Defensive Leading Scorer: Keith Yandle
While some may think that Aaron Ekblad will lead the Panthers in points this year, Keith Yandle should beat him out by just a small margin. Yandle finished with 5 goals and 36 assists equaling 41 points. He did play all 82 games, but for Yandle, this wasn’t a good year defensively.
If Yandle can continue his streak of playing every game this season, he should slightly improve his statistics. Do not expect Yandle to turn into Erik Karlsson this year, but because Keith is more comfortable with the team, we do expect to see him up his game. Even though he will lead the defense in scoring, Yandle’s performance will not result in him being Florida’s most consistent defensemen (in other areas) throughout the entire year.
Prediction: 8 goals,39 assists and 47 points.