Florida Panthers 2025-26 Season Preview | The Steve Dangle Podcast

the Stanley Cup winning Florida Panthers. I don’t even need to ask. Who cares how many points they finished with last year? By the way, it was 98. Uh the bet MGM odds for the Florida Panthers are again for the regular season. Who cares, right? I’m going to still give them to you, but it’s 99.5. That is not spectacular. It’s fine, but the Panthers are not built for a regular season team. And what’s interesting this year is Bararkov is going to miss some of if not all the regular season and probably the playoffs too. And Matthew Kachchuck’s going to miss like half of it. Absolutely. December is the timeline for Kachchuck. Yeah. Yeah. And he’s going to be healthy just in time to get ready for the Olympics. Maybe a third of it then. And so uh the 99 and a half. Do you take over or under on the Florida Panthers on that? Uh under because it doesn’t matter. Under because it doesn’t matter. What did they get better? They don’t have Barkov. I don’t like when we agree, but I’m on the under. So, I’m going to tell you that I’m I’m over on it. And I had I had the Panthers at two uh ahead of the Senators, and I’m blowing that right off the bat because when I made these rankings in my thing, uh Barov wasn’t injured yet. Well, yes. And I also think the Florida Panthers at very least would probably ideally want to have home ice advantage. I don’t think they give it. Good gosh. They didn’t have home ice advantage once. Yeah. Once last year. I was also hoping for a Brady and Matthew first round, but Oh, that’d be fun. Yeah, that was also Still have time to switch it if you want. Well, can I? Yeah, we haven’t done the sends for you. Okay, f fine. Now that Barkoff’s out, we’ll put sends in two and Florida in three. Fair enough. Um, you have the sends in two. I Well, I have them in three. Now they’re Now you’re lock it in. I don’t know. I’m not going to lock it in. I got No, Lock it in. You got I’m locking it in until the end of this preview. Jesse, my goodness. You can’t make me. I didn’t say anything. You don’t know anything. Now, let’s uh let’s talk about this is what’s so hard about doing this is I hear Steve and Jesse’s points. I’m like, “Oh, that’s a good point.” Uh, don’t be sucked in. I did that with his Blackhawks pick. Babski with a $10 million last year of his deal. Uh, 37 years old and Daniel Terasov as well. Probably they make a move here to augment eventually kind of like what they did last year. They like Terasov. They do, eh? They do. Uh, Bill Zto knows him from Columbus. Okay. So, I mean, he better be right because you’re a Babski injury away from a goalie with some of the worst stats in the NHL from last season being your starter. So, that’s tough. That could be interesting. Uh, on defense, Seth Jones, Aaron Akblad, Gus Forsling, Nico Mikola, Dmitri Kulakov, uh, uh, Jeff Petri joining the group from Detroit. Um, you know, this is a group that is basically the same and they were great, man. So, here’s here’s what everyone forgets. They did not have Seth Jones last year. Not for most of it. They also did not have Brad Marshand last year. Not for most of it. They already missed having Matthew Kachchuck on their team for half a season. So really, it’s Bararkov. Like that’s the big difference. So Kachchuck is going to play a similar amount of games, maybe even more. You lose Barkov, but you get a full season of Marian, a full season of Jones. Eblad is gonna make Jones better. Jones is gonna make Ecklad better. That’s one of the best decors in the world. And they showed that last year. It shouldn’t even be a hot take, man. Do people have the measure of Seth Jones wrong? Like I’m one of them. I’m one of them. Like we’ve talked about um like uh your numbers on a bad team and stuff like that and he was probably grossly overused to have a full season. Like who even gives a play Jeff Petri four minutes a night like who you have Jones and Eklad back there. Yeah. Yeah. It’s crazy. Yeah. Jesse when you you’re not you’re not even talking about like Gus Forsling insane. He’s so nasty. You’re harping on these two. There’s probably the best defenseman. Might even be the best one out of all six of those guys. I don’t know. I’m taking Gus. Is Is Gus also not on the best defensive contract in the entire league? One of them. Yeah. 575 until 2032. Like that’s ridiculous. The dude should be in Norris conversations, but because of the Florida Panthers and I think where he plays and and uh the lack of giant points he puts up, you know, he’s not the Quinn Hughes of the world where he’s light on his feet moving everything, but he’s as good as anybody in the world at playing defense. So, the real most underrated player in the league belongs to a player who is not even mentioned in those conversations. And I think there’s a real strong argument for Forsling. Yeah, cuz like that was one of when I was wrong on the Florida Panthers for the last two years, like well I guess the last year before last one cuz I was kind of just riding their wave last year, but in the previous years I’m like they’re missing that big bonafide number one. And I never thought of Forsling in that way cuz I don’t think anybody does. Neither did the Hurricanes when they waved him. Right. And I’ve completely turned that over where it’s like, no, he’s a number one defenseman and can be a number one defenseman on any team in this league. Yes. Yes. And and you know what, Jess, we saw it and really like regular season, stuff it in the trash with this team. We see it time and time and time again with the playoffs. Now, I look at this core and they’re all all locked up until the 2030s. The first two are injured. Kachchuck and Bararkov. We