Florida Panthers: Reviewing Denis Malgin’s Relatively Decent 2019 Season

Following a relatively successful 2017-18 NHL campaign, young Swiss right-winger Denis Malgin produced underwhelming figures in his third year with the Florida Panthers.

In 2018, Denis Malgin established career high statistics all across the board, registering a slash line of 11G, 11A, for 22 points on the season (played in 51 games).

Malgin’s sophomore season was certainly encouraging and the Florida Panthers had high expectations for the native of Switzerland heading into 2019.

However, in terms of offensive statistics, Malgin’s numbers actually decreased which highlighted a clear regression in performance.

In only 50 regular-season contests, Denis Malgin produced an underwhelming line of 7G, 9A, for 16 points on the year for Florida.

Essentially, his inconsistencies on the offensive end resulted in a reduced role and less playing time. Averaging under 13 minutes of ice time per game, Malgin struggled to find any rhythm offensively and struggled to develop any sort of chemistry with his linemates.

Ultimately, he wasn’t properly utilized by former Head Coach Bob Boughner, which caused the undersized, yet skilled right-winger to regress mightily.

Malgin clearly lost most of his confidence and the results certainly justified that. His faceoff winning percentage (when playing center) dropped from 43 percent to 39 percent, meaning he was less productive in the faceoff circle when given the opportunity to center either the third or fourth line.

The lack of success in the faceoff circle for Malgin contributed towards a position change to the wing. Essentially, Malgin was placed in an unnatural position where he couldn’t adapt and thrive both offensively and defensively.

Also, Malgin’s plus/minus rating went from a plus 4 (2018 season) to a negative 10 (2019 season), which demonstrated the struggles Denis experienced defensively this past season.

However, with the arrival of new Head Coach Joel Quenneville, Denis Malgin will likely receive a full-time spot on the roster for the Florida Panthers.

Quenneville is a coach known for playing youngsters over less talented veterans; therefore, Malgin will not be deprived of playing time in the upcoming 2020 NHL season.

Malgin was consistently healthy scratched by Boughner and was often benched in favor of unproductive veterans such as Riley Sheahan, Micheal Haley, and Troy Brouwer.

In essence, Malgin’s drop in production can be largely attributed to misuse and frequent healthy scratching. With Quenneville in charge behind the bench, Malgin will likely play well over 50 games and receive a heightened role on the team.

Seeing Denis Malgin is only 22 years of age, the youngster from Switzerland will undoubtedly continue developing into a more effective and consistently productive two-way winger.

Objectively speaking, there’s certainly still room for improvement in Malgin’s game, such as being more consistent in the defensive zone and point production.

However, with more playing time and significantly better coaching in the fold, there’s no doubt that Malgin will develop into a productive bottom-six forward for the Florida Panthers.

With Aleksander Barkov, Vincent Trocheck, and Henrik Borgstrom taking the top three center spots for the Panthers, Denis Malgin will enter training camp battling the likes of Juho Lammikko for the fourth line center spot if the Panthers choose to deploy Malgin as a center rather than a winger.

Although, even if Lammikko beats out Malgin for the fourth line center role, Malgin could potentially slot on the third line alongside talented youngsters Frank Vatrano and Henrik Borgstrom.

Ultimately, the future is certainly bright for the Swiss forward, but the Panthers have a decision to make when it comes to what position they want to deploy Denis Malgin as. With an abundance of centers, it’s probably best that they play Malgin on the wing like a season ago.