George Richards, FHN Publisher
The Florida Panthers hit the quarter mark of their 2021 NHL season in first place in their division. If one were to offer a grade on this season, so far, it has to be an A-plus.
There just has not been much to complain about as the Panthers are exceeding just about everyone’s expectations.
Perhaps even their own.
On Wednesday night, the Panthers beat the Carolina Hurricanes 4-3 in overtime, improving their record to 10-2-2, putting them atop the Central Division and giving them their best start in the franchise’s history.
The Panthers will go into Friday’s game in Detroit the top team in their division with 25 percent of their season complete.
Again, A-plus.
Florida is doing a lot of good things this season especially considering how disappointing the last one ended.
The Panthers are getting improved performances across the board. They are scoring plenty of goals (3.36 per, ranked ninth in the NHL) but are also giving up quite a few (3.00, 19th) which needs to be tightened up a bit.
Here are the grades for the Panthers through their first 14 games as I see it.
Based on how this team is playing right now, no one is failing.
Good for them.
Good for the Panthers.
A+ — Sasha Barkov: This could be the year Barkov really makes a run for the Selke Trophy but with all the Canadian sports writers who vote on the award watching the all-Canadian division this year, it’s not going to happen. Barkov was good last year but it was obvious he was battling injuries throughout the season. He’s healthy now — and he has been terrific. Even though he and Jonathan Huberdeau aren’t playing together save for the power play and line changes, he keeps things rolling. Barkov, the team’s captain, is the engine which powers the Panthers. Right now, it’s running on Super Premium. As good as Barkov has been this year — and the ones before — he is only scratching the surface as to how good he can be. This guy is going to be a monster.
A+ — Aaron Ekblad: Based on his start, Ekblad may have a legit consideration for the Norris Trophy which goes to the top defenseman in the league. Will he win it? No. And it’s not because of the reason offered in the Barkov case. Ekblad simply isn’t there yet. But he is getting there. As good as Ekblad has been and as much as he has meant to the Panthers, his start this season has been his best. This guy is a bonafide No. 1 defenseman in the NHL. And he is only 25 yet is closing in on 500 NHL games. Ekblad brings the defense, puts up points and is now getting serious power play time.
A+ — Jonathan Huberdeau: There was a question if Huberdeau’s production would go down not playing with Barkov and so far it has not. Huberdeau has 20 points in 14 games which would put him on pace for a whopping 117 in a normal 82-game season. His career high was 92 two seasons ago. In a 56-game season, Huberdeau is on pace for 80 points. Not bad. Huberdeau continues to show his elite playmaking abilities but has also been better in doing things without the puck and has been noticeable winning puck battles and setting up his team’s offense from his defensive play. Huberdeau is turning into an all-around threat and that only bodes well for the future. This could end up being his best season yet.
A+ — Chris Driedger: Over the course of the past two years, there is little doubt the rise of Driedger has been as impressive as any we have seen with the Panthers. This is a player whom the Panthers threw a lifeline to with a minor-league contract back in 2018 and has been as productive a goalie — granted, in limited
opportunity — as any in the league. Friday in Detroit, he gets his third consecutive start in goal. It will be his eighth of the season, one more than Sergei Bobrovsky. Driedger will be a free agent after this year. With Bobrovsky making $10 million a season, Florida is not going to be able to afford to keep Driedger so enjoy him while he is here.
A — Patric Hornqvist: The first move of the Bill Zito era was a big one, acquiring Hornqvist in a trade with Pittsburgh for Mike Matheson and Colton Sceviour. Just getting out from under the Matheson contract was victory enough; getting a player who has brought so much to the Panthers makes it a home run. Hornqvist is third on the team in goals and in scoring but his biggest impact may have come off the ice. He is a leader in every sense of the word and has brought a winning attitude to a franchise and locker room which needed it.
A — Carter Verhaeghe: Landlocked in Tampa Bay, Verhaeghe signed with the Panthers as a free agent not long after he was part of the Lightning’s Stanley Cup championship. Given an
opportunity with a bigger role and a lot more playing time, Verhaeghe has taken off. His seven goals is tied for the team lead with Huberdeau and he ranks fourth on the team in scoring despite not getting a lot of power play time. The Panthers are getting great value out of this bargain signing.
A — Anthony Duclair: One of the final big free agents to sign, getting Duclair has been worth the wait for the Panthers. Even though he only has one goal — it came Monday in Tampa — Duclair has been doing everything right and his numbers are only going to climb. He started the season with six assists in the first five games and has been a driving force on the first line with Barkov and Verhaeghe.
