What Your Team Is Thankful For: Florida Panthers
As American Thanksgiving and the holiday season are upon us, PHR is taking a look at what teams are thankful for in 2022-23. There also might be a few things your team would like down the road. We’ll examine what’s gone well in the early going and what could improve as the season rolls on for the Florida Panthers.
Who are the Panthers thankful for?
You might think the easy answer here is Matthew Tkachuk. The newcomer is leading the team in points by a wide mile and has established himself as the new face of the franchise next to Aleksander Barkov. But given how Sergei Bobrovsky has played so far this year, the Panthers would be absolutely lost without Knight’s performance.
The 21-year-old netminder has posted a .919 save percentage in 13 games, essentially taking over of late. With a win last night, he became the fastest goaltender in franchise history to 30 wins, reaching that number in just 42 starts. A .919 isn’t world-beating, but when compared to the .878 that Bobrovsky has recorded, it seems like an entirely different class of performance. The veteran netminder – who is still set to earn $10MM in each of the next three seasons – has allowed five or more goals in three of his last five appearances, and the only reason it isn’t worse is that he was pulled after allowing four in the first period a few weeks ago.
Bobrovsky has gone through these bad stretches before and rebounded nicely. Last season he led the entire league with 39 wins and had a solid .913 save percentage. But the stinkers are coming more frequently now, and without Knight’s emergence, the Panthers would be stuck without an answer.
What are the Panthers thankful for?
The impatience of other teams.
When you take a look at how the Panthers were built, it really is impressive how many reclamation projects or fringe players they have found success with. Carter Verhaeghe was a minor league forward that had 13 points for the Tampa Bay Lightning in his only NHL experience before coming to Florida. He is now the team’s second-leading scorer with 20 points in 24 games.
Brandon Montour was acquired for a third-round pick from the Buffalo Sabres, who were fed up with his inconsistent play. He too has 20 points in his first 22 games this season, and is averaging close to 25 minutes a night. Sam Bennett, the playoff-only performer from the Calgary Flames, has turned into a consistent two-way player with the Panthers – even playing center again. Gustav Forsling, probably the team’s most consistent defensive presence, was claimed off waivers. Colin White, nabbed after a buyout.
That’s not even counting Anthony Duclair, who hasn’t played yet this season as he rehabs a torn Achilles.
The Panthers aren’t really built through the draft like so many other good teams. Outside of Barkov, Knight, Anton Lundell, and Aaron Ekblad, the rest of their team has been put together by taking advantage of specific situations. The question now will be whether they can pull off another couple of moves to vault them back into real Stanley Cup contention this season.
What would the Panthers be even more thankful for?
Continued health for Ekblad.
It’s been a long time since Aaron Ekblad was consistently healthy. The 26-year-old’s 61 games last season felt a full year compared to the nightmare 2020-21 season, and he showed what he could do. Fifty-seven points in 61 games and sixth place in the Norris Trophy voting led to high expectations for this year. But he has missed half the season already due to injury, only making his return recently.
If somehow, Ekblad can play in every game for the rest of the year, the Panthers will have an elite defenseman to lean on. But after Mackenzie Weegar’s departure, the depth chart is a lot less forgiving should he miss more time. Fans in Florida are dying to see what the 2014 first-overall pick could do with another 82-game season.
What should be on the Panthers’ holiday wish list?
Defensive depth.
Speaking of Weegar, the Panthers sure could use someone like him right now. The team has leaned heavily on the top three of Ekblad, Montour, and Forsling this year, to the point where all three are averaging close to 24 minutes a night. While Radko Gudas is a fine piece to include, and Marc Staal is doing as much as he’s capable of, the team needs another defenseman. Josh Mahura has been fine in that sixth spot, but there are nights the coaching staff doesn’t even trust him to play ten minutes.
The forward group will get a boost when Duclair comes back, and Barkov won’t be snake-bitten all year. But if that defense were to face two key injuries at the same time, it would likely mean any chance of contention is out the door. The Panthers need to reinforce the group, though maybe not in the same way they did a year ago.
At the deadline, Florida used a first-round pick to land Ben Chiarot, who didn’t exactly work out the way they had hoped. They are already missing a huge number of picks thanks to the Tkachuk deal, meaning they’ll have to get creative about how they add some talent to the back end.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images
David Farrance Traded In AHL
The Chicago Wolves have completed a pair of minor league trades, sending David Farrance to the Colorado Eagles and acquiring Alex Green from the Laval Rocket. Both deals are for future considerations.
