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Aleksander Barkov

Atlantic Notes: Anderson, Barkov, Weegar, Andersen

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While Senators goaltender Craig Anderson has been discussed as a speculative trade candidate in what is likely his final NHL season, the netminder told Postmedia’s Bruce Garrioch that his preference would be to not get traded.  The 38-year-old has been with Ottawa since the 2010-11 campaign and is having a bit of a tough season with a 3.19 GAA and a .901 SV% while losing starts to Marcus Hogberg in recent weeks.  With Anders Nilsson getting closer to returning as well, it could be a crowded crease if Anderson isn’t moved.  The veteran has a $4.75MM cap hit and a 10-team no-trade clause which could make any potential move tricky.

Elsewhere in the Atlantic:

  • The Panthers will have center Aleksander Barkov back in the lineup on Saturday against Pittsburgh, notes George Richards of The Athletic (Twitter link). He has missed the last three games due to a lower-body injury sustained against Montreal and they haven’t fared well offensively in his absence, scoring just five goals in that stretch which is less than half their season average in goals per game.  Meanwhile, Richards adds (Twitter link) that defenseman MacKenzie Weegar is dealing with complications from the injury that caused him to miss more than a month.  He had just returned on Tuesday but played just 13 minutes and then missed Thursday’s game.  There’s no timetable for his return.
  • Maple Leafs goaltender Frederik Andersen has been ruled out through the weekend due to his neck injury, notes TSN’s Kristen Shilton (Twitter link). Head coach Sheldon Keefe indicated that it’s difficult to peg a timeline for his return but that he is working through drills.  In the meantime, Michael Hutchinson will serve as the backup to newcomer Jack Campbell but will likely be waived once Andersen is ready to return.

Evening Notes: Kubalik, Petry, Joseph, Ekman-Larsson, Barkov

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The NHL announced that Chicago Blackhawks forward Dominik Kubalik as the “Rookie of the Month” for January after he scored 10 goals and 14 points in 10 games. Kubalik, whose rights were acquired from Los Angeles for a fifth-round pick more than a year ago, signed with the team and currently has 21 goals and 32 points in his rookie campaign.

The 24-year-old, in fact, was second in the NHL in goals scored in January, behind Washington’s Alex Ovechkin. Kubalik beat out goaltenders Elvis Merzlikins and Ilya Samsonov, as well as defensemen, Adam Fox, Quinn Hughes and Cale Makar in January.

  • With rumors starting to surface that the Montreal Canadiens could consider moving defenseman Jeff Petry at the trade deadline, it could be one of the biggest trade chips if they wanted to move him. Besides being a solid blueliner, Petry has another year on his contract worth $5.5MM, making him a better option for teams that want to avoid rentals. However, Petry has made it clear he would like to remain in Montreal. “From the day I got here, it’s been a special place for me here,” said Petry (via Sportsnet’s Eric Engels). “Getting to play in the playoffs the first time here was incredible and I honestly believe I don’t think there is a better place to win that it would be here. I think, like I said, we have our work cut out for us this year. But I still believe this group can do it.”
  • Joe Smith of The Athletic (subscription required) takes a look at all the assets the Tampa Bay Lightning might have at their disposal at the trade deadline. One of the top names on his list is forward Mathieu Joseph, who had an impressive rookie campaign last season. The 22-year-old surprised many last year when he made the team out of training camp and put up 13 goals and 26 points. However, his sophomore campaign has been disappointing and he is now trying to find his game with the Syracuse Crunch in the AHL. However, Smith notes that many teams are interested in a NHL-experienced player who possesses speed and defensive ability and has a good chance to find his game sooner than later. Joseph currently has three goals and 12 points in 16 AHL games.
  • The Arizona Coyotes announced they will be without defenseman Oliver Ekman-Larsson Saturday after he suffered a lower-body injury Thursday against the Los Angeles Kings. The Coyotes blueliner went down after taking a hit from the Kings’ Dustin Brown and was forced to leave the game. He is considered day-to-day.
  • The Athletic’s George Richards reports that Florida Panthers forward Aleksander Barkov will undergo an MRI Sunday after going down during today’s game against Montreal with what appears to be a left knee injury. Barkov has only missed two games in the past three years. Head coach Joel Quenneville did say he believed the injury was not serious.

