Five things to watch as Florida Panthers training camp gets set to begin
Hockey season is almost here.
The Florida Panthers open training camp on Thursday, play their first preseason game on Sept. 26 and, before you know it, will begin the regular season on Oct. 13 against the New York Islanders.
The Panthers are coming off the best regular season in franchise history, winning the Presidents’ Trophy with a 58-18-6 record, before getting swept by the Tampa Bay Lightning in the second round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
The Panthers, with a new coach and an offense that should once again be among the league’s best, have high expectations heading into the season even with a new coach and some roster overturn.
Here are five story lines to watch entering training training camp.
How will new coach Paul Maurice impact the team? Maurice has an NHL coaching track record that extends 24 seasons and 1,684 games. He has coached 92 playoff games, including a run to the Stanley Cup Finals in 2001-2002 with the Carolina Hurricanes and two conference finals appearances in 2008-09 with Carolina and 2017-18 with the Winnipeg Jets.
General manager Bill Zito said back in June that “experience is paramount,” considering the stage the Panthers are in. Maurice definitely has his share of experience with the league — and has seen its evolution over the past two-and-a-half decades. He hopes to instill it on a Panthers team that, while talented, is still relatively green when it comes to the big moments.
How will Matthew Tkachuk fit in? The Panthers’ blockbuster move came in July when Florida traded All-Star forward Jonathan Huberdeau and top-pair defenseman MacKenzie Weegar to the Calgary Flames for another All-Star winger in Matthew Tkachuk.
“It was a steep price,” Zito said. “But it was something we had to pursue.”
Tkachuk, 24, is coming off a breakout season, setting career highs in goals (42), assists (62) and points (104) with Calgary. He also brings a tenacious and gritty approach on the ice, giving the Panthers a physical presence among their top-six forwards who also has a knack for putting the puck in the back of the net.
“I bring a certain swagger,” Tkachuk said at his introductory press conference. “It’s kind of how I live my life. It’s a confidence. It’s a good confidence. It’s not cockiness. I think it will help this team.”
How will forward lines look early on? Florida’s top line will most likely have star center Aleksander Barkov with Carter Verhaeghe and Tkachuk on the wings.
The fourth line should stay pretty similar to the one Florida rolled out last year with Eetu Luostarinen centering Ryan Lomberg and Patric Hornqvist.
It’s the two lines in between where things get interesting.
The Panthers will be without winger Anthony Duclair, until at least the middle of the season after he underwent surgery for an Achilles tendon injury. Duclair set career highs across the board last season — 31 goals, 27 assists, 58 points — so his presence will be missed early.
His absence opens up a spot on Florida’s second line along with Sam Bennett at center and Sam Reinhart on the wing. The Panthers signed three forwards this offseason — Rudolfs Balcers, Nick Cousins and Colin White — to one-way deals, so one of them will likely take Duclair’s spot on the second line while the other two will work on the wings with Anton Lundell on the third line.
What will the goaltending split look like? Sergei Bobrovsky enters the fourth year of his seven-year, $70 million contract and is coming off his best season with the Panthers. The 33-year-old netminder’s .913 save percentage and 2.67 goals against average were his best single-season mark in three years with Florida and hovered just above his overall career average marks (.916 save percentage and 2.57).
Florida still has to think about Spencer Knight, as well. The 21-year-old and 2019 first-round pick took his lumps last season (19-9-3 record, .908 save percentage, 2.79 goals against average) but his skill and talent level for his age is undeniable.
Who rounds out the defenseman group? Five players should be locks for the Opening Night roster barring injury. That group is Aaron Ekblad, Gustav Forsling, Radko Gudas, Brandon Montour and Marc Staal.
The sixth and seventh players? That remains to be seen.
Lucas Carlsson played 40 games for the Panthers last season, logging three goals, six assists, 39 hits, 29 blocked shots and seven takeaways while rotating on Florida’s third defensive pairing.
Florida also signed a pair of veterans in Michael Del Zotto and Anthon Bitetto to one-year, two-way deals and the duo should compete for roster spots in camp as well.
Del Zotto, 32, has 736 games of NHL experience under his belt over 14 seasons and has amassed 262 career points (63 goals, 199 assists). Most recently, he played in 26 games for the Ottawa Senators last season and tallied 13 points (three goals, 10 assists) while also spending time with Ottawa’s American Hockey League affiliate.
Bitetto, 32, has played in 197 career NHL games and has 31 career points (three goals, 28 assists). He spent all of last season playing at the AHL level.