Farrance, 23, was a third-round pick of the Nashville Predators in 2017 and a Hobey Baker candidate at one point in college, but has fallen nearly completely off the map in the years since. He signed a two-year contract with the Predators in 2021, with the first year burning at the end of the 2020-21 season, and spent all of last year with the Milwaukee Admirals.
At the end of his entry-level deal, the Predators decided to leave him unqualified, making him a free agent. An AHL deal with the Wolves followed, but after 14 games he’s on his way out of that organization too.
That said, the Eagles do have a reputation for reclamation projects, especially defensemen. Perhaps they will be able to turn around his career and get it back on a track that one day leads to the NHL.
In 14 games this season, he had five points.
Snapshots: Kuzmenko, Anisimov, Monahan, Haight
Andrei Kuzmenko’s first season in North America has been a successful one as the winger enters play tonight sitting fourth on the Canucks in scoring with 11 goals and 10 assists in 22 games. He’s also set to be an unrestricted free agent this summer for the second straight year except this time, he won’t be capped on entry-level restrictions. While the two sides are eligible to work out an extension as early as January, it doesn’t appear that will be the case. Appearing on CHEK’s Donnie and Dhali (video link), Kuzmenko’s agent Dan Milstein indicated that there are no contract talks planned for the near future:
We are not going to be talking about an extension of any kind until probably the end of the season or close to that time.
While that’s the plan for now, it stands to reason that Vancouver will look to start discussions before the end of the year as if they can’t reach an agreement on a contract for next season, Kuzmenko could be a trade candidate leading up to the March 3rd trade deadline.
Elsewhere around the hockey world:
- Veteran center Artem Anisimov is off to a decent start with AHL Lehigh Valley with three points in his first five games with Philadelphia’s affiliate. In his latest 32 Thoughts column, Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman notes that the Flyers would like to convert Anisimov’s contract to an NHL deal to add him to the roster. However, they’re currently unable to do so as they’re at the maximum 50 contracts so they’ll have to make a trade to open up a spot first unless someone claims Kieffer Bellows on waivers on Friday. Anisimov is a veteran of 771 career NHL contests and would give them someone else to try on the fourth line if they can open up a spot for him first.
- When the Canadiens acquired Sean Monahan this offseason, he seemed like a near-lock to be traded by the deadline with Montreal entrenched in a rebuild. However, Pierre LeBrun of TSN and The Athletic relays that the team is now having internal discussions about the idea of trying to sign the 28-year-old to an extension instead of flipping him as an expiring deal at the deadline. Monahan has 14 points in 22 games this season while averaging over 17 minutes a night and appears to have recovered quite nicely from the hip surgeries he had in each of the past two years.
- Wild prospect Hunter Haight is on the move in the OHL as Barrie announced that they traded him to Saginaw in exchange for five draft picks. The 18-year-old was a second-round pick by Minnesota this past summer after putting up 22 goals and 41 points last season with the Colts. However, things haven’t gone as well this year as he managed just three goals and six helpers in 20 contests prior to the move. Minnesota has until June 1, 2024 to sign the center to an NHL contract.
Salary Cap Deep Dive: Florida Panthers
Navigating the salary cap is one of the more important tasks for any GM. Teams that can avoid total cap chaos by walking the tightrope of inking players to deals that match their value (or compensate for future value without breaking the bank) remain successful. Those that don’t see struggles and front office changes.
PHR will look at every NHL team and give a thorough look at their cap situation for the 2022-23 season and beyond. This will focus more on players who are regulars on the roster versus those who may find themselves shuttling between the AHL and NHL. All cap figures are courtesy of CapFriendly.
Florida Panthers
Current Cap Hit: $85,265,406 (over the $82.5MM Upper Limit)
Entry-Level Contracts
G Spencer Knight (one year, $925K)
F Anton Lundell (two years, $925K)
Potential Bonuses
Knight: $1.85MM
Lundell: $850K
Total: $2.7MM
Lundell had a very nice rookie season, establishing himself as a key two-way center in a hurry. He has been a bit quieter offensively to start this year but he still looks to be on track to be a part of their top six before too long. At that point, the price tag is going to get expensive quickly. A bridge deal could fall in the $4MM range as things stand and it will be difficult for them to work out a long-term agreement with their cap situation. At the moment, he’s on track to hit two of his ‘A’ bonuses ($425K in total).
We’ll dig into Knight’s next contract later but it’s worth highlighting here that $850K of his bonuses are ‘A’ ones and he’s on pace to hit four of those to max out. There’s a good chance at least some of those will have to roll over and be charged against the cap next season.