Injury Notes: Barkov, Little, Johnsson, Ladd, Simek, Paquette

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Florida Panthers fans were quite worried Saturday when star player Aleksander Barkov skated off the ice during his second shift and did not return for the rest of the game. The Panthers deemed the injury as an upper-body injury and head coach Joel Quenneville refused to comment on it. However, The Athletic’s George Richards (subscription required) reports that general manager Dale Tallon referred to the injury as “minor.”

How Barkov was injured is a different story, as it doesn’t look as if Barkov took a hit, but the 24-year-old was seen clutching his side after an icing call on his second shift. He still lined up for the face-off, but looked to be in obvious pain. The team flew back to home last night and have Sunday off, with a home match against the Pittsburgh Penguins on Tuesday.

  • The Winnipeg Jets are looking for some added punch to their lineup as TSN’s Brian Munz reports that center Bryan Little, who has been sidelined all season with a concussion, is expected to play Sunday against the Edmonton Oilers. The 31-year-old has served as the team’s second line center for quite some time. He scored 15 goals and 41 points last season.
  • Toronto Maple Leafs forward Andreas Johnsson was not at practice Sunday after blocking a Brandon Carlo shot Saturday and being forced out of the game and missing the third period, according to TSN’s Kristen Shilton. X-rays on Johnsson’s leg came back negative, suggesting the injury isn’t too serious and the forward isn’t expected to be out for long. The 24-year-old winger has two goals and five points in nine games with the Leafs so far.
  • The return of Andrew Ladd could be coming soon as Newsday’s Andrew Gross reports that the 33-year-old winger was skating in a regular practice jersey Sunday, after several practices in an orange non-contact jersey. Ladd is coming off a torn ACL and was limited to just 26 games last season. If healthy, Ladd could make some key contributions on the team’s bottom-six. He scored three goals and 11 points in those 26 appearances last year. Gross in a separate tweet, reports that both Jordan Eberle and Casey Cizikas, each on injured reserve with lower-body injuries, skated today, but separately from the rest of the team.
  • The Athletic’s Kevin Kurz reports that defenseman Radim Simek is expected to join the San Jose Sharks on their five-game road trip, but the blueliner said that he likely won’t play in any of those games due to his leg injury. He has been practicing so a return could come in the next few weeks, but his return to health has taken longer than the team expected.
  • NHL.com’s Bryan Burns reports that Tampa Bay Lighting forward Cedric Paquette is now considered to be day-to-day. The 26-year-old forward, out with an arm injury, hasn’t played a game this season yet, but could be close. Paquette scored a career-high 13 goals last season.

 

Bobrovsky, Panarin Traveling To Florida To Meet With Panthers

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With the NHL unrestricted free agent speaking period having opened earlier this morning, many players can begin to talk to other teams to decide what team they might want to play for next season. Two of the biggest free agents on the market, Sergei Bobrovsky and Artemi Panarin, are expected to participate immediately. The two stars are expected to arrive in Florida en route from Russia and TSN’s Bob McKenzie reports that they are expected to both meet with the Florida Panthers on Monday morning.

While the two big-named free agents from Columbus don’t necessarily come as a package, both have been speculated to end up with the Panthers. Florida has $20.48MM in cap space available, which could cover both players’ price tags, although the team also has some needs on defense as well. McKenzie also points out that while it wants to sign both players, Florida’s top  priority is signing a goaltender, which means that Bobrovsky is likely the team’s top free-agent candidate.

The team still has two goalies under contract in Roberto Luongo and James Reimer, but neither goaltender played well last year. Luongo, who still has three years remaining at $4.53MM, managed to appear in 43 games despite often dealing with injuries, but finished with a 3.11 GAA and a .899 save percentage. While nothing is official, the rumor is that Luongo wants to come back as the team’s backup. Reimer, the team’s current backup, has two years remaining on his contract at $3.4MM. He struggled as well last season, posting a 3.09 GAA and a .900 save percentage. The team is working on finding a trade partner willing to take Reimer’s contract in hopes of freeing up some extra cap room to make more changes. Bobrovsky, a two-time Vezina Trophy winner, would give Florida a impact goaltender for the first time in years. The 30-year-old didn’t have his usual strong season, posting a 2.58 GAA and a .913 save percentage, but finally stepped up in the playoffs after years of struggles, picking up six wins and a .925 save percentage.

