32 in (roughly) 32 Season Preview: Florida Panthers

Panthers go all-in during off-season in order to fight for playoff spot

Team: Florida Panthers

GM: Jean Levergneux

Power Ranking Placement: 11/32 in league, 2/8 in division, 4/16 in conference

Significant Additions:

Mikko Koskinen, G - 88 OV

Mats Zuccarello, C/W - 87 OV

Andre Burakovsky, C/W - 85 OV

Jordan Staal, C/W - 85 OV

Alex Tuch, C/W - 85 OV

Tyler Seguin, C/W - 85 OV

Drake Batherson, C/W - 84 OV

Significant Subtractions:

Phil Kessel, C/W - 85 OV

Dustin Brown, C/W - 82 OV

James van Riemsdyk, C/W - 82 OV

Jason Spezza, C/W - 79 OV

Alex Newhook, C/W - 79 OV

Matthew Knies, C/W - Prospect

Fyodor Svechkov, C/W - Prospect

Zack Ostapchuk, C/W - Prospect

Aatu Raty, C/W - Prospect

Oskar Olausson, C/W - Prospect

Offseason grade: A-

This year, and perhaps the next couple of seasons, will be do or die for the Florida Panthers. This off-season, they’ve traded away a significant amount of their future in order to compete and I believe they have been successful in doing so. They’ve added a ton of talent to their roster while moving prospects, picks, cash, etc. So, the time is now. Some people may argue whether trading away that many prospects is the play, but I believe it is mainly due to the current state of the Atlantic. The fact is that every other team barring Buffalo and Boston are currently rebuilding or ending a rebuild. Ottawa is on the cusp of greatness with the prospect pool they have. So, in the next 2-4 years, we will see the rise of Ottawa, Detroit, Tampa Bay, Toronto, and Montreal. I don’t personally think Florida would have been better than those teams with the prospect pools they’ve built, so I think going all in now while the doors are wide open is the perfect strategy for the Panthers. The other fact about that is that because so much of the Atlantic was worse than them anyways to the point where even if they did rebuild, they are likely still a top 3-4 team in the Atlantic with a chance at the playoffs. So why not go all in on making the playoffs? I think given the situation with that division, Florida has made the right choice in going all in and did so very well. 

Projected Lineup: 

Zuccarello - Kuznetsov - Burakovsky

Tuch - Staal - Batherson

Mikheyev - Seguin - Janmark

A. Johnsson - Tomasino - Grundstrom

-

Faulk - E. Karlsson

Hronek - Ekman-Larsson

Rutta - Vlasic

-

Kuemper

Koskinen

Quote from the GM:

When discussing the upcoming season with Panthers GM Jean Levergneux, he said “I expect the Panthers to compete for a division title. I know my biggest competition will be the Bruins and the Sabres, but I’m confident I can compete with them.” He continued on to say, “This is the best Panthers team we’ve seen since 2018, let’s hope it will be as good as I think they can be, but you never know with the sim.”

Season Expectations: Playoffs

I think it’s clear that the Panthers have a very easy path to the post-season. They are a top 2 playoff team and get to play multiple teams ranked at the bottom of the league more than teams in other divisions. I think this team is a lock for the playoffs and certainly has what it takes to go far. Their only weak spot is their 4th line, but it’s not like they’re playing a significant portion of the game anyways. Tommasino may not be who ends up on the 4th line, but I project him there as he is certainly the best player outside of the other 11 that made the team. Regardless of that, they have a stellar top 9 with center depth being their biggest strength (Seguin on the 3rd line is pretty insane), they’ve got a solid group of defensemen, and one of the best tandems in the league. The tools are there and the path should by all means be easy for the Panthers. It’s just about being able to win playoff series once they get to that point. 

In the next entry, we’ll be covering the Los Angeles Kings. Thank you for reading, and have a wonderful day!

Previous entries:

Anaheim Ducks: https://dchl.ca/articles/senators/32-in-roughly-32-season-preview-anaheim-ducks

Arizona Coyotes: https://dchl.ca/articles/senators/32-in-roughly-32-sesaon-preview-arizona-coyotes

Boston Bruins: https://dchl.ca/articles/senators/32-in-roughly-32-season-preview-boston-bruins

Buffalo Sabres: https://dchl.ca/articles/senators/32-in-roughly-32-season-preview-buffalo-sabres

Calgary Flames: https://dchl.ca/articles/senators/32-in-roughly-32-season-preview-calgary-flames

Carolina Hurricanes: https://dchl.ca/articles/senators/32-in-roughly-32-season-preview-carolina-hurricanes

Chicago Blackhawks: https://dchl.ca/articles/senators/32-in-roughly-32-season-preview-chicago-blackhawks

Colorado Avalanche: https://dchl.ca/articles/league/32-in-roughly-32-season-preview-colorado-avalanche

Columbus Blue Jackets: https://dchl.ca/articles/senators/32-in-roughly-32-season-preview-columbus-blue-jackets

Dallas Stars: https://dchl.ca/articles/senators/32-in-roughly-32-season-preview-dallas-stars

Detroit Red Wings: https://dchl.ca/articles/league/32-in-roughly-32-season-preview-detroit-red-wings

Edmonton Oilers: https://dchl.ca/articles/senators/32-in-roughly-32-season-preview-edmonton-oilers