Where Will The Florida Panthers Finish In The Atlantic Division?

Robert Mayer-USA TODAY Sports

• Last Year’s Finish: 7th
• Key Additions: Dave Bolland, Willie Mitchell, Shawn Thornton, Jussi Jokinen, Derek MacKenzie, Al Montoya, Aaron Ekblad
• Key Losses: Tom Gilbert, Jesse Winchester, Matt Gilroy, Krys Barch, Ed Jovanovski

The Panthers have been busy this off-season. The Cats hired Gerard Gallant to be the next head coach, drafted Aaron Ekblad first overall, re-signed several key players like Dmitry Kulikov, Brandon Pirri, and Erik Gudbranson, and brought in six new players on July 1st. With the new additions the Panthers roster is very deep and it should translate into more wins this coming season and possibly a wild card berth.

For the Panthers to make the playoffs a couple things need to happen. First, they need to stay healthy. We can ill afford injuries to players like Roberto Luongo, Aleksander Barkov, Jonathan Huberdeau, and Brian Campbell. Second, we need our young players like Jonathan Huberdeau, Erik Gudbranson, and Aleksander Barkov to progress. If Huberdeau can regain his mojo under his former HC Gerard Gallant, If Gudbranson can take a leadership role, and if Barkov can continue to impress like he did last season the Cats can be a team to watch this upcoming season. Playoffs are not out of the question.