Team Outlook: Florida Panthers

Heading into the 2022-23 NHL season, I’m going to look at every team to see how they are looking going into the season.

From: nhl.com

2021-22:

The Florida Panthers went 58-18-6 with 122 points to be able to take the Presidents Trophy. They ended up losing in the 2nd round of the playoffs to the Tampa Bay Lightning in 4 games.

Draft:

The Panthers had 7 picks in the draft, however they didn’t have a pick until the 3rd round. In the 3rd round they took Czech defenseman Marek Alscher. Alscher played his first WHL season last season and finished with 16 points in 61 games. He also had a +20-rating last season. For their very last pick, they selected NCAA champion Jack Devine. Devine had 19 points in 36 games during his freshman season for the University of Denver. He also got a total of 34 points in 42 games during his 2 seasons in the USHL.

Additions:

In one of the most talked about trades during the offseason, the Panthers traded for Matthew Tkachuk from the Florida Panthers. Tkachuk had a career high of 108 points in all 82 games with the Flames and 10 points in 12 games during the playoffs. Last season was the first time he reached over a point per game in the NHL, but the Panthers are hoping he could keep up the momentum. The Panthers also signed forward Colin White. White has spent his full 6 season career with the Ottawa Senators, and he had 10 points in 24 games last season. Finally, they signed Nick Cousins. Cousins spent last season with the Nashville Predators getting 22 points in 68 games.

Losses:

However, in the Tkachuk trade, they ended up losing some valuable players. They lost 115-point scorer Johnathan Huberdeau. Huberdeau had a career high in points while playing 80 games, however he only got 5 points during 10 games in the playoffs. They also lost defenseman Mackenzie Weegar. Weegar had a great season last season getting 44 points in 80 games and a point in 10 games during the playoffs. Also, Mason Marchment, having a career high of 47 points in 54 games, ended up leaving the Panthers to go play for the Stars. Finally, even though they only had him for less than a half a season, Claude Giroux signed with the Senators after getting 23 points in 18 games with the Panthers and 8 points in 10 games in the playoffs.

Who to look for:

Forward Anton Levtchi had 61 points in 55 games in Liiga last season, leading all players. He signed with the Panthers over the offseason, so I would look out for him. Forward Grigori Denisenko played in the AHL last season and got 18 points in 30 games. He played 1 game with the Panthers but didn’t get any points.

Prediction:

The Panthers still look solid, they probably won't repeat as the Atlantic Division champs, but I would be ready for them to make the playoffs again.

Stats from: eliteprospects.com, capfriendly.com