These have been tense times for Udonis Haslem, sweating out these playoffs, stakes raised, clock ticking.
Oh, and he’s been involved with the Miami Heat’s championship chase, as well.
Consider it playoffs squared for the South Florida icon, because the veteran Heat captain also can’t get enough of his Florida Panthers.
“It’s exciting, really exciting,” Haslem said amid a playoff chase of his own, both teams now on to the next round. “The way they have been able to play this year has captivated my attention.”
In some ways, Haslem is a typical middle-aged (sorry, UD) suburbanite caught up in the NHL, with FLA Live Arena in Sunrise a short drive from his Southwest Ranches estate.
“They’re keeping me on the edge of my seat,” he said. “It’s really something.”
The connection to the game and to the Panthers is about more than proximity, though.
It also is about a brotherhood, a fellowship, the ability to see himself in those who have put their careers on ice.
In addition to his friendship with Panthers forward Anthony Duclair, he has forged a bond with Brett Peterson, the first Black assistant general manager in the NHL.
“As I started to take stuff toward retirement and ownership and different things like that,” Haslem, 41, said, “I just wanted to align myself with like-minded people that can teach me things. So I’m being a sponge.”
Peterson said there was an instant connection.
“You look at U.D.’s career and him being an undrafted player and all the success he’s had, a three-time champion, and I was undrafted as well,” said Peterson, who spent five seasons playing minor-league hockey after four seasons at Boston College, and then moved on to become a player agent before taking his current Panthers role.
“We had a couple of mutual connections. But then we did a program with the Panthers called 28 Days of Black Excellence and UD was a participant of that 28 days. And the whole idea of the 28 days was to highlight the diversity here within our community and bring light to what we’re doing.”
Peterson said the goal is for himself, Haslem, Duclair to serve as beacons.
“As players,” he said, “we emulate our favorite player and we know who he is and we aspire to be that player. And one of the things I wanted to bring light of is that there is another path for all of us. And I think that there’s a lot of untapped excellence.”
In bringing light, Peterson also opened one particular set of eyes.
“I love f’ing hockey,” Haslem said as he exited a practice session.
Still, the Panthers’ opening-round series victory resulted in a domestic dispute.
“It’s been a very nervous time,” Haslem said with a smile. “My wife is from D.C. Obviously she’s a Capitals fan. So it’s a little in-house rivalry.”
That had Peterson laughing.
“You got to live somewhere,” he said. “So I feel for UD.”
The goal, Peterson said, is as much simultaneous Heat and Panthers playoffs as possible.
“I grew up in Boston,” Peterson said, “and we had the fortune of having tremendous sports teams that were all united and all had success at the same time. I watched the Red Sox pull for the Bruins, and the Bruins pull for the Patriots, and the Celtics pull for the Patriots.
“And we had the experience that it was essentially our town as a sports team, as a whole. I think it’s important, because it pushed each franchise to be the best version of itself.”
Stylistically, the Heat and Panthers have displayed contrasting approaches, the Heat with their defensive bent, the Panthers with their record-setting scoring.
“It’s really exciting, really exciting. Teams don’t score goals at the pace that the Panthers do,” Haslem said. “It’s crazy the way they score goals and come back.”
Peterson said the commonality is organizational drive and championship vision.
As for Haslem, who already has three championships, it’s all a matter of expanding his horizons, Mr. 305 getting chills from what is happening in the 954.
“It’s part of my overall growth as Mr. Florida,” he said with a smile. “I’m expanding from just Mr. Miami to Mr. Florida. It’s a great time to be in the city of Miami. But it’s also a great time in the state of Florida.”
