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.

Radim Vrbata

If they value experience in an alternate captain, the Panthers should consider Yandle’s old Phoenix teammate Radim Vrbata. The 36-year-old from the Czech Republic has played in over 1,000 games in his 16 year career. Vrbata was productive offensively last year with 20 goals and 35 assists.

The Panthers will need every point they can get from him as they lost their leading goal scorer Jonathan Marchessault in the expansion draft. However unlike Yandle, Vrbata’s contract only lasts one-year.  Also this is Radim’s first season in Sunrise, so it seems unlikely that they would make him an alternate captain right off the bat.

Aleksander Barkov

Florida doesn’t have to give the letter to the most experienced player. After all, the other alternate captain, Aaron Ekblad, is only 21-years-old.  They could choose the young face of their franchise, Aleksander Barkov, to replace Jokinen. The Panthers have Barkov locked up with a six-year, 35 million dollar contract.  A first line center, Barkov is an integral part of the Florida Panthers.  He scored 52 points (21 G, 31A) despite only playing in 61 games.

His youth might cause some fans to forget that his four years make him one of the longer tenured players on the team.  One thing that doesn’t help Aleksander’s case for alternate captain is his history of injuries. He has never played more than 71 games in a season during his career thus far.

Jonathan Huberdeau

If the Panthers want to give one of their younger core players the responsibility of a letter, Jonathan Huberdeau might be the way to go. The talented former 3rd overall pick has been a big time point scorer in the past. Unfortunately Panthers fans only got to see him play 31 games due to an injury sustained in a preseason game.

His five years as a Panther make him the longest tenured player on the roster. Florida has already demonstrated trust in Huberdeau financially. The 24-year old left winger is on year two of a six- year, 35 million dollar contract.

Micheal Haley

While Dadonov and Vrbata took up most of the publicity, Micheal Haley was another notable offseason acquisition for the Panthers. Haley has a fair amount of NHL experience, having played 7 seasons between the Islanders, Rangers and Sharks. He probably won’t be a huge factor offensively considering he had 12 points (2G, 10A) in 68 games last year. Then again, Florida’s current captain, Derek Mackenzie, only had 16 points himself.

Haley’s main advantage as an alternate captain is his relationship with new head coach Bob Boughner. Micheal and Boughner have spent the last two seasons together as members of the San Jose Sharks.  However Micheal’s new Panthers teammates aren’t as familiar with him, which might hurt his chances of being named an alternate captain.

Vincent Trocheck

There were stretches of last season when the Panthers didn’t have Barkov, Huberdeau, or both. However, despite all their injuries, there was never a time last season when the Panthers were without Vincent Trocheck. Trocheck wasn’t just healthy last season; he was good.  He led the team with 54 points last season.

At age 24, Vincent is about to start the second year of his six-year contract, making him a similar story to Barkov and Huberdeau. If Florida wants an alternate captain that can stay on the ice and lead by example, Trocheck is a solid choice.

Prediction

There are a lot of good candidates to wear the letter A for the Florida Panthers next season, but no easy, obvious choice.  A large part of their decision will depend on how much stock they put on experience. The recent trend for Florida is to favor veteran players as captains and alternates. However, Aaron Ekblad’s youth didn’t prevent him from being named an alternate.

I expect that with the departure of older players and the potential call-ups of new prospects, the young core of the Panthers will soon be seen as the leaders of the team. Many of the captains and alternate captains in the NHL are stars. The player with the most star power on the Panthers is Aleksander Barkov.

Next: Florida Panthers: Jayce Hawryluk is the missing link

He is still young, but he has experience playing with Jaromir Jagr on Florida’s top line. Also, he is good enough to command respect and attention in the locker room. I predict that Aleksander Barkov will replace Jussi Jokinen as the teams next assistant captain.