NHL 2022 Offseason Guide: The Florida Panthers
The Florida Panthers were the hottest team in hockey last season. Not only did they score with relative ease, but they also went on to finish first overall in the league, winning the President’s Trophy. All that came crashing down as they exited the playoffs at the second-round hurdle though, being swept by Florida rivals the Tampa Bay Lightning. What do they need to do to make it back to the postseason and overcome their demons?
The Roster
The majority of what made the Panthers so exciting to watch last season will be returning with defenseman Aaron Ekblad and forwards Aleksander Barkov and Jonathan Huberdeau all under contract for at least next season. Goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky will also return. Depending on how you feel about the Russian, his return is either a good or bad thing. He was decent through the regular season with a .913 SV% and 2.67 GAA but worsened in the playoffs to .911 and 2.70.
Jumbo Joe Thornton will likely not return at age 43 and has always said he’d like to play a year in the Swiss league. This may be the time. Claude Giroux and Ben Chiarot were both rentals to try to win and also look unlikely to return. Meanwhile, Anthony Duclair will miss half the season after undergoing surgery to repair his left Achilles tendon which he injured in offseason training.
Team Needs
The brass in Sunrise, Florida felt a coaching change was needed, so exit interim head coach and Coach of the Year finalist Andrew Brunette and enter former Winnipeg Jets head coach Paul Maurice. With over 1500 games coached at the NHL level, Panthers GM Bill Zito believes “Paul’s experience and intellect were just what we were looking for”.
They will also need to flesh out their roster with cheap depth options. They could come from both free agency or the prospect pipeline with players like Grigory Denisenko spending time in the AHL last season with the Charlotte Checkers. The 22-year-old put up 18 points in 30 games as the Checkers failed to make the postseason, but that could have been enough of a cameo to get him a roster spot come next season as Florida look to stay cap compliant.
Cap Situation
With just over $3 million in cap space, you can now see why Giroux and Chiarot will not be back. Both were rentals with the hopes of winning that just never came to fruition. The most important decision for the Florida Panthers this offseason is not taking on term as the next offseason is going to be rough. Defenseman MacKenzie Weegar, goaltender Spencer Knight, and Huberdeau will all need shiny new contracts that will bite a chunk into the Panthers’ Cap.
This is even more reason to start promoting from within to fill those squad gaps. Another important part of that will be 2020 first-round pick Anton Lundell who looked like a star in the making this past regular season before falling off a cliff in the playoffs. He’ll need to be paid in 2024 and if he continues to perform as he did in the regular season it won’t be a drop in the ocean for the Panthers.
The Draft
The Florida Panthers have done well in recent drafts, picking up Mackie Samoskevich in the first round of the 2021 Draft and Lundell the year before. Samoskevich is a long-term prospect at the University of Michigan and probably needs two more years before making his way to the pro leagues.
They’ve also done well in later rounds picking up the likes of Weegar (2013 7th Round) and Maxim Mamin (2016 6th Round). I say this because they will need to repeat that feat this year with no first or second-round picks available. They have got six picks in the last five rounds and will need to make them count to continue pushing this team forward.
Conclusion
Not giving Burnette the job permanently after he led the team to the President’s Trophy was not something I saw coming. Sure, you could look at how Jon Cooper out-coached him in the second round and say he’s not ready, but Cooper has done that to a lot of coaches, especially in the last two years –some much more experienced than Brunette. If I was looking for a coach though, Maurice would be my guy. He’s loved and respected by his players, has the experience and despite all that is still relatively young at 55 years old.
SUBSCRIBE to the Vendetta YouTube Channel!
SHOP for Vendetta Merch!
SUPPORT Vendetta on Patreon!
