Florida Panthers: Replacements for Jussi Jokinen as assistant captain

For the 2016-2017 season, veteran center Derek Mackenzie captained the Florida Panthers with defenseman Aaron Ekblad and winger Jussi Jokinen as alternates.

This offseason, after three seasons with the team, Florida bought out Jokinen’s contract.  The 34- year-old has since joined the Edmonton Oilers.  In addition to Jokinen, the Panthers will be without the great Jaromir Jagr and experienced enforcer Shawn Thornton this season.

With exciting prospects ready to gain NHL experience with Florida, the team will likely continue to get younger. This means that the Panthers will need to choose their captains wisely, in order to keep the young team grounded through an 82 game season.

Let’s look into some of the players who can potentially replace Jokinen and join Ekblad as an alternate (assistant) captain.