Colby Guy
The Florida Panthers will enter the 2022-23 season looking very different.
On Friday, Florida made a blockbuster trade which sent all-time points leader Jonathan Huberdeau and defensive stalwart MacKenzie Weegar to the Calgary Flames for Matthew Tkachuk.
Weegar and Huberdeau combined for 979 games played, 225 goals and 734 points since the pair was drafted by the Panthers in 2013 and 2011 respectively.
Huberdeau owns franchise records in games played (671), assists (473) and points (613), among others.
With Claude Giroux and Mason Marchment also leaving via free agency, the Panthers will only be returning nine regular forwards from their 2021-22 Presidents’ Trophy-winning season.
And that number includes Anthony Duclair, who will start the season on LTIR with a torn Achillies.
New signings Colin White, Nick Cousins and Rudolfs Balcers figure into the plan of filling in the gaps.
Anton Levtchi, Aleksi Heponiemi and Grigori Denisenko all have outside shots of contending for a spot as well.
Levtchi, 26, is the biggest wildcard of the bunch after leading all Liiga skaters in points with 61 in 55 games last season.
While he does not have to go through waivers, unlike the rest of the field (save for Denisenko), he provides an offensive upside that none of the others have.
If he has a good camp, he will play and someone else may have to go through waivers.
Eric Staal was also brought in on a PTO to compete for a roster spot during camp — along with Gerry Mayhew and Chris Tierney on two-way deals — but it is unlikely they make the roster with such a crowded field.
But, as Panthers general manager Bill Zito said after Day 1 of free agency, the best players will play.
Defense is where it gets tricky with Weegar gone.
After having him spend most of the last three years alongside Aaron Ekblad on the top pairing, the Panthers need to find a replacement.
Said replacement is not likely to come via trade or free agency with the Panthers sitting $4 million over the salary cap with limited draft capital after the Tkachuk, Giroux and Ben Chiarot trades.
That will push Gus Forsling to the top pairing — a role he has not been shabby in when Ekblad went down due to injury at times.
The real discussion comes from the bottom two pairs, specifically the left side.
While Brandon Montour and Radko Gudas provide a steady presence from Florida’s Presidents’ Trophy-winning lineup on the right side, Forsling is the only left-handed defenseman who played at least half of the Panthers’ games last season.
Lucas Carlsson did prove to be a reliable presence on the bottom pairing, playing in 40 games last year before Florida acquired Chiarot and Robert Hagg for the stretch run.
The rest of the field is a mixed bag of young guns and older players brought in via free agency.
Marc Staal and Michael Del Zotto are veterans who spent their respective 2021-22 seasons with the Detroit Red Wings and Ottawa Senators.
Both likely project to be bottom-pairing defensemen who are slightly above replacement level in the defensive zone.
The crop of young guys presents some interesting cases.
Both John Ludvig and Max Gildon have had impressive performances during training camp over the last couple of years before getting hit with injury troubles.
Ludvig, 21, played just three games with the Charlotte Checkers last season after dealing with complications from hip surgery.
The 6-foot-1, 214-pound defenseman is a solid puck mover that can lay the body in the defensive zone.
Gildon, 23, played in 22 games for Charlotte while missing time with injury issues of his own.
He plays a similar style of game as Ludvig but stands two inches taller and 20 pounds lighter.
Health has kept either of the two from making their NHL debuts, but they are both inching closer and closer to being NHL ready.
With Weegar gone, the door is open wider for them.
Matt Kiersted, 24, also factors into Florida’s plans.
After signing with the team out of the University of North Dakota in 2021, he has split his time between the NHL and AHL.
He has two points in 17 NHL games while having 20 points in 63 games in the AHL.
While Staal and Del Zotto have the advantage of needing to go through waivers — although Del Zotto has a two-way deal meaning the Panthers figure that since he’ll have to pass through before Charlotte — one of the younger players can prove themselves during camp and likely become a steadier presence on Florida’s blue line.
Things can get very interesting during training camp.
Without further ado, here is how I see the Panthers lining up when they take on the New York Islanders on opening night.
Projected 2022-23 Florida Panthers Lineup
Forwards (14)
Carter Verhaeghe — Sasha Barkov — Anton Levtchi
Matthew Tkachuk — Sam Bennett — Sam Reinhart
Rudolfs Balcers — Anton Lundell — Colin White
Ryan Lomberg — Eetu Luostarinen — Patric Hornqvist
Aleksi Heponiemi, Nick Cousins
Defensemen (7)
Gus Forsling — Aaron Ekblad
Lucas Carlsson — Brandon Montour
John Ludvig — Radko Gudas
Marc Staal
Goalies (2)
Sergei Bobrovsky
Spencer Knight