Signed Through 2022-23, Non-Entry-Level
D Radko Gudas ($2.5MM, UFA)
F Patric Hornqvist ($5.3MM, UFA)
D Josh Mahura ($750K, RFA)
F Eric Staal ($750K, UFA)
D Marc Staal ($750K, UFA)
F Colin White ($1.2MM, RFA)
Hornqvist came over in 2020 from Pittsburgh in a trade that hasn’t aged well. The veteran had a good first season but has slowed down considerably to the point where he’s basically a fourth liner now. If he gets another deal after this, it’s likely to be closer to the $1MM mark with perhaps some potential bonuses as well. White was bought out by Ottawa and wanted to find a team that could give him a real role. So far, it looks like he made the right pick as he has been quite productive in the bottom six. If that continues, he’ll be well-positioned to more than double his price tag in arbitration. However, that could be a risk they don’t want to take. The oldest of the Staal brothers, Eric didn’t play at all last season and was only able to secure a PTO deal, one that lasted a couple of weeks into the year. If he gets another contract, it’ll be at the minimum as well.
Gudas is best known for the physicality he brings but he also can log top-four minutes while contributing positive possession numbers as well. As a right-shot defender, his market might be stronger than some expect next summer which should allow him to add at least a million to his current AAV on another multi-year agreement. Mahura was a waiver claim from Anaheim and has secured a spot on Florida’s third pairing. He’s not dominating but the fact he’s in there regularly gives him a chance to push for something closer to the $1MM mark with arbitration rights next summer. As for the defender among the Staal brothers, Marc likely left some money on the table to join Florida as he can still play on the third pairing and kill penalties. If he’s chasing a Cup, he’ll keep playing around this price tag. If not, he could creep past the $1MM mark next summer as well.
Signed Through 2023-24
F Nick Cousins ($1.1MM, UFA)
F Anthony Duclair ($3MM, UFA)
D Gustav Forsling ($2.667MM, UFA)
F Eetu Luostarinen ($1.5MM, RFA)
D Brandon Montour ($3.5MM, UFA)
F Sam Reinhart ($6.5MM, UFA)
Reinhart’s first season with the Panthers was a very successful one as he set new career highs across the board while producing more like a top-line center. However, he has struggled this season with numbers more in line with his first couple of years with Buffalo. If he can get back to the point-per-game mark, he can easily add a couple million per year on a max-term agreement if not a bit more than that. But if he goes back to producing more like he did with the Sabres, he might have a hard time commanding much more than what he’s getting now.
Duclair had a career year last season, really emerging as a consistent impact top-six winger for the first time. But lots of players had those performances last season with Florida and have stepped back a bit. In Duclair’s case, he has yet to play due to a torn Achilles and it’s an injury that will take a lot of time for him to get back up to speed once he does come back, forcing Florida’s hand from a salary cap perspective in the process. Realistically, it’s not going to be a good season when it comes to assessing what his next deal will be. Instead, the pressure will be on in 2023-24 when he’ll be at full strength to start the year that will allow him to show if his 58 points last year were the outlier or a sign of things to come.
Luostarinen established himself as a full-time regular for the first time last season which earned him this bridge deal. So far, he has improved upon his performance from last year and if he can become a 35-point player that moves up and down the lineup, doubling his current price tag could be doable. Cousins has bounced around a lot in recent years and his value on the open market is pretty much established at this point. He might have left a bit of money on the table to get a two-year commitment but what he’s making now should be close to his market value in 2024 as well.
Signed Through 2024-25
F Sam Bennett ($4.425MM, UFA)
D Aaron Ekblad ($7.5MM, UFA)
F Carter Verhaeghe ($4.167MM, UFA)
The Panthers took a gamble that Bennett had more to provide offensively as they acquired him back in 2021. He took off quickly with Florida and quickly inked this contract. For a power forward that can also play down the middle in a pinch, it would be a bargain as long as he stayed in the top six. That has certainly been the case so far as he set career highs across the board last year and is on pace for similar production this season. With the going rate being so high for impact power forwards, Bennett’s certainly on a below-market deal by a couple million at least.
Florida had Verhaeghe on a very below-market deal until this season. Even now, it’s still a very team-friendly contract. He has broken out offensively since joining Florida, becoming one of their most consistent scoring threats while seeing time on the top line. He’s getting paid well below what someone in that role with that type of production typically gets. It’s not as big of a bargain as it was before but it’s still a very good one. The price tag for this type of production might put him past $7MM when this deal is up.
