FORT LAUDERDALE — The final practices of Florida Panthers training camp came and went without much fanfare on Friday.
Coach Paul Maurice was off the ice after about 30 minutes for both practice sessions.
The Panthers have their final preseason game tonight in Sunrise against the Lightning.
Florida will have Sunday off, and by Monday, they will have their first official practice before Tuesday’s season opener against the Carolina Hurricanes.
”There is cake in the coaches room right now,’’ Maurice said. “Monday will be a good day.’’
The Panthers will have their roster set by Monday afternoon which means some players will be placed on waivers by Sunday.
Those who do not need waivers may be on a morning flight to Charlotte a few hours after playing against the Lightning.
”It’s been a constant jockeying for position and that is true for players who won’t start here,” Maurice said. “We had a lot of good pros here and a lot of guys fighting for almost non-existent jobs in some ways. But how they leave camp gives with the opportunity to have a leg-up on other players who go down. You want to make the team, I’m sure of that, but want to leave with a very positive impression.
“When you hear in three weeks or a month that ‘this guy is doing well,’ they are the next one up. The door is not closed. You can have a great week or two weeks here, and the next few weeks are just as important. You want to leave with the best foot forward and leave a positive impression on the coaches.”
The Panthers roster is pretty much set, that has been well documented.
But there remain some open spots.
The Panthers are allowed to carry 23 players; traditionally that has been 14 forwards, seven defensemen, and two goalies.
Florida has talked about different combinations and there is a chance the team will not have the cap space to carry 23 players come Monday.
”When you are fortunate enough to have ownership willing to spend to the cap,’’ Maurice said, “you try and maximize that.’’
According to PuckPedia, the Panthers are currently $896,000 over the $104 million salary cap limit — and that is with just 21 players.
Of course, that does not factor in what the Panthers will do with Brad Marchand and Jonah Gadjovich.
Marchand will be out at least until November, Maurice said, which would allow the Panthers to claim a lot of his $5.25 million salary by placing him on long-term injured reserve and free up that cap space at least temporarily.
Once placed on LTIR, a player would have to miss 10 games and 24 days. The Panthers will play 14 games between Tuesday’s opener and the end of October.
Gadjovich is out indefinitely, so he will almost assuredly be placed on LTIR which frees up his $905,000 salary.
So, the Panthers will have a little flexibility as far as the salary cap goes to start the season at least.
Now, the decision is who makes the Opening Night roster.
Florida is set with its top 11 forwards with Bokondji Imama, Cole Reinhardt, Cole Schwindt and others battling it out for what may just end up being one opening on the roster.
On the defensive side, the Panthers look to open with Radko Gudas and Dmitry Kulikov as their third pairing with Uvis Balinskis as the seventh.
If Florida were to keep eight d-men, Alexander Petrovic seems to be the natural fit although with a two-year contract, he would likely slip through waivers to Charlotte easier than someone else such as Donovan Sebrango.
With a wave of players crashing the waiver wire at the same time before rosters are finalized, the Panthers may just be able to slip their bubble players through.
FLORIDA PANTHERS PROJECTED ROSTER
Forwards (11): Sasha Barkov, Brady Tkachuk, Sam Reinhart, Matthew Tkachuk, Sam Bennett, Carter Verhaeghe, Anton Lundell, Eetu Luostarinen, Sandis Vilmanis, Lars Eller, Garnet Hathaway
Defensemen (7): Aaron Ekblad, Gus Forsling, Seth Jones, Niko Mikkola, Dmitry Kulikov, Radko Gudas
Goalies (2): Jacob Markstrom, Akira Schmid
LTIR (2): F Brad Marchand, F Jonah Gadjovich
On the Bubble (3): F Bokondji Imama, F Cole Reinhardt, D Alexander Petrovic
ON DECK: FLORIDA PANTHERS
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