Florida Panthers: Expect More of the Same from Keith Yandle in 2019-20

Heading into the upcoming season, expect more of the same play from defenseman Keith Yandle with the Florida Panthers.

Coming off a career-best season in which Keith Yandle put together 62 points (9G & 53A), he will be gunning for the same production in 2019-20.

His 2018-19 campaign was filled with a lot of personal highs, evident by his point total. Since arriving in South Florida and joining the Florida Panthers, Yandle has seen his point tally rise after every passing year (2016-17 41pts, 2017-18 56pts, 2018-19 62pts).

Of course, he was exclusively brought in for his power-play specialties and scoring, which he’s undoubtedly shown since his arrival.

Last season, Yandle racked up 39 of his 62 points on the power play alone, with seven of his nine goals coming while a man up. At the same time, 32 of his 53 assists also came on the man advantage.

Without question, a good sum of his points were registered on the man advantage, which shouldn’t come as a surprise to many, considering that’s he’s a power-play specialist.

Even further, Yandle’s bread and butter is clearly his offense as the 32-year-old loves to jump up in the play and provide an additional scoring option.

The downside to that, though, is his lack of defensive awareness. By no means is Yandle the worst defenseman in the league in terms of defending, but since his days in Arizona (formerly, Phoenix) and New York, you see the similar positionless style from his game in his own end.

Of course, that’s problematic, and even his turnovers (which can be juicy!) have led to a number of goals. But if the Panthers want to continue getting the best use out of Yandle, then they need to allow him to do his thing but with a suitable defensive partner by his side.

In some conjunction, the Yandle-Ekblad pairing has worked in Yandle’s favor (but certainly not to Ekblad’s). For both parties’ sake, though, it would be beneficial to separate both and assign each other with new D partners.

Allowing Yandle the freedom to roam the ice on his pairing with a partner who can cover him at all costs is essential to his game and offensive production. Obviously, this is purely directed towards even-strength play, as on the power play, there is really no concern with Yandle and his presence.

By allowing this adjustment to be made, you’ll not only prevent Yandle from making his costly turnovers, but you’ll also increase his offensive production from an even-strength standpoint, which is important, as the Panthers can use all the 5v5 production they can get (an area they struggled in heavily last year).

With Yandle, you can’t teach an old dog new tricks, which is evident by his defensive play. With that said and considered, making the appropriate adjustments to ensure that his turnovers and reckless defending are limited is crucial from a team standpoint.

Expect more of the same play from Yandle as he will provide you with exceptional service as the Panthers’ power-play quarterback, along with another season in the ballpark of 60 points.

There are going to be times where Yandle gets under your skin with his poor and sloppy defensive play. However, keep in mind, that the Panthers can limit this by making some adjustments (ex. providing him with a new D partner). Expect another 60-point season from the man himself.