We saw two versions of the Panthers last season. Which will we see on Opening Night?
The Florida Panthers raised more than a few eyebrows earlier this year when they squeaked into the playoffs and then marched all the way to the Stanley Cup Final.
Whether it was a team catching fire at just the right time or one that had been building toward the change all season and snapped into place when it mattered most, there is no denying that the Panthers looked like a different team in April than they did for the majority of the months that preceded.
Now, with Florida entering the season as the defending Eastern Conference Champions, it’s worth wondering whether the Panthers will take another step forward in 2023-24 or if they’ll stumble.
Being that it’s the peak of the offseason, there’s no better time to ponder hypotheticals than the present.
Three reasons the Panthers will be better this season:
1 – Florida Finnish forwards all have big years
Panthers captain Sasha Barkov battled injuries and illness last season but still managed to put up 23 goals and 78 points in 68 games, which is nothing to sneeze at. But this season, Barkov, along with young and ascending countrymen Anton Lundell and Eetu Luostarinen, will all have career years. It will be great for each of the players, and it will go a long way toward Florida having a very deep forward group.
2 – Panthers continue what they started last season, nobody wants to play them
Shifting from a high-flying, end-to-end team to one that wears you down physically with a suffocating forecheck and tight gaps was a big reason why the Panthers made a late season run into the playoffs and all the way to the Stanley Cup Final. Playing that style during the regular season could see Florida become a team nobody wants to play, as they’ll be loaded with skill and bringing the physicality in waves.
3 – Defensive moves all work out
Imagine a world where both Aaron Ekblad and Brandon Montour are back in the lineup before Thanksgiving, but not only that, all of Bill Zito’s moves for depth defenseman pay off so well that Florida has several desirable players to flip for whatever they may need during the season.
Three reasons the Panthers will not be better this season:
1 – The goaltending doesn’t hold up
As amazing as it was to see the Panthers completely change the way they played, turning themselves into a formidable playoff opponent, things would have gone a lot differently had Alex Lyon and Sergei Bobrovsky not respectively saved the regular season and playoff run. Will Bobrovsky play the way he did during the playoffs, or the way he's played for the majority of his four seasons with Florida? To be fair, Florida has made the playoffs every year since Bob arrived. As for the backup role, the hope is Spencer Knight picks up where he left off in terms of his young, up-and-coming career, but at this point there are no guarantees. A lot can go right for Florida's goalies, but a lot can also go wrong.
2 – Defensive stopgaps fail to stop the gap
It won’t be known for a while just how long the Panthers will be missing Aaron Ekblad and Brandon Montour. Could be minimal, could be extensive. In case it’s the latter, Panthers GM Bill Zito signed several inexpensive, depth defensemen to help the team survive the period of time they are without two of the top blueliners in the game. But what happens if Oliver Ekman-Larsson, Dmitry Kulikov and Mike Reilly don’t cut it? Perhaps Niko Mikkola needs some time to adjust to Florida’s systems. None of that will help a team in need of steadiness on the backline.
3 – Unable to overcome a less-than-ideal start
If the Panthers are going to struggle next season, odds are it’ll be early on, when they could be missing key players and relying on new guys who may or may not have a grasp of things by then. Florida fans know how quickly a season can spiral out of control, and how difficult it is to make up points during the second half the schedule.