Panarin has plenty of suitors, but many have felt for more than a year that the 27-year-old scorer was interested in moving to Florida and joining the Panthers. That thought was intensified after the Panthers signed his former coach Joel Quenneville to be their new head coach. Quenneville coached Panarin for his first two years in the league when he played with the Blackhawks and the two had a good relationship. It’s hard to believe that Panarin has only been in the league for four years, but in that time, he’s tallied 116 goals and 320 points. With his young age, he’d be a perfect fit alongside players like Aleksander Barkov, Jonathan Huberdeau and Evgenii Dadonov. Panarin is also being recruited by a number of other teams, including the New York Rangers, who hope to get a shot at signing the free agent.

 

Snapshots: Lady Byng, Seattle, Carolina

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The NHL has announced the three finalists to be this year’s recipient of the Lady Byng Trophy, which is awarded to the player “who best combines sportsmanship and a high standard of playing ability. The Florida Panthers’ Aleksander Barkov, the Calgary Flames’ Sean Monahan, and the St. Louis Blues’ Ryan O’Reilly are up for the title this year. The Lady Byng is a divisive award; some appreciate the intent behind the trophy while others criticize the criteria used to determine its contenders. The Lady Byng is notoriously hard to win for defensemen and has never been won by a goalie, which begs the question of why players at those positions cannot display elite sportsmanship. The award has more or less been whittled down to a measure of penalty minutes versus ice time and production for forwards, whether that is the fair determination or not.  By that standard, the three finalists are strong selections. O’Reilly is a previous winner, taking home the trophy in 2013-14, was a finalist last year, and has received votes in seven of the past eight seasons. O’Reilly, who is also a Selke Trophy finalist, is an elite defensive forward, but served just 12 minutes in the penalty box this season through all 82 regular season games. It is his eighth straight season of 12 PIM or less. Barkov, also a strong two-way player, is a Lady Byng finalist for the second straight year and registered a career-low eight penalty minutes on the year while leading all Panthers forwards in points and ice time. Monahan comes in at 12 PIM of his own to go along with a strong season in all three zones as the first-line center for the Western Conference’s top seed. The winner could be any of these three.

  • NHL.com’s Andrew Eide relays news out of Seattle that the refurbished Seattle Center Arena is set to be open by June of 2021. The Seattle expansion franchise ownership group is hard at work rebuilding the former Key Arena, but today have revealed the first timeline of when the facility may be open to the public. While Seattle will not begin play until later on that year at the start of the 2021-22 season, the early accessibility could open some interesting doors to the NHL. Eide writes that the league could consider hosting the Expansion Draft itself or even the NHL Entry Draft at the new home of Seattle’s team if the building is indeed up and running by the expected date. The project is still in the “demolition phase”, as all but the roof of the building is being torn apart and rebuilt, so it’s still too early to know whether the timeline will allow for any league events in the summer prior to Seattle’s inaugural season, but such a possibility would be an exciting start for the new team and fan base.
  • Speaking of arenas, Luke DeCock of the Raleigh News & Observer reports that the Carolina Hurricanes listed an attendance of 19,202 for Game Four of their first round series with the Washington Capitals. That mark is a new franchise high for the Hurricanes, who have seen a re-surge-ence in their fan base this season. Both Carolina’s play and their fan interaction have reignited local interest, which is great news for the team and area hockey. The Canes are just two years removed from ranking dead last in the NHL in attendance with 11,776 on average. While they only ranked 28th of 31 this year, their average attendance was up over 20% from 2016-17 to 14,322. Their attendance on Thursday night, if compared with averages around the league, would have ranked fifth, just behind Toronto and ahead of the likes of Detroit and Minnesota. Hockey is alive and well in Carolina right now and hopefully that continues.

