Florida Panthers: Predicting the stats of the defensemen and goalies

4th Defensive Leading Scorer: Michael Matheson

Matheson had a solid season with the Panthers last year. He showed multiple offensive bursts throughout the season. Like Demers, Matheson played all but one game the entire season and finished with 17 points. It may not seem like a lot of points, but Matheson was constantly in the offensive zone and getting good scoring opportunities.

As the season moved along, Matheson continued to get more and more ice time as the coaching staff noticed that he generated scoring opportunities all the time. By combining Matheson and Demers as the 2nd defensive unit, the Panthers will have a solid pairing. The Panthers should also consider placing Matheson on the power-play with Ekblad or Yandle. The more ice time Matheson gets, the more he will contribute to the team.

Prediction: 10 goals,13 assists and 23 points.