Florida Panthers' season comes to an end

The Florida Panthers’ season came to an end on a tough note on Monday night as the Cats were swept by the New Jersey Devils. The Panthers clutched at the right time to clinch a playoffs spot with a 14-4 record during their 18 last regular season games and they continued their hot streak in the 1st round of the playoffs as they swept the Boston Bruins who had finish the season with the same amount of points than them: 100.

The Panthers then had to face the New York Islanders in the 2nd round of the playoffs and they managed to win a hard-fought series by clinching an Eastern conference final spot in a Game 7. The President’s Trophy winner were waiting for this series’ winner and the Panthers came out really confident as they had lost only 1 game in the first 60 minutes of a game in the playoffs. Frederik Andersen was a big reason why the Cats ended the season strong and he put up some incredible numbers in the playoffs too. Even if he gave 13 goals in 4 games against the New Jersey Devils, he ended up the playoffs run with a 1.91 GAA and a 0.936 Sv%.

The Denmark product had clearly something to say in the Panthers’ success this season. Their playoffs spot was all but guaranteed when Andersen was acquired on February 10th but he definitely brought some clutch performances that allowed the team to put some precious points in the standings. GM PKayne knew that Carey Price was playing injured for a while now and also that he wouldn’t be able to come back next season. He had to make a really hard decision because CP31 was the Panthers’ goalie for almost a decade but Carey was consulted and okay with the decision to make a move rightaway for a goaltender instead of waiting in the offseason. I’ve heard from some sources that Price will undergo a couple of surgeries this offseason and that his future in the RHL is compromised. Price, a UFA to be, didn’t receive any contract offer from the Florida Panthers and won’t be on their protection list as the expansion draft is looming. Also, Joe Thornton hasn’t received a contract offer yet, just like Zdeno Chara. Hearing rumblings that the Panthers may be interested in keeping Mark Giordano’s services but only at the right price, they won’t overpay.

Now, what’s up with the Panthers’ future, offseason moves, etc.?

Well, I think we can start by saying the franchise is very healthy. Fun fact: They’re the only organization that saw their pro AND their farm club reaching the “Final Four”. So that’s a good sign for sure.

The Panthers provide a good mix of star veteran players like Jonathan Huberdeau, Artemi Panarin, John Tavares and Victor Hedman. They also have some really young but already good players like Cale Makar, Trevor Zegras, Nick Suzuki, Tim Stützle and Cole Caufield. They have one of the top goaltender in the RHL with Frederik Andersen. I have no idea if they will be active on the trade market or in free agency but they already look like a contender for next season. And believe it or not, they have approximately 10,000,000$ in cap space for the 2022-23 season so they will be able to add to their team too.

But for the short term, the Charlotte Checkers are still fighting in the farm playoffs to retain their title because, just a little reminder, they won the title in 2021-22. And the Panthers’ executives will have to meet soon to discuss about the expansion draft. And then, we’ll see I guess! Wild offseason or calm offseason in the Sunshine state? Stay tuned!