Florida Panthers Fire Head Coach Bob Boughner

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The Florida Panthers wasted no time in making major moves at the start of their premature off-season. The team has announced that head coach Bob Boughner has been relieved of his duties. Boughner just finished his second season as the coach of the Panthers, his first NHL head coaching position. Assistant coach Paul McFarland has also been fired.

The team release from GM Dale Tallon read as follows:

We made a tough decision today and have relieved Bob Boughner of his duties as head coach. We didn’t meet expectations this season and share responsibility for that fact. After careful evaluation, we have determined that this is a necessary first step for our young team and we will seek to identify a transformative, experienced head coach with Stanley Cup pedigree to lead our team going forward. We’re grateful to Bob, Paul, and their families for their hard work and their dedication to the Panthers organization and we wish them the best of luck in their future endeavors.

Boughner’s departure should not come as any great surprise. As a first-time NHL head coach, Boughner was on a short leash from the start. After a slow beginning to his tenure, the Panthers were one of the best teams in the NHL down the stretch last season, but just narrowly missed the playoffs nonetheless. The expectation was that the team would ride that streak right into the new campaign, but 2018-19 did not go as planned. The team could never quite keep things together long enough to stick around the playoff picture. It was a disappointing finish for a team with high expectations.

If the Panthers were a rebuilding club, perhaps two finishes just outside the top-16 would have been enough for Boughner to keep his job. However, Florida is a deep, talented team with many players in the primes of their careers. Especially up front, the Cats had enough talent that they should have rivaled nearly any team in the league. Aleksander Barkov and Jonathan Huberdeau each cracked 90 points this season, while Mike Hoffman and Evgenii Dadonov reached 70. The Panthers were the first squad this season to have five 20-goal scorers, finished ninth as a team in goals for per game, and their power play – led by McFarland – was second only tot the rival Tampa Bay Lightning. Where Boughner and his staff clearly fell short was in preventing goals to the same extent they scored them. The Panthers were 28th in the league in goals against per game, allowing ten goals on average over a three-game stretch. Ironically, that did not come from allowing too many shots or struggling on the penalty kill, as Florida largely succeeded in both areas. Instead, Boughner’s scheme seemed to allow for too many high-danger chances and put his defensemen and struggling goaltenders in tough situations.

Admittedly, it’s not all Boughner’s fault. Roberto Luongo, 40, and James Reimer, 31, were a tired and injury-prone duo from the start that made keeping pucks out of the net a difficult task. The defense corps also lacked difference makers behind Keith Yandle and Aaron Ekblad, as Mike Matheson took a step back and others on the blue line were overexposed. However, as a former standout defenseman himself, the expectation was likely that Boughner could adjust to his personnel and do a better job of defending against goals. Given the individual talent of many of his forwards, the team could have survived with a more conservative style. However, that move was never made and it likely cost Boughner his job.

As for the next bench boss in Florida, the team’s desire for a “transformative, experienced head coach with Stanley Cup pedigree” is likely a not-so-subtle plea to former Chicago Blackhawks head coach Joel Quenneville. Quenneville is the best free agent coach available and really the only name that fits that description. He also shares a history with Tallon. Additionally, the Panthers are expected to pursue both Columbus Blue Jackets stars Artemi Panarin and Sergei Bobrovsky this summer and know Quenneville could be the key to bringing in former Blackhawk Panarin and his best friend. Quenneville has been linked to other teams around the NHL, but while other vacancies have since been filled by interim coaches who will receive further consideration, the job is open right now in Florida and Quenneville could be tempted to take it.

PHWA Announces 2018-19 Midseason Awards

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Though they have no bearing on the eventual winners, last season the Professional Hockey Writers Association brought back their Midseason Awards to give fans an idea of who was leading the charge around the NHL at the halfway point. Today those ballots have been tallied and the midseason trophies were given out:

