George Richards, FHN Publisher
There is no doubt the Florida Panthers got great value out of Evgenii Dadonov and Mike Hoffman over the past two-plus seasons but now both are free agents.
Right now, it appears likely the Panthers will lose one — and perhaps both — of their leading scorers to free agency.
Over the past two seasons, Hoffman and Dadonov have been the Panthers’ leading two scorers not named Sasha Barkov and Jonathan Huberdeau.
The bill has come due.
It appears both players have priced themselves out of the Panthers’ plans. How do you replace that kind of production?
Not easily.
Hoffman, who came to the Panthers in a trade with San Jose in 2018 and had a cap hit of $5.2 million, is considered one of the top free agents in a shallow market.
The 65 goals and 129 points scored in Florida over the past two seasons should get him a very desirable contract when things open up next month.
Dadonov, with a cap hit of $4 million, will draw interest from teams who have seen him average 27 goals and 61 points in his three seasons with Florida after leaving the KHL to return to the Panthers in 2017.
Hoffman led the Panthers in goals in each of his two seasons with 36 last season and 29 in the most recent; Dadonov has been Florida’s fourth-highest scorer in each of his three seasons.
Going with the assumption both players are gone, how do the Panthers replace them?
Barring any trades (we think new GM Bill Zito is going to be aggressive in his first offseason with the Panthers) let us again assume the replacements will come both internally and through free agency.
So, what is out there?
There are not many high-end choices on the free agency market and the ones that are there are probably out of Florida’s price range.
Internally, the Panthers have two young players they hope are ready for primetime and can take the next step onto the NHL stage.
Grigori Denisenko signed his entry-level deal with Florida this summer and will be given every opportunity to not only make the team, but be a top-six winger.
Although Denisenko did not light it up playing limited minutes in the KHL with Lokomotiv, he was Russia’s top junior player and was the best player at the most recent World Junior tournament with three goals and nine points in seven games.
Florida took Denisenko with the 15th pick of the 2018 draft. They love his speed, his play with the puck. The Panthers are ready to let him rip.
Owen Tippett, the 10th overall selection in 2017, has a little NHL experience and was likely on his way to the Panthers in February had he not been injured during his first season with AHL Springfield.
Tippett, 21, was part of the Panthers upon the summer return but did not get any playing time with the top lines during training camp and saw no action in the Toronto bubble.
Before the trade deadline, there were internal discussions within the Panthers on whether Florida could afford to trade Hoffman and slide Tippett into his spot.
Tippett, after all, earned a trip to the AHL All-Star Game with 19 goals and 40 points in his first pro season before getting hurt. Tippett has a heavy shot, is a scorer and like Denisenko, will get every opportunity to be a big part of the Panthers next season.
Players such as Aleksi Saarela and Eetu Luostarinen (both currently on loan to start their seasons in Europe) could find a bigger role with the Panthers moving forward.
Getting to play overseas before coming to camp (whenever that is) may give them a heads-up on others.
It would be hard to believe the Panthers, unless they are in a rebuild mode which does not appear to be the case, to put all of that scoring weight on young forwards.
So, if Dadonov and/or Hoffman were to walk, the Panthers will likely look for a few replacements from the outside.
As far as free agents go, don’t expect the Panthers to go deep-sea fishing for the likes of top forward Taylor Hall or even a Tyler Toffoli.
This team just has other problems it needs to address.
But, with the uncertainty of the free agency market, there definitely could be some lower priced forwards in play.
If the Panthers decide to move on from Hoffman and/or Dadonov (or that decision is made by the player), there could be mutual interest between Florida and Alex Galchenyuk.
Galchenyuk is a former 30-goal scorer (four seasons ago with Montreal) and hasn’t hit 20 in the years following as he had bounced around from Montreal to Arizona, Pittsburgh and Minnesota.
He only had eight goals last season with Pittsburgh and Minnesota so the 26-year-old likely will not carry a high price tag on this market after a tough series for the Wild against Vancouver.
Galchenyuk makes his offseason home in South Florida and has done summer workouts with the Panthers in Coral Springs over the years so if Florida had interest, it probably wouldn’t be a tough sell.
He can play center or wing, and if the price and term is right, could be worth taking a chance on.
Jesper Fast is another free agent, but the New York winger isn’t much of a scorer.
If the Panthers decided to move up Frank Vatrano and wanted bottom-six depth on the wings, perhaps they could look at a player like Fast who has a strong two-way game and would not break the bank.
The most likely fix comes with a mix of trades and having a keen eye when the market gets going. The Panthers could be very active in the coming weeks leading into the start of the draft on Oct. 6.
Free agency opens Oct. 9 at noon.