The last time I looked at the Florida Panthers was back in May when they were one of the last four teams standing in the 2024 playoffs. We know now that they went on to win the first Stanley Cup in franchise history this spring. How has their roster evolved after the victory and where should they, go from here?
As the defending Stanley Cup Champions, it’s not difficult to come up with a couple of roster building priorities for the Panthers to focus on:
- Priority #1: Reload the NHL roster for a run at defending their title.
- Priority #2: Start building the development cohort that can take the reigns in a few years to extend their contention window.
The Panthers had a number of pending UFAs on their championship roster, including a few significant pieces like Sam Reinhart and Brandon Montour. They still compared well to the rest of the league back in May, but those holes needed to be filled to keep pace with the competition over the summer. The Panthers had about 20% of their cap space for next season available going into the offseason.
Priority #1: Reload
The Panthers didn’t waste time following their Stanley Cup victory. With the draft and free agency happening just days following game 7 of the final, they didn’t have much choice. The Panthers had one big hole to address up front with Sam Reinhart set to become a UFA. Trade deadline acquisition Vladimir Tarasenko was perhaps the next most notable UFA forward, along with a handful of depth forwards such as Ryan Lomberg and Kevin Stenlund. The defense corps was perhaps a bigger area of concern with Brandon Montour, Oliver Ekman-Larsson and Dmitri Kulikov all set to become UFAs.
57 goal scorer Sam Reinhart was a key piece in the Panthers’ championship season and they put a priority on bringing him back, signing him to a new deal on the eve of free agency. The Panthers committed to him long term, with an 8 year x $8.25MM deal. In the short term, it’s a great move that helps keep their contention cohort together during their prime years. It may be a stretch to expect another 50 goal season but Reinhart is a very good piece with strong individual production at 5v5 along with strong possession metrics. With Reinhart already 28, it does come with some risk that the back end of the deal could become problematic though. With a full no-move clause for the first 6 seasons of the deal, it limits the team’s long term flexibility.
With cap space becoming less plentiful, the Panthers let Brandon Montour walk and looked to more cost effective options to replenish their blue line for the 2024-2025 season. First, they re-signed Dmitri Kulikov to a four year, $1.15MM deal. They also brought in Nate Schmidt, who they were able to sign to a one year $800k deal following his buyout in Winnipeg. Neither are likely to fill the hole on the second pair, but the pair of 33 year-olds should be capable of providing some stability for the third pair.
Priority #2: Build a Development Cohort
The Panthers brought in another defenseman fresh off a buyout in 23 year-old Adam Boqvist. His projected possession metrics aren’t great, but the Panthers have had success rejuvenating the careers of defensemen over the past few years. Until this past season, he was also quite productive with his 5v5 P/60 sitting among the best from defensemen taken 6-10 overall in the draft. The hope is clearly that the former 8th overall pick can translate that success into a larger role to fill the hole left by Montour’s departure. If he can, he represents the start of the next wave of players coming through that can transition in as the next core of the team.
Boqvist joins the development cohort that already included 22 year old Anton Lundell, who was set for restricted free agency this summer. The Panthers didn’t waste much time locking him into a new deal, with a six year x $5MM pact. Lundell has already become a solid middle six contributor and the new deal looks likely to age well and provide a good value for supporting option for the current contention cohort. Comparing his first three season to other forwards selected 11-20 overall, he looks likely to be a Contributor tier forward through his prime.
Looking Ahead
The Panthers should have every reason to believe they can repeat as cup champions with their restocked roster. They’re projected to be among the top 8 teams in the league again in 2024-2025, underpinned by some very strong projected possession metrics. Their defense corps will be an area to watch. If Boqvist isn’t able to step into the hole on the second pair, filling that hole could become the Panthers’ top trade deadline priority.
The Panthers contention window is wide open. They have anchor talents locked up long term in Sasha Barkov, Matthew Tkachuk and Gustav Forsling. Sam Reinhart arguably joins that group as well, although the Panthers should be careful not to overcommit to too large a group that will start declining with age together. The current contention cohort (draft years 2013-2016) should be able to contend for a few more seasons before that becomes a big concern though and the Panthers did a reasonable job of filling the holes in their roster this summer to stay competitive in the short term. They also made strides in building the development cohort that will help extend their window in the long term. While they should keep a few anchor talents, the Panthers should be looking to turn over the supporting cast over the next few years to give larger roles to the incoming group that is forming around Lundell and Boqvist.
