- The Panthers intend to have 2020 top pick Anton Lundell at training camp in the fall, GM Bill Zito told David Furones of the South Florida Sun-Sentinel. The center was picked 12th overall and is coming off a strong season with HIFK in the SM-liiga while being Finland’s leading scorer at the World Championships. It’s worth noting that Lundell has not yet signed his entry-level deal but with Zito’s comments, it appears they expect to get him signed by then.
Panthers Rumors
Florida Panthers Re-Sign Kevin Connauton
The Florida Panthers have re-signed one of their depth defenders, inking Kevin Connauton to a one-year, two-way contract. PuckPedia reports that the deal will carry an $825K cap hit in the NHL with a $300K AHL salary and a total guarantee of $350K. Panthers GM Bill Zito released a short statement on the deal:
Kevin is a veteran defenseman who provided our club with invaluable stability and leadership both on and off the ice. We’re pleased to have him return to our defensive corps for the 2021-22 season.
Connauton, 31, was signed by the Panthers on the first day of this season, after spending last year almost entirely in the minor leagues. Though he played just four games during the regular season with the Colorado Avalanche in 2019-20, he ended up suiting up four times for them in the postseason. This year for Florida was much of the same, though he didn’t even get to play in the AHL, instead spending most of the year as a taxi squad extra. The veteran defender played just seven games, recording a single point.
Still, bringing back a defenseman that can do a little bit of everything and has over 300 games of NHL experience is never a bad thing, as long as the price is right. In Connauton’s case, the two-way deal certainly indicates a positive cost-value equation for the Panthers. Even if he doesn’t see much action in 2021-22, he’s a nice piece to have in case of injury.
Emil Djuse Signs Two-Year Deal In Switzerland
- Panthers free agent defenseman Emil Djuse won’t be returning to North America. Instead, Rapperswill-Jona of the Swiss NLA announced that they’ve inked the blueliner to a two-year deal. Djuse spent the 2019-20 season in North America between AHL Texas and Springfield and was actually rather productive offensively for a blueliner with 32 points in 53 games but opted to play in the KHL this season instead of re-signing with Florida. He is set to become an NHL free agent in July.
NHL Issues Two More Fines
The NHL has fined two more players for incidents from yesterday’s action, deciding not to hand out suspensions. Tampa Bay Lightning defenseman Ryan McDonagh has been fined $5,000, the maximum allowable under the CBA, for his cross-check on Florida Panthers forward Mason Marchment. His teammate Pat Maroon has been fined $3,879,31, the maximum allowable for his salary level, for unsportsmanlike conduct at the end of last night’s game.
In McDonagh’s case, the incident occurred partway through the first period when the game was 1-0 for the Lightning. The two players had been battling all shift, but as Marchment approached McDonagh near the benches, the Tampa Bay defenseman raised his stick and delivered a cross-check to the head. McDonagh was given a two-minute penalty for roughing on the play and Marchment did not suffer a major injury.
For Maroon, there were just under 15 seconds left in the game and the score was out of reach, but the Tampa Bay forward engaged with Florida forward Noel Acciari. Maroon took just 12 faceoffs this season, but lined up as a center for the center ice draw and pushed forward with his stick extended. The event resulted in a scrum between several players, penalties to both teams, and a misconduct for Maroon.
Could Seattle Be Interested In Joel Quenneville?
- The fact that Seattle has yet to name their inaugural head coach is somewhat of a surprise given the veterans that have been available and the fact that GM Ron Francis wants an experienced voice behind the bench. However, Larry Brooks of the New York Post suggests the reason for that could be that the Kraken are interested in Panthers bench boss Joel Quenneville, positing that Florida might be willing to let him go for financial reasons. Considering the season that they’ve had, it’d be tough to imagine that they’d simply let him go to save some money but if there is even a remote possibility of it happening, Francis’ patience in naming a coach would be justified.
Central Notes: Kucherov, Sergachev, Slavin, Knight
The Tampa Bay Lightning may have taken a 3-1 lead against the Florida Panthers Saturday, but at a cost as Nikita Kucherov and Mikhail Sergachev were both injured during the game. While there have been no updates on either players’ status for Game 5, The Athletic’s Joe Smith (subscription required) writes that early indications are that neither injury is considered serious.
Kucherov, who left Saturday’s game after being slashed in the knee by Florida’s Anthony Duclair, also suffered a head-to-head injury when he was shoved into goaltender Chris Driedger. Smith writes that the knee injury isn’t considered serious. Sergachev, however, who left the game with a head injury after a shoulder-to-shoulder hit against the boards from Patric Hornqvist. The belief is that he will be fine, although there is no word if either player would be made available for Game 5.
Smith also notes that there is nothing expected from the Department of Player Safety on anything that happened in Game 4.
- It looks like the Carolina Hurricanes will be without their top defenseman again Sunday as head coach Rod Brind’Amour said the team will have no lineup changes including no Jaccob Slavin, according to Chip Alexander of the Raleigh News & Observer. Slavin who has missed Games 2 & 3 so far due to a lower-body injury, is still considered to be day-to-day, but Brind’Amour stated that he is not ruling out the blueliner for the rest of the series. Slavin led the team during the regular season in ATOI with 22:58 and was second on the team in plus/minus with a +22.