Ekblad’s contract was at one point the richest given to a defenseman coming off an entry-level contract in NHL history; that has since been surpassed multiple times. When healthy, he is a legitimate all-situations top defender and with the market rate for that type of player jumping up as much as it has, he’s a good bargain for them as well. But staying healthy has been a challenge as he has missed significant time in each of the last three seasons (including this one). There’s still plenty of time for that to change and if he stays healthy the last couple of years, his AAV could jump past the $10MM mark next time around.
Pacific Notes: Wright, Ducks, Reimer
Going into the season, Kraken GM Ron Francis had indicated that the plan was for rookie Shane Wright to spend the full year with Seattle. However, some early struggles resulted in several healthy scratches, enough in a row to the point where it allowed him to go to AHL Coachella Valley on a conditioning stint. In an appearance on the Got Yer’ Back podcast (video link), Francis indicated that the original plan might be changing. Wright will play two more games with the Firebirds and then will be recalled and put into the Kraken’s lineup with a decision on what’s next for him to be made after evaluating his performance post-recall. However, he can only play in two more games before officially burning the first year of his entry-level deal so that evaluation and decision will have to be made fairly quickly.
More from the Pacific:
- While things haven’t gone well for the Ducks this season (they enter play tonight dead last in points), don’t expect a coaching change anytime soon. In his latest podcast (audio link), GM Pat Verbeek indicated that his intention is to evaluate the coaching staff only at the end of the season. With the team clearly still in a rebuild, there’s no immediate need to make a change but if Dallas Eakins is hoping to stick with Anaheim beyond this season, they’ll need to play at least a little better than they have so far.
- The Sharks could get James Reimer back this weekend, notes Curtis Pashelka of The Mercury News. The veteran is currently on IR with a lower-body injury, his second one from November but he’s eligible to be activated as early as Saturday. San Jose plays both Saturday and Sunday so there’s a good chance he’ll be able to suit up for one of those. Reimer has a 3.00 GAA and a .903 SV% in 15 starts so far this season.
Alex Formenton Ineligible For Rest Of Season
The NHL’s deadline for clubs to sign restricted free agents to contracts that would allow them to play in the 2022-23 season has now passed. Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet confirmed that there has been no contract signed, meaning Ottawa Senators forward Alex Formenton is now ineligible to play in the rest of this NHL season.
Per Postmedia’s Bruce Garrioch, the Senators have been trying to find a trade for Formenton but were unable to finalize a deal before this deadline passed. Frank Seravalli of Daily Faceoff reported that the Senators’ asking price for Formenton was a second-round pick, and it appears that no team was willing to meet that asking price in order to acquire Formenton before the 4PM CDT deadline.
On paper, Formenton’s restricted free agency once seemed straightforward. After scoring 18 goals and 32 points last year, the speedy 23-year-old forward looked set to either earn a moderate bridge contract or perhaps even be a candidate for a long-term extension.
But Formenton’s status has become unclear due to potentially significant off-ice complications.
Speculation has continued to surface regarding Formenton’s role in the Hockey Canada World Junior 2018 sexual assault investigation, for which he is one of few players to not release a statement denying involvement.
While TSN’s Darren Dreger has reported that the NHL’s investigation is “substantially complete,” the league did not release its findings before today’s deadline, which may have contributed to the Formenton’s uncertain current status.
With the deadline now passed, it seems that Formenton’s only choice regarding his NHL future is to wait until there is more certainty in the matters that NHL clubs are reportedly concerned about. In the meantime, the Senators will retain Formenton’s rights as a restricted free agent.
Cal Petersen Clears Waivers; Kings Make Several Roster Moves
3:31 PM: Add one more roster move to today’s avalanche of transactions in Southern California. Per a team release, the Kings have recalled forward Tyler Madden from the Reign.
This recall puts Madden, 23, in a position to make his NHL debut. The forward is perhaps best known as a former Vancouver Canucks prospect who was sent to Los Angeles as part of the team’s Tyler Toffoli trade.
Madden has scored five goals and eight points in 16 AHL games so far this year and scored 14 goals and 31 points in 48 games last year. Madden played his collegiate career at Northeastern University and scored 37 points in 27 games in his second and final season there.
1:15 PM: As expected, Cal Petersen has cleared waivers after a dreadful start to the season. The Los Angeles Kings have sent him to the minor leagues, while completing several other roster moves. Tobias Bjornfot, Pheonix Copley, and Samuel Fagemo have been recalled, while Rasmus Kupari and Jordan Spence are joining Petersen with the Ontario Reign.