know that. But remember, this team still has Reinhardt, Bennett, Verhaggy, Marshand, Anton Lindell, who has emerged and been phenomenal. Evan Rodriguez, who everybody thought, “Oh, they’re going to have to trade him.” No, I don’t think you do. Not. Uh, Luc Rinan, Boquist, and then you’ve got, this is the amazing thing about these guys, no six on IR, but they were in the, you know, the round that I think about the most, and I think the round that gave them the most trouble was against the Leafs. You know, they’re they’re down 2 in the series, and then in game three, they were down in the game, very nearly 3. Yeah. And what did they do to switch this up? They they switched out their entire third line and put sorry fourth line and and and put an entire fourth line back in. And you’re going, well, how are they going to make up for Kachchuck and Barov? And I’m not saying that anybody can step in and be those guys, but they have the depth on this team. This is a fiveline team. And you know, Mackie Samoscavage is going to get a lot of ice time. Adam, big fantasy guy. Adam, I don’t know if you’re going to get triggered by this. Oh, I probably will. That happens and then they win the Stanley Cup. What, like a month later? Yeah. And Paul Maurice calls back to that moment and is like, “Those are the guys that got it done for us because Paul Maurice in every moment likes to say the most pompous thing.” He does. Uh, listen, he’s a pompous ass and he deserves to be. Good for you, Paul. Uh, you can back it up. Yeah, man. You I What am I going to say to him? Um, that dude likes to eat a can of beans, put the blanket over his head, and tape a breatherite strip on there. and it would kiss his two cup rings. The Barkoff injury is so devastating and so bad and this team sucks so hard that now they have to put the Cons trophy winner as the first line. I know like that. Oh my god. Gosh darn it. I I don’t think I don’t think they’ll play the wheels off of Bennett. Um I think he still stays in that second line role and really and I think it’s Lindell. Interesting. Yeah. Switch up that third line. I I think you put Evan Rodriguez up there, don’t you? That third line is at minimum a second line on almost every switch them up. Well, then now it’s your first like Yeah. What what I guess what I’m saying is uh there’s so much internal room for guys to step up. Mhm. Whereas like Bennett can’t step up much more than he’s already given you. Yeah. you you’re playing him second line minutes and Verhaggy I believe it was it was Verhagy Bennett Kachchuck y you know you’re already playing second line minutes Reinhardt needs a new home and he needs to be big Mhm. Well I guess I mean he slots easily down to where Kachchuck was. Yep. I mean here’s here’s what the they’re going to be fine. Here’s what it is. It’s for Hegy Bennett at Reinhardt Lucer Rin and Lindell Marshand Boquist Rodriguez Samuskevich we think and then Greer Kunan Gajivich or and and Nosik will get in there when he’s off as long as Samuskevich takes the step that we think he can that is a rock solid everything to 31 points last year Steve the the lines in camp have Bennett up there with Reinhardt and Verhagy and Lundell in the second line that’ll be a test for him that’ll be a test for him like he’s he’s never really done it I think he can handle it too. But like go look at his the slog of the playoffs is different from the slog of the regular season and he’s never done that. Mhm. And that’s not a knock on him. It’s very literal. He’s never done it. But I think he’s in a position to where it like doesn’t really matter and it’s all just prep for the postseason because they know how to handle these two portions of hockey life during the regular and postseason. Yeah. Uh, listen, they’ll be fine. And to your point, careerhigh in a season is in a full season would be 17 minutes. Seven like high 17s. This is what I’m saying. Yeah. Like I I think in terms of average time on ice, I think I think Lindell is going to surprise a lot of people. Yeah, totally. That like Lindell is very good. Like Lindell is the future of this team. 23 they on a great deal. He’s he’s going to be fantastic for this team. I hate all their contracts. Can I just say that? If you’re a Panthers fan watching that right now, I hope you get to laugh at us cuz I mean these contracts are [ __ ] amazing. The Marian one is utterly fraudulent. It’s crazy. It’s crazy. Um, so listen, it’s it’s it’s a joke. Knowing full well that we don’t we know that the Panthers don’t care that much about the regular season. They just want to make it into the playoffs. Where do you have them? They don’t care, dude. Um, and they’re fine. Third, Jesse. That’s which is where they finish, by the way. I cannot say enough positive things about this roster. It’s the best roster in the entire league. I’m gonna put them second in the Atlantic and I think it’s uh three Pete. Did you have them winning the division before Barov got hurt? No. Interesting. I didn’t have them winning the division before Barov got hurt either. And I also am going to stay with my original pick now that we’ve talked it through second place. I do think they want home ice advantage and I think they’re the reason they’re going to go second is that there’s enough guys on this roster with something to prove you know Lundell Samus things like that like that’s this is a real opportunity for them Mackie Samuskevage barely played in the playoffs in comparison so you you want that spot man when those two guys come back they’re going to be so hard to score on it’s going to be painful anyway that’s the Florida Panthers do you think they win the cup this year Jesse says three feet no barov is is very hard I’m going to No.

