Who Makes the Opening Night Roster for the Florida Panthers?

With NFL teams setting their final 53-man rosters today, why not take a look at our way-to-early thoughts on who makes the Opening Night roster for the Florida Panthers.

None of this, of course, is set in stone.

Not only do we have about six weeks before Bill Zito & Co. have to make their final decisions on who makes the flight to Minnesota for the opening trip, but we are not even sure which new players will be in camp — or claimed off waivers as Josh Mahura was last year.

The Panthers are expected to invite at least one veteran to camp on a professional tryout — Edmonton added Sam Gagner and Brandon Sutter on Monday — and that player will have a chance to make the team based off their performance in the preseason.

Another unknown is whether Florida will have enough salary cap space on Opening Night for additional players.

Last season, the Panthers opened with the minimum of 20 players and could only add extras when Aaron Ekblad landed on long-term injured reserve after getting hurt in the third game in Boston.

Ekblad and/or Brandon Montour could initially start the season on LTIR giving the Panthers plenty of breathing room — at least when the season starts.

Today, we will go with Florida starting the season with 23 players on the roster due to Ekblad and Montour being unavailable for the first few weeks of the campaign.

Matthew Tkachuk and Sam Bennett also got hurt during the playoffs but we will assume they will be ready to go for the opener.

FORWARDS (12)

The Locks: Sasha Barkov, Matthew Tkachuk, Sam Reinhart, Carter Verhaeghe, Sam Bennett, Evan Rodrigues, Eetu Luostarinen, Anton Lundell, Ryan Lomberg, Nick Cousins, Kevin Stenlund, Steven Lorentz

Very Likely: Grigori Denisenko

On the Bubble: Mackie Samoskevich, Zac Dalpe, PTO

When it comes to Florida’s forwards, there is a very strong likelihood that the first 13 spots are taken — with Denisenko, now with a new two-year, one-way deal — with No. 14 going to either Samoskevich or someone yet-to-be-named.

We’ll go with the new guy, whomever he is.

We have previously speculated the Panthers may look into bringing in veteran center Paul Stastny on a PTO after he spent parts of two seasons with Paul Maurice in Winnipeg and played 73 games for the Hurricanes last year.

Eric Staal has yet to officially land somewhere, so do not forget about him, either.

This is no knock on Samoskevich who is coming off a strong sophomore season at Michigan, got his feet wet with Charlotte in the AHL playoffs and was part of Florida’s playoff practice squad.

He may just be better suited to starting off with the Checkers and getting a lot of playing time in a lot of different situations.

DEFENSEMEN (7)

The Locks: Gus Forsling, Oliver Ekman-Larsson, Niko Mikkola, Dmitry Kulikov, Josh Mahura

On the Bubble: Mike Reilly, Lucas Carlsson, Matt Kiersted, Mike Benning, Casey Fitzgerald

Injured: Aaron Ekblad, Brandon Montour

If Ekblad and Montour start the season on the shelf, as expected, the Panthers should have two spots open on their blueline after adding four veterans on July 1.

Both Carlsson and Kiersted had nice seasons for Charlotte last season and both appeared poised to make the next step. But there really is not room for both with Ekblad and Montour healthy.

Or is there? We are putting Reilly on the bubble to start after he signed a one-year deal following a buyout from Boston. We know the Panthers think highly of him, but after spending most of last season in the AHL, he has to be seated on the same part of the ship as Carlsson and Kiersted.

Reilly probably makes the team out of camp leaving the battle for the final spot up to Carlsson and Kiersted with the possibility one is lost on the waiver wire at the end of camp. If Reilly does not look sharp in camp, Florida could cut him loose and be able to keep both of them — at least for now.

Of course, Florida could always stick with 13 forwards and open with eight defensemen, rolling out different pairings until their two big guys return.

And do not forget about waivers…

GOALIES (2)

The Lock: Sergei Bobrovsky

Very Likely: Anthony Stolarz

On the Bubble: Spencer Knight

One of the more interesting things to watch in camp is the battle to be Bobrovsky’s backup although the decision may have already have been made.

Although the Panthers have not — and probably will not — say so, they may have their minds made up regarding Knight starting in Charlotte after missing so much time last season.

Knight has a new contract which kicks in this season and he will be making $4.5 million regardless of whether he plays with the Panthers or the Checkers. Florida can only stash about $1 million of that in the minors, but that is not really the concern here.

The Panthers expect Knight to come into camp and look good. He is an extremely talented goalie. But they also want him to play. If the plan is for Bobrovsky to get most of the starts moving forward, perhaps it would be best for Knight to go to Charlotte and get in plenty of games himself.

We’ll see what happens.

Regardless, Florida signed an NHL-caliber goalie in Stolarz and has a lot of money invested in this position.

FLORIDA PANTHERS ON DECK