It's Panthers day at Hockey Feed!

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HockeyFeed
HockeyFeed
Published 6 years ago
It's Panthers day at Hockey Feed!
Keystone Press

As part of our Countdown to Puck Drop series during the month of September, today we take an in-depth look at the Florida Panthers.

The Panthers showed some promise in what turned out to be a disappointing 2016-17 campaign. Much was expected out of the club after they won the Atlantic Division the year prior and landed Keith Yandle and James Reimer during the offseason. While they stayed in the playoff race for most of the year, top forward Jonathan Huberdeau only played 31 games due to injury, while Aleksander Barkov missed 20-plus games. Head coach Gerad Gellant was fired early on in the season after a game in Carolina. An image of Gallant being left at the curb while the team boarded the bus went viral on social media, leading to Don Cherry calling it the worst firing in NHL history.

There are reasons to believe the Florida Panthers will get back on track in 2017-18. While the team didn't offer a new contract to aging veteran Jaromir Jagr, they did sign KHL star Evgeny Dadanov to a three-year deal. He produced at close to a point-per-game pace over his KHL career and was a former third round draft pick of the Panthers. The team also landed 36-year-old sniper Radim Vrbata, who is coming off another 20-goal season in Arizona. 

 Vincent Trocheck led the Panthers in scoring last season and appears to be the ideal second-line center for the club. Both Barkov and top pairing blueliner Aaron Ekblad have been great for Florida in their young careers, but the Panthers are hoping they can take another step forward and become the superstar elite players they're capable of being. The team has two very strong scoring lines, but depth remains an issue. The team is certainly hoping a guy like Nick Bjugstad can bounce back to help take some of the pressure off their top scorers.

There's also plenty of hype over the Panthers' 10th overall pick at the 2017 NHL Entry Draft Owen Tippett. The 18-year-old led the Mississauga Steelheads of the Ontario Hockey League with 44 goals and 75 points in 60 regular season games during the 2016-17 season and added 19 points in 20 playoff games. The sniper will get every chance to crack Florida's opening night roster in 2017-18.

The Panthers are set in goal with James Reimer and Roberto Luongo, but the defense is still lacking and in need of improvements. 

If they can stay healthy and get some of their top young players to take that next step, the Panthers could certainly be a team to look out for in 2017-18.

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