Hart Trophy – Most valuable player

1. Nikita Kucherov, Tampa Bay Lightning
2. Johnny Gaudreau, Calgary Flames
3. Connor McDavid, Edmonton Oilers

Norris Trophy – Best defenseman

1. Mark Giordano, Calgary Flames
2. Morgan Rielly, Toronto Maple Leafs
3. Brent Burns, San Jose Sharks

Selke Trophy – Best defensive forward

1. Patrice Bergeron, Boston Bruins
2. Aleksander Barkov, Florida Panthers
3. Mark Stone, Ottawa Senators

Calder Trophy – Best rookie

1. Elias Pettersson, Vancouver Canucks
2. Rasmus Dahlin, Buffalo Sabres
3. Miro Heiskanen, Dallas Stars

Lady Byng Trophy – Sportsmanship & gentlemanly conduct

1. Aleksander Barkov, Florida Panthers
2. Morgan Rielly, Toronto Maple Leafs
3. Sean Monahan, Calgary Flames

Vezina Trophy – Best goaltender

1. John Gibson, Anaheim Ducks
2. Marc-Andre Fleury, Vegas Golden Knights
3. Frederik Andersen, Toronto Maple Leafs

Jack Adams Award – Best coach

1. Barry Trotz, New York Islanders
2. Bill Peters, Calgary Flames
3. Jon Cooper, Tampa Bay Lightning

GM of the Year Award

1. Brad Treliving, Calgary Flames
2. Doug Wilson, San Jose Sharks
3. Lou Lamoriello, New York Islanders

Rod Langway Award – Best defensive defenseman

1. Mattias Ekholm, Nashville Predators
2. Mark Giordano, Calgary Flames
3. Victor Hedman, Tampa Bay Lightning

Comeback Player of the Year Award

1. Robin Lehner, New York Islanders
2. Jeff Skinner, Buffalo Sabres
3. Zach Parise, Minnesota Wild

“Last Man In” All-Star Ballot Candidates Announced

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The NHL has already announced the initial ten-man All-Star rosters for each of the four divisions, but new this year is an additional fan ballot to add an eleventh and final member to each squad. The “Last Man In” ballot, an idea invented by Major League Baseball, pits one skater from each team in each division against one another for a chance to participate in All-Star festivities. Fans will decide, with online voting opening tomorrow and lasting until midnight ET on January 10, which of the following players will get the final nod:

Pacific Division

F Leon Draisaitl (EDM)
F Logan Couture (SJS)
F Anze Kopitar (LAK)
F Ryan Getzlaf (ANA)
F Brock Boeser (VAN)
F Jonathan Marchessault (VGK)
D Mark Giordano (CGY)
D Oliver Ekman-Larsson (ARI)

Central Division

F Gabriel Landeskog (COL)
F Zach Parise (MIN)
F Patrik Laine (WPG)
F Tyler Seguin (DAL)
F Vladimir Tarasenko (STL)
F Filip Forsberg (NSH)
F Jonathan Toews (CHI)

Atlantic Division

F Brayden Point (TBL)
F Jeff Skinner (BUF)
F Dylan Larkin (DET)
F Aleksander Barkov (FLA)
F Patrice Bergeron (BOS)
F Mark Stone (OTT)
D Morgan Rielly (TOR)
D Shea Weber (MTL)

Metropolitan Division

F Nicklas Backstrom (WSH)
F Kyle Palmieri (NJD)
F Anders Lee (NYI)
F Jakub Voracek (PHI)
F Teuvo Teravainen (CAR)
F Nick Foligno (CLB)
F Mats Zuccarello (NYR)
D Kris Letang (PIT)

Due to the limits on selections by team, both in the initial rosters and the “Last Man In” vote, there are several star players who cannot be saved by fan voting this year. The Toronto Maple Leafs’ Mitch Marner, the No. 6-ranked scorer in the league, highlights the snub group, which also includes Calgary Flames forwards Sean Monahan and Matthew Tkachuk, Pittsburgh Penguins forwards Evgeni Malkin and Phil Kessel, and Minnesota Wild defenseman Ryan Suter. Other odd omissions, not necessarily forced by the format, are Columbus’ Artemi Panarin, Nashville’s Ryan Johansen, and Montreal’s Max Domi and Jeff Petry. However, the new final vote option does largely do a good job of giving each team and their fan base one last chance to get a deserving player into the All-Star game.

