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Florida Panthers Extend Josh Mahura

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After struggling to make an impact at the NHL level for years, Josh Mahura seems to have found a home with the Florida Panthers. The team has rewarded his play with a one-year contract extension, locking him up for 2023-24. CapFriendly reports that the one-way deal is worth $925K. General manager Bill Zito released a short statement on the young defenseman:

Josh joined our club just prior the start of the season and we felt his positive impact on our defensive group immediately. He brings consistency and energy to our blueline.

A third-round pick of the Anaheim Ducks in 2016, it looked like Mahura would quickly climb what was (at the time) a loaded depth chart. His post-draft junior seasons went extremely well, and he showed well in the AHL immediately. But then, it just never clicked for him at the NHL. He would see seasons of 17, 11, 13, and 38 games, failing to ever really establish himself as an everyday NHL defenseman.

But this year, after the Panthers claimed him at the start of the season, he has settled in as a third-pairing regular. He has suited up 54 times, nearly matching his total from years with Anaheim, and is averaging just over 14 minutes a night. He’s not asked to do much, but he’s done his job well enough to earn the trust of the organization and some financial security with this new deal.

That’s not to say his spot is safe for this year. The Panthers could use an upgrade on the back end, which would ultimately push Mahura either further down or off the lineup card completely. Next season though, there should be minutes to go around. Radko Gudas and Marc Staal are both scheduled for unrestricted free agency, leaving room for someone like Mahura to take another step forward. At worst, he’ll serve in the same role he is this year, providing value as a low-minute defenseman that can do a little bit of everything.

Florida Panthers To Activate Sergei Bobrovsky

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The Florida Panthers will have another $10MM man in the lineup tonight, as Sergei Bobrovsky will be activated from injured reserve and start. Spencer Knight will serve as the backup, meaning Alex Lyon is likely returning to the minor leagues.

Bobrovsky, 34, last played on January 19, but lasted just two minutes before being pulled with a lower-body injury. That was his 30th appearance of the season, and things haven’t gone very well. One of the most inconsistent netminders in recent history, Bobrovsky can alternate between Vezina-caliber superstar and backup-level cap anchor on a near daily basis.

Almost no one can compete with his athletic ability if he is fully healthy and playing his best. A two-time Vezina winner, he also led the league in wins just last season when he posted a .913 save percentage. This year that number has dropped all the way to .897, and Bobrovsky has lost more times than he has won.

Despite his poor play, the Panthers have managed to stay within striking distance of the playoffs. The club is just three points behind the Pittsburgh Penguins for the second wildcard and has enough talent on the roster to make a run. To do that, though, they’ll need a goaltending tandem performing much better than they did in the first half. It starts tonight, with Bobrovsky trying to keep the Tampa Bay Lightning shooters at bay.

Duclair Could Return To Practice This Week

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  • The Panthers are hopeful that winger Anthony Duclair will be able to rejoin the team for practice this week, notes Katie Engelson of Bally Sports Florida (Twitter link). The 27-year-old has missed the entire season so far as he recovered from a torn Achilles.  Last season, Duclair had a career year with 31 goals and 27 assists and Florida could really use him back as they look to get back into the playoff picture.  With Patric Hornqvist (concussion) on LTIR, they’re not currently in a spot where they need to trade someone in order to free up the cap space to activate Duclair when he’s ready to return.

Snapshots: Puljujarvi, Korchinski, Walsh

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After a slow start, things haven’t gotten any better for Edmonton Oilers winger Jesse Puljujarvi this season. As his ice time continues to dwindle, currently being utilized in a fourth-line role, so does his trade value. The 2016 fourth-overall pick has just 10 points in 49 games this season after a 35-point campaign last year.

With Edmonton expected to go all-in at this year’s trade deadline, Puljujarvi will likely see his Oilers tenure end by March 3 to make room on the roster. Daily Faceoff’s Frank Seravalli outlined some potential destinations for the Finnish winger, also reporting that general manager Ken Holland sent a note to all 31 other NHL teams two weeks ago that Puljujarvi was available for trade.

That trade could come sooner rather than later, as the Oilers need to clear salary to activate Kailer Yamamoto from long-term injured reserve. They have at least another few days, as he’s not eligible to return until February 12. Seravalli lists the Florida Panthers, St. Louis Blues, and Tampa Bay Lightning as potential fits for Puljujarvi in a hockey trade but also says to keep the possibility of a pure cap-dump move to a salary cap floor-hugging team in mind.

  • In a mailbag piece released Wednesday, Scott Powers of The Athletic noted that 2022 first-round selection Kevin Korchinski could crack the Chicago Blackhawks’ NHL lineup out of training camp to start the 2023-24 season. Powers said the Blackhawks organization was impressed with his training camp before this season opened, and that “all signs” point to Korchinski being NHL-ready. Still 18, the left-shot defenseman has 40 points in 30 games with the WHL’s Seattle Thunderbirds this season.
  • TSN’s Darren Dreger reports that current United States Secretary of Labor Marty Walsh is the current front-runner to replace Donald Fehr as the NHLPA’s Executive Director. Dreger says an NHLPA board meeting is scheduled for tomorrow, which could yield a vote on whether to instate Walsh as the league’s top player representative. The former mayor of Boston, Massachusetts, has a strong labor union background and is certainly an interesting selection.

