Dobber's offseason fantasy hockey grades – Florida Panthers

For the last 18 years (12 with The Hockey News) Dobber has reviewed each team from a fantasy-hockey standpoint and graded them.

The 19th annual review will appear here on DobberHockey throughout the summer. This is not a review of the likely performance on the ice or in the standings, but in the realm of fantasy hockey both for the season ahead as well as the foreseeable future. Offensively, will the team perform? Are there plenty of depth options worthy of owning in keeper leagues? What about over the next two or three years? These questions are what I take into consideration when looking at the depth chart and the player potential on that depth chart.

Enjoy!

Gone – Keith Yandle, Alex Wennberg, Brady Keeper, Nikita Gusev, Anton Stralman, Lucas Carlsson, Lucas Wallmark, Devon Levi, Chris Driedger

Incoming – Sam Reinhart, Joe Thornton

Impact of changes – The three-headed goaltending beast had one of its heads cut by the Kraken, leaving a much more reasonable tandem of Spencer Knight and Sergei Bobrovsky. The talent rests a little more on one end of that duo, but the contract shifts the pendulum heavily in the other direction, meaning Bobrovsky should be the defacto starter on a team that looks to be improved even over last season's second place finish in the Central.

The defence ranks did take a hit though, losing offensive rearguard Keith Yandle, as well as needing to replace all of the heavy minutes that Anton Stralman logged. Luckily, deadline addition Brandon Montour should help solidify the right side, while the team's number-one lefty in Aaron Ekblad should be healthy again to start the season. The departure of Yandle may free up a little bit more offensive ice time for last year's breakout defenceman MacKenzie Weegar, though he will still likely fall back down to earth a little with the return of Ekblad.

Up front, the Panthers look as deep as any team in the league, with a plethora of options even before their prospects are factored in. Newcomer Sam Reinhart allows Sam Bennett to either become the third line centre, or shift to wing on the second line. Either way, it lengthens the lineup and gives the Panthers an incredible mix that they can tinker with to find the right setup.

If anything, the addition of Joe Thornton pushes a rookie out of a job (unless Thornton himself ends up in the press box at times). Players that showed well last year such as Ryan Lomberg and Mason Marchment that might have been worthy of rostering in multi-category leagues are now only going to see spot-duty as injury replacements.

Ready for Full Time –

Grigori Denisenko – He was ready as early as last year, but he's not being given anything when it comes to his opportunity. With extra additions this year, it is still not a given that he becomes a full-timer, so if he wants it he's going to have to get in on both effort and talent. If we get a motivated Denisenko this year, then watch out. His four points in seven games last season was just the tip of the iceberg.

Spencer Knight – Knight was likely going to be starting in the minors if he hadn't pushed his case with six outstanding games at the end of last season. Now he looks poised to be the second Florida goalie, and should push Bobrovsky for starts. In the second half when starts are given on more of a merit basis, look for knight to heat up. There may still be a chance to get in on him early in the season with Bob getting the early starts, but that window is about to slam shut.

Anton Lundell – Comparables aren't always the best way to analyze or explain a prospect's skill, but when be best comparable is staring you in the face as the number-one centre on the same team, it's tough not to make it. Aleksander Barkov represents the very real upside that Lundell possesses as a skilled, two-way, Finnsh centre. Lundell may not have made the team as a rookie like Barkov did, but a 40-point pace in 17 minutes of ice time per game while putting up excellent possession metrics is a very possible outcome for Lundell this season as a third line centre, just like Barkov in his second year. The former 12^th overall pick projects to be a top-line caliber player very soon, and should be on your fantasy keeper roster now if he isn't already. 

Fantasy Outlook:

The Panthers took last season's team, trimmed some of the excess fat around the edges, and look to be coming back even stronger than the year before. That bodes well for a team with two 90-point players at the top in Jonathan Huberdeau and Aleksander Barkov. Huberdeau possibly lining up with Bennett and Reinhart at even strength would be the best linemates he has ever had outside of Barkov.

Looking down the roster from there, they have a deep forward core, that provides a nice mix of scoring from Carter Verhaeghe and some of the aforementioned others, along with some grit in Patrik Hornqvist. The top-nine should all be worth considering in fantasy leagues, and it wouldn’t surprise me if the lines fluctuated for most of the season – that means exposure to Huberdeau and/or Barkov for all of the other players in the top-nine.

Aaron Ekblad returns as an excellent fantasy rearguard, and should be able to pace for 60-points plus some excellent peripherals (especially the shots), while MacKenzie Weegar remains a solid secondary option for the team. The rest of the blue line provides some cross-category coverage, between multi-cat beast Radko Gudas, and depth options Gustav Forsling and Brandon Montour.

In net, this team is set to platoon Sergei Bobrovsky and Spencer Knight for the foreseeable future, which is a great tandem for the team, but the two will eat into each others starts, hindering either from reaching their full potential in any given year.

This team is set up to win now, win often, and win in the future, and is a great spot to build your fantasy team around as well.

Grade – A (last year was B-)