Panthers Rumors

Panthers Sign Sandis Vilmanis

March 2, 2024 at 10:14 am CDT | by Brian La Rose Leave a Comment

March 1st was an important date on the NHL calendar as it was the first day that teams could sign players to contracts for next season. We saw several of those deals handed out yesterday and today, the Panthers joined in, announcing that they’ve signed winger Sandis Vilmanis to a three-year, entry-level contract beginning in the 2024-25 season. Financial terms of the deal were not released.

Vilmanis was a fifth-round pick by the Panthers back in 2022 (157th overall) and has shown steady improvement since then. He had a good rookie season with OHL Sarnia last season with 20 goals and 25 assists in 62 games and has already set new benchmarks for goals and points this year with 28 and 53, respectively. The 20-year-old was traded to North Bay just before the OHL trade deadline back in January.

Vilmanis has suited up for Latvia at multiple international tournaments. He has played at the last three World Juniors and picked up four points in five games at the most recent event. He also played in two World Under-18 events leading into his draft year. He won’t be expected to make the jump to the NHL next season but instead should play with their AHL affiliate in Charlotte.

Jonah Gadjovich To Miss Thursday With Minor Injury

February 29, 2024 at 2:59 pm CDT | by Gabriel Foley Leave a Comment

Buffalo Sabres defenseman Erik Johnson missed the team’s Thursday morning practice with an illness, team reporter Lance Lysowski shares. Johnson was also limited to just three minutes of ice time in Buffalo’s Tuesday night loss to the Florida Panthers. His availability for the team’s Thursday night game is uncertain.

Florida Panthers forward Jonah Gadjovich will miss the team’s Thursday night game with a “minor” injury, per team reporter Colby Guy. Head coach Paul Maurice shared with Guy that he thinks Gadjovich will rehab quickly. The 25-year-old winger has four points and 90 penalty minutes in 31 games this season. He’s expected to be replaced by William Lockwood, who has one assist in 24 games of his own this season.

Matthew Tkachuk, Kevin Stenlund To Return Tuesday

February 26, 2024 at 5:32 pm CDT | by Josh Erickson Leave a Comment

Panthers superstar winger Matthew Tkachuk will return to play when Florida faces the Sabres tomorrow, head coach Paul Maurice said (via Jameson Olive of the Panthers’ official site). He’ll be joined by depth center Kevin Stenlund, who, like Tkachuk, missed Saturday’s overtime win over the Capitals.

Aaron Ekblad Out With Lower-Body Injury

February 17, 2024 at 6:30 pm CDT | by Brennan McClain Leave a Comment

The Colorado Avalanche will be without the services of forward Logan O’Connor tomorrow night, as Meghan Angley of DNVR Avalanche reports the team will hold him out of the lineup so that he can play more continuously when fully healthy. O’Connor has missed the last two games for Colorado as he suffered a lower-body injury in the team’s recent contest against the Florida Panthers.

[SOURCE LINK]

Before their game tonight against their in-state rivals, the Panthers announced that defenseman Aaron Ekblad would miss the game due to a lower-body injury. Ekblad had previously missed the majority of the start to the 2023-24 campaign due to offseason shoulder surgery. Upon his return in mid-November, Ekblad has regained most of his previous form, scoring three goals and 14 points in 37 games while averaging over 21 minutes a night for the Panthers.

William Lockwood Remains In Concussion Protocol, Out Wednesday

February 14, 2024 at 1:36 pm CDT | by Josh Erickson Leave a Comment

Panthers winger William Lockwood remains out for tonight’s game against the Penguins as he’s yet to clear concussion protocol, per head coach Paul Maurice (via Jameson Olive of the Panthers’ official site). The 25-year-old Michigan native has not played in nearly a month, entering concussion protocol after a Jan. 19 collision with Wild goaltender Marc-André Fleury that also earned Lockwood a three-game suspension. He’s played a career-high 23 games during his first season in Florida, recording one assist and a +2 rating while averaging 8:22 per game.

Trade Deadline Primer: Florida Panthers

February 11, 2024 at 8:57 am CDT | by Josh Cybulski Leave a Comment

With the All-Star break in the rear-view, the trade deadline looms large and is now just a month away. Where does each team stand, and what moves should they be looking to make? We continue our look around the league with the Florida Panthers.

The Florida Panthers have been an impressive team for a couple of seasons now and are once again having a terrific season. Many thought that they might take a step back this season after losing in the Stanley Cup Finals last spring, however, the club was able to overcome several injuries to key contributors early on and now have their full complement of impact players in the lineup. Panthers’ general manager Bill Zito hasn’t been afraid of pulling off blockbuster trades in recent seasons having made the move for Matthew Tkachuk and another move two years ago at the trade deadline for Claude Giroux. While the Giroux move didn’t work out, the Tkachuk trade has turned out great for the Panthers. All that being said, the Panthers don’t have the cap space or the assets to swing for the fences at this trade deadline, but that being said Zito will likely evaluate every option when it comes to improving his group. The Panthers will be a tough team to play in the playoffs as they are well-built and have finally figured out how to win in the playoffs. It will make for an interesting deadline in Florida.

