Florida Panthers: Evaluating the Goaltending Position this Past Season
In order to have a successful season, the Florida Panthers needed to be able to rely on their goaltending, but, how did that go for the Cats this past year?
At the start of the season, the Panthers were excited to have their goalie tandem of Roberto Luongo and James Reimer guarding the net. Just like any other team, the Panthers expected both Luongo and Reimer to be healthy throughout the entire season and for them to be a shutdown pair. While the Cats were able to get this for parts of the season, there was never really a consistent period of time where both Luongo and Reimer were consistently healthy.
Luongo suffered the most from injuries this year, and while Reimer did his best to hold the fort down, he also fell victim to the injury bug every so often. Due to injuries, this led to four different goaltenders suiting up in a Panthers uniform, and defending the cage.
Let’s take a look at the four goaltenders who guarded the goal crease for the Panthers this season.
Antti Niemi
There really isn’t much to say about Antti Niemi’s time with the Panthers. He only played in two games and started in zero of them. In the two games that he appeared in before being let go, he was pretty bad. It was obvious that the Panthers were never going to keep him long-term, and once one of the starters healed from their injury, Niemi would eventually be let go.
Niemi ultimately ended up with the Montreal Canadiens, and actually played pretty well. He also somehow finished with a winning record which is astonishing considering how bad Montreal was during the 2017-18 campaign.
Harri Sateri
Harri Sateri is yet another goalie that the Panthers never expected to be part of their team this year. When they signed him in the offseason, his purpose was simply to stay in the AHL and man the net in Springfield. Instead, Sateri played a pivotal role for the Cats this season, and could even be credited for resurrecting the season for the Florida Panthers.
When both Luongo and Reimer went down, all eyes turned to Sateri. It was his chance to prove that he could be an NHL goaltender. It was rough at first for Harri, but before being sent back to Springfield, he was the one who started the resurrection of the Florida Panthers. In his first three starts, Sateri allowed a total of 14 goals, and the Panthers lost all three of those games. The Panthers were already one of the worst teams in the NHL, and it looked like it was only going to get worse.
Suddenly, Sateri decided that he was going to carry the team on his back, and win four straight games. In those four games, he only allowed 6 goals. This small run not only gave life to the Panthers, but it also set them up perfectly for the return of Reimer and Luongo who would take the reigns from there.
Harri Sateri had a very successful first season in the NHL, and he proved to everyone that he is an NHL caliber goaltender.
James Reimer
In his second season with the Panthers, Reimer yet again handled most of the goaltending duties. While he also caught the injury bug at points in the season, Reimer was relied on for most of the year. Although Reimer’s personal numbers are actually worse compared to last season, he did finish with a record of 22-16-6 which was better than the year before.
Was it a successful season for Reimer? To me, it seems like James had another decent season. He wasn’t spectacular and he wasn’t bad either. At times, Reimer made unbelievable saves and carried the team on his shoulders, and then there were the games were Reimer seemed like he couldn’t stop a beach ball. Because the Cats finished with a better record this season, it would be fair to say that Reimer was overall a better goaltender compared to the season before.
Moving forward, it still remains to be seen if Reimer can really be trusted as the no. 1 goaltender for the Panthers. As of now, he fits the role of splitting most of the time with Luongo, but when Luongo eventually retires, it’s still very unclear if Reimer can handle being the go-to goalie at all times.
It will be interesting to see how the Panthers handle Reimer’s situation as they head into the offseason. Anything could happen, but all signs point to Reimer staying in South Florida for at least another season.
Roberto Luongo
In his fifth season since returning to Florida, Luongo had yet another injury riddled year. In fact, this was the least amount of games Luongo has played in as a starter, not taking into account the shortened season in 2012-13. Perhaps, if Luongo had been healthy for the entire year, the Panthers would’ve made the playoffs.
When Luongo was in the net, for the most part, he was stellar. He finished with a record of 18-11-2 and had a SV% of .929 and a GAA of 2.47. Roberto was key part of why the Panthers were able to keep up their late season push towards the postseason.
Although the Panthers ultimately fell short of their goal, Luongo showed that when healthy, he is still an elite goaltender in this league. Roberto is getting up there in age, but if he can remain healthy for the entire campaign next year, he should get another opportunity to play in the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
Besides the fact that Luongo is still the Panthers’ #1 goalie, he held many accomplishments this season. He played in his 1,000th NHL game this season which is simply remarkable for a goaltender. The fact that Luongo has been able to last this long in this gruesome league and at the level that which he plays at is simply amazing.
Luongo also delivered a heartfelt and touching message at the Panthers’ home game against the Washington Capitals right after the tragedy at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida. It was in a moment like this where we realized that Luongo is not only an incredible goaltender, but an even more incredible person. The Panthers’ organization and fans are blessed to have Luongo as their goaltender, and even more blessed to know how involved and how much of an impact he makes in the South Florida community.
Luongo will return as the starting goaltender for the Panthers next season, and hopefully will be able to get another chance at winning a Stanley Cup.