Believe it or not, these are the top scorers for the Florida Panthers

The Florida Panthers are not producing offensively like they did last year, and if you take a look at their top scorers this season, you’ll probably understand why that’s the case.

A year ago, Florida was leading the NHL in scoring, as they tallied 4.1 goals per game. Former Panthers winger Jonathan Huberdeau led the team with 115 points, a total that tied him with Johnny Gaudreau for the second-most in the league.

This season, however, they are only managing 3.3 goals per contest, which is especially bad when considering that they allow 3.4 goals per game.

Of course, fans know that the Cats went through some major changes in the offseason, none bigger than the blockbuster deal that swapped the team’s leading point-getter in 2021-2022 for its leading point-getter in 2022-2023, Matthew Tkachuk.

The Panthers leading scorers are not the players you’d expect.

Despite missing a few games this year, Tkachuk has scored 51 points (22 goals and 29 assists) in 39 games. That total is 17 more than any other Florida skater and is good for a top-ten spot among all NHL players.

It probably goes without saying, but Florida’s new star leads the team in all three offensive categories, but that’s not a total surprise. What is a surprise is which of his teammates come in second and third on the roster in scoring this year.

The Cats’ second-leading scorer on the year is defenseman Brandon Montour. In 40 games, the 28-year-old blueliner has seven goals and 27 assists for 34 points. His previous career-high in points was 37, which he scored last year in 81 games.

Clearly, this will be a personal best in terms of points. I’m not sure where this offensive burst came from for a player in his seventh season, but the Panthers will surely take points from anywhere they can get them.

Third on the team in points is Carter Verhaeghe, who has 19 goals and 14 assists for 33 points in 41 games. Verhaeghe had a big year last year when he scored 55 points in 78 games, so his production is not surprising, I just didn’t think he’d be third on the team in offense.

Some notable names not in the top three include Alexander Barkov (although he has only played in 32 games and has notched 32 points when in the lineup), Sam Reinhart, Sam Bennett, and Aaron Ekblad.

Reinhart (82 points in 78 games last season and only 27 in 42 this season) and Ekblad (57 points in 61 games last year versus 16 points in 31 this year) have been especially disappointing.

It’s not the season the Panthers were hoping for by any means, and unless their marquee names start scoring more often, the playoffs may only be a dream for this club.