Record

33-15-4, 2 in the Atlantic

Deadline Status

Buyer

Deadline Cap Space

$5.72MM on deadline day, 0/3 retention slots used, 45/50 contracts used, per CapFriendly.

Upcoming Draft Picks

2024: FLA 3rd, FLA 4th, FLA 5th, PHI 5th, FLA 6th, FLA 7th
2025: FLA 2nd, FLA 3rd, FLA 4th, CAL 4th*, FLA 5th, SJ 5, FLA 6th, FLA 7th

* If the 2025 1st RD pick that Florida sent to Calgary is a lottery pick resulting in Calgary receiving Florida’s 2026 1st RD pick instead, then the 2025 4th RD pick that Calgary sent to Florida also slides to 2026.

Trade Chips

Florida has ten players on their current roster who will be unrestricted free agents this offseason. Despite the amount of turnover that will happen this summer, Zito probably isn’t looking to move much off of the NHL roster in any trade deadline moves. However, they will likely need to shed some salary to acquire any high-priced talent. The Panthers’ big moves for Tkachuk and others have certainly paid off, but it also came with a high cost. They don’t have a first-round pick in either of the next two drafts and don’t have a second-round pick this year. While a lack of picks might keep them out of the running for some of the top available names at the deadline, they still possess all of their mid-round picks and should still be able to make some smaller moves.

The Panthers’ farm system also leaves a lot to be desired as they are ranked near the bottom third of the league in terms of prospect pipelines. The Panthers do have some decent draft picks from previous seasons that could entice teams to part with a bigger name.

Gracyn Sawchyn is an intriguing player for a number of reasons. He was drafted in the second round last summer and plays a very simple game that relies on speed and physicality. He could have been a higher pick but is undersized and doesn’t possess the offensive abilities of some of his peers chosen before him. That being said, he is 19 and has a lot of upside to his game that teams will covet.

Mackie Samoskevich is another name that the Panthers could float in a potential trade. He has dressed in seven NHL games this season and was the Panthers’ first-round pick in 2021. Samoskevich is in his first full season of professional hockey and has produced decent offensive numbers in the AHL with 12 goals and 17 assists in 37 games. Samoskevich has a high hockey IQ and should be able to translate that and his other skillset into a career in the NHL, it just remains to be seen if that will happen in Florida or if he will be dealt at the deadline.

Other Potential Trade Chips: D Ludvig Jansson, D Kasper Puutio, D Michael Benning

Team Needs

1) Top-9 Forward: The Panthers haven’t gotten what they need out of the third line and would probably like to add some scoring punch to it. They recently moved Evan Rodrigues there and elevated Nick Cousins to the top 6, but in a perfect world, they would acquire another forward and push Cousins onto the fourth line. The Panthers had this balance previously with Anthony Duclair but shipped him off to San Jose last summer. The Panthers likely won’t be able to make a Jake Guentzel-type addition, but a solid scorer with some speed might go a long way to helping them get back to the Stanley Cup Finals. A reunion with Duclair might be an option given how good of a fit he has been previously.

2) Depth Defenseman: Florida is the second-best defensive team this season and has done so without two of their top defensemen for a good portion of the season. That being said, their current alignment relies on two veteran defensemen in their bottom pairing group who could wear down during a long playoff drive. Oliver Ekman-Larsson is averaging almost 19 minutes a night and Dmitry Kulikov is playing 16:33 per game. Both veterans could stand to either play a little bit less or get some nights off leading into the playoffs. A depth defenseman could allow Florida to put their veterans in a spot where they are the likeliest to succeed and give them a chance to get back to the Stanley Cup Finals.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Minimal Extension Talks So Far For Forsling

February 10, 2024 at 6:59 pm CDT | by Brian La Rose 2 Comments

Panthers defenseman Gustav Forsling is one of Florida’s prominent pending unrestricted free agents. The 27-year-old has gone from being a waiver claim in 2021 to a top-three defender and his price tag is set to jump considerably from his current $2.667MM AAV. Keeping him, blueliner Brandon Montour, and forward Sam Reinhart will be difficult to do but Forsling told Jordan McPherson of the Miami Herald that he has made it known that he wants to remain with Florida. However, discussions on a new deal have been minimal so far. Forsling has 22 points in 50 games so far this season while averaging over 22 minutes a night, putting him in a position to more than double his current cap hit.

East Notes: Hughes, Toffoli, Svechnikov, Lockwood

February 8, 2024 at 11:14 am CDT | by Josh Erickson 1 Comment

Devils center Jack Hughes will be activated from injured reserve and return to the lineup Thursday against the Flames, he told reporters, including the team’s own Amanda Stein. The 22-year-old had been out since Jan. 5 with an upper-body injury.

Hughes took line rushes with Tyler Toffoli and Alexander Holtz in this morning’s skate, but he may have different linemates against Calgary, said head coach Lindy Ruff. Toffoli is also expected to draw back into the lineup tonight after missing the team’s win over the Avalanche on Tuesday with an illness.

