Florida Panthers: 2020 offseason blueprint for success

I will take over as GM of my Florida Panthers and make moves to put together a roster for the 2020-21 NHL season.

Okay, so the Florida Panthers have a few decisions to make when it comes to re-signing players. The franchise has a good amount of free agents that need to get resigned to new contracts. Exactly 23 different players, both unrestricted and restricted are set to hit the free agent market if not given new extensions.

Just to let you know I’m only going over notable free agents as there are quite a few AHL level players that have contracts expired. Nothing to see in those guys. Now let’s have some fun shall we!

Notable UFA List

More from Puck Prose

Mike Hoffman, LW
Evgeni Dadonov, RW
Erik Haula, C
Mark Pysyk, D
Brian Boyle, C

Notable RFA List

Lucas Wallmark, C
Samuel Montembeault, G
Dominic Toninato, C
Henrik Borgstrom, C
Mackenzie Weegar, D

First of all, let Brian Boyle hit the free agent market. If you look at the center depth chart, Boyle isn’t needed. The 2018 Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy winner only played 39 games in Panthers colors and contributed very little. He only racked up 15 total points.

Aleksander Barkov is obviously the number one center. Noel Acciari is coming off of a career year in which he scored 20 goals. The 29 year old from Providence College is still signed for two more seasons. Acciari could continue to contribute on offense but one season is not enough to convince me of that. So to fill the secondary scoring void, why not bring back Erik Haula?

Throughout his career, Haula has been a consistent point producer as a bottom six forward. Haula had a breakout season in the 2015-16 season while playing for Minnesota. During that season, he played in 76 games and tacked on 34 points and he added four more points in five playoff games as well. If he’s given second line minutes, he could potentially get close to his 2017-18 level, in which he got 55 total points (29 goals, 26 assists) with the Golden Knights.

Wherever Haula plays, he will be a major contributor. It’s almost a given that he will play decently on this Panthers team. If I was constructing a contract I would give him a two-year deal worth about $2.5 million per year. Not that detrimental to the salary cap for a fringe second line center who is getting close to the end of his prime.

I would also resign Mark Pysyk. Is he a consistent offensive performer? No. Is he a superstar that every team is chomping at the bed to get? Absolutely not. However, he proved something that very few players are able to do. Pysyk is able to play both forward and defenseman. He would be a welcome addition for the 2020-21 roster as a depth player. I would sign him on a one-year deal worth just over $1 million.

Now, time for the biggest and most important choices to make moving forward. Evgeny Dadonov or Mike Hoffman? In my opinion, Mike Hoffman is the better choice. The native of Kitchener, Ontario first arrived with the Panthers just before the 2018-19 season after he was shipped out of San Jose after just a few hours.

During that season, he had a career high in points with 70(36 G, 34 A). Hoffman has been as consistent as anybody in hockey over the last two seasons. He has scored a total of 65 goals in both his seasons in Florida red and he has also had six consecutive 20+ goal seasons. Hoffman owns the Florida Panthers franchise record point streak at 17 games.

There is no doubt Hoffman is one of the premier goal scorers in the NHL. What has made him a valuable asset with the Panthers is that wherever you put him in the lineup, he will get at least a goal almost every game. He has scored goals on every forward line for the Panthers and you can also play him on either the left wing or the right wing.

Whenever he’s on the ice he gains the attention of the opposition especially on the power-play. His one-timed shot is lethal and it can get past anyone. 28 of his 65 goals have been scored on the power-play with the Panthers. So in other words, Hoffman can be a big chunk of your offense.

As for Dadonov, he’s not the same. Dadonov is not a bad player, he is quite good in fact. However, he doesn’t have the package that Hoffman has on offense. Dadonov was originally a draft pick of the Panther back in 2007. He had a few brief stints with the team before heading over to the KHL full time in 2013 with Donbass HC. After 5 seasons he came back over to the NHL with the Panthers for the 2017-18 season.

His first two seasons back he scored 65 and 70 points respectively. But this past season, he regressed. He played in 69 games and only scored 47 points. He was still a 20+ goal scorer but he looked lost at times. Looking at his point totals, you can understand why he thrived those first two years and regressed his third.

It was not because of an injury as he still played 69 games. It was because he did not play with Jonathan Huberdeau and Aleksander Barkov regularly. His first two years saw him play with both players regularly on the first line. This year Joel Quenville shuffled around the forward lines a lot. He didn’t have as good a chemistry with anyone else besides Barkov and Huberdeau.

