There were more than a few lessons to be learned by the Florida Panthers over the past few seasons.
First Florida had to become a good team, one that had the ability to make the playoffs more than once a decade.
They did that, and then some. The Panthers became so good they won the Presidents’ Trophy, but then they learned that there is a difference between finding success during the regular season and doing it during the playoffs.
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So Florida brought in a new coach and changed its whole approach to the game, shifting to a physical, five-man defensive style that some would call “playoff hockey.”
Those changes helped the Panthers reach the Stanley Cup Final in 2023, but there came more lessons.
The importance of depth and a well-rounded special teams unit.
Injuries decimated the Panthers during those playoffs, and though their power play was, while inconsistent, a general source of strength, Florida’s penalty kill was anything but.
One of the big reasons Florida was so consistently successful last season was special teams, as the Panthers finished inside the top 10 in both power play and penalty kill.
The previous year, when the Cats eventually lost to Vegas in the Stanley Cup Final, they struggled mightily on the PK.
It was a major area of concern heading into last summer, one Panthers General Manager Bill Zito addressed with several of his moves during the offseason.
The same mindset in the front office went into this summer’s moves as well, and how could it not? Florida’s penalty kill came up huge during their Stanley Cup run, particularly during the Final against the Edmonton Oilers and their high-octane man advantage.
Looking ahead to the upcoming season, and with the roster turnover in mind, it will be interesting to see how Panthers Head Coach Paul Maurice and his staff deploy their special teams units.
The forwards on the top power play will likely be Sasha Barkov, Matthew Tkachuk, Sam Reinhart and Carter Verhaeghe.
The second power play unit forward group should include Sam Bennett, Anton Lundell, Evan Rodrigues and Eetu Luostarinen.
If rookie Mackie Samoskevich makes the opening night roster, don’t be surprised to see him receive some power play minutes as well.
Samoskevich is a high-end scoring talent and should receive some opportunities to thrive in those kind of high leverage situations.
As for the defenseman on Florida’s power play, Aaron Ekblad and Gus Forsling are the likely candidates to run the first and second units, respectively.
Newcomer Nate Schmidt certainly has some experience on the power play and could receive some consideration from Maurice and assistant coach Jamie Kompon, who runs the unit, when training camp arrives.
On the penalty kill, Barkov, Reinhart, Ekblad and Forsling are the projected top unit.
In terms of forwards, look for Lundell, Luostarinen and possibly Tomas Nosek as players for the second group, with blueliners Niko Mikkola and Dmitry Kulikov getting a crack at resuming their roles from a season ago.
We’ll get our first glimpse into what Maurice and his fellow coaches have in mind for the upcoming season when the Panthers hit the ice for training camp next month.
It will be something we’ll be keeping a close eye on here at THN Florida.
Stay tuned.
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