- Florida Panthers head coach Joel Quenneville said that he will not name a goaltender for Game 5 until Monday, but rookie goaltender Spencer Knight is a possibility to start, according to George Richards of FloridaHockeyNow. While that may not sound like much, Knight was in the starter’s net for practice Monday, while Sergei Bobrovsky and Driedger were sharing the other net. Neither Bobrovsky and Driedger have impressed so far in four playoff games. Each netminder has made three appearances with Driedger being the better of the two, boasting a 3.70 GAA and a .871 save percentage, while Bobrovsky carried a 5.33 GAA and a .841 save percentage. Knight, who fared well in four regular season appearances, could get an opportunity to try to spark a team that’s close to elimination.
Chris Driedger Expected To Start Game Two
The Florida Panthers have a $10MM goalie. They also have one picked 13th overall in 2019, arguably the best goaltending prospect in the world. Neither of those players will be in the net when the team takes the ice for game two against the Tampa Bay Lightning tonight. Instead, Chris Driedger, the 27-year-old journeyman on a two-way contract is expected to start the most important game of the season so far after working in the starter’s net at morning skate.
Driedger has played just 38 games in his NHL career, but has been outstanding since climbing up to the Florida roster in 2019-20. Originally selected by the Ottawa Senators back in 2012, he bounced around the minor leagues for years, spending much more time in the ECHL with teams like the Elmira Jackals, Evansville Icemen, Wichita Thunder, Brampton Beast, and Manchester Monarchs than he did in he NHL. By the time he signed a two-year, two-way deal with the Panthers in 2019, he had just three NHL appearances, none of them lasting a full 60 minutes.
But in his 35 starts for the Panthers, 23 of which came this season as he stole the crease from Sergei Bobrovsky, Driedger has a .931 save percentage. He has gone 21-8-4 and played himself into the starting goalie market for the upcoming offseason. The Panthers, who have Bobrovsky making $10MM per season and Spencer Knight ready to make an impact at age-20, likely don’t have room to bring the pending unrestricted free agent back this summer. For now though, he is their best option in net as Florida tries to take down their cross-state rivals.
As team reporter Jameson Olive tweets, the team will also have Juho Lammikko entering the lineup to fill in for the suspended Sam Bennett. Alexander Wennberg will be moving up to center the second line, with Noel Acciari also getting a bump. The big news is Driedger though and his potential to be one of the most compelling storylines this postseason.
Sam Bennett Suspended One Game
The Department of Player Safety has made a decision and Sam Bennett won’t be in game two. The Florida Panthers forward has been suspended one game for his hit on Tampa Bay Lightning forward Blake Coleman in last night’s game. As the accompanying video explains:
It is important to note that while Coleman does turn toward the boards to play the puck, this is not a case of a player turning immediately prior to contact that turns a legal hit to an illegal one. From the moment Bennett hits the faceoff dot, he sees nothing but Coleman’s numbers. With ample time to make a better decision, the onus is on Bennett to deliver this hit in a legal fashion, avoid it entirely or at the very least minimize its force. Instead, he drives directly through Coleman’s back with speed, driving him forcefully into the boards.
Coleman did not suffer a serious injury on the play and Bennett has not been fined or suspended previously, which helped keep the punishment to just one game. Still, the Panthers will be without a player that is playing arguably the best hockey of his career right now. Bennett scored six goals and 15 points in ten regular season games after the trade to Florida at the deadline, and added two assists last night. Always known as a playoff performer, he will have to sit down and watch the team try to even the series tomorrow night.
Sam Bennett To Have Hearing With Department Of Player Safety
The Florida Panthers blew a lead to go down 1-0 in their first-round playoff series and will now be without one of their deadline additions for at least game two. Sam Bennett will have a hearing with the Department of Player Safety today for the hit he delivered on Blake Coleman last night.
The incident occurred partway through the third period when the Panthers were up 4-3. Bennett came from across the defensive zone to deliver a check on Coleman in the corner and received a two-minute minor for charging on the play. He will now face a suspension, keeping him out for at least tomorrow’s rematch.
There appear to be no other hearings coming out of the game, including a hit delivered by Ryan McDonagh that sparked plenty of outrage from Panther fans.
Bennett, who has been outstanding since coming over from the Calgary Flames at the deadline, recorded two assists in nearly 21 minutes of ice time last night for Florida. A stat-filler, he had four penalty minutes, four shots on goal, three hits, two blocks, two takeaways and hit the ice on the powerplay and penalty kill. That performance will have to come from someone else in game two.
Sam Bennett And Patric Hornqvist Ready For Series Opener
- Despite missing two of the last three games due to an upper-body injury, Florida center Sam Bennett is available for the series opener against Tampa Bay, notes Jameson Olive of the Panthers’ team site. The 24-year-old made an immediate impact after being acquired from Calgary at the trade deadline, picking up six goals and nine assists in just ten games, beating his output with the Flames despite playing in 28 games more with Calgary. Meanwhile, Olive also relayed (Twitter link) that winger Patric Hornqvist is ready to return after missing the final seven games of the regular season with an upper-body injury of his own.