George Richards, FHN Publisher
The Florida Panthers go into training camp on Thursday trying to become the first NHL team in over 40 years to win the Stanley Cup three straight years.
It will not be easy.
Nor should it be.
The Panthers do come into camp looking a lot like they did the last time we saw them way back on June 17 when Sam Reinhart scored four goals and Florida thumped Edmonton 5-1 in Game 6 of the Stanley Cup Final.
Now, there will be some new faces when Paul Maurice blows the whistle for the first practice at 1 o’clock on Thursday.
Not many, mind you, but a few.
And believe it or not, there are some questions about the Panthers going into training camp.
Here are five of them:
What’s Up with Tkachuk?
Matthew Tkachuk got hurt in February at the 4 Nations Face-Off and missed the final 25 games of the regular season.
He played through a torn adductor and sports hernia throughout the postseason, tying for the team lead with 23 points.
Tkachuk had surgery last month and is not expected to be on the ice for some time. He says he hopes to be back practicing by Christmas and should be good to go for Team USA in the Winter Olympics come February.
Who Replaces Tkachuk?
The question is, how married is Maurice to the lines Florida went through the playoffs with?
If so, the simple answer is to slide Mackie Samoskevich or Jesper Boqvist onto the right side of the second line.
But it would not be surprising to see Brad Marchand get a shot to play with Sam Bennett (finally!)
Tomas Nosek appears to have had some sort of offseason surgery so it is not known if he will be ready for Opening Night which creates a spot on the fourth line.
So, we could have Samoskevich somewhere in the top-9, with Boqvist on the fourth.
Can Tarasov Be a Solid Backup for Bobrovsky?
With Spencer Knight settled into his new role with the Blackhawks, the Panthers went to Columbus to find Sergei Bobrovsky’s new backup.
Bobrovsky and Daniil Tarasov know each other extremely well, both hailing from the same hometown in Russia — where Tarasov’s dad is a legendary goalie whom Bobrovsky idolized.
Tarasov has had a checkered NHL career thus far, but the Panthers think he is going to be right on here.
It sounds like a perfect fit, to be honest, and the Florida goalie department has done good work in the past finding Alex Lyon and Anthony Stolarz, for instance.
Can the D Keep Up its High-End Pace?
Florida’s defensive play has been among the best in the NHL over the past two years.
Having Seth Jones here for the entire season should only help things along.
Jeff Petry comes in to replace Nate Schmidt on the third pairing, and we’ll see if he lines up on the right side of Dmitry Kulikov.
Even though Kulikov is a lefty, he is strong on the right side. So, that’s something to watch.
Uvis Balinskis should also get a good look in camp to play with Kulikov.
Is This the Year Fatigue Hits?
The Panthers have played more games than any team in a three-season span in NHL history — a total of 314 since 2022.
That has to catch up the Panthers eventually, right?
Well, maybe not.
They seem to enjoy the short offseason.
And, Maurice says changes may be coming to training camp.
Of course he is going to push them hard, but perhaps for not as long.
The Panthers are also going to have most of their team playing at the Olympics, so, that break is kaput.