The 2019 first-overall pick continues to be New Jersey’s most dominant offensive force and leads the team with 1.41 points per game. He’s missed over 30% of the Devils’ games with injuries this season, though, although his 30 assists and 45 points still rank second on the team behind leading scorer Jesper Bratt.

A healthy Hughes for the rest of the season is one of the Devils’ biggest keys to clinching back-to-back playoff berths for the first time since 2009 and 2010. They sit five points back of the Red Wings for the final Wild Card spot in the Eastern Conference but have two games in hand.

Elsewhere in the Eastern Conference on Thursday:

Hurricanes winger Andrei Svechnikov has been upgraded to being a game-time decision Thursday against the Avalanche, per the team’s Walt Ruff. He has yet to practice in a full-contact jersey since sustaining an upper-body injury on Jan. 21 but has remained day-to-day throughout the recovery process. Injuries have limited the high-flying Russian to 29 games on the year, but he’s managed to push through multiple disruptions to post the first point-per-game season of his career with 11 goals and 19 assists for 30 points.
Panthers winger William Lockwood remains out with a concussion and won’t return to the lineup Thursday against the Capitals, head coach Paul Maurice said (via the team’s Jameson Olive). Lockwood, 25, has not played since sustaining the concussion in a collision with Wild netminder Marc-André Fleury in a game on Jan. 20. Lockwood earned a three-game suspension on the play, which has long since been satisfied. He has a lone assist in 23 games with the Panthers this season, his first in Florida.

Florida Panthers To Activate Nick Cousins Off Injured Reserve

February 6, 2024 at 3:00 pm CDT | by Brennan McClain 4 Comments

According to Colby Guy of The Associated Press, the Florida Panthers are set to activate forward Nick Cousins off of injured reserve. Without a corresponding roster move, this will put Florida at the 23-man roster limit for their game on Thursday against the Washington Capitals.

It has been over a month since Cousins last suited up in a game, suffering a concussion after being hit from behind by Arizona Coyotes’ forward Jason Zucker. Outside of that injury, Cousins has sustained a healthy season, scoring two goals and five points in 37 games for the Panthers.

Not much of an offensive threat as compared to previous seasons, Cousins has still maintained his high possession and defensive metrics for Florida this year. Cousins is producing a Corsi For % in All Situations by a magnitude of 5% better than his career average, helping the Panthers rank second in the NHL in that particular metric.

To most viewers of the game outside of Florida’s immediate fanbase, Cousins has developed the mantra of a persistent agitator by many; but his style of play is helping the Panthers become a much more difficult team to play against. Although William Lockwood is still sitting out of the lineup with his injury, the activation of Cousins will give Florida a completely healthy lineup just in time for the final stretch run of the regular season.

Snapshots: Kochetkov, Monahan, Cousins, Hughes

February 6, 2024 at 12:23 pm CDT | by Gabriel Foley Leave a Comment

Pyotr Kochetkov has been confirmed as the starter for the Carolina Hurricanes’ Tuesday night game against the Vancouver Canucks, per head coach Rod Brind’Amour. This will be Kochetkov’s first game since suffering a concussion on January 11th. He was red-hot before the injury, going 7-1-2 and setting a .924 save percentage in his last 11 games. That includes a four-game winning streak leading up to the injury that saw Kochetkov post a .936 save percentage on 110 shots against.

Carolina has felt the impact of Kochetkov’s absences, seeing their average goals-against jump from 2.45 in Kochetkov’s last 11 appearances to 2.71 in the seven games that he’s missed. That hasn’t been enough of a difference to stifle the red-hot Hurricanes, though the team’s goal-differential has gone from +17 to just +1 in the same periods. The Hurricanes have relied on five different goalies through the 2023-24 season, facing multiple injuries and absences in net. They will hope to find their starting goalie for the second half of the season soon, with both Kochetkov and Frederik Andersen progressing in their return from injury. Andersen has been out since November 2nd with a blood clotting disorder.

Other notes from around the league:

Sean Monahan will be making his debut with the Winnipeg Jets in their Tuesday night matchup against the Pittsburgh Penguins, says head coach Rick Bowness. There was some concern about Monahan’s availability after he was absent from the team’s Tuesday morning practice, though Bowness clarified that the team’s morning skates are typically optional. Monahan has 13 goals and 35 points through 49 games this season and was recently traded away from the Montreal Canadiens for a first-round pick and a conditional later-round pick.
Nick Cousins is set to be activated off of injured reserve and make his return from a concussion on Tuesday. Cousins has been out since January 2nd, missing Florida’s last 12 games. The Panthers have performed well despite his absence, going 8-2-2 and averaging 3.92 goals per game. They will get back a bottom-six forward in Cousins on Tuesday.
Star New Jersey Devils centerman Jack Hughes has continued to progress in his return from injury, moving into full contact at the team’s Tuesday morning practice. Hughes told reporters at the All-Star Game that he hopes to make his return soon, and he made his return to the team’s practices on Monday. The Devils will hope he can get back as soon as possible, as the 22-year-old has a dazzling 15 goals and 45 points through just 32 games this season – a mark that ranks fifth in the NHL in points per game.

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