Banking on new personnel clicking in camp
As training camp begins today with physicals and first practice Friday at the the IceDen, the new-look Florida Panthers have ignored the axiom “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it” this offseason.
Instead of merely tweaking a roster that won an Atlantic Division title last season with a franchiserecord 47 wins and 103 points, the Panthers were arguably the busiest franchise in the NHL over the summer.
They overhauled everything from their logo and jerseys to trainers, equipment managers, scouts, assistant coaches and front office. Including rookie Mike Matheson, Florida will have four new defensemen on a team that was ranked seventh in the NHL defensively last season. In all, there could be eight to 10 fresh faces on the Panthers’ season-opening 23-man roster Oct. 13.
Co-owners Vinnie Viola and Doug Cifu committed to spending more than $220 million in signing five free agents while also locking up their talented young core of Vincent Trocheck, Aaron Ekblad, Reilly Smith and Jonathan Huberdeau for years to come.
Tom Rowe, whowas promoted to general manager from associate general manager while former GM Dale Tallon was named president of hockey operations, said the moves were prompted by the Panthers’ first-round playoff loss to the New York Islanders.
Here are four questions that need to be answered in training camp:
1. How quickly can topsix pairings jell with four new players on the blue line?
Gone are Dmitry Kulikov, Erik Gudbranson, captain Willie Mitchell and 37-year-old Brian Campbell, the team’s perennial leader in minutes and power-play anchor.
Keith Yandle, who signed a seven-year deal worth $44.45 million, is considered a younger version of Campbell and is a perennial topfive power-play point producer among his peers. Ekblad, 20, already a two-time All-Star, will start camp late due to a concussion and neck injury suffered in the World Cup. He should fit comfortably next to Yandle or mature rookie Mike Matheson, who is expected to seamlessly pick up where he left off when he sparkled in his playoff debut last season.
Former Dallas Stars defenseman Jason Demers is considered a two-way threat, and holdover Alex Petrovic showed off his offensive skills in the playoffs. The sixth and seventh defensive positions will be chosen among front-runner Mark Pysyk, the former Buffalo Sabres player acquired for Kulikov, steady Steve Kampfer, veteran Jakub Kindl, prospect Ian McCoshen and gritty Adam Pardy, who’s on a tryout.
2. Can goalie Roberto Luongo and forward Jaromir Jagr, at 37 and 44, respectively, stay healthy and repeat last year’s All-Star seasons?
Luongo is coming back from offseason surgery to repair a torn hip labrum that he played through after injuring it in March. According to sources late Wednesday night, he has been medically cleared to play without limitations. The signing of his potential successor, 28-year-old James Reimer, to a five-year deal should help cut Luongo’s workload and maintain his sharpness.
Jagr, who became the oldest player in NHL history to lead his team in scoring with 27 goals and 66 points, seemed gassed in the playoffs, in which he ran his goal-less streak to 37 postseason games. If the offseason additions to the bottom two lines produces goals as anticipated, that should take some of the burden and time-on-ice away from Jagr, thus keeping him fresh for the postseason.
3. Whowill round out the third and fourth lines?
The early absence of topline center Aleksander Barkov, as well as secondline forwards Jussi Jokinen and Trocheck, while they’re competing in the World Cup should give the coaching staff a longer look at which of the remaining forwards will surround centers Nick Bjugstad and Derek MacKenzie on the bottom two lines.
Free-agent pickup Colton Sceviour, 27, who was used more in a defensive role with the offensive-laden Stars, scored a career-high 11 goals last season but averaged nearly 25 goals in his final three seasons in the AHL. Free-agent March es sault, 25, scored seven goals in his first full season with the Tampa Bay Lightning, but he has two 20-plus goal seasons in the AHL.
Vancouver castoff Jared McCann, acquired in the Gudbranson trade, scored nine goals in his rookie campaign last season, but he may have the skill and potential to be a second-line, highscoring center. Teenage phenom Denis Malgin thrust himself into the picture by dominating the rookie tournament with six goals in three games.
There will be a fierce competition to see who spells 39-year-old leader Shawn Thornton among Logan Shaw, professional tryout invitee Justin Fontaine, Kyle Rau and Connor Brickley.
4. With coach Gerard Gallant still in Toronto with Team North America during the World Cup, can his new assistants, associate coach Dave Barrand Scott Allen, as well as right-hand man Mike Kelly, find the proper personnel over the next three weeks to dramatically improve special teams play that was mediocre last season?
Their 23rd-ranked power play often sucked momentum away rather than adding to it, especially in the playoffs, when they converted just 2 of 15. Barr was brought in by Gallant to beef up the power play, as was Yandle. The former New York Rangers/Arizona Coyotes defenseman was ranked first in power-play points among blue-liners in 2013-14 and third in 2014-15.