The year started with dreams of a three-peat during the banner-raising ceremony for the Florida Panthers. However, it seems that that isn’t in the cards for them this year, as the team has been decimated by injury, which started as early as training camp. A surprise injury to Nosek was announced at media day, but the biggest blow has been the loss of captain Sasha Barkov. Had it just been Barkov, Tkachuk, and Nosek out, I think the team would’ve been fine. But the injuries didn’t stop there, and quickly the Cats were up to 6-8 players out with injury at any given time this season. In a year where the Eastern Conference, but especially the Atlantic Division, has been ultra competitive, being down that many players has been too big a hill to climb. They currently sit last in the Atlantic and 3rd to last in the Conference. What’s perhaps a big frustration is that their 61 points would put them well in the playoff race in the West. They’d be 2 points out of a wild card spot or an automatic bid in the Pacific. 

Arguably, the part of their game that’s struggled the most has been the goaltending and defense. That’s not surprising when the team is missing some of their strongest defensive players in Barkov, Jones, and Kulikov. It’s plagued the team all season, where they’ll play really well, but then every mistake ends up in the back of their net. You’d like a save every now and then. Tarasov’s been strong most of the year, up until the last couple of games, even when he wasn’t getting goal support from the team. Hopefully, the Olympic Break will help him reset for the final stretch. Bobrovsky has had a rough year, and it’s hard to tell what the reason for that may be. Is he struggling because of exhaustion, the depleted team in front, or is Father Time finally catching up? It throws a lot of things into question going into the offseason, with this being a contract year for Bob. I find it hard to believe that the goalie coaching staff is suddenly struggling with the two goaltenders after the last three years. Two of their previous backups have become starters for other teams, and Stolarz can be a starter in Toronto, but he’s struggled with injuries this year. 

But this season hasn’t been all doom and gloom; there’s been some real bright spots and pleasant surprises. A lot of responsibility has been placed on Anton Lundell this year, and he’s been up to the task. HC Paul Maurice had very big praise for him before the break, saying that he’ll be Florida’s captain one day. Perhaps not the most surprising statement from the head coach, given that fans have taken to calling Anton Baby Barkov. Eetu Luostarinen has also played a bigger role and showed how important he is to the team’s defense when he missed roughly 8 games with injury, and the Cats played some of their worst games of the season at that point. Brad Marchand has had a huge resurgence and helped carry the offensive load. Just before the break, he scored the game-winner in the shootout against the Bruins. He’s second on the team in points at 50 (25G, 25A), just behind Sam Reinhart (55 pts, 27G, 28A), but Brad has missed 10 games due to injury. We saw how good he was in Florida’s system during the playoffs, so I don’t think it’s surprising to see that continue this year. Sam Reinhart has proved this year that he’s not just a Barkov merchant. He’s been just as dangerous offensively as ever. Sam Bennett has added penalty killing to his game, showing that there’s been growth there to make him a more well-rounded player. One of the biggest surprises of the season has been A.J. Greer. He’s having a career year and has played up and down the lineup. A lovely discovery is that he has really good chemistry with Sam Bennett, where he’s filled a Matthew Tkachuk-like role on that line. For the first time ever, Greer has hit 21 pts and is a double-digit goal scorer at 11. His previous career high was with the Cats last season, where he had 17 pts (6G, 11A). Greer’s certainly taken the opportunities in front of him and run with them. 

I doubt anyone in Florida’s front office is unaware of how unusual this season has been for the team. I wouldn’t be surprised if the Cats are relatively quiet at the trade deadline this year. At no point during the season have they iced their championship-winning team, so it’s harder to accurately judge what moves need to be made. A big wrinkle that developed on Friday is that it’s now well known that the Panthers’ 1st-round pick traded to Chicago is top-10-protected. A detail of the trade that was vastly under-reported or simply not reported at all at the time of the Seth Jones trade. It’s not news to either team involved in the trade, but it’s shocking that this detail has been unknown for nearly a year. Needless to say, this new development had completely re-colored fans’ outlook on the season, and most are on board for the Panthers to tank the rest of the season to ensure a top 10 pick. It’s been a season defined by uncertainty and adversity. That Cats will likely come out the other side a better team next season, but for now, fans will have to ride out the rest of the season, and more than likely enjoy a long summer for the first time in three years. 

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