Florida Panthers All-Time Starting Roster
By Austin Lee
LW, Jonathan Huberdeau, (2012-Present)
This choice shouldn’t come as a surprise.
The Panthers have a rather thin history of skilled left-wingers, and Huberdeau is now third place all-time in franchise points.
It’s pretty wild to think he’s already been a Cat for seven seasons and he continues to impress.
After being drafted third overall back in 2011, Huberdeau joined the team for the lockout-shortened 2012-13 season. He put up 31 points in 48 games en route to becoming the first-ever Panther to win the Calder Memorial Trophy as the NHL’s rookie of the year.
To add to his impressive resume in Sunrise, just last year he tied the legendary Pavel Bure for the third-most points in a single Panthers season with 92.
The most exciting thing about Huberdeau is that he’s still just 26-years-old and has a whole lot left to give.
He’s locked in for another four years at just $5.9M which is, in my eyes, one of the best contracts in the league.
His current deal didn’t come into play when considering his position on this list. It’s just such a sweet little win for the team that I just had to mention it.
It will surely be interesting to see how he performs next year with the Panthers signing some solid pieces. There will also be some potential young guns stepping up to the plate that could take a ton of pressure off of Huberdeau and Co.
It would serve the Panthers’ top line well if the likes of Brett Connolly, Henrik Borgstrom, and Owen Tippett can take on some of the offensive responsibilities.
A little room to breathe would make Huberdeau’s life much more comfortable.