The President’s Trophy winners of last season for the best team in the regular season, did not live up to their hype in the playoffs. The Panthers made easy work of the Washington Capitals in the first round, but were inevitably swept by the former champion Tampa Bay Lightning in the second round. The Panthers were viewed by many to be favorites to contend for the Stanley Cup compared to their rivals the Lightning. But the big brother franchise ended their hopes for the season.
With this in mind, the Panthers felt like they had to shake things up in order to fully commit to their championship ambitions. In the NHL, there are only two choices if you’re looking to win it all. Either go all in. Or all out. What Florida was after here was evident. They went after a younger and more talented forward in the hopes of doing greater damage in the playoffs next year than they did last year when they lost in the second round to their state rivals. The Florida Panthers took a gamble and traded Johnathan Huberdeau and Mackenzie Weegar to the Calgary Flames for Matthew Tkachuk. He scored an NHL career-high 104 points (42 goals, 62 assists) last season and 10 points (four goals, six assists) in 12 Stanley Cup Playoff games By getting Tkachuk, who signed an eight-year contract, they now have cost certainty. They didn’t have that luxury with Huberdeau and Weegar on the roster. Tkachuk now becomes a part of their core in Florida alongside Aleksander Barkov. The acquisition of Tkachuk will fill a huge hole offensively after the loss of Giroux and Marchment and an Achilles injury to forward Anthony Duclair, who is expected to miss the first half of the season.
Not only did they shake up their core, they got themselves a new head coach. Former Winnipeg Jets coach Paul Maurice was hired June 22 to replace Andrew Brunette. Maurice ranks seventh in NHL history with 775 wins and fourth in games coached with 1,684. He’s 775-680-130 with 99 ties through 24 seasons with the Hartford Whalers/Carolina Hurricanes, Toronto Maple Leafs and Winnipeg Jets. “There is a lot of good here. I think when you look at historical teams; there are a number of powerful teams and Florida is now one of them. If you want to go back to Detroit in the mid-90s, Pittsburgh, Tampa Bay a few years ago… the talent comes first, and it needs to be developed and gotten to a certain level. Then there is the next phase, and it is not necessarily measured by regular-season points or goals.” Maurice brings a lot of pedigree and a new voice in the locker room for the Panthers.
He is going to have an interesting challenge, shifting this roster into the championship team they aspire to be. They aren’t as deep as last season and still need to address their forward depth/line decisions heading into this season. Not to mention, the Panthers will also need to find a more equitable way to split time between goalies Sergei Bobrovsky and Spencer Knight. Last season, Bobrovsky, 33, played 54 regular-season games and 10 playoff games, compared to 32 regular-season games and two playoff games for Knight, 21, the number 13 pick in the 2019 NHL Draft. Both put up solid numbers, but soon there will need to be a firm decision on who owns the crease for the Panthers.
One thing is for certain, the Panthers are finally a contender. For years they have been considered a dark horse squad who always had the potential to surprise many. But now, after years of patience, they look to be in a great position in the Atlantic Division for a long time. With a shiny new coach and star to add to their team, maybe these are the necessary additions to put them over their in-state rivals in the Tampa Bay Lightning. And maybe even follow in their footsteps and win another championship for the state of Florida.
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