CBA Notes: Timeline, World Cup, Fehr, Playoffs, Scheduling, Orr

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The NHL Collective Bargaining Agreement is not a topic that most hockey fans want to hear much about, as in its recent history it has become synonymous with lockouts and missed games (and seasons). Yet, it isn’t ever going away and details are already emerging about when the next round of negotiations could begin. The current CBA technically does not expire until September 15th after the 2021-22 season and can even be extended on a yearly basis after that point. However, both the league and the players’ association can opt out ahead of the 2020-21 season with notice given in September of 2019. That date is less than a year out, making discussions of the current state of NHL labor relations prevalent now even if the CBA ends up intact for many years still to come. Currently, the league is not planning to use their option in September, according to Sportsnet insider Elliotte Friedman. This is supported by claims that commissioner Gary Bettman has encouraged the NHLPA to figure out their stance as soon as possible. If the league is to hold an off-season World Cup tournament in 2020, as they did in 2016, they do not want to do so ahead of a season that could potentially be held up by a player strike. While the players have until September to make a decision on opting out of the current CBA ahead of the 2020-21 season, Friedman speculates that the league will need to know their intentions by the All-Star break this year or thereabouts if they are to begin planning the next World Cup. As Friedman notes, the international stage is very important to the players and with the NHL currently looking unlikely to attend the 2022 Winter Olympic Games in Beijing, China, the players may not want to risk their only other international experience, the World Cup. Will it be enough motivation to keep the CBA intact a while longer? We should know that answer before the end of the current season.

  • When CBA talks do finally re-open, Sportsnet’s Nick Kypreos states his belief that both sides are determined to avoid a work stoppage this time around. Although they will have to get over their recent tumultuous negotiating history, which has cost owners, players, and fans alike a season and a half since the turn of the century, as well as sort through some serious issues, the fact that both sides feel a shutdown would be a worst case scenario this time around is a positive note for everyone with a stake in the game.
  • Despite recent remarks that were inferred as signaling a coming end to his career, NHLPA Director Donald Fehr is not going anywhere, per Friedman. Fehr indicated that he would only be around for one or two more years, but walked back those comments by telling Friedman that he will stay on through the next CBA negotiation, whenever that is. The 70-year-old executive is well-respected if not feared for his hardball tactics, but has been optimistic about the next round of negotiations when approached about the topic recently. Fehr faces the tough choice of whether to opt out in 2020 (and retire sooner) or keep the peace for a couple more years instead.
  • One CBA topic gaining support is a change to playoff structure, reports Sportsnet’s Chris Johnston. However, it likely is not what many would consider to be the most pressing change. Johnston says that there is a growing movement among owners in favor of adding more teams to the playoff format. The NHL has operated with more than half of its teams making the postseason for many years now, but once Seattle joins the league as the 32nd member, that 16-team structure will now have a balance of exactly half the teams qualifying. Johnston believes that owners are in favor of a play-in structure, similar to the one recently adopted by Major League Baseball, that would hypothetically include two or four more teams to the postseason through do-or-die play-in games. Interestingly, this movement may never reach the bargaining table. Johnston notes that while some owners are in favor of this move, others, and most importantly Bettman, are happy with the current structure and are not seeking to change anything in the near future.
  • Changes to the playing schedule, particularly game times, could also be an intriguing CBA topic. Stephen Whyno of the Associated Press writes that many foreign-born NHL players are in favor of more frequent matinee games. Speaking with the Washington Capitals’ Nicklas Backstrom and Lars Eller and the Florida Panthers’ Aleksander Barkov, Whyno found that many NHL imports feel that earlier games would be far more convenient for foreign fans and could help to grow the game overseas. While the league has proven to be very invested in expanding the game in Europe and beyond, afternoon games on weekdays are an impossibility, while afternoon games on weekends in the first half of the season would pit the NHL against NFL and NCAA football far more often. The players may be fine with losing domestic television ratings in exchange for increased visibility overseas, but the league likely will not be. In need of a new TV deal in 2021, the NHL is unlikely to hurt the market value of their TV rights by expressing an interest in more frequently taking on football, the most popular sport in the United States.
  • For his part, Bobby Orr thinks that another work stoppage is likely. Orr told The Canadian Press that he would be “surprised” if there isn’t a lockout or strike before the next CBA is agreed upon, calling it a “tough” situation. “I think there are concerns on both sides… I hope there isn’t… I hope I’m wrong. We don’t need another lockout”, Orr said. Orr is not only one of the game’s greatest legends, but through his agency, The Orr Hockey Group, gleams plenty of information about the state of the league. If Orr says that it’s going to be tough, he’s probably right. The only hope is that termination can be put off a while longer and issues can be worked out in the meantime.

