'A Great Story': Dalpe soaking in playoff run with Panthers

SUNRISE, Fla. -- Zac Dalpe cracks a big smile while recalling a recent fan interaction.

Less than week removed from netting the first playoff goal of his NHL career during a 7-5 win over the Boston Bruins at FLA Live Arena in Game 6 of the Eastern Conference First Round, the Florida Panthers forward and his family were enjoying a quick trip to Sawgrass Mills.

Stopping for a bite to eat at the Rainforest Cafe, the entire family was caught by surprise when a fan approached to politely ask if she could take a picture with Zac.

In disbelief, Zac's wife, Cassandra, was sure that her husband had somehow initiated the moment.

"I promise I didn't," Zac chuckles. "When the fan asked for a pic, my wife looked at me and was like, 'You told her!' Yeah, you score a goal in Game 6 and now people are shouting your name."

For Dalpe, that moment is one of many from this season that he'll never forget.

From getting to bring his father, Paul, on an NHL "Dads Trip" for the first time in his career back in December to helping the Panthers make their longest playoff run since 1996, the 33-year-old veteran describes this season as series of moments, with each new one somehow managing to top the last one.

"It's something that you'll look back on an enjoy," Dalpe said. "This whole year has just been a blur. From the call-ups, to the father's trip, to scoring [in the playoffs], it's something that you know your kids will cherish and 20 years from now you'll look back on with fond memories."

Originally selected by the Carolina Hurricanes in the second round (45th overall) of the 2008 NHL Draft, Dalpe has appeared in 168 NHL games and 498 AHL games throughout his career. In that stretch of time, he's played for six different teams in the NHL and six different teams in the AHL.

Outside of a 55-game stint with the Vancouver Canucks in 2013-14, most of Dalpe's time in the NHL has come over the course of various call-ups. Always keeping a bag packed and ready to go, he's flourished in that role while suiting up in at least one NHL game in 12 different seasons.

But as the years went by, he never stopped dreaming of bigger moments.

"I've never been a guy, I guess for lack of a better term, that has thrown in the towel," Dalpe said. "As your career goes on and the years get piled on and the surgeries come and go, maybe it creeps in your mind a little bit. But as a young kid, you always wanted to do the things that I got to do. I wouldn't say I eliminated them, but they were tucked away deep in my psyche, for sure."

Back in the playoffs for the first time since he was with the Minnesota Wild in 2016, Dalpe has played in nine games with the Panthers on their run to the Eastern Conference Finals, including all five games during the Eastern Conference Second Round against the Toronto Maple Leafs.

First called to action when Anthony Duclair had to sit out Game 4 against Boston, Dalpe has stayed in the lineup ever since after Ryan Lomberg suffered an injury during that same game.

When asked about why he thinks he was tapped over other potential players to fill those spots, Dalpe believes it came down to the trust he's built with Panthers, especially with head coach Paul Maurice, who previously coached him in Carolina for the first few seasons of his career.

"Those guys are the great stories in hockey," Maurice said. "He's not retiring when his game's done. He's got to get a job. I met him a long time ago. Then you come back and you lose track of a guy and then you come here and it's, 'Hey, I know Zac.' You listen to the people talk about him here and what a phenomenal player he is for them. Incredible shape. Great family guy. Loves being at the rink. He's a player that will do whatever he has to do to do the right thing."

When Dalpe's clutch playoff goal is brought up, Maurice can only smile.

"He'll never forget that goal," Maurice said. "That's not one of 30. That's a tying goal in a closeout game, an elimination game for us, that gave us a chance. He's a great story."

As someone that has seen the fruits of hard work and been rewarded for patience, Dalpe hopes his story of perseverance can be one that other players in the AHL can look at and learn from.

Just because you're not living your dream today doesn't mean you can't be living it tomorrow, in a few months or, in Dalpe's case, more than a decade after you begin your career in the pros.

"If it doesn't happen right away, it could happen 13 years in," said Dalpe, who's scored more than 200 goals in the AHL. "Have I been a mainstay in the league? No. But I've gone 12 years with playing at least one game and made a good living out of it. I take great pride in that."

Joining him and his wife on this playoff run, Dalpe also has his three sons.

Prior to a recent game, they lined the glass during warmups in custom "Dalpe" jerseys.

"Now that they're older, they're not just little vegetable babies that don't understand," Dalpe chuckled. "I think my wife does a good job of telling them that it's a big moment for dad and we're going to enjoy it, too. It's nice having them along for the ride, for sure."

Like everyone else in South Florida, this playoff run is a ride that no one wants to end.

"We're like, 'This is crazy,'" Dalpe said of a conversation he had with his wife during the midway point of the Eastern Conference Second Round. "We have three kids. We're in a hotel. We're playing the Toronto Maple Leafs. What's going on right now? We just had a good chuckle."