South Florida Sun-Sentinel (Sunday)
Accari ‘does all the dirty work’
Quenneville appreciates forward’s ability to help wherever the Panthers need him
Noel Acciari wasn’t the Florida Panthers’ flashiest free-agent acquisition this offseason, but the forward is making an immediate impact.
Signed to a three-year, $5 million contract in July, the veteran is already posting career numbers less than halfway through the season. Bolstered by back-toback hat tricks last week versus the Ottawa Senators and Dallas Stars, Acciari has tallied 15 points (12 goals, 3 assists) in 33 games entering Saturday night’s game against the Detroit Red Wings. In his fifth NHL season, he’s already set single-season highs for both points and goals.
“He certainly had a big factor in how we played throughout [those] games,” Panthers coach Joel Quenneville said. “Big goals, big stretches where he changed the momentum in our favor.
[He’s] not the kind of guy you expect to score one or two in consecutive games, but to get three — it’s one of those stretches you have once in a lifetime and we all enjoyed it. He gave us a lot of presence in that line — not just with production, but with what he brings to our team, knowing there’s a purpose to his game. He doesn’t think about scoring, they just happened to go in that night.”
Heading into this past offseason, the Panthers initially targeted a pair of high-profile players in goalie Sergei Bobrovsky and winger Artemi Panarin. While Florida signed Bobrovsky to a seven-year, $70 million contract, the team switched its freeagent focus away with Panarin, who eventually signed an even bigger seven-year, $81 million deal with the New York Rangers.
Instead, the Panthers focused on adding depth, signing Acciari, forward Brett Connolly and defender Anton Stralman to round out the roster.
With Acciari, the Panthers landed a do-it-all type player who brings postseason experience. Playing his first four seasons with the Boston Bruins, Acciari
has appeared in 35 playoff games, including the team’s Stanley Cup final run last season.
With three Stanley Cup championships under his belt, Quenneville knows what it takes to go all the way, and he believes Acciari can be a key piece as the Panthers hope to make a playoff run.
“He adds something to our team we were looking for,” Quenneville said. “He added some sandpaper; gives us a presence in the middle. He can take faceoffs, can match up defensively, can kill penalties, block shots, does all the dirty work and the greasy things you can add in your team.
“As you get deeper in the season in your important games, those are the guys that find a way to get the job done and we’re seeing that already this year.”