FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (AP) — Last season: 40-38-4, missed playoffs.
COACH: Paul Maurice (181-125-22 over four seasons with Florida, 956-805-152 over 28 seasons overall).
SEASON OPENER: Sept. 29 at Carolina.
DEPARTURES: G Sergei Bobrovsky, C Evan Rodrigues, RW Mackie Samoskevich, C Jesper Boqvist, G Daniil Tarasov.
ADDITIONS: LW Brady Tkachuk, RW Garnet Hathaway, G Jacob Markström, D Radko Gudas, D Alexander Petrovic, G Akira Schmid.
GOALIES: Jacob Markström
(23-19-1, 3.07 goals-against average, .883 save percentage with New Jersey), Akira Schmid (16-10-6, 2.59, .893 with Vegas).
Florida never really had a chance at trying for what would have been a third consecutive Stanley Cup last season, not after Aleksander Barkov got hurt 20 minutes into training camp in the first of what became a staggering number of injuries for the Panthers. Adding Brady Tkachuk, the brother of Panthers star Matthew Tkachuk, only figures to make Florida tougher and adds to what was already a huge amount of talent at forward. Radko Gudas returns to Florida to help provide some depth on the blue line, another boost. The goal is simple: make the playoffs and go from there.
The good: Florida just knows how to win and has figured out a way to keep everybody happy in a dressing room filled with huge names like Brad Marchand (who is slated to be out until November), the Tkachuk brothers, Sam Reinhart and Barkov. And the Panthers have built smartly as well, getting virtually the entire core signed to long-term deals that will provide general manager Bill Zito (who somehow hasn't won the Jack Adams Award) maneuverability going forward. If all that wasn't enough, Paul Maurice — three decades into his career — seems to be hitting his coaching prime.
The not-so-good: The Eastern Conference is loaded, the Panthers open with 22 of their first 35 games on the road and this team isn't exactly young anymore. There will be nights where Florida puts out a roster composed mostly of players 30 and older, and Matthew Tkachuk joins that club in December. And then there's the question of how Markström will handle the task of replacing a two-time Cup winner in Bobrovsky as Florida's goalie. If everything works, a Cup run isn't out of reach. If injuries pile up, Florida's task will be super tough.
There's no shortage of names on Florida's roster, but the primary player to watch is Barkov. He didn't play for the Panthers last season while recovering from an ACL and MCL tear but got on the ice for Finland back in May for the IIHF world championships and captained his country to a gold medal. The Panthers have said for years that Barkov is the most underrated star in hockey, and he says a year away from wearing Florida's sweater have made him realize he can't take anything for granted.
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