Panther season

New coach has plenty of key issues to address

Camp opens with lingering questions, and charity.

The only positive that came out of the Florida Panthers’ horrendous 2016-17 season was that it concluded with Dale Tallon returning to his former role as general manager and in sole command of hockey operations.

In doing so, he promised a quick fix for a team that had plummeted from a franchiserecord 103-point season and an Atlantic Division title the previous year to sixth place with 81 points.

Tallon is putting his faith in Bob Boughner, in his rookie season as an NHL head coach, lead the turnaround.

Boughner, 46, a defenseman for 10 seasons in the NHL and most recently an assistant coach with the San Jose Sharks, begins the task today when the Panthers open training camp at the IceDen in Coral Springs.

His first challenge will be to unify a team that endured a dispiriting early-season firing of Gerard Gallant and didn’t respond to the abrasive style of interim coach Tom Rowe.

Tallon saw in Boughner a contemporary coach who could relate to the team’s budding stars, and was impressed by his thoroughness of prepato

ration. Boughner will call on those attributes in addressing some key issues in training camp.

1. Where will scoring come from? Four forwards who accounted for 35 percent of the team’s goals last season have departed, including leading scorer Jonathan Marchessault in the expansion draft and Jaromir Jagr, who wasn’t re-signed. Tallon said the offseason objective was to get faster, younger and grittier. Newcomers Evgeny Dadonov, Radim Vrbata and Henrik Haapala have much to prove. Only Vrbata played in the NHL last season, producing 20 goals (55 points) for Arizona. But success will depend on talented young forwards Aleksander Barkov, Johnathan Huberdeau and Nick Bjugstad staying healthy. Hampered by injuries, they combined for only 38 goals last season. Sebastian Repo and Maxim Mamin come with several years of experience in European pro leagues to vie for their first taste of the NHL.

2. Can Boughner put starch back in the defensive corps? This is the new coach’s forte. Boughner directed the defense the past two seasons for San Jose, which ranked fifth in fewest goals allowed in 2016-17. Operating on the premise that defense wins championships, Tallon put priority on protecting the defensive corps in the expansion draft. Aaron Ekblad, Mike Matheson, Alex Petrovic, Mark Pysyk, Keith Yandle and Jason Demers all return. But while they were an offensive-minded unit, lapses in their own zone were numerous, resulting in the Panthers yielding the 10th-most goals (231) in the league. Rookies Ian McCoshen and MacKenzie Weegar appear NHL ready and will compete for jobs and provide depth.

3. Is Roberto Luongo healthy and ready to be No. 1 in net again? Recurring hip problems limited the 38-year-old to 40 games last season, and he didn’t play the final six weeks. Camp should provide insight into whether an offseason of rest and rehab has restored range of motion to the goalie’s surgically repaired hip. Luongo has said he is uncertain how many games he can play and that he expects to share duties with 29-year-old James Reimer, who was 18-16-5 with a 2.53 goals-against average and .920 save percentage in his first season with the Panthers. Harri Sateri, a 27-year-old Finn with a .929 save percentage in the Kontinental Hockey League last season in Europe, was added in a backup role. Young Samuel Montembeault will be in camp, but is slated for AHL affiliate Springfield.

4. Who will fill Jagr’s spot on the top line? Tallon made the unpopular decision to cut ties with the iconic forward, who was still productive and reliable at 45 but doesn’t fit the uptempo, in-your-face style Boughner is seeking. Camp will provide an audition to fill Jagr’s place at right wing alongside Barkov and Huberdeau. A leading candidate is Russian winger Dadonov, 28, who played parts of three seasons for the Panthers from 2009-12 (10 goals, 20 points) and for the past five seasons in the KHL. He is coming off a career-best 66-point season, including 30 goals. Another option could be Bjugstad, though he’ll more likely remain at center on the third line. Vrbata is projected on the second line with Vincent Trocheck and possibly Haapala.

5. Is top draft pick Owen Tippett ready for the

NHL? The No. 10 pick will get a shot to earn a spot at wing. Tippett, who led the Mississauga Steelheads of the OHL with 44 goals and 75 points in 60 regular-season games last season, won’t turn 19 until February. The trial could extend through the first nine games of the regular season, after which he will either stick with the Panthers or return to his junior team. The soft-spoken teen has NHL size, at 6 feet 2, 200 pounds, and a powerful shot. Boughner and staff will be assessing whether Tippett is mature enough to cope with the rigors of an 82-game schedule. But it has become increasingly common for talented teens to stick. Ekblad did so with the Panthers at 18; Huberdeau, 19.

AP/FILE Camp should provide insight into whether an offseason of rest and rehab has restored range of motion to goalie Roberto Luongo’s surgically repaired hip. Luongo has said he is uncertain how many games he can play.

JIM RASSOL/STAFF FILE PHOTO New coach Bob Boughner, 46, was a defenseman for 10 seasons in the NHL and most recently an assistant coach with the San Jose Sharks.