Several Florida Panthers Players Could Lead Team In Scoring This Season
With a roster overflowing with elite talent, the Panthers boast multiple stars capable of clinching team's the points title as they launch their pursuit of a hockey dynasty.
The Florida Panthers are expected to be one of the NHL’s top teams again this season.
With a fully-healthy roster that is considered one of, if not the deepest in the league, the Panthers are poised to resume their journey to become the hockey’s next dynasty.
In just a few short weeks, the Panthers will begin converging on the Baptist Health IcePlex in Fort Lauderdale for the team’s annual training camp.
While there are several questions that will need to be answered, including how Panthers Head Coach Paul Maurice is going to construct his forward lines and special teams units, another topic of curiosity heading into the season is regarding which of Florida’s several elite forwards will end up leading the team in scoring.
There are several candidates who could end up atop the Cats’ scoring ranks, though in terms of the team’s ultimate success, there is really no wrong answer.
As long as everyone remains relatively healthy and performs in a way that they are expected to, the team should find itself among the favorites for the Stanley Cup once again come springtime.
Still, we can have a little fun with who could potentially end up leading the team in scoring.
For fun, they’ve been broken up into three categories.
TOP CANDIDATES
Sam Reinhart
Reinhart has led Florida in scoring in each of the past three seasons, putting up 94 points in 82 games in 2023-24, 81 points in 79 games in 2024-25 and 61 points in 64 games last season. An elite scoring forward, Reinhart plays a ton of minutes and in all situations, so he’ll have every opportunity to once again lead the Cats’ scoring efforts.
Matthew Tkachuk
During his first season with Florida, Tkachuk exploded for 42 goals and 104 points in 79 games. While he hasn’t matched that kind of production since, the gritty forward has still put up some big numbers as a Panther, with 88 points in 80 games the following year, 57 points in 52 games during 2024-25 and then another 34 points in the 31 games he played last season after returning from offseason surgery. Oh, and he also put up 104 points the year before he was traded to Florida, so we’ll see how a healthy Tkachuk can do when the season arrives next month and he’s surrounded by similarly talented linemates.
WOULDN’T SURPRISE ME
Sasha Barkov
Barkov is always among Florida’s highest scoring forwards, though the last time he led the Panthers in scoring was the 2018-19 season when he finished with 96 points in 82 games. He’s averaged at least a point per game in each of the past five seasons and has been playing around that pace for nearly a decade.
Brad Marchand
Last season we saw what a healthy Marchand can do with the Panthers, and that was on a team missing Barkov and Tkachuk. Before his campaign was cut short, Marchand was leading Florida in goals and points, ultimately finishing with 27 goals and 54 points in 52 games. Now once again healthy and surrounded by an incredible supporting cast, Marchand could easily regain his scoring touch. Afterall, this is still a guy who has averaged at least a point per game in seven of his past 10 seasons.
LESS LIKELY, BUT CERTAINLY POSSIBLE
Brady Tkachuk
He’ll be 27 when the season begins and instead of being the guy who the spotlight is squarely focused on, as was the case when he was Ottawa’s captain, Tkachuk will arrive in Florida with less responsibility on his shoulders due to the sheer volume of talented hockey players he’s joining on the Panthers roster. He’s had three 30-goal seasons and three years where he’s averaged around a point per game, so now we’ll see what he can do when skating next to Barkov, Reinhart and his big brother Chucky.
Carter Verhaeghe
Though his goal-scoring has dipped a bit over the past couple seasons, Verhaeghe is not that far removed from a pair of 70-plus point campaigns. If he can find the scoring touch that saw him score 76 goals between 2023-24 and 2024-25, Swaggy could certainly find himself among the team’s top point producers.
Sam Bennett
The former Conn Smythe Trophy winner cannot be left off the list. Bennett has cracked the 20-goal mark in four of his five full seasons in Florida and has seen his point total go up in each of the past four, so we know he is more than capable.
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Photo caption: Feb 8, 2025; Sunrise, Florida, USA; Florida Panthers center AleksanderBarkov(16) celebrates with center SamReinhart(13) and left wing MatthewTkachuk(19) after scoring against the Ottawa Senators during the second period at Amerant Bank Arena. (Sam Navarro-Imagn Images)