A- — MacKenzie Weegar: Along with Ekblad, Weegar makes up part of what has been a terrific top defensive pairing for the Panthers this season. Weegar, a seventh-round draft pick, and 2014 No. 1 pick Ekblad make a fantastic duo. Weegar is more than carrying his share of the load. Quenneville has no qualms with putting Weegar on the ice for any opportunity which arises and his average ice time of 23:13 is second only to Ekblad. His five assists have all come 5-on-5 so he is helping create some offense as well.
B — Anton Stralman: Solid but rarely flashy, Stralman has been a relied upon defenseman who has shown his value to the Panthers time and again. Stralman is an excellent defensive player and Quenneville has not been shy about putting him with different partners because it seems he can play with anyone — and help them play better themselves. Stralman’s lone goal this year was a big one, helping the Panthers win their first game in Tampa since 2016.
B — Radko Gudas: OK, we know Gudas can put the fear of God in opposing players. They call this bearded one ‘The Butcher’ and he leads the league with 76 hits even though he has only played in 14 games. He also moves the puck extremely well and gets things moving in helping the offense. Florida wanted to get tougher and signing Gudas helped accomplish that simply by reputation. And he has delivered on the ice. Gudas is willing to fight but has yet to take a dumb penalty. He is averaging less than a minute of penalty time a game. He is performing — the Panthers routinely slide him into their top-4 — and has turned into a really good signing.
B — Keith Yandle: Although Yandle has his moments on the defensive side of the ice, there is no doubt he is very good at what he specializes in. Florida’s power play, which is one of the best in the league, runs through Yandle. He is a defenseman who puts up points and helps the Panthers’ forwards do the same. Does Yans take too many penalties? Sure. Does he turn the puck over too much? Yeah. But, Yandle is a popular player because he works hard, does his job — and does what he does as good as anyone in the league.
B — Alex Wennberg: Although he got off to a bit of a slow start, understandable considering he was coming to a new team after spending his entire career in Columbus, Wennberg has really started to heat up as he appears to be gaining confidence and becoming more comfortable. He now has four goals and seven points and is becoming an offensive option on the second line.
B — Eetu Luostarinen: The overlooked fourth player in the Vincent Trocheck deal is the only one currently on the Panthers and he looks extremely comfortable centering a third line that has been productive. Luostarinen has two goals and six points in his 14 games and has given the Panthers a viable option at center. If Florida needed him to move up to the second line, it appears he would be able to handle the opportunity.
B — Noel Acciari: A valuable player in all situations, Acciari is missed on the fourth line since leaving the lineup due to an injury. He has yet to score a goal this season — he surprisingly had 20 last year — but what Acciari brings the Panthers is not measured in goals. Those will come and will be helpful, sure, but he does so much else the Panthers need.
C — Sergei Bobrovsky: There will be an argument below about “don’t look at the contract, look at the play” and, well, it is hard to do that here. Bobrovsky got the biggest contract in franchise history to carry this team on his back, and whether that is fair, he has not. Perhaps he will, but he has not at least not yet. Driedger has taken a few starts away from Bobrovsky and the argument can now be made in who, really, is the Panthers’ starter? It is Bobrovsky, of course, but that’s only because the team is paying the two-time Vezina Trophy winner $10 million per season. Of course it is his job. But, then why is Driedger starting? Because he has been better both statistically and in how the team has played in games he has started. Bobrovsky has had his moments. But Driedger has, to date, outperformed him. The Panthers need Bob to be better. At $10 million per for the next five-plus, he has to be. We think he will be.
C — Frank Vatrano: The speed is unreal and the scoring is coming. Vatrano is a very skilled player who brings a lot to the table. That was on full display against the Lightning as he scored in all three of those games. He should have scored against Carolina as well. Vatrano has all the tools to be a top-end player and the Panthers feel his overall game continues to improve. They need more scoring out of him and that will come. It will come in spurts but it will come.
C — Juho Lammiko: Here’s the deal. Lammikko is as solid a player as one will find. He is terrific defensively and can, as he showed Wednesday, bring a touch of offense. He is a great fourth line player who still needs to score a little more which is why he was sent to the minors in 2019 in the first place. Ever see a player as happy to score a goal as Juho was on Wednesday night? Sometimes prospects need time to develop and he is a great example of that.
