NHL News

Oct 01 2024

Florida Panthers 24-25 Season Preview

by Jonathan Davis

Florida Panthers
Atlantic Division

2023-24 Recap
Record (W-L-OTL): 52-24-6
Over/Under: 29-49-4
Home Favorite: 24-14
Home Dog: 2-0
Road Favorite: 22-6
Road Dog: 3-9
Win Score 4 or more: 36 of 52
Lose Give Up 4 or more: 16 of 30
Puck Line Wins: 34 of 52
Puck Line Losses: 19 of 30
Front End Back-to-Back: 5-3
Back End Back-to-Back: 6-2
Goals Scored Per Game/ Rank: 3.23 (11th)
Goals Against Per Game/Rank: 2.41 (1st)

Additions: Jesper Boqvist, A.J. Greer, Tomas Nosek, Nate Schmidt, Adam Boqvist, Chris Driedger:
Subtractions: Vladimir Tarasenko, Kevin Stenlund, Nick Cousins, Ryan Lomberg, Brandon Montour, Oliver Ekman-Larsson, Anthony Stolarz


 

The last team to win back-to-back Stanley Cups came from the state of Florida when the Tampa Bay Lightning won in 2020 and again in 2021. The Florida Panthers are in a good position to defend their title with the bulk of their core returning but they did lose two key members of their blueline. It will be interesting to see how coach Paul Maurice manages players minutes and giving plays days and games off.

Offense
Florida finished 11th in offense and will have all their top eight-point getters from last season. Sam Reinhart’s career year with 57 goals and 94 points led the team in scoring and earned him an 8 year, $69-million contract extension. After back-to-back 40 goal, 100-point seasons, Matthew Tkachuk saw a dip in both goals and points but was still over a point a game player. With Sasha Barkov, Sam Bennett and Anton Lundell down the middle the Panthers continue to be stacked at the center position. Carter Verhaeghe almost gets lost in this lineup. All he does is score goals and big goals at that. Of his 45 combined goals (regular season and playoffs), 10 were game winners.

Defense
The Panthers 198 goals surrendered was tied with Winnipeg for the fewest in the league, but cap constraints could get in the way of the Panthers repeating as one of the stingiest defensive teams. Brandon Montour and Oliver Ekman-Larsson were one, two in scoring from the backend priced themselves out of Florida. Montour signed a 7 year-50-million-dollar deal with Seattle and OEL got $14 million over 4 years from the Maple Leafs.

The Panthers still have an elite top pair of Aaron Ekblad and Gustav Forsling but there are questions with the bottom four. Dmitry Kulikov gets elevated to the second pairing alongside Nikko Mikkola. Nate Schmidt and Adam Boqvist fill out the bottom pair. Schmidt had his contract bought out by Winnipeg in the summer, played for Maurice when he coached the Jets. Boqvist was the 8th overall pick by Chicago in the 2018 NHL Draft and has yet to make his mark in the league. He spent two seasons in Chicago before being traded to Columbus. He may finally fulfill his potential playing for the defending Stanley Cup Champions.

Goaltending
Sergei Bobrovsky now adds Stanley Cup Champion alongside two-time Vezina Trophy winner to his resume. Bob has two years left on his 10 year, $70 million deal and Florida is looking for Spencer Knight to solidify himself as the full time back up this season. The 13th overall pick in 2019 is coming off a 25-win season with the Panthers top minor league team. After an inconsistent first half, Knight finished strong giving up a goal or less in six of his last eight starts with 3 shutouts.

The Panthers brought back Chris Driedger as some added insurance. He spent the majority of last season with Seattle’s AHL team recording 24 wins, a goals average of just over two and a .917 save percentage. In his two combined seasons with Florida, he compiled a 34-21-8 record, 2.07 GAA and a .931 save percentage.

Player to Watch – Carter Verhaeghe
Verhaeghe has scored 100 regular season goals and 10 game winning goals in the playoffs over the past three seasons. He is an impending UFA and has likely priced himself out of Florida after this season unless he’s willing to take a significant hometown discount on his next contract. If locking up Verhaeghe doesn’t seem likely, GM Bill Zito will be faced with the dilemma of keeping him as their own rental or trade him.

Outlook
The Panthers are currently the second shortest shot on the betting board (+1000) at DraftKings Sportsbook to repeat as Cup Champions. The state of Florida has been represented in the Stanley Cup Final each of the past five seasons. Win back-to-back Cups is no easy task, making three consecutive trips to the Final is even tougher. The streak comes to an end in 2024-25.

 

Regular Season point Total: 102.5 (Over/Under -115)
To Make the Playoffs: -500
To Miss the Playoffs: +370
To Win the Atlantic Division: +235
To Win the Eastern Conference: +550
To Win the Stanley Cup: +1000


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