I would have been, like, north of that.
01:37So it was a fun new change and something we hadn't tried before for me and my family.
01:46What was the kids' first trip to the beach like?
01:48They must have loved that.
01:49They loved it.
01:50We came down here in July, stayed for a couple of days on the beach there every day.
01:56And it took a little time to try to find a school and a place to live, too.
02:01But, you know, no, they were hooked right away and fell in love with that idea of moving down here
02:10after that.
02:12And it's been a good start for us as well here.
02:16I've been here for about six weeks now and really finding my way around.
02:21And so does my kids.
02:24It's been nothing but good so far.
02:26I always wonder, you know, I knew what it was like to play against guys and then play with them.
02:35For hockey, it's a little bit different because you're going to have some type of conflict with everybody you play
02:42against.
02:43You might have a fight with them.
02:45Like, in football, we just say it's fun, right?
02:48You're like, ah, I remember when we got into it.
02:51So is it the same way in hockey?
02:53Because some of these fights and some of these competitors on these teams, it gets pretty serious.
02:59Yeah, it does.
03:01I mean, when you're out there, not just playoffs, but regular season, it's hit or get hit.
03:15Or, you know, you're fighting for your life if you're in a fight.
03:18And I've been in a fight against one guy here that I, you know, on this team.
03:24And I played playoff series against this team when I was with Washington.
03:34But once you get in that room and you meet the guys and you shake the hands and get to
03:40know everybody, it's like all of that is just in the past.
03:46Yeah.
03:46We saw that with Marshan down here.
03:48Yeah.
03:49We were all like, it's like, we root for this guy now?
03:51Yeah.
03:52It's kind of weird.
03:53It's got to be like that, I imagine, for you guys too.
03:55Yeah.
03:55Hey, weren't we just in the playoff series fighting each other?
03:58And now, but I guess if you all have the common goal of winning like that, stuff must melt away
04:02pretty easily.
04:03You have to have a short-term memory in hockey.
04:06I think in any sport, but especially in hockey, because you, it's expected that when you play for an organization,
04:14you, you're going to go through blood, sweat, and tears and give everything you got.
04:21But then at the same time, all of a sudden you get a phone call and you're traded and you're
04:25with a new team.
04:26And then you just have to forget about that and suit up for this next team and all the camaraderie
04:30and the loyalty and connecting with the community and fans.
04:35It's like, nope, not anymore.
04:38So that's kind of weird, right?
04:39So you just, and I guess there's always like an emotional transition period from that where there's, you know, mixed
04:50feelings and you have to adapt and go into a new room.
04:54And maybe you don't know that many guys in this new room and stuff like that.
04:57But now I've tried it a number of times and like I said, I already feel really like it's been
05:04so far, like we haven't really gotten going yet, but I've been here for over a month.
05:09And it seems like it's easy place to fit in here.
05:14Very easy place to fit in, in this room.
05:16Lars, you were with Ottawa last year.
05:18What are the Panthers getting in Brady Kachuk?
05:21That was, that was definitely a blockbuster this summer.
05:24We were all kind of stunned by.
05:24I know that was, seemed like big drama up there all with the fans and whatnot, but what did you
05:30make of his move down here?
05:31Did that influence you in any way of like, oh, I would like to go link up with him again
05:35or I guess just him as a teammate?
05:40I loved having Brady as a teammate and as a captain and as a friend.
05:47I think the Florida Panthers fans are going to really like him.
05:52He's a heart and soul guy.
05:54Uh, he can play different types of style, you know, heart knows, uh, tough, but he has skill to, he
06:06has size grid.
06:07He plays with an edge, um, and he's a very good skull scorer and, but he can also dish the
06:14puck.
06:15Um, so he has so many, uh, assets in it, in him, uh, as a player, he can play different
06:23ways.
06:25Um, which is just, you know, uh, you don't see that a whole lot of guys at his size that
06:31can, you know, move well and score that many goals.
06:33So I think people are going to love him down here.
06:35Where he's really one of those guys you really enjoy having on your team as opposed to playing against him.
06:41Hey man, welcome to Florida.
06:43We're happy to have you here.
06:44Uh, excited for this season, Lars.
06:46Have a good, healthy camp and we can't wait to see you play this year.
06:49I can't wait to suit up and put on this, uh, jersey and play, play in front of the Panthers
06:55fans.
06:55We're looking forward to it, man.
06:56Lars L.
06:57Well, I appreciate him.
Comments