Florida Panthers: Four Defensemen the Cats Should Look to Acquire

TORONTO, ON - MARCH 28: James van Riemsdyk #25 of the Toronto Maple Leafs celebrates his 200th career goal with teammates Tyler Bozak #42, Connor Brown #28, and Travis Dermott #23 against Roberto Luongo #1, Jared McCann #90, Mark Pysyk #13, Mike Matheson #19, Maxim Mamin #78, and Denis Malgin #62 of the Florida Panthers during the third period at the Air Canada Centre on March 28, 2018 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. (Photo by Mark Blinch/NHLI via Getty Images) /

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SUNRISE, FL – MARCH 24: Goaltender James Reimer #34 of the Florida Panthers defends the net against Richard Panik #14 of the Arizona Coyotes at the BB&T Center on March 24, 2018 in Sunrise, Florida. (Photo by Eliot J. Schechter/NHLI via Getty Images) *** Local Caption ***James Reimer;Richard Panik /

Aaron Ekblad had a good bounce back year after his concussion and rough 2016-17 campaign, while Keith Yandle continued to contribute consistently on the offensive end, as well as tighten up defensively too.

Both Michael Matheson and Mark Pysyk continued their steady form, despite facing rough patches during chunks of the year. However, the problem with three of those four is that they are more committed to going for goal than protecting their own, with Pysyk being the only exception.

That’s why, during this offseason, the Panthers need to acquire a shutdown, defensive defenseman for the top four. With plenty of money to spend, as well as assets to trade, the Cats should definitely have this concern at the top of their bucket list.

Here are four players that Dale Tallon should look at during the offseason.

Let’s jump in!

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Florida Panthers: Four Defensemen the Cats Should Look to Acquire

By Cal Friedman | May 18, 2018

The Florida Panthers top four defensemen all played well over the course of the 2017-18 season; however, the Cats should look to acquire another shutdown defenseman.