Anton Levtchi Clears Unconditional Waivers; Signs In Finland

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Feb 1: After clearing waivers and having his NHL contract terminated, Levtchi has re-joined his former club team Tappara in Finland.

Jan 30: The Florida Panthers have placed Anton Levtchi on unconditional waivers, according to Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet. If he clears, the remainder of his contract will be terminated, allowing him to pursue other opportunities.

You can understand why Levtchi might be regretting his decision to come to North America, given how successful he has been in Finland the last few years. He led Liiga in scoring with 26 goals and 61 points last season, only to find himself mostly in the minor leagues this year.

Through 35 games with the Charlotte Checkers, he has eight goals and 17 points, and has seen just two games with the Panthers. With no points to show for it, his NHL career might come to an end without him ever hitting the scoresheet.

Technically, a contract termination would let him sign with any other team in the league, but these are usually done with an agreement to return to Europe already in place. We’ll have to wait and see if Levtchi ever tries his luck in North America again.

Snapshots: Islanders, Tanev, Guzda

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The New York Islanders have now lost six in a row, scoring just 11 goals in the process. A group that was once expected to be serious buyers at the trade deadline have nearly fallen out of the playoff race entirely, making it a much different situation as February approaches.

When discussing the team’s deadline plans (as best as he can figure, with Lou Lamoriello at the helm), Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet noted on today’s 32 Thoughts podcast that there was real interest in Jakob Chychrun at one point. Apparently, the Islanders balked at the asking price, something that Friedman understands, given their current position.

  • With Chris Tanev already ruled out through the All-Star break, the Calgary Flames have moved him to injured reserve. Brett Ritchie has been activated to fill his spot, and is expected to be in the lineup tonight when the team takes on the Seattle Kraken. Ritchie last played on New Year’s Eve, leaving the game after just six shifts.
  • The Florida Panthers will go with Alex Lyon in net again tonight, and are set to have Mack Guzda as the backup after recalling him this morning. To make room, Grigori Denisenko was returned to the minor leagues. Lyon has allowed 17 goals in four games so far, including seven on 49 shots Tuesday night.

All-Star Notes: Women’s Hockey, New Events, Luongo

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The NHL will once again use its All-Star weekend to showcase some of the best and brightest in women’s hockey. This year will see five international women’s hockey stars join the Skills Competition: United States forwards Alex Carpenter and Hilary Knight and Canadian forwards Sarah Nurse, Rebecca Johnston, and Emily Clark.

A trend began by Kendall Coyne Schofield’s participation in the Fastest Skater competition at the 2019 All-Star game, women’s hockey participation in men’s professional All-Star events has steadily increased since, mainly at the NHL and ECHL levels. The Athletic’s Hailey Salvian doesn’t believe this is confirmation that the five players will actually participate in the skills events, however, they will be involved somehow in the weekend’s events.

  • Florida Panthers hometown fans at the All-Star game will see a familiar face: Hall-of-Fame netminder and Panthers legend Roberto Luongo. The only retired number in Panthers history, Luongo will suit up as the league’s “celebrity netminder” in the Breakaway Challenge. At last year’s All-Star Game in Las Vegas, the first Breakaway Challenge since 2016, women’s hockey legend Manon Rheaume and actor Wyatt Russell made appearances in the event.
  • Lastly, the 2023 South Florida edition of the weekend will see three new events for the skills portion: the Enterprise NHL Splash Shot, Chipotle NHL Pitch ‘n Puck, and Discover NHL Tendy Tandem. The Splash Shot competition is a dunk-tank style target-based event with a twist: it takes place on the beach in Fort Lauderdale. The Pitch ’n Puck event is a hockey/golf combination, where players will compete using both hockey and golf shots to sink the puck (or ball) into a par-four hole. The Tendy Tandem event is all-goalie, with a tandem from each division competing as shooters and as netminders.

Florida Panthers Recall Spencer Knight

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  • The Florida Panthers have swapped Mack Guzda and Spencer Knight once again, with the latter coming back up to the NHL. Knight hasn’t played in the NHL since January 8, but did quite well in his two-game conditioning stint, recording a 23-save shutout for the Charlotte Checkers in his first AHL game since last season.

Aaron Ekblad, Sam Bennett Could Play Monday

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There was some good news health-wise last night for the Florida Panthers, who are attempting to get back into the Eastern Conference playoff picture with a 7-2-1 record in their last ten games. Defenseman Aaron Ekblad and forward Sam Bennett both suffered upper-body injuries during last night’s win against Minnesota. Yet, head coach Paul Maurice said post-game that both players might be good to go for tomorrow’s game against the Rangers.

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