Florida Panthers-Future At Goaltending
After much goalie controversy in 2016-17, it has become evident that James Reimer is now the Florida Panthers’ number 1 goalie. But Reimer can’t keep this up forever, and the Panthers only have 1 solid goalie prospect in Samuel Montembeault, who is still a couple of years away from playing for the big club. So the big question is, “What happens after Reimer?”
After last season, it was evident that Roberto Luongo was going to be the Panthers’ starting goalie for the next 3-4 seasons. But about halfway through 2016-17, James Reimer was given the number one role, and Luongo got injured, and hasn’t played for a few weeks because of it.
Now it seems like Reimer will be the Panthers’ main guy for the next few seasons, which isn’t bad at all. Reimer has put up great numbers this season as the backup, and even better numbers since taking over the starting role. Overall, he’s 14-14-5. Don’t let that record distract you though, as he’s posted a phenomenal 2.63 GAA and a .917 save percentage.
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Now Reimer is a solid option for the next few seasons, but he can’t keep it up eventually, and Luongo will probably be long gone by then. So what happens next?
The main goalie prospect in the Panthers system is Samuel Montembeault, who has done pretty well in the QMJHL as a member of the Blainville-Boisbriand Armada. So far. he’s played 41 games, and posted a 2.40 GAA, and a .907 save percentage. The second main goalie prospect in the Panthers’ system is Sam Brittain. He isn’t as solid as he’s posted a 3.28 GAA, and a .896 in 36 games played as a member of the Manchester Monarchs of the ECHL. He still has some solid potential though at only 24 years old.
The Panthers did trade veteran goaltender Mike McKenna to the Tampa Bay Lightning in exchange for younger goaltender Adam Wilcox. So far, Wilcox has done very well in Springfield. Through 5 games, he’s posted a 1.66 GAA, and a .945 save percentage.
The Panthers still can’t rely only on these three, two of which could easily not pan out. Montembeault is really the only guy who has starter potential. Which means that the smart thing to do would be to trade someone like Alexander Petrovic and a pick for a solid goaltending prospect.
Now you may ask, “Why Petrovic?” Well, even though he is a starter, the Panthers have extreme depth on defense, with prospects like Ian McCoshen and Mackenzie Weegar who look to be NHL ready, and with the likely loss of Mark Pysyk due to the expansion draft, trading Petrovic would make space for both of them.
So in about 4-5 years, either Montembeault will be the starter, or someone who was traded for. Hopefully.