Colby Guy
LAS VEGAS — In just a few hours, the Florida Panthers are set to take on the Vegas Golden Knights and play in their first Stanley Cup Final game since 1996.
The intrigue around the Panthers has arguably never been higher and there are a lot of things everybody is dying to know about the team and the series.
I fielded some questions and answered them on my way to Vegas.
Stick around with some insight on the Golden Knights, future contract situations, Patric Hornqvist and more.
Any sense on what the teams intentions are with Gudas and if you think he’ll potentially re-sign, what do you think will be the price range, I know it will be a rough best guess, just wondering what your thoughts are…..also, has this been the best freaking time as a Panthers “beat” writer? Thanks 🙏 in advance Colby. — Surveyjay
Hey, Jay! It’s honestly been a blast being on the beat for this run. It’s been an incredible story to tell day-by-day and I look forward to seeing how it wraps up.
As a born and bred hockey guy, this is the stuff you live for.
To answer the first question, I think his price range on his next contract would be around $2-3 million AAV.
To quickly address some of the other Gudas-related questions I got: Any move Bill Zito tried making involving Gudas at the deadline is water under the bridge at this point. Zito came out and said that he had faith in his guys — including Gudas.
I haven’t asked about this recently, but every time his contract situation has been brought up, he has said he wants to stay. The Panthers are likely on board.
George Chimes In: I think Gudas stays although his price has gone up. He has succeeded in securing the Playoff Bump. He will have his pick of suitors come July 1.
1) Have you seen a significant shift in Paul Maurice’s coaching style from his time in WPG to now? 2) Review Nick Cousins’ season” — Bryan Bastin
Another two-parter, eh?
Well, to answer the first one, Maurice has been more willing to let his top players do what they are best at.
He has added that chip-and-chance and heavy forecheck element to their game but he has also let them pick the spots they want to jump up on the rush. After some growing pains earlier in the season, it seems like that is working out.
I’ll answer your Nick Cousins question with an anecdote.
After I told him I was given number 21 on my beer league team, he told me they would be retiring it after I was done wearing it. But really, I think he’s the one who is on jersey retirement watch after the Game 5 overtime winner he scored to sink the Toronto Maple Leafs.
In all seriousness, he was a fine bottom-six guy all year and has really stepped up on Matthew Tkachuk’s wing during the playoffs. He is solid on the forecheck and has sneaky good hands when he gets the chance to use them.
How do we expect to stop the Vegas bottom 6 from scoring?
How do we expect to penetrate the VGK blue line when Pietro, Theo, Martinez, McNabb, Hague etc block shots like it’s their job —- funny fact — it is! — Super Forecaster
The Golden Knights are not all too different than the teams the Panthers sunk in the previous three rounds — solid defensive structure like Carolina, deep like Boston, firepower up front like Toronto — so the key for Florida is to continue to play their game.
Their multi-faceted attack has allowed them to beat their opponents in different ways. But the most important part of this series hinges on Sergei Bobrovsky continuing to play in the form that he has.
To shoehorn in another question I received from Jack Powell on Twitter, that Golden Knights defense core is very solid and blocks a lot of shots, but the concerning thing about that stat is that a team has to give up possession a lot in order to block that many shots.
They have a solid structure, but I would say that Vegas’ defense core is the third-best Florida has faced behind Carolina and Boston in that order.
What are your thoughts on the future for Hornqvist? With his experience, hockey knowledge, and how he can motivate the kids, is there a coaching spot in his future? I know The Duke give him a lot of credit for his rehab. Thanks for your work— Joe
Thanks for your support, Joe!
As far as Patric Hornqvist’s future goes, the ball is in his court.
Like you said, he did an incredible job helping Anthony Duclair out during his rehab from his Achilles injury and he has gotten praise from teammates and coaches alike for his presence around the team in general.
Paul Maurice has said that he is the type of guy who could not only coach, but be a general manager because of the way he can read the game.
Hornqvist has not said anything about his future — and has jokingly told us to stop calling him “Coach Hornqvist” —so it doesn’t seem like there is a definite plan just yet. Do not think returning to play again is out of the cards either but they are being very careful about his concussions at his time.
GR: Hornqvist can do anything he wants with the Panthers at this point — including coming back on a Udonis Haslem deal I believe. Florida will have the cap space to carry 23 players next season and if one of them is Hornqvist at a $750,000 deal, that could very well happen. He is a big part of this team. Whatever he wants to do, they’ll do.
What is the status of Spencer Knight? I know his situation is probably protected for privacy but this whole thing makes me really nervous that he is our #2 goalie with the franchise investing in him to be a future #1. Can the Panthers get out of the deal? Can you explain how this works?” — Kevin Hawkey
There has been no update on his status, with respect to his privacy, of course.
I will preface the talk about his contract with the fact that I am totally confident that he will be able to fully recover from this. He is a mature guy and has always seemed to handle adversity well.
But to answer the second question, if it gets to a point where he never reports to the team again, his contract can be voided. This happened before when Dustin Byfuglien walked away from the Winnipeg Jets a few years ago.
His contract was taken off the books as soon as he committed to not reporting to Winnipeg and the Jets were able to pivot with the cap space they got just fine.
But again, I highly doubt that it will get to that point.
GR: There has been no update on Spencer and there probably will not be until he walks through their door. I am sure there have been talks between Spencer and/or his people and the Panthers throughout this and they know what he is thinking and they know what the Panthers are thinking. We’ll just have to wait and see.
FLORIDA PANTHERS ON DECK
THE 2023 STANLEY CUP FINAL
FLORIDA PANTHERS AT VEGAS GOLDEN KNIGHTS
GAME 1
- When: Saturday, 8 p.m.
- Where: T-Mobile Arena, Las Vegas
- TV: TNT
- Radio: WQAM 560-AM, WPOW 96.5 FM2, WBZT 1230-AM (Palm Beach); WCTH 100.3-FM (Florida Keys); SiriusXM
- Panthers Radio Streaming: SiriusXM 932
- Series Schedule — Game 1: Saturday at Vegas, 8 (TNT); Game 2: Monday June 5 at Vegas, 8 (TNT); Game 3: Thursday June 8 at Florida, 8 (TNT); Game 4: Saturday June 10 at Florida, 8 (TNT); Game 5*: Tuesday June 13 at Vegas, 8 (TNT); Game 6*:Friday June 16 at Florida, 8 (TNT); Game 7*: Monday June 19 at Vegas, 8 (TNT). * – If Necessary
- 2022-23 Regular Season Series Vs. Vegas (Even 1-1): @Vegas 4, Florida 2 (Jan. 12); @Florida 2, Vegas 1 (March 7)
- All-time Regular Season Series: vs. Vegas Golden Knights lead 6-3-1
- Postseason History: First meeting
- How They Got Here — Vegas: d. Winnipeg in 5, Edmonton in 6, Dallas in 6; Florida:d. Boston in 7, Toronto in 5, Carolina in 4.