Florida has a few high-end scoring forwards who could prove to be difference makers on fantasy hockey teams
Florida has a few high-end scoring forwards who could prove to be difference makers on fantasy hockey teams
With a new NHL season right around the corner, excitement is ramping up for all the fans who partake in the wide and wonderful world of fantasy hockey.
Considering Opening Night is almost exactly a month away, fantasy drafts will be taking place over the next several weeks.
That means now is the time when team managers are doing their research, figuring out which NHL players they want to target and which they want to avoid.
The Florida Panthers are a team that is actually full of viable fantasy hockey players.
Reaching last year's Stanley Cup Final was no fluke as the Cats feature several high-end forwards and, when fully healthy, some of the top offensive-defensemen in the game.
This week, The Hockey News' Jason Chen is looking at each team's potential fantasy stars and how they rank across the league-wide spectrum.
The top choices are Matthew Tkachuk and Aleksander Barkov, and it's not difficult to see why.
Tkachuk is one of only three players in the NHL to log over 200 points over the past two season (the other two both play for the Edmonton Oilers, so it's not hard to figure out who they are).
He's still just 25 years old and could very well still have his best hockey ahead of him.
With Barkov, he's a guy who has proven he can easily average a point-per-game, if not better, when healthy.
The only question with Barkov will be regarding how many games he plays.
Then there is Carter Verhaeghe, fresh off his first 40-goal campaign.
During his first thee seasons in Florida, Verhaeghe has seen his point total rise from 18 goals and 36 points in year one to 24 goals and 55 points during the 2021-22 season before finishing last year with a whopping 42 goals and 73 points.
If he comes anywhere close to those numbers again, he'll be a key player for any fantasy team.
Sam Reinhart would probably be next on the list. He's two seasons removed from putting up 33 goals and 82 points in 78 games, and last year, while only logging 67 points due at least partly to an incredibly slow start to the season, he still cracked the 30-goal plateau with 31 tallies in 82 games.
The story also highlights how Florida's two top scoring blueliners, Brandon Montour and Aaron Ekblad, are expected to miss at least the start of the season as each are recovering from offseason shoulder surgery.
With both potentially missing time, will anyone else on Florida's back line step up to fill the void?
Additionally, there are a few other Panthers forwards who could make an impact on fantasy teams.
It's all covered in THN's story, which can be found by clicking here.
