For the last 19 years (12 with The Hockey News) Dobber has reviewed each team from a fantasy-hockey standpoint and graded them.

The 20th annual review will appear here on DobberHockey throughout the summer/fall. 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!

* * Pick up the DobberHockey Fantasy Guide here – always updated * * 

Gone – Noel Acciari, Ben Chiarot, Claude Giroux, Robert Hagg, Jonathan Huberdeau, Jonas Johansson, Mason Marchment, Markus Nutivaara, Mackenzie Weegar

Incoming – Rudolfs Balcers, Anthony Bitetto, Nick Cousins, Michael Del Zotto, Alex Lyon, Gerry Mayhew, Marc Staal, Nathan Staios, Chris Tierney, Matthew Tkachuk, Colin White

Impact Of Changes – The Panthers were relatively quiet this offseason and didn't make a splash at all at the hockey world. Nope. Definitely not. Minus this one small trade that went down around 10 o'clock at night on July 22.  Not sure if it's the biggest deal to go down in the salary cap era or not, but Jonathan Huberdeau, Mackenzie Weegar, and prospect Cole Schwindt (and a conditional 2025 first that will likely go to 2026) were traded to Calgary in return for Matthew Tkachuk to really shake things up for this club's fantasy outlook. We can go back and forth on who "won" the trade, but for now we have to look at just how this impacts the Pans as it relates to fantasy. You won't really see much of a fall back here in fantasy value, as Florida replaced a player in Huberdeau that had 115 points last season to 104 points for Tkachuk. Accounting for all forward lines that played over 250 minutes, Tkachuk goes from a top line in Calgary that had an expected goals per 60 minutes of 3.36 (6^th) to a top line with an expected goals per 60 of 3.63 (5^th), so again the production should remain at a high level. He'll for sure slot next to Aleksander Barkov on Florida's top line and likely across from Carter Verhaeghe on his opposite wing.

The loss of Weegar on the blue line could hurt this club's offensive production as he had a fine season last year and even played some power play towards the end of last year. Weegar led all Florida defensemen in shots at 203 and even-strength assists at 33, along with playing a very physical game.

While it's not going to impact fantasy directly it should also be noted that the Panthers parted ways with Andrew Brunette following the club's second round exit versus Tampa Bay, replacing him with Paul Maurice.

Ready For Full Time – It's pretty thin here for Florida as far as younger players that could make an impact on this club. Anton Lundell by now is a known name playing 65 games for the club last season and will likely be the team's third line center, and Spencer Knight is also a player that we're by now familiar with that will get his occasional star in net when Sergei Bobrovsky has the night off.  

The club's top prospect, 22-year-old left wing Gregori Denisenko, will see the NHL at some point, but him making a real impact on Florida's top six this upcoming season is unlikely. He has a great shot and has shown flashes of rushing the net easily but outside of a possibly a couple stints with the Panthers this season, this is a player you can leave off of your draft board if you are in dynasty/keeper leagues and focus elsewhere.

Fantasy Outlook – The blue-chip players for fantasy this season, and it shouldn't be much of a surprise, will be Barkov, Tkachuk, and really even Sergei Bobrovsky if you are looking to focus on goaltending early in your draft. If your league drafts position rather than forward/defenseman there is a lot of value in centers that you could grab later in your draft, but Barkov can and should be a be a top-five center in fantasy this upcoming season. He finished 7^th in points from the center position last season, but that was only playing in 67 games, the forecast for him should very well be near or just over the 100-point mark playing close to a full 82. Looking at Tkachuk you get a great mix of offense as well as hits and blocked shots, possibly a new club boost as well?

Outside of the top tier forwards, there's plenty more to like when it comes to Florida for fantasy. Carter Verhaeghe, Sam Reinhart, Anton Lundell, and Sam Bennett are all fine players to roster this season with all of them playing on the man advantage. Anthony Duclair is another player to consider as well but with him likely starting the season on the IR, he'll be someone to keep an eye on as a far as an addition during the season.

On the blue line it's really Aaron Ekblad or bust for this club, Ekblad played on Florida's top defensive pairing last season as well as top power play for the majority. Florida experimented with a five-forward power-play unit from around the trade deadline last season following acquisition of Claude Giroux and found some success up until playoffs where the club put Ekblad back onto the top power play unit. We'll have to wait and see how Florida deploys Ekblad on special teams this season but for the time being anticipate him quarterbacking Florida's top power play unit.

The one concern when it comes to this team has to be their overall health. This is a team that had a multitude of injuries over the course of last season and whether it directly impacted their play in playoffs, there's no denying that this club looked like they had run out of steam so to speak. Three players played 80 games for this club last season, two of them being Huberdeau and Weegar, who are now gone.

Florida has had a very strange last few months, the roster has turned over in players, draft picks, and coaches, ranging from Huberdeau, Weegar, 20 games of Chiarot and Giroux, Owen Tippett, and first round picks in from 2023-2025. That being said, this is still a talented club that won enough games last year to take home the President's Trophy, and very well could be better off this season than last. They are going to be there for the long haul this upcoming season and there's no denying that although they may have lost some top end pieces, they did a good job going out and gaining depth players like Nick Cousins, Colin White, and Marc Staal.

Fantasy Grade – B (Last year was a A)