Colby Guy
Last week, we debuted a new series — the Florida Panthers Temp Check — where we provided some analysis on some hot takes you shared with us on Twitter.
You guys gave us a lot. So much so a Part 2 was warranted.
And then one of the biggest trades in the NHL over the last decade happened.
Florida just so happened to be involved.
The Panthers sent all-time leading scorer Jonathan Huberdeau and star defenseman MacKenzie Weegar, along with Cole Schwindt and a 2025 first-round pick, to the Calgary Flames for Matthew Tkachuk.
It changed the outlook of the team completely while, in the process, making some of the takes we looked at just a week ago outdated.
Or, in some cases, aged incredibly well.
Like last time out, I will provide each take with a rating — a heat index, if you will — from 1 to 100.
The higher the score, the hotter, or more wilder, the take is.
I will leave my thoughts underneath each take.
No need to delay any longer, let’s get right to it.
This year’s Panthers will not match last year’s regular season record, and in particular goal differential, but are a very fun team to watch all season and ultimately more well-rounded and prepared to deliver where it counts. — The Good Life
Heat Index: 20
Looking at this year’s roster compared to the one that won the Presidents’ Trophy last year, it lost a lot of the offensive firepower that helped it set records.
The Panthers lost a lot of offense with Claude Giroux and Mason Marchment leaving via free-agency and replaced them with three forwards who have been accustomed to bottom-six checking roles: Colin White, Nick Cousins and Rudolfs Balcers.
Anthony Duclair missing at least the first half of the season with a torn Achilles does not help either.
With Huberdeau and Weegar also heading out the door for Tkachuk and the rest of the team adjusting to a new system under head coach Paul Maurice, growing pains are bound to happen.
What general manager Bill Zito did address was the need for someone who can drive the net and create plays with his physicality in Tkachuk.
It was something the team was desperately missing in its series loss to the Tampa Bay Lightning last season when Marchment was out due to an injury.
Cousins has also provided an energetic presence on multiple playoff teams, including a Vegas Golden Knights team that made it to the Western Conference final in 2020.
The biggest issue I see is that Weegar was a huge reason why Florida’s defense was so effective at jumping up into the play, carrying the puck into the offensive zone and producing points.
With no feasible replacement coming in — although Gus Forsling will step up and provide a similar presence — coupled with the losses on offense, this team will not be the same.
The success of this year’s team in the long run depends on if a player like Lucas Carlsson or John Ludvig can step up and be a steady presence on the second pair in a similar role as Forsling had.
It could widely range from a season quite similar to that of the 2017-18 New York Islanders who finished near the top of the league in goals but finished last in goals against and missed the playoffs to an Atlantic Division title.
I see the Panthers finishing somewhere in the middle — third in the Atlantic Division.
But with Duclair back in the mix, they will have a varied offense which could help carry them through the playoffs.
What 4 teams will make the playoffs from the Atlantic? FLA, TOR. TB, OTT? Could it be FLA, TOR, BOS, OTT? What are your thoughts about the Atlantic Division next year? — ColtonKicks16
Heat Index: 90
This was one of the takes I was very close to responding to in the first rendition and I am glad I saved it for Part 2 considering everything that went down this week.
There are still a lot of dominoes to fall — although John Klingberg inking his one-year, $7 million deal with the Anaheim Ducks should speed things up a bit — so this is definitely far from my final prediction, but I will take a stab at it.
Firstly, I do not see Tampa Bay falling out of the playoffs.
That team has proven year in and year out that they have what it takes to make it through the full grind of a season — even barring major injury as they’ve experienced with Steven Stamkos and Nikita Kuchervov — and be in playoff contention.
The departures of Ryan McDonagh and Ondrej Palat among others do not change the fact that they are returning a core of players that have been competing for the Stanley Cup for the better half of the last decade.
Whether they win the East again with Cal Foote and Vladislav Namestnikov stepping up to replace them is a different story.
