In fact, we caught up with MacKenzie for his interview while the Panthers were in Columbus earlier this month to take on the Blue Jackets, a familiar foe this year as the teams will battle eight times as members of the modified Central Division this year.
The former Florida captain slid right into coaching after he suffered a career-ending injury early in the 2018-19 season, first serving on the staff of Bob Boughner and now coaching beside the second-winningest coach in NHL history.
"Things kind of fell into place, and I get an opportunity now to work with an outstanding (coach), obviously one of the most successful coaches in the world, so I kind of pinch myself every once in a while," MacKenzie said. "I can't believe just a couple of years ago with a lot of the guys I'm coaching now, I was playing with (them) and sitting there, but what better place to be than standing next to him right behind those guys again."
MacKenzie likely can relate to players of all shapes and sizes after he worked himself into becoming a full-time NHLer. The Sudbury, Ontario, native was a fifth-round draft pick of Atlanta and played just 28 NHL games over four seasons with the Thrashers and just 36 games his first three seasons with Columbus before becoming a full-time player in 2010-11 at age 29.
He'd go on to be a regular for the next eight seasons, finishing his NHL career with 51 goals and 125 points as well as a 52.8 percent mark at the faceoff dot in 611 games over 16 seasons, including a 31-38-69 mark in 279 games with Columbus. MacKenzie also was a member of the 2013-14 Jackets team that made the playoffs and won the first-ever postseason contests in team history.
"I think in early in my career I wasn't ready, probably wasn't good enough," he said. "As I got a little bit older, I felt like I wanted another opportunity and I made the decision to sign with Columbus. I didn't know at the time but they ended up hiring Scott Arniel … and the team started to have a little success and things started to fall into place."
Watch the video above to hear the entire conversation with MacKenzie, including on how his playing career has helped his coaching philosophy, his memories of Columbus, former CBJ teammates and his thoughts on the CBJ fan base that helped propel the team to success as his career went on.
