Everyone has an opinion. That’s one of the joys of sports writing, and if you are with a major publication like Sportsnet, usually what you have to say gets dissected six ways from Sunday. Recently, Ryan Dixon posted his thoughts on the best and worst scenarios for every Atlantic Division team, wondering if the Florida Panthers can win the Stanley Cup without Sergei Bobrovsky.
Panthers are legit Stanley Cup contenders
After three Stanley Cup Final appearances and winning back-to-back titles in 2024 and 2025, it seemed the Panthers were on a collision course with immortality to potentially win three in a row. However, their quest came to a crashing halt when injuries to star players like Aleksander Barkov, Matthew Tkachuk, and Brad Marchand led to the first losing season in more than half a decade. The club’s playoff streak also ended after six seasons.
General Manager Bill Zito set out to change the Cats' identity, bringing in sandpaper players like Brady Tkachuk, Radko Gudas, and Garnet Hathaway as Florida looks to become the NHL’s biggest agitators. On paper, the Panthers are one of, if not the top team, to capture the Stanley Cup in 2027. However, the team’s core is one year older, and everyone learned the hard way what significant injuries can do to a contending team at its peak.
One of Florida's biggest concerns in 2026-27 is that if the injury bug continues to vacation in the Sunshine State, there are no reinforcements on the way. Last year, some of the team’s prospects got a shot, but no one is a game-breaker like Sam Bennett or Aaron Ekblad. However, that wasn’t even Dixon’s greatest concern regarding the Panthers.
Can Markstrom duplicate Bobrovsky’s success?
Florida has played in the Stanley Cup Final with only two goalies: John Vanbiesbrouck in 1996 and Bobrovsky in 2023, 2024, and 2025. After a legendary seven-year run, the franchise’s best Russian-born netminder took his work north of the border to Toronto. Although the Panthers were included in several Connor Hellebuyck rumors, the team pivoted to bringing back Jacob Markström.
At 36, Markström is a year younger than Bobrovsky, but has achieved a fraction of his predecessor’s successes. In 16 years, including four with Florida from 2010 to 2014, he’s only won 30 games once, while playing with Tkachuk in Calgary in 2021-22. He’s never won a Vezina Trophy or played in the Conference Final. Although he’s excited to be back to the place where his NHL career started, the expectations are quite different today than they were 15 years ago.
Until Markström wins 30 games and helps Florida secure a playoff spot, there will be questions. If he gives up a bad goal, loses a game, or even wins a close game, there will be those who wonder if he’s up to the task of carrying a Stanley Cup contender. Of course, the money is on the Panthers to go deep in the playoffs, but it is also a tall task for a goalie who's never been there before.
Unfortunately for Florida fans, there will be a lot of yin and yang this season regarding their goaltenders, including whether moving on from Bobrovsky after one bad season was worth the gamble.
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