Panthers pull the plug on season for 8 key players and it could get worse…

The Florida Panthers still have eight games left in their regular season, but on Tuesaday, ahead of their matchup against the visiting Ottawa Senators, the defending Stanley Cup champions officially threw in the towel.

During his morning press conference ahead of the contest, head coach Paul Maurice announced that the season is officially over for eight of his regular players.

Maurice confirmed that forwards Brad Marchand, Sam Reinhart, Aleksander Barkov, Anton Lundell, Evan Rodrigues, and Jonah Gadjovich, as well as defensemen Nikko Mikkola and Uvis Balinskis, will not return to the lineup this season.

This means the reigning champions will be fielding an AHL-level roster for each game down the stretch, as they currently sit 27th overall in the NHL standings with a record of 36-35-3 for 75 points in 74 games.

But on Tuesday night, hours after the team announced they’re shutting down the majority of their core for the season, they went up 3-0 just 10 minutes in on a playoff-chasing Ottawa Senators team!

However, in the third frame of that game, defenseman Aaron Ekblad blocked a shot with his hand and left the ice in obvious pain, unable to hold his stick. He could miss time, and who knows, it might also be for the rest of the calendar.

The Panthers could very well continue to slide in the standings through the end of the season, potentially improving their draft position for June’s upcoming NHL Draft, or play trouble makers as they did against Ottawa last night.

Who knows!