Panthers' Barkov: Winning Cup 'leaves you hungry' for another

Florida Panthers captain Aleksander Barkov may be in the midst of partying with the Stanley Cup in his home country of Finland, but he's already got his heart set on doing it again.

"We won the Cup, the greatest prize, but you want to feel the same feelings again," he said, per NHL.com's Christopher Detwiler and Varpu Sihvonen. "That leaves you hungry. Winning the Cup helps us this coming season, but winning two in a row will no way be easy. ... Everyone has to give it (their) all, everyone has to play his best game, and, of course, you need a little bit of luck.

"That's what it takes to win the Cup."

Barkov enjoyed a strong postseason that saw him add eight goals - including a team-leading four game-winners - and 22 points in 24 games. He finished second in Conn Smythe Trophy voting and became the first Finnish captain in NHL history to lift Lord Stanley's Mug.

Tampere, Barkov's hometown, celebrated the forward in style Wednesday, rebranding itself as "Barkov City." The reigning Selke Trophy winner brought the Stanley Cup to the city's Nokia Arena, showing it off to the 15,000 fans in attendance.

Barkov also recruited professional skateboarder and fellow Finn Marius Syvanen to jump over the hardware.

There's been no shortage of shenanigans involving the Stanley Cup as the Panthers soak in the franchise's first-ever championship. General manager Bill Zito took the trophy fishing, sniper Sam Reinhart went golfing with it, star forward Matthew Tkachuk allowed a horse to drink from it, and franchise icon Roberto Luongo ate pasta out of it.

The Panthers underwent some changes this offseason after losing the likes of Brandon Montour and Vladimir Tarasenko, but they're likely primed to contend for the Cup again next season.

Barkov will be key to Florida's success. The 28-year-old is the team's all-time leader in goals (266), assists (445), points (711), and games played (737).