I also only see three teams from the Atlantic Division making the playoffs this season.
With the New York Islanders and Columbus Blue Jackets improving and last year’s playoff teams in the Metropolitan Division all maintaining the majority of their rosters, it’s going to be hard to beat them out.
The Boston Bruins also have major question marks surrounding whether or not Patrice Bergeron will return and the timetable for Brad Marchand and Charlie Coyle’s respective injuries.
The door is open for the Senators — or even the Detroit Red Wings — to jump in and compete.
Ottawa still has some concerns on the right side of their defense while Detroit will need its young stars to have a serious breakout season to jump into a playoff race.
Both teams still have cap space remaining to fill additional holes, a luxury a lot of other teams in the division do not have.
I will go more in-depth on Atlantic Division predictions at a later date, but for now, here is roughly where I see things panning out.
- Tampa Bay
- Toronto
- Florida
- Ottawa
- Boston
- Detroit
- Buffalo
- Montreal
I see the Islanders and Penguins securing wild card spots while the New York Rangers, Carolina Hurricanes and Washington Capitals take the top three seeds in the Metropolitan Division.
Spencer Knight wins more games than Sergei Bobrovsky — Thomas Hahn
Heat Index: 60
With Sergei Bobrovsky coming off of a bounceback season, this is a hotter take than it was last offseason but it is something that is still looming.
This depends on which version of Bobrovsky the Panthers get.
If the Panthers get near or better than the 39-7-3 / .913 / 2.67 slash line he put up last year, Bobrovsky will get the majority of the starts (and wins) next season.
In the event he slides back down closer to (or even below) a .900 save percentage, Spencer Knight is absolutely ready to step in and win games.
As we saw last year, Knight got more comfortable at the NHL level with a high volume of starts and could jump at the opportunity to start.
For now, it’s Bobrovsky’s crease.
Colin White scores 20+ goals — Charles
Heat Index: 35
White has gotten pretty close to 20 goals in the past, hitting 14 in 2017-18 with Ottawa, so it is definitely not out of the question.
With Florida’s system benefiting the development of players like Duclair, Carter Verahaeghe and Sam Bennett, this could be the opportunity the 25-year-old needs to break out.
He is coming off of two injury-filled seasons, playing through injury during the abbreviated 2021 season and missing most of the 2021-22 season with a dislocated shoulder he suffered before the season begins.
If he is able to stay healthy and find a groove in Florida that many underachieving forwards had in the past, he could become a 20-goal scorer in Florida.
He was working slightly under a 20-goal pace with 10 goals in 45 games in 2020-21 (while playing injured) so it is not out of the realm of possibility at all.
Every move Bill Zito makes in the next two years (or until he signs elsewhere) should be aimed at landing Auston Matthews in free agency — Panther Pourri
Heat Index: 50
With the Panthers having as much as $15 million in cap space in the 2023 offseason and still carrying a win-now approach, I’m not sure if they would be willing to bunt on the 2023-24 season to wait on Auston Matthews’ contract decision.
Furthermore, it is likely that Florida uses that offseason to fill the hole on defense left by Weegar’s departure.
The big wild card that does come into play is that Bobrovsky’s full no-movement clause widdles down to a 16-team no trade list when Matthews hits unrestricted free agency.
It would take a lot going the other way to find a team that is not on his no-trade list to become willing to take on his contract and aid Florida into adding a superstar, but it at least becomes more possible.
One option Florida could take is adding firepower on one-year deals during the 2023 offseason and then taking a swing on Matthews (with a potential backup plan in Steven Stamkos or Sebastian Aho in place) but it is possible that all three players re-sign with their respective teams before hitting the open market.
It may become more beneficial for Florida to go after a player like Patrick Kane in 2023 if they were to go after a big name forward in free agency.
Matthews’ situation will be interesting to watch, but I would not be surprised if he re-signs with Toronto before becoming an unrestricted free agent.
If he does become available, however, I would not count Zito out of that race.