Brad Marchand announced last week that he had to have surgery "last minute," which puts his start to the season in doubt. What can the Florida Panthers do in his absence?
Late last week, Florida Panthers forward Brad Marchand announced on social media that he was pulling out of a tribute game for Zdeno Chara following "last minute" surgery.
Recent reports suggest he is dealing with both a hip issue and a sports hernia. While Marchand was trying to avoid surgery, that path forward was no longer feasible. So he went under the knife later in the summer than most guys — and certainly most guys his age — would like.
Depending on his recovery time, it appears as though his earliest return date might be mid-October. In theory, he might miss somewhere in the range of six to 10 games.
That's not a huge chunk of the season by any means, but given how last season went for Florida, it's not good news.
With that in mind, let's explore a few ways the Panthers could weather the storm in Marchand's absence if they need to.
1. Work The Waiver Wire
It's hard to imagine the Panthers, who have just over $34,000 in cap space and won't get much relief with Marchand's relatively brief absence, can make a trade that addresses their specific need unless they're shipping out someone they shouldn't be.
But if they keep an eye on the waiver wire throughout the pre-season, it's not hard to envision a winger becoming available and being a decent, short-term Band-Aid for Marchand.
Then, when Marchand returns, they can either lose that player on waivers again or send him to the minors. Either way, it's not a huge deal.
2. Sign Michael Bunting
Michael Bunting, who remains unsigned, seems like the kind of player that can find a role in Florida's system.
At this point in the summer, it probably won't be too difficult to make the money work. This is, without a doubt, a useful NHL player. With Florida having moved on from a few of those this summer to address other needs, Bunting might be able to slot in nicely, then push some other guys down the lineup to get the finances in order.
There may be other tempting free agents out there, or even guys they might target via trade. But realistically, if they're not cheap, the Panthers basically are financially unable to be interested.
They don't have any of their next three first-round picks, and giving up seconds to maybe upgrade for a month doesn't seem like a great long-term plan. Then again, given the age of the group and the immediacy of their competitive window, they might only be able to think short-term anyway.
In either event, Bunting seems like an ideal fit if that's the road they're going down.
3. Gut it out
This might be the most realistic option for the Panthers.
Unless they can get someone on a league-minimum deal, then they might have little choice but to find an internal solution. They have no shortage of AHL wingers who will probably be fine in a very supportive Florida system, and if it slightly impacts their win expectation six, eight, 10, or 12 games, then that's the cost of doing business.
All these Panthers are really interested in is what happens in April and beyond. It doesn't ultimately matter to them whether they do it off a 110-point season or a 96-point season, as long as they make the cut.
They probably will, regardless of Marchand's early-season availability. But a passive approach doesn't sound very Panthers-y, does it?
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