C — Brett Connolly: The Panthers are paying Connolly way too much to be playing on the fourth line and they definitely were paying him too much to be a healthy scratch for four of five games earlier this month. But the time out of the lineup seemed to be a fire-starter as he has been much more noticeable. Yes, his lone goal came into an empty net, but he is playing a physical game, moving the puck around and working his way into the play shift after shift. It appeared he didn’t feel suited to the fourth line role offered this season. In the first few games, he was invisible. But since the scratches, he looks like a guy motivated to play wherever the Panthers put him. This is a good hockey player. Forget the big contract for a moment; Connolly is playing the role he has been asked to play and that’s all one can ask.
C — Owen Tippett: Listen, this is only a quarter grade. I think Tippett is only going to get better and better. He is solid defensively, brings a little offense to his game but could and should be better. This is a player to watch. He is only going to get better. Did I say that before? Tippett has a terrific shot, could have more goals than the one he currently does. Is he Mike Hoffman? No. Could he be? We shall see.
C — Ryan Lomberg: We all know what Zito said when he gave Lomberg a two-year, one-way deal in October. “Fans are gonna love this guy.” Early on, he was stuck on the taxi squad but upon getting back in the lineup, he has been pretty solid on the fourth line. Notice him against Tampa Bay? The Lightning sure did. Yeah, Lomberg may not be in the lineup every night as Quenneville rotates wingers on and off the fourth line. This guy fights for the puck in the corners and along the boards. If not for the past few games, we would flip him with Vinnie Hinostroza (see below).
D — Markus Nutivaara: To be completely honest, I am not going to give anyone a failing mark but, for the grading curve’s sake, someone has to be below a C. So, Nuti gets dropped to this grade. He has not been bad, by any means, and has been noticeable in games played in a positive manner. But, for a veteran NHL d-man, the Panthers scratch him too much. Perhaps it is to get in other guys a look (he is usually flexed out for Noah Juulsen or Gustav Forsling) after missing most of training camp. Few players are going to get the chance to raise their grade between now and midterms more than this guy. Nutivaara is a legit NHL defenseman. Florida just has a lot of players at his position.
D — Vinnie Hinostroza: He got a chance early in the season and did not do a whole lot with it. Hinostroza hasn’t scored and, when Lomberg replaced him, was much more noticeable and has stuck in the lineup at least for the moment. Hinostroza will get his chance. These things come in waves. When he does get back in, it would probably be wise to take advantage of it. The Panthers have a lot of depth and are going to roll with the hot hand. Right now it is Lomberg. That could change soon enough.
Inc. — Gustav Forsling: After spending the past few weeks on the IR with an upper-body injury, Forsling came back Wednesday and played 17:23. The Panthers like this guy. Really like him. And, after plucking him off waivers from Carolina, they feel he can be a top-4 defenseman moving forward. We just haven’t seen enough yet. But it looks like he is pretty good defensively. He covers his gaps well, moves the puck pretty good too. Doesn’t get rattled. The Panthers are stockpiling d-men which is never a bad thing.
Inc. — Noah Juulsen: Another defenseman Florida picked up off the waiver wire during camp, Juulsen just needs some playing time. Heck, that’s why Montreal put him on waivers in the first place. The Canadiens thought they could sneak this first-round pick through to put him in the AHL but Florida picked him up because they think he has a high ceiling. It very well could be right. With all the numbers the Panthers have right now, we have not seen enough to know exactly what Florida has here. But before he was hurt in Montreal, he was a top-four guy. Another no-risk, high-reward pick up by the Panthers.
Inc. — Aleksi Heponiemi: This is a very skilled forward whom the Panthers have sent to the minors. When he got his chance to come up from the taxi squad, he scored the game-winner in OT against Detroit in his NHL debut. The Panthers kept him in the lineup as a reward following that game in Detroit for a few games before sending him back to the AHL where he struggled last season. ‘Hepo’ is a young player working his way up. Give him a chance; he’ll be fine.
Inc. — Philippe Desrosiers: The Panthers sent Sam Montembeault to their shared AHL team with Tampa Bay to get him some playing time. Right now, all Desrosiers has gotten is practice time. He played well in the minors last year, seems to be doing well in this current environment but if either Bobrovsky or Driedger gets hurt, Monty is coming back some way, some how.
Inc. — Kevin Connauton: A free-agent tryout in training camp, Connauton earned a contract but hasn’t moved off the taxi squad. That’s just the way things are in this strange world. He’ll get a shot at playing again, we think, and then we’ll see what happens.
Inc. — Mason Marchment: Has been on the taxi squad all season save for one game earlier this month. Looked good in camp, earned a spot with the team but needs more playing time. Right now, however, the Panthers have not given it to him.