Panthers Notes: MacKenzie, MacDonald, Montembeault

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Florida Panthers veteran forward Derek MacKenzie recently relinquished his captaincy to young centerpiece forward Aleksander Barkov, the reason for which has now become more clear. MacKenzie revealed to The Athletic’s George Richards recently that 2018-19 will be his final NHL season. The 37-year-old is in the final year of of two-year extension signed with the Panthers back in 2016 and his fifth year overall with the organization. MacKenzie is entering his sixteenth and final season, having worked his way up from a young, part-time player with the Atlanta Thrashers to a dependable fourth-liner with the Columbus Blue Jackets to a locker room leader and botto-six mainstay with Florida. However, it’s this hard-working style that has finally caught up to the respected veteran, as he tells Richards “the way I have had to play over the past 18 years — the pace I have to go — it has become tougher and tougher over the years.” MacKenzie’s usage and production has maintained relatively consistent in Florida, but he could be in for a drop-off this year, playing in a deep, young, and fast Panthers forward corps. MacKenzie recognizes that his years of wear and tear have caught up with him and that this season will be the last gasps of a hard-nosed career. However, it likely won’t be the end of his time with Florida, as MacKenzie adds that “I love this team, love this organization. I would like to try and stay involved and try and pick up where I left off.” MacKenzie may not be out on the ice for the Cats moving forward, but rest assured the former captain will still be present in the organization.

  • When the Panthers take the ice tonight in their opener against the Tampa Bay Lightning, it will mark the NHL debut for defenseman Jacob MacDonald, per Richards. Who? MacDonald, 25, is a largely unheralded prospect who has somehow worked his way into Florida’s starting lineup to begin the year. The team signed MacDonald to a two-year, two-way contract this off-season after three seasons in the minor leagues. The Cornell University graduate hasn’t even been exclusively in the AHL these past three years; he played most of the 2015-16 season in the ECHL and then split time between the two leagues in 2016-17. Only last year did he play his first full AHL season, skating in 75 games with the Binghamton Devils and leading the team with 55 points. He came into camp as unlikely candidate for the Panthers’ roster, but with injuries to Bogdan Kiselevich and Josh Brown and a nagging issue for MacKenzie Weegar, MacDonald has gotten the call. That is not to say that he hasn’t earned his spot though; experienced options like Ian McCoshen and Julian Melchiori were reassigned to the Springfield Thunderbirds while MacDonald remained in camp. The puck-moving defenseman will line up on the Panthers’ third pair with Alex Petrovic tonight and, if he sticks, could be one of the more inspiring stories of this season. For more, check out Erin Brown’s article for The Athletic.
  • Florida has one of the more concrete goalie tandems in the league with Roberto Luongo and James Reimer. They even went out and added a solid third option in Michael Hutchinson this summer. However, those three keepers are 39, 30, and 28 years old respectively with birthdays on the way this season. Behind this group, the Panthers actually are one of the more shallow teams in terms of organizational goalie depth in the league, with just young AHL backstop Samuel Montembeault, a third-round pick in 2015, and Bowling Green State University starter Ryan Bednard, a seventh-rounder the same year. For that reason, don’t be surprised to see Montembeault squeeze in some NHL appearances this season as well. The Springfield Thunderbirds goalie struggled in his first pro season last year, but was a competent keeper in the QMJHL and, more importantly, is the closest thing that the Panthers have to an heir apparent regardless of his performance. Luongo is signed for four more years, but it is doubtful that he plays out the entirety of the contract and could retire as early as this summer, and Hutchinson is an impending unrestricted free agent. A future exists where Florida enters the off-season with just Reimer and Montembeault under contract. The youngster has to be ready to embrace his role as the organization’s only standout young goalie and the team has to prepare him for the possibility of an increased role sooner rather than later.

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