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Florida Panthers: Predicting Next Season’s Lineup

By Louis Fischer

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This past NHL season saw the Florida Panthers make a 25 point increase in the standings from the year before, good enough for the biggest improvement by any team in the league. Many young players took the next step in their development.

Brandon Pirri developed into a goal scoring machine, tallying 19 goals over his last 30 games played. Nick Bjugstad established himself as a top center on the team along with Aleksander Barkov, while Jonathan Huberdeau had a career best 54 points.

We witnessed the evolution of Dmitry Kulikov into a reliable, smart defenseman, a distant memory of the turnover prone Kulikov of years past. Erik Gudbranson became a more consistent player, and rookie phenom Aaron Ekblad showed us all why he was the first overall pick with his exceptional play.

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    • Additionally, several free agent signings made significant contributions over the season. Willie Mitchell logged an average of 21:40 minutes of ice time per game, and Derek MacKenzie was an effective penalty killer. Of course, the late season addition of Jaromir Jagr paid dividends, as he finished with 18 points in 20 games while raising Huberdeau and Barkov’s level of play.

    However, next year’s cats are going to look a little bit different from this season’s. Unrestricted free agents Scottie Upshall and Tomas Kopecky are likely not going to be re-signed this off-season. Furthermore, Sean Bergenheim and Tomas Fleischman were both dealt at the trade deadline.

    That leaves a few roster spots up for grabs for the 2015-2016 season. How will these spots be filled? There are a few different methods including free agents, trades, and current prospects. Let’s take a look at some realistic possibilities for each category.

    Free Agents

    The unrestricted free agent class this year is underwhelming to say the least. A quick review of the Florida Panthers current roster reveals a need at wing.

    One viable option on the market this year is Matt Beleskey of the Anaheim Ducks. He developed into a top six forward on a loaded Ducks squad and could provide the Panthers with offensive support from the wing, something that the Panthers desperately need to take that next step. A contract in the 3-4 years, 4 million a year range seems possible.

    Joel Ward of the Washington Capitals is another possibility that comes to mind. Although he is already 34 years old, he’s coming off his best two statistical seasons. A short term deal would be optimal for Ward because he hasn’t proven to be able to sustain this level of success.

    Unfortunately, besides a small handful of players, there just isn’t a large quantity of high quality free agents this year.

    Trades

    Trading remains a strong possibility for the Panthers due to the weak free agent class. Dale Tallon does not shy away from big trades, as we have seen recently with the Roberto Luongo trade.

    Phil Kessel’s name has been thrown around a lot in connection to the Panthers and I must say that he would be a perfect fit. Year after year he puts up huge goal totals and the Panthers badly need a pure goal scorer. The problem is the asking price for Kessel might be too high.

    Another issue is Kessel’s monster cap hit of 8 million a season. Although the Florida Panthers have the cap space, especially with Brian Campbell’s 7 million coming off the books after this year, it might be too pricey to sign him unless Toronto retains some of Kessel’s salary.

    If Kessel doesn’t work out, then Tallon’s top priority this off-season should be trading for a scoring winger. The Panthers certainly have the trade pieces to give up, but it will likely come down to whether it makes long term sense.

    Prospects

    This remains the most likely and my favorite option for next season. I believe the Panthers have at least two NHL ready forwards playing for their farm team.

    A former University of North Dakota standout and second round draft selection, Rocco Grimaldi reminds me a lot of a younger Martin St. Louis. He has top end skating ability and the puck always seems to find his stick. He could be an effective third line forward for the Panthers and eventually take on a larger role as his play improves.

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    The other prospect that should be playing in the NHL by now is Quinton Howden. He has elite speed and was a former first round pick in 2010. Howden has struggled to find his game in the NHL thus far, but he should have enough experience in the minors to make the jump to the Panthers.

    In addition the Panthers hold the 11th overall pick of the Draft this year, which means that they will add another top prospect to their system. I wouldn’t expect this year’s choice to be ready to play in the NHL this season as only three players from last year’s draft played in more than 10 NHL games (Aaron Ekblad, Leon Draisaitl, and David Pastrnak).

    Maybe there will be a surprise player in training camp who impresses the coaching staff enough to make the team, you never know. Regardless, I’m expecting at least two current prospects to make the jump to the big squad next season.

    Conclusion

    The Florida Panthers have a variety of different routes they could take to form next season’s roster and Dale Tallon certainly has his work cut out for him. The experience that the young guns acquired while chasing the playoffs combined with a few more key additions this offseason should result in the Panthers’ second playoff berth of the decade. Finally, here is my predicted Panthers lineup for the 2015-2016 season:

    Forwards

    Jonathan Huberdeau – Aleksander Barkov – Jaromir Jagr

    Matt Beleskey – Nick Bjugstad – Brandon Pirri

    Jussi Jokinen – Rocco Grimaldi – Jimmy Hayes

    Quinton Howden – Dave Bolland – Vincent Trocheck

    Defense

    Brian Campbell – Aaron Ekblad

    Willie Mitchell – Erik Gudbranson

    Dmitry Kulikov – Alex Petrovic

    Goalie

    Roberto Luongo

    Al Montoya

    Scratched: Brad Boyes, Shawn Thornton, Derek MacKenzie

    Next: Florida Panthers UFA: Tomas Kopecky

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