George Richards, FHN Publisher
The FHN Florida Panthers Mailbag opened up on Wednesday and, as usual, you folks brought some pretty good questions.
Hope I answered them.
With the NHL Trade Deadline fast approaching, that was a big topic of discussion.
We will have a special Trade Deadline Q&A in two weeks so, stay tuned for that.
What do we have in this edition of the Mailbag?
Well, trade questions, sure; we also have a few inquiries about what it would take to get Brady Tkachuk with the Panthers, with would certainly swing the Stanley Cup betting odds.
We also have a few questions about the Panthers’ goalie tandem of Sergei Bobrovsky and Spencer Knight, including what Florida’s future looks like in net following next season.
It’s a pretty good Mailbag if I do say so myself. So, strap on that Mailbag and get to readin!
Do the Panthers trade to strengthen the team for the playoffs and the future such as finding a right shot defenseman? — Michael Harris
The Panthers will certainly be buyers at the trade deadline, although with not much under the salary cap, the pickings may be slim.
Florida, per PuckPedia.com, has room for a player making around $3.5 million under the cap.
That can be split up, but when you have players like Mike Matheson making closer to $5 million, getting a name-brand player may not be the move here.
And I doubt it is. The Panthers have a front office full of people with scouting and analytical backgrounds and they are scouring teams every day looking for players who are the right fit, and ones that they can afford.
Look at last year. They were able to get players on the cheap (Vladimir Tarasenko and Kyle Okposo) who were perfect fits for this team. Did not hurt that both were pending free agents who told their teams they would only go to the Panthers.
Florida does not have a first-round pick this year, but can trade next year’s if it wants to. For the right player — and that player won’t be a rental as was the case in 2022 — the Panthers may make a move with that chip.
I don’t have the same Rose colored glasses about our economy as the NHL. First, do you see us signing both Ekblad and Bennett? Don’t see either of them as trade bait. If signed, I have trouble seeing either of them being here for 8 more years, or is term the cost of getting the price down. Bennet is due for a raise and how do you tell a #1 pick it’s time to cut your pay. Second, do you think Chucky will re-sign before his current contract is up? I have a feeling Matthew and Brady will want to play together at some point in their careers. I understand we are in “win now” mode and everything else is speculation, but I’m concerned about the perennial Florida Panthers. — shoto2526
OK, let’s start with Matthew Tkachuk: He has five years left on his contract, no one is thinking that far ahead. If anything, it would be Brady coming south. But don’t bet on that. He has three years left at about $1 million less what Matt is making, and there is no indication the Sens have any designs on moving their captain.
As far as the Panthers’ economy goes, things are swell.
The team is making money, the salary cap is going up, and players want to be here. The phrase ‘internal salary cap’ means something different around here than it used to. And that is, instead of ownership telling management they can only spend so much, it is not players being hamstrung a bit by what the best players are making.
Sasha Barkov is at $10 million, Tkachuk at $9.5, and Sam Reinhart at $8.6. How does a defenseman come here to break the bank when Gus Forsling is making $5.8?
All of those contracts were signed before the salary cap started to go up, of course, so players are going to come in and make a little more. You have to pay to play. That’s just the way it is. But the Panthers have shown they don’t have to overpay — and that is what makes their economy look rosy.
Do I expect the Panthers to make a deal and sign both Sam Bennett and Aaron Ekblad to extensions this year? Yes, yes I do. They have the money for it.
Although both players could make more elsewhere, it really is not going to be that much more. Unless either is looking for a change — and based on what I see and hear, they’re not — they would much rather just make things work with the Panthers and stay with their friends.
What defenseman could we reasonably add and what do you think we would have to give up? — Joel Plattor
There are certainly going to be suitors if Nashville is willing to deal, but Jeremy Lauzon could be a nice addition to Florida’s d-corps at a discount price. He is signed through next season for just a $2 million cap hit. I don’t know why the Preds would deal him, but perhaps a first round pick next year could pique their interest.
UPDATE: Lauzon, who has been out since before the New Year, has been declared out for the remainder of the season.
Ivan Provorov could also be in play here from Columbus, although there have been rumblings the Jackets could sign him to an extension before the deadline. Florida also does not currently have the salary cap space to make that work.
Leaving this open ended on purpose but what are your thoughts on the goaltending succession with both Knight’s and Bob’s contracts being up after next year? I know Knight hasn’t developed as quickly as expected, but I would hate to see another Markstrom situation happen. — Sievs
Well, Sergei Bobrovsky’s contract is up after next season — Spencer Knight’s is not. Yes, it will be the end of a three-year deal, but as a restricted free agent, the Panthers will continue to hold his rights.
