Following a Cinderella story run to the Stanley Cup final, the Florida Panthers are in the hot seat to show that their success was more than a fluke and that they can truly make it back to hockey's highest level.

We are in the heart of the NHL’s 2023 off-season, but don’t take that to mean any person connected with an NHL team feels no pressure at this time of year. There’s pressure on all of them, no matter the calendar date, and that’s what we’re looking at in this THN.com “Hot Seat” series. Moving through teams in alphabetical order, we’re identifying three-to-four people per franchise who are on some kind of “hot seat” or another. One NHL team owner, player, coach or GM is on the hot seat as an individual under major pressure to have a high-impact performance in 2023-24 or land in the doghouse; a second team owner, player, coach or GM will be put on the “warm” seat as a person not facing an imminent firing or trade, but whose time with their team could end this coming year; and a third team owner, player, coach or GM goes on the “cold” seat, tagging them as highly likely to stay with their team for a long period of time.

Panthers’ Hot Seat: Sergei Bobrovsky, G

There’s no question Bobrovsky was one of Florida’s best players during the Panthers’ stunning run to the Stanley Cup Final this past season. The veteran netminder put up a 2.78 goals-against average and .915 save percentage in 19 appearances. There’s also no question Bobvrovsky was decidedly underwhelming with his regular-season play, as he posted a 3.07 G.A.A. and .901 SVP in 50 appearances. The 34-year-old Russian’s team-high salary cap hit of $10 million makes him a constant center of attention for Florida, and the three seasons remaining on his contract still feels like too much term for a player nearing the end of his NHL career. 

The truth is, the Panthers had to rely on goalie Alex Lyon just to squeak into the 2023 post-season, and Lyon has moved on via free agency, leaving Bobrovsky, Spencer Knight and off-season acquisition Anthony Stolarz as Florida’s top three goalies. So, the question becomes which Bobrovsky will the Panthers be dealing with in 2023-24 – the confident playoff performer, or the inconsistent regular-season player? If it’s the former, Florida will be happy to continue with Bobrovsky for the remainder of his contract. If it’s the latter, the final two years of his deal following this season will come into question. Whether or not you feel that’s fair to him, the fact remains it’s the reality players take on when they sign big-money, long-term contracts. Bobrovsky can’t take a step back, as the Panthers are in win-now mode and don’t want to be fighting for a playoff berth in the final weeks of the regular season. If he wants to stay in South Florida through the next three years, he needs to be dependable, straight out of the gate.

Panthers’ Warm Seat: Oliver Ekman-Larsson, D

After two mostly miserable seasons with the Vancouver Canucks, Ekman-Larsson had his lucrative contract bought out this off-season, and the 32-year-old chose to sign a one-year, $2.25-million deal with the Panthers. He averaged 20:11 of ice time per game last season, but Ekman-Larsson will be viewed as a second-or-third-defensive-pairing player in Florida, and his minutes will be managed to keep him as fresh as possible for the playoffs. 

If Ekman-Larsson doesn’t flourish with the Panthers, the team easily can move on from him with no punitive action on their cap situation in 2024-25. If he proves he does have something left in the tank, Florida can keep him around, likely on a similar contract or a cheaper one in connection with his advanced age. All of his years playing on terrible Arizona Coyotes teams has left him with only 25 career playoff games played – his last time in the post-season was in the 2020 playoffs – and there’s going to be some heat on him to demonstrate he can contribute meaningfully on a Panthers team that much is expected of.

Panthers’ Cold Seat: Aleksander Barkov, C

We were tempted to put winger Matthew Tkachuk on the cold seat for Florida, but he and Barkov are both signed for the next four seasons, and Barkov’s $10-million annual cap hit is $500,000 more than Tkachuk’s cap hit. The good news for Panthers fans is that Barkov is at his peak at age 27, and he’s coming off a season in which he posted 55 assists – the second-best total of his career – and 78 points while averaging 21:13 of ice time in 68 games. Then in Florida’s playoff run, he posted 11 assists and 16 points in 21 games. 

Simply put, Barkov is one of the best two-way centers in the league, and he’s showing no signs of slowing down. He’s got a full no-movement clause through the 2027-28 campaign, but even if he didn’t, his consistent greatness makes him all but untouchable. He’s as secure as anyone on the team, and we don’t see that changing anytime soon.