Would you rather have someone that can contribute anywhere and everywhere in the lineup? Or would you have someone who is a liability outside of playing on the top line. The Panthers are not going to have enough money to keep both as their demands for money are high. This is why I would choose Hoffman over Dadonov.

Unless you clear Keith Yandle’s contract, you can’t sign both and Yandle is on a no trade clause. A second line center must also be found as there is none.

Now as far as the restricted free agents go, there are some intriguing names to consider. It is important to note that Henrik Borgstrom, one of the Panthers better prospects, has signed for HIFK in Liiga for the remainder of their season. In my opinion, I think the rest of this RFA group has a reason for a short contract extension.

MacKenzie Weeger is the only defenseman on this list and he needs to come back. Weegar has been a reliable option for the third defensive pairing on many occasions. You can just plug him into the lineup when someone is injured on the defense.

It is important to add depth to your team and Weegar would be doing just that. In his career he has played 172 games and has put up 41 points (13 G, 28 A), a solid mark for a primarily defensive d-man. He has brought down his penalty minutes from 2018-19 to last season, granted he played in fewer games.

Throughout his short career, Weegar has been a consistent shot blocker who is also extremely physical. In 2018-19 alone he racked up 127 of 315 career hits. He brought down his giveaways last season but that is one element of his game he has to keep improving. However, overall he should at least earn a qualifying offer or a cheap extension.

Every team needs depth at every position and the Panthers would be doing themselves a favor by bringing him back. Goalie Samuel Montembeault should also be brought back to a qualifying offer or cheap extension. While he has been struggling a bit for the past few years, you still can’t deny he has talent. Montembeault is still young and it takes a goalie a while to find himself in the professional ranks.

He didn’t play much last season, but he should this year if they bring him back. You could leave him in the AHL with Charlotte. At this point, he can develop into a solid backup at the NHL level. When he played full time at the AHL with Springfield he finished just under a .900% save percentage.

During his brief stint at the NHL level he struggled a bit but still showed flashes at being a dependable future pro. He should be used more in the goalie rotation since Chris Drieger proved that he is a solid backup option for the Panthers in net last season. Drieger actually outplayed Sergei Bobrovsky so he has the backup position locked up for this upcoming season. Again, giving Montembeault an extension is smart since your accumulating depth around the team.

Lucas Wallmark was acquired with Erik Haula in the Carolina trade, which saw Vincent Trocheck go to the Hurricanes. I think you would just sign Wallmark to be the third line center but I would just let him go. He can be physical at times and he can provide a little bit of scoring in the third line as well. He is still only 24 so maybe he can improve but he hasn’t done much this season with the Hurricanes and with the Panthers. I would just go after a third line option in free agency.

Dominic Toninato I would bring back, again as a depth option. You can just plug him in the lineup and he would contribute like he did last season.

As far as prospects to bring up full time, Owen Tippett is the only one I would bring up. He needs to get brought up. I think he is ready for the NHL after being in the OHL and AHL for a few years now. Tippet can fill one of the voids left on the wings and he can provide tons of goal scoring if playing a top six role, which he should.

He has been one of the Cats better prospects for a number of years after getting drafted in the first round in 2017. It’s important to see what you have in the kid at this point in his career. You certainly don’t want to over develop him since that can tarnish his scoring touch. Having him play with Barkov and Huberdeau would elevate his game to another level in my opinion.

As far as free agents go, you need to bring in at least another center. The best one on the trade market is Ryan Nugent-Hopkins but there is a chance that Edmonton might re-sign him and honestly, I wouldn’t overpay to try and take a stab at him.

I would go after several names including Vladislav Namestnikov, Carl Soderberg, Tyler Ennis, Kyle Turris, or Craig Smith. I would probably go after Namestnikov or Soderberg more than the others, though. But just as a given choice I’ll sign Namestnikov. Let’s say he agrees to sign a 3-year deal worth $3 to $3.5 million. That is a huge addition for the team.

He’s an all-around playmaker. His shooting, passing, defense, shot-blocking, stick-checking and physicality is all there. He would actually be one of the few players on the roster that can do everything and that would be extremely helpful for a team that struggles in a few of those areas.

My lineup would look like this.

Forwards

Huberdeau- Barkov- Tippett

Hoffman- Namestnikov- Connolly

Haula- Acciari – Hornqvist

Pysyk- Toninato- Saarela

Defense

Weegar- Ekblad

Stillman- Stralman

Yandle- Keeper

Goalies

Bobrovsky

Driedger