NHL Off-Season Outlook: Florida Panthers

That is the newest in THN.com’s ongoing evaluation of the low season plans for every NHL crew, At this time, we’re trying on the Florida Panthers.

2021-22 File: 58-18-6
End In The Atlantic Division: 1st
Wage Cap House Accessible (As Per CapFriendly.com): $774,166
Restricted Free Brokers: None
Unrestricted Free Brokers: Noel Acciari, F; Claude Giroux, F; Maim Mamin, F; Mason Marchment, F; Joe Thornton, F; Ben Chiarot, D; Robert Hagg, D; Petteri Lindbohm, D Markus Nutivaara, D

What Florida Has: A lineup that produced the NHL’s finest regular-season file this previous season; famous person forwards in Aleksander Barkov and Jonathan Huberdeau; an skilled new head coach in Paul Maurice; a Grade-A primary line in Barkov Huberdeau and Sam Reinhart; terrific secondary scoring from forwards Carter Verhaeghe, Sam Bennett and Anton Lundell; depth on the blueline and in web, with defensemen Aaron Ekblad, MacKenzine Weegar, Gustav Forsling, and Brandon Montour, and goalies Sergei Bobrovsky and Spencer Knight; the league’s most potent offense at a median of 4.11 goals-for-per-game, 25 objectives greater than the next-most-potent squad

What Florida Wants: A turnaround on their penalty kill, which, at 79.5 % effectiveness, was ranked simply sixteenth within the league final season, and twelfth out of 16 playoff groups at 71.8 %; wage cap flexibility, and sufficient low season change to have an opportunity at bringing again unrestricted free agent star ahead and commerce deadline acquisition Claude Giroux, in addition to having a shot at younger ahead and UFA Mason Marchment, who generated 18 objectives and 47 factors in 54 video games final 12 months; an improved playoff efficiency from Bobrovsky, who had a pedestrian .910 save proportion within the 2022 post-season

What’s Lifelike For Florida Subsequent Season: Being the very best crew within the common season final 12 months, there’s nowhere to go however down for the Panthers, however GM Invoice Zito has locked in nearly all members of the 2021-22 roster, and now he’s challenged to open up some cap room with the intention to retain one or each of Giroux and Marchment, which received’t be straightforward in any respect.

Nonetheless, Florida has a particularly expert lineup, and a model new head coach in Paul Maurice, one in all hockey’s most revered bench bosses round. Maurice takes over for interim head coach Andrew Brunette, who didn’t battle in his 75 video games operating the crew final 12 months, however who doesn’t have the huge vary of expertise Maurice has. The expectations on Maurice will probably be (a) instant, and (b) very excessive. Nothing lower than an look within the Jap Convention Remaining will suffice for Maurice, who has gotten to that stage thrice in his teaching profession.

The strain isn’t solely on Maurice. His veterans lastly made it out of the primary spherical of the Stanley Cup playoffs final spring, however the best way they had been steamrolled and swept by their arch-rivals in Tampa Bay in Spherical Two left a bitter style within the mouths of administration, possession and followers. It wasn’t solely that the Panthers misplaced to the Bolts, it was the best way they misplaced that was deflating to the group: in two of the 4 video games, Bobrovsky allowed a complete of 9 objectives; and in the entire video games, Florida’s mighty offense was restricted to a complete of three objectives. They had been eradicated in a 2-0 shutout, underscoring how completely their finest gamers had been outplayed by Tampa’s high gamers.

Therein lies the problem for Zito this summer season. He can’t commerce the 33-year-old Bobrovsky, whose team-high wage cap hit of $10.5 million has 4 years remaining. He can’t unload extra first-round draft picks, as he’s already dealt Florida’s first-rounders within the 2023 and 2024 drafts. So, any strikes he makes will probably be authentic expertise – as an example, veteran winger Patric Hornqvist, who’s within the remaining 12 months of his contract and has a cap hit of $5.3 million – traded away to take a run at Giroux and/or Marchment.

In the end, the Panthers are prone to end the 2022-23 marketing campaign with a barely poorer file, however they’re positively a high-seed playoff crew. Maurice’s activity is evident, and he and his gamers know there’s nothing that will probably be thought of a significant win if it could possibly’t be replicated within the playoffs.