Offseason Keys: Florida Panthers

With just two teams still playing, the rest have already started their offseason planning.  What storylines lie ahead around the league?  Our Offseason Keys series continues with a look at the Florida Panthers.

This past season was a bit of a strange one for Florida.  After a down year that saw them fall out of a playoff spot, there was a fair bit of a shakeup on the roster and a change behind the bench.  It took some time but towards the end of the year, the Panthers hit their stride.  Unfortunately for them, it wasn’t quite enough to reach the playoffs.  Now, they head into an offseason with more stability and a few things less on their to-do list.  Here are some keys for the summer ahead.

Cut Some Payroll

Even after unloading Reilly Smith’s deal last summer (by working out a side deal with Vegas that also saw Jonathan Marchessault leave), Florida’s payroll is already relatively high, especially considering that they’re not typically a cap-spending squad.  Per CapFriendly, they already have nearly $66MM tied up for next season already.  Even more notable is that many of those contracts are long-term pacts and it wouldn’t be surprising to see them look to move one of those.

Of their ten players already signed through 2021, forward Nick Bjugstad may be the one to watch for this summer.  He wound up being shifted to the wing thanks to the presence of Aleksander Barkov and Vincent Trocheck as their top two centers and while he had a decent season, a $4.1MM cap hit for a middle-six winger could be deemed as expendable for the right price.  Considering the free agent market isn’t great in terms of quality depth down the middle, Bjugstad would undoubtedly attract some interest from teams looking for help at that spot.

From a shorter-term perspective, winger Jamie McGinn and his $3.33MM cap hit (and $3.5MM salary) is someone they could look to move to free up some money.  Considering his limited ice time, his 29 points isn’t too shabby but with some other wingers coming up quickly, it wouldn’t be surprising to see GM Dale Tallon try to free up McGinn’s roster spot for one of them while saving some money along the way.

Determine Petrovic’s Future

2017-18 was not a year to remember for defenseman Alexander Petrovic.  After being protected in the expansion draft (which helped force Marchessault out the door), he was being viewed as a core player.  It didn’t take long for that to change.  He was a frequent healthy scratch early on and he voiced his frustration with his role back in November.  While he wasn’t on the bench too much down the stretch, he still wound up averaging just 14:39 per game, a significant drop from just a year earlier.

The 26-year-old is now entering his final year of restricted free agency after signing just a one-year pact last summer.  He’s due a qualifying offer of $1.85MM and while he struggled, he still should get that at the very least.  How much more will the Panthers want to give him, however?  A long-term deal seems unlikely given the lack of confidence that head coach Bob Boughner seems to have in him.  A one-year contract takes him to unrestricted free agency next summer and that’s not an ideal spot for Florida to be in either.

With that in mind, Tallon is going to have to make an interesting decision here.  Do they commit multiple years to keep him around?  If not, he then becomes a trade candidate and is someone that could wind up moving sooner than later.  What a difference a year can make.

Add A Top-Six Winger

Last summer, the Panthers went 50/50 on what they hoped would be top-six acquisitions on the wing.  Evgeni Dadonov’s return from the KHL went extremely well as he collected 65 points while emerging as a front-line option.  Meanwhile, things didn’t go as well for Radim Vrbata, who struggled mightily and has already announced his retirement.

Not surprisingly, there was a void in their top-six for most of this past season and it’s one that they will want to fill this summer.  Tallon has suggested in the past that while they’re open to signing a free agent in the right situation, their focus is building on the current core.

With that in mind, a trade seems like the way they’ll want to go.  Not only would that allow them to try to add someone more in line with the age of their core players (early-to-mid-20s), it would also enable them to get someone who is a little more cost-controlled which would be advantageous considering how many players are locked up long-term already.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.