Steve Dangle, Adam Wylde and Jesse Blake preview the 2025 Florida Panthers season. Will the Panthers three-peat?

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41 comments

  3. They were one of the healthier teams last year. Not this year. In fact, they have two more injuries since this was recorded and I expect more to follow. They either have to really push their veterans playing them extra minutes each night, or they have to risk losing games in the early season because their depth is no longer there.

  5. If their injuries keep up at this pace, they won’t even make the playoffs.

    Yeah they have depth but they’ll have to play this regular season without Barkov+Tkachuck, I also see Bob’s contract hanging heavily over the team with so little cap space.

  6. Florida without Barkov is just and just .500 team looking at the team history. Just saying you might be expecting too much this year. For sure it`s going to be ruff start.

  7. Taken from the guys who all had Tampa in the first round last year. The scariest thing the entire league does not want to hear come March is "Panthers clinch a playoff berth". I am beyond grateful for the last three years but last year was exactly what I thought it would be. It does not matter where the Panthers end up. They are just looking to do enough to clinch.

    If they can do that again: Three-peat is not only on the table, but I can't see a team in the East who can stop them.

    But hey. We'll see 😅🤣

  8. During the regular season, when Seth Jones was on the ice with Florida, Florida only scored 41.2% of the five on five goals. That's terrible. That's actually a drop from what it was in Chicago. His on-ice goals against was 9.2 BELOW expected.

    He's not worth the $7 million Florida is paying for him.

  9. Barkov being out scares me, but he appears to be staying in country for recovery so he will still influence the locker room. Tampa hurt Lundell so as long he actually heals and bounces back, then I would expect Marchand to keep his emotional support Fins 😂. Otherwise they might put Lousty in the middle.

    I put the money on the 3peat as a show of faith – but I’m so very nervous that the Cup Tax has finally come due on their bodies.

  10. The wear and tear of three straight cup finals is going to catch up to the Panthers this season. That being said, they are making the playoffs and won't go down without a fight, but I don't think they will win three straight cups

  11. Not even going to make the playoffs, you still have the Lightning, Leafs, Habs, Ottawa. They're going to have a rough year, every team is going to play them hard because nobody likes this team.

  15. Y’all are failing to acknowledge the fact that the CBA totally allows florida to spend ten million on a new acquisition, shelve Barkov’s salary, and then massage the roster to bring back Barky if he heals like a superhero or just keep the addition if Barkov can’t go in the second season.

    I’m not saying that losing Barkov didn’t make a three-peat LESS PROBABLE – it absolutely DOES – but people writing them off are just totally ignoring what the Panthers GM has proven he can do within the current rules.

  16. If they have enough players at the end of the season then maybe they 3-peat. I've got a feeling the other teams in the league will throw caution to the wind and just try to beat them down until there's nothing left of the team. If you can't beat em, then just beat them. Lol

  18. Hard for the Panthers to not make the playoffs and then beat everyone else into the ice with the NHL's blessing. People talk about how exhausting it must be to play so much hockey in the last two seasons, but they've been doing load management via injury to the point where it's not a big deal, because of the insane depth they have to avoid rushing guys back. Barkov will be ready for the playoffs and once more we'll hear from the sports media how the latest Panthers/Vegas player coming of LTIR can't be 100% and he comes out of the gate at 110%.

  23. I can't wait for my Panthers to maintain a playoff spot by the time Chucky gets back, then Barkov comes back in time for the postseason and everybody just groans as we roll on with the threepeat

  25. If they dont get and stay healthy not gonna happen, Tampa didnt miss a three peat because they suddenly got bad they were worn out and heavily injured and faced a fresh team that wasnt worn down.

  26. Barkov being out doesn’t scare me much. Panthers picked up marchy who has captain experience. There are plenty of players that can bring that energy in the locker room

  27. Absolutely, having BOB in net is the Key, this guy is the best in the NHL for making crucial, Timely saves when it means most. Period. The goalie/team chemistry is everything and Florida has got it in spades.

  31. Even when Barkov comes back, is he going to be playing even remotely close to his potential? He’ll be incredibly rusty and probably still be recovering.

  33. The Panthers are the favorites to make three in a row based on talent and depth alone. It becomes unfortunate for teams in a closing window situation like the Leafs that will just see that window close a bit more this year 😢

  38. After Last night's game who else is looking forward to the first Battle of Florida in the season?? And OMG if they meet in round 1…Holy Jesus That will be Must Watch Hockey.

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