Knight has developed just fine, by the way; he is 23 years old and has shown he can play at this level on a nightly basis. If something happened to Bob tomorrow morning, you could run Knight out there as the starter and be just fine.
As far as the Jacob Markstrom comparison, aside from having Robb Tallas as his coach, everything has changed around here. Everything. The Panthers did not want to yo-yo him from the AHL to the NHL all the time the way they did, but they did not have a choice back then.
And Markstrom, like Knight, showed he could play at the NHL level. When the Panthers sent Markstrom back, he did not take it well. Knight has.
We’ll see what happens, but right now, Bobrovsky is the starter.
Who are the reasonable targets for the stretch run? I know we’re looking to beef up the blueline and we desperately need a RHD (Maybe someone like Jokiharju, though I know he’s not very offensively minded?
What would we have to add to an extended Bennett to land Brady as Matthew’s linemate?
What’s in your Walkman (or equivalent) right now? — Matt
I know the Panthers want to ‘beef up the blueline,’ but so does every team in the league. Unless the Panthers go big-time and make a blockbuster type move, they’re going for depth.
Would not be surprised to see Florida also add some depth to its bottom-6, perhaps looking for a center who can spell Tomas Nosek at times.
As far as getting Brady, that’s probably a pipedream even though both players would like to be together here in the sun. Brady’s contract is not crazy expensive for what he brings, but you have to get the Senators to want to deal — and with three years left, Brady really cannot force anything right now. In 18 months, maybe. But not now.
And my Walkman always has a Van Halen cassette in it.
George, I’m not exactly sure when it happened, but somewhere along the way a few years ago the Cats became a spend-to-the-Cap team and instead of celebrating this, we just overnight began accepting that the Cats were going to spend to the cap every season. After so many penny-pinching years, I think that paradigm-shifting ownership decision deserves a moment of respectful silence for the Viola family. Don’t you? — Ed Purchase
Yeah, I remember those days quite well — and honestly, they were not too long ago. Kudos to Vinnie Viola for seeing that you have to spend money to have success in this business, but only if you do it smartly. The way the Panthers spend money these days is money spent smart.
With only 5 B2B games left how many of the 25 remaining games do you think we see Spencer Knight? — @Panthersfan2025
Bobrovsky’s days of carrying a team into the playoffs certainly seem over. And, based on how he played in 2023 after getting some extended time off heading into the postseason, I would think you can pencil Knight in for eight-10 games in these final 25.
Will Zito trade for Noah Dobson and or Henri Jokiharju. What would the trades look like? — @Dragons_Quest
I think they would love to trade for Dobson although, why would the Islanders do that? He is RFA and a very talented young player. Don’t see Lou making that move.
As for Jokiharju, Buffalo will be selling, but I don’t know if the Sabres are going to move a young defenseman unless it’s for a pretty nice haul. Those are the kind of players you would think the Panthers would like, young, puck-moving right-handed d-men. But so does everyone else — including the Sabres and Islanders.
If you were to start writing your autobiography, what would be your most memorable or favorite hockey moment that would entice me to buy your book? 😀 — Harry Lampley
Well, if I write a book, I know you’re buying it Harry. I would think my favorite memory out of covering this team all these years — aside from all the fun people I have been lucky enough to meet — was the parade last summer.
Like Paul Maurice said, it was so Florida Panthers for it to be a torrential rainstorm on the day of their championship parade. And yet it did not matter.
The streets were packed, people were having a blast. After all the lean years, of the free tickets at the sub shop, of goalies getting smacked in the head with the stick of their defenseman, tarps in the upper deck, etc., that was cool to see.
Over/Under on fights in Thursday’s game? — Don Johnson
Four. I don’t think we will see fights right off the drop as we did Saturday night, but there will be some rough stuff going on tomorrow.
Who was the better backup bartender – Ernie “Coach” Pantusso or Woody Boyd? — Sam Malone
This is a pretty good question. You have to like the veteran wiles of Coach; he knew the customer, knew their history. Had a few screws loose, but was always good for a story and probably knew where the bodies were buried.
Woody, on the other hand, was not real bright but you could trust him with the cash drawer — although he might get scammed from time to time by a quick talking con. Coach is pretty trustworthy too.
He also became pretty good pals with everyone at the bar — and ended up meeting Bill Murray in Zombieland.
Going with Woody.