It has been a precipitous fall from grace for Petersen, who signed a $15MM contract just over 14 months ago. That deal includes a $4MM signing bonus next year and $11MM total over the last two seasons, a price tag that many clubs would likely balk at if considering a claim. The fact is that he just hasn’t been good enough to justify that price tag, making it easy to understand why teams would pass over him on waivers.
If he can get his game back in order, there will be a path back to the NHL for Petersen. Copley doesn’t represent a huge upgrade, despite strong performances in the minor leagues. Through 31 NHL games, the 30-year-old has a .900 save percentage, and hasn’t played regularly at that level since 2018-19. While he can serve as a backup, for the time being, the Kings goaltending situation looks rather suspect at the moment.
By assigning Petersen to the minor leagues, Los Angeles will clear $1.125MM of cap space off the books, though a good chunk of that is eaten up by Copley’s $825K deal.
Montreal Canadiens Place Mike Hoffman On Injured Reserve, Recall Rem Pitlick
The Montreal Canadiens announced today that forward Mike Hoffman has been placed on injured reserve. In a corresponding move, the team has recalled forward Rem Pitlick from the Laval Rocket, Montreal’s AHL affiliate.
Additionally, the team announced that forward Brendan Gallagher is currently being evaluated for a lower-body injury and won’t play in the Canadiens’ game against the Calgary Flames tonight.
Hoffman, 33, has been out with a lower-body injury for more than a week now. The veteran sniper has gotten off to a so-so start for the Canadiens this season, scoring eight points in 16 games. In Hoffman’s absence, the Canadiens will hope that Evgenii Dadonov can heat up after a slow start and fill in for some of the goal-scoring they’d have expected a healthy Hoffman to provide.
With Gallagher out, the Canadiens needed to create space on their roster to recall a forward to replace him, which led to Hoffman’s placement on injured reserve. The forward they called up is Pitlick, who has had a rough start to the 2022-23 campaign, having gone scoreless in seven NHL games this year.
Pitlick looked like a savvy waiver claim last year as he scored 37 points in 66 games last season, a 46-point pace. But so far this year Pitlick has been squeezed by the Canadiens’ glut of middle-six forward options and has spent time in the AHL as a result.
Now back on Montreal’s roster with a chance to get some game action, Pitlick will hope to re-capture some of the luck and quality play that defined his performance last year.
Riley Sheahan Signs In Switzerland
After terminating his contract with the Buffalo Sabres, Riley Sheahan is headed to Europe. The 30-year-old forward has signed a contract with EHC Biel-Bienne for the rest of the season. He is expected to join the club next week.
It’s an interesting move for the NHL veteran, who has decided to take his game overseas instead of playing in the minor leagues. A first-round pick of the Detroit Red Wings in 2010, it’s been nearly a decade since he played regular games in the AHL. That came back in 2013-14 and was followed by nine seasons of full-time NHL action, with Sheahan suiting up for the Red Wings, Sabres, Pittsburgh Penguins, Florida Panthers, Edmonton Oilers, and Seattle Kraken.
Over a 637-game NHL career, the checking center has 74 goals and 194 points. This season, he saw two games of action with the Sabres and six with the Rochester Americans but wasn’t able to score a goal at either level. He has never played in any leagues outside of North America, and it remains to be seen if he uses this opportunity in Switzerland as a springboard for an NHL return next year, or is finished with the grind on this side of the ocean.
Magnus Hellberg Sent On AHL Conditioning Assignment
It’s been a whirlwind season for Magnus Hellberg, who started the year with the Seattle Kraken, was claimed by the Ottawa Senators, reclaimed by the Kraken, and then nabbed by the Detroit Red Wings a little over a week ago. At the time, it was something of a curious move, given the Red Wings already had two goaltenders – Ville Husso and Alex Nedeljkovic – at the NHL level, but Detroit had shown interest in Hellberg since bringing him back to North America last season.
A few days ago, Sean Shapiro of EP Rinkside posited a theory about what the Red Wings could do with their three-headed goaltending monster. It included conditioning stints in the minor leagues for Hellberg and Nedeljkovic, which has now partly come true. The former has been sent to the AHL’s Grand Rapids Griffins for conditioning, allowing him to be assigned to the AHL without clearing waivers.
This doesn’t completely solve the issue, as a conditioning stint can only be two weeks in length. The idea, perhaps, is to basically swap the two by sending Nedeljkovic for a stint when that two weeks is up. The trick is that a conditioning stint does not remove a player from the NHL roster, meaning the Red Wings would be dedicating three spots to goaltenders either way.
At the very least, this should allow Hellberg to actually see some game action. The 31-year-old has played only once all season, a start for the Senators in which he stopped 29 of 31 shots.