The Florida Panthers historically have been one of the “have not” franchises in the NHL.
Since their inception in 1993, the Panthers have been regarded as one of the worst teams not only in the league but in the entirety of North American pro sports. However, over the last few years, the once dark and gloomy cloud surrounding the franchise has turned into a beautiful blue sky.
Florida now has the longest streak in team history for consecutive playoff berths with three. That might not seem like a lot, and believe me, it isn’t, but it shows rapid progress for a team that has become a legitimate contender for the first time.
Throughout the 2021-22 campaign, the Panthers were regarded by most to be one of, if not, the best team in the NHL. They were for sure dominant. Owning one of the most fun and high-octane offenses, the Panthers could score goals at an unbelievable pace.
The Panthers addressed depth, coaching, and made a huge trade this summer.
They finished the year scoring 337 goals, more than any other team in the league. Starting goalie Sergei Bobrovsky posted his first good year after signing that massive contract a few summers back.
Andrew Burnette stepped in after Joel Quenneville got let go, and the team never skipped a beat. More importantly, the Panthers ended up winning the Presidents’ Trophy for the first time as the best team in the regular season.
They won their first playoff series in 26 years after Carter Verhaeghe slipped a puck into the net in overtime during game 6 against the Washington Capitals.
However, for all the team’s successes, the Panthers still couldn’t get past their arch-nemesis. After getting by the Capitals in the first round, Florida ended up getting eliminated by the Tampa Bay Lightning for the second straight year.
This time around, it wasn’t even competitive as the Lightning swept the Panthers. Heading into the offseason, many questions surrounded the franchise about what was to come.
Would Bill Zito find a way to keep even one of his talented UFAs? Would Andrew Brunette still be coaching? Would the Panthers make a move to create cap space to get another high-quality player? How much would the roster be affected due to the limited cap space?
Well, we have found out what this team would look like as we are two months away from the season starting up again. Let’s dive into what Florida has done this offseason and see where they stand as a team.