After the Florida Panthers enjoyed a legendary offseason that saw core pieces from their championship team return, the NHL universe was talking 'dynasty.' They knew Matthew Tkachuk would miss the fun for the first two months of the season, but the Panthers had enough talent to cover for him, with Aleksander Barkov still leading the charge.
It's not like a star player won't go down during the season, and championship teams compensate all the time. But when Barkov sustains an injury and lands on the shelf for at least seven months following surgery on his ACL and MCL? Now, that season-opening matchup doesn't look like a near-guaranteed win.
We also need to remember that Tomas Nosek, one of the Panthers' more physical players and a reliable center in defensive zone face-offs, is also out long-term. Nosek isn't as big of a name, but his energy and reliability will be hard to replace on the fourth line.
The Panthers still have elite talent, right?
You might find yourself thinking they still have Sam Reinhart, Sam Bennett, Aaron Ekblad, Brad Marchand, plus Sergei Bobrovsky in the net. The core's still intact for the team to weather the storm until Tkachuk returns in December.
But here's the kicker: Barkov and Tkachuk are the Panthers' top two playmakers. Barkov played in 67 games last season and logged 51 assists, while Tkachuk put up 35 helpers in 52 games. Average that to 82 contests, and Barkov was on pace for 62 assists, and Tkachuk was on his way to 55.
Despite seeing time in just 67 regular-season games, Barkov still led the team in helpers while Tkachuk clocked in third, behind Sam Reinhart. That's a problem, because these were the guys consistently finding open linemates, who finished sequences for goals.
When you're only playing in so many games, especially Tkachuk, and you're racking up the helpers, it means you're putting the puck in places only your linemate can get it, creating space to lure in opponents, and knowing where to shoot the puck so someone in front of the net deflects it in for a goal.
Panthers need key players to step up in Barkov's and Tkachuk's absence
Someone needs to step up, and other than Sam Reinhart, who finished with 42 helpers in 79 games, the Panthers' next-best playmaker was Carter Verhaeghe, who had 33 assists. Behind him? Aaron Ekblad, with 30.
And it wasn't like the Panthers were an elite scoring unit, finishing 15th in the league with 246 goals. Now, you're taking Barkov and Tkachuk out of the equation? There will be trouble unless someone steps up.
Sam Bennett is the next name behind Reinhart. Bennett's a sledgehammer, yet he's solid but unspectacular as a points producer, putting up 51 and 26 assists in 76 contests. The same applies to Verhaeghe, who scored 53 points throughout his 81 games.
You can't expect just a few players to step up, even if Reinhart, Bennett, and Verhaeghe must take ownership while Brad Marchand has no choice but to revert to vintage form in his age-37 season. It's going to take a team effort and early wins to assure fans that they're not missing Barkov and Tkachuk.
It will be a test for the Panthers for as long as they're without two cornerstones capable of carrying this team on their backs. If they're a top-three team in the Atlantic by the time Tkachuk returns, then they aced the test. If they're a wild card or even outside the top eight, we'll know that both players are more valuable to the Panthers than we thought.