Florida Panthers
Florida Panthers Change Fourth Line. It Starts with Kevin Stenlund
When the Florida Panthers went into free agency, they wanted to upgrade a few issues.
One of those was their fourth line.
Signing Kevin Stenlund in the early goings of July 1 was the start of Florida’s change.
The Panthers went younger with Stenlund as he will be 27 by the time this season starts and he has only played in parts of five NHL seasons with Columbus and Winnipeg.
Although he was not with coach Paul Maurice in Winnipeg, he was under the watchful eye of general manager Bill Zito during their Columbus days.
Zito was the assistant general manager of the Blue Jackets when they drafted Stenlund in the second round of the 2015 NHL Draft — and had him with the AHL Cleveland Monsters for 99 games, including 32 during Zito’s final season in Ohio.
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“He is a 6-foot-5 center, right shot,’’ said Zito, who had served as GM of the Monsters as part of his responsibilities with the Blue Jackets. “He is a pretty dynamic guy who has a big shot and kind of cut his teeth now in Winnipeg as a penalty killer and as a fourth-line guy.
“We wanted to add some size to our lineup and this is a really unique guy. He has skills, he can shoot it. We had him in Columbus before, so I know him. He is a good guy and a good teammate. I think everyone will enjoy seeing him because that package of size, skating and skill is rare.’’
Stenlund, who has 17 goals and 29 points in his 125 NHL games, is going to be asked to step up a little more with the Panthers.
He got a one-year deal with Florida worth $1 million but it appears he will go into camp as their fourth-line center, taking over for Eric Staal.
For a good portion of last season, the Panthers had Staal centering Ryan Lomberg, Colin White, Givani Smith and Nick Cousins.
Going into camp, it appears Florida would have Stenlund at center with a couple of possibilities on his wing with either Lomberg or Cousins on the left with newly added Steven Lorentz on the right.
Florida could also have youngsters like Grigori Denisenko and Mackie Samoskevich factor in.
FLORIDA PANTHERS ON DECK
- Now: Free agency period is open
- Sept. 15-18: Rookie Showcase (vs. Carolina, Tampa Bay and Nashville), Estero
- Mid-September: Training Camp, South Florida
- Sept. 25: Preseason starts; Doubleheader v. Nashville @ Sunrise
- Oct. 7: Preseason ends; v. Tampa Bay Lightning @ Sunrise
- Oct. 12: Start of 2023-24 Regular Season at Minnesota Wild
- Oct. 19: 2023-24 Home Opener vs. Toronto Maple Leafs
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Sign Stastny for the role and put Cousins or Rodrigues on the wing. Denisenko should be put in a top six role to start. He should be the replacement for Duclair’s role.
Finally, we agree. Line one, Hags barky and Denisenko. Line two, Tkachuk Bennet Rodriquez. Line three. Lundell centering Reinhart and Leostarinen. And line four, cousins and lomberg on the wings centered by Stenlund.
We don’t agree. Rodrigues and Stenlund don’t belong on the ice. I want a proven face off winner centering the fourth line, not someone with one season. I don’t want a 30-year-old player on the downside of his career who has never scored 20 goals in the lineup. Not when sacrificing a younger player who has scored 20 goals four times, once 30 goals. The Panthers will be lucky just to sniff the playoffs with their offseason acquisitions.
I Was , I thought, obviously refering to your take on Denisinko, ie, he’s on my top line . Other than that, you are correct sir, we don’t agree on much.