47-31-4 98 points (3rd Atlantic, 5th conference, 11th overall)
3.00 GF/GP, 15th; 2.72 GA/GP, 7th
23.5 PP%, 13th; 80.7 PK%, 10th
Key losses: D Nate Schmidt
Key additions: D Jeff Petry, G Daniil Tarasov
Expected lineup:
Carter Verhaeghe – Aleksander Barkov – Sam Reinhart
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Evan Rodrigues – Sam Bennett – Brad Marchand
Eetu Luostrainan – Anton Lundell – Mackie Samoskevich
A.J. Greer – Tomas Nosek – Jonah Gadjovich
Gustav Forsling – Aaron Ekblad
Niko Mikkola – Seth Jones
Dmitry Kulikov – Jeff Petry
Sergei Bobrovsky
Daniil Tarasov
PP1: Reinhart-Barkov-Verhaeghe-Marchand-Jones
PP2: Samoskevich-Bennett-Luostrainan-Ekblad-Rodrigues
5×5
Florida’s offensive output fell by 19 goals overall, nearly of which occurred on the man-advantage. At 5×5, the Panthers scored 156 goals in 2023-24 and 155 markers last season. What makes the Cats so dangerous is two-fold: first, they score big goals when needed, and second, their defense and goaltending keep games close, so they are never out of a contest.
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The Panthers have the talent to be an above-average offensive team, but they don’t go out of their system to play firewagon hockey. What that means is while they have some nice fantasy weapons, Florida is not an elite fantasy team up front. Injuries have cut short and limited a few players the past few seasons.
Sam Reinhart last season proved that his 2023-24 explosion was no fluke. While he went from 57 to 39 goals, he led the team with 81 points, including 30 on the man-advantage. Aleksander Barkov is an elite center despite scoring 90+ points only once. In addition, injuries normally cost him 10 or so games a season. But his all-around prowess and 200-foot game drives the Florida engine. Carter Verhaeghe saw his production fall for this second straight season, this time by 19 points. But he added 23 points in 23 playoff games and gets an early change at success with Matthew Tkachuk likely out until the Olympics.
Florida should be able to withstand the loss of Tkachuk thanks to the presence of Brad Marchand all season. Tkachuk’s absence means that Evan Rodrigues gets a chance to produce early on, which could allow him to hit the 40-point mark. Sam Bennett was rewarded for his playoff production, inking an eight-year, $64 million contract after the season to stay with the Panthers.
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Anton Lundell would be a second-line center on nearly every other team. In Florida, he must take advantage of the additional ice time he receives when one of the big-two is sidelined. Mackie Samoskevich only received a one-year deal for 775K, but with Tkachuk out the first few months, he gets a chance to see an uptick in ice time, especially at even-strength. When Tkachuk is active, Rodrigues sees time here, but the unit is better when Eetu Luostrainan is at left wing.
Gustav Forsling and Aaron Ekblad were again the team’s shutdown duo, and they did a great job. They are out against the opponents’ top line. Acquiring Seth Jones in a deal for Spencer Knight broadened the blue line and provided Florida with options previously lacking. His pairing with Niko Mikkola gave the team a solid top-four with those units on the ice substantially.
PP
With Tkachuk sidelined, Marchand should open the season on the top unit. When Florida is fully healthy, Verhaeghe is the probable player to land on the second unit. As noted above, Reinhart is the scoring driver on the man-advantage, aided substantially by Barkov, who has scored at least 26 points on the power play for each of the past four season. Jones is expected to replace Ekblad on the point.
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Bennett is the primary scoring option on the second unit and could be joined by Lundell if coach Paul Maurice wants to entrust Lundell early in the season with more opportunities. Samoskevich showed last season that he is worth a look when deployed on the power play while Ekblad slides down a unit.
All stats courtesy of naturalstattrick.com, moneypuck.com, hockeyviz.com, allthreezones.com, hockey-reference.com, eliteprospects.com unless otherwise noted