Offseason Checklist: Florida Panthers

Sergei Bobrovsky has been entrenched between the pipes for Florida for the past seven years after signing the richest deal given to an unrestricted free agent goalie in NHL history.  (Pricier deals were given as contract extensions, not open-market agreements.)  But now, Bobrovsky is set to return to the open market while heading into his age-38 season in 2026-27 on the heels of his worst season of the seven.

Given his age, it would seem at first glance that a short-term deal would make sense.  However, with Brad Marchand landing a six-year contract in the same situation last summer, there have been suggestions that Bobrovsky could be looking for something like that or close.  On a short-term agreement, a price tag closer to half of his most recent cap hit makes sense and might even be high given the year he just had.  But a four or five-year pact would almost certainly lower the AAV as it would be expected that he’d be transitioning to a backup or platoon role in the later seasons.  That could push the price tag to a number starting with a four.  That would give them some extra flexibility this summer but even a medium-term agreement for Bobrovsky wouldn’t be without its risks.

Meanwhile, it’s not as if Florida is in a position where their backup is ready to take on the starting workload.  Daniil Tarasov didn’t have a great year himself and is only a year removed from being demoted to third-string status in Columbus.  On top of that, he’s also a pending unrestricted free agent so there’s no guarantee he’ll be back either.

The UFA market is not particularly deep for teams looking for a starter.  There aren’t likely to be too many starters available on the trade market, either, with question marks surrounding those who may be in play.  Zito is going to have to find a way to navigate that to find a starter for next season, be it Bobrovsky or someone else, while adding a backup to the mix as well.  They have around $15MM in cap room next season per PuckPedia and may need half of that or more to fill out their tandem.

Upgrade Defensive Depth

It’s reasonable to think that Florida’s offense, one that was near the middle of the pack this season, will bounce next year with a much healthier group.  So while there might be a temptation to try to pursue an upgrade up front and really deepen the lineup, there’s a more compelling case to try to shore up their defensive depth.

By the time they sign two goalies and re-sign Samoskevich, they’re probably going to have around $5MM or so to play with.  That’s not enough to sign a top-four defender but that’s okay as Florida’s top four is set.  It’s the bottom end that could be upgraded on and fortunately for the Panthers, the UFA market has decent depth among depth defenders.

As things stand, Florida’s fifth through seventh options are Dmitry Kulikov, Uvis Balinskis, and Donovan Sebrango.  Kulikov had an injury-riddled year that saw him miss 63 games due to injuries and he’ll turn 36 in late October.  It’s likely they’ll want to manage his minutes on the last two years of his deal.  Balinskis is a capable sixth option but could certainly be upgraded on, while Sebrango, a pending RFA, is a non-tender candidate thanks to his arbitration eligibility.  He’s a capable depth piece but not someone who can’t be replaced.

Plausibly, one or even two additions would be beneficial.  They could take a swing on a bonus-laden deal for Brent Burns, similar to the deal he’s currently on with Colorado if they want a possible top-four fit.  Ian Cole, Connor Murphy, and Jamie Oleksiak are the gritty stay-at-home players to anchor a third pairing and penalty kill.  If they want to add another right-shot player to the mix, a reunion with Radko Gudas could make sense while Timothy Liljegren or Andrew Peeke would be younger options compared to the others on this list who could still upgrade the third pairing.  There are quite a few available this summer.

This would be a prudent, though quiet, way to improve this summer.  It wouldn’t be surprising to see this be the route that Zito takes, unless he has something more drastic in mind, something like this:

Dangle Number Nine

No, this isn’t a section about dangling center Sam Bennett in trade talks, even though he’s coming off a career year and the Panthers could leverage a strong return for his services in a weak center market.  They’d also still be well-set with Aleksander Barkov returning and Anton Lundell anchoring the second line.

Instead, this is about their draft pick, which is slotted ninth overall.  While Florida could obviously benefit in the long run from adding an impactful prospect to the mix, one whose early cost control could really pay dividends in a few years when he’s ready to make the jump to the NHL.  But the Panthers aren’t the typical team with a top-ten pick.  They’re a perceived contender coming off a season where basically anything that could go wrong did go wrong.

Despite the poor finish this season, the expectation is that Florida will be back in the playoffs next season.  The composition of their roster remains in win-now mode.  With that in mind, the ninth pick next month may very well be their best trade chip to utilize to get a win-now piece to try to quickly vault them back to contention.  And if there isn’t a viable trade over the next six weeks, they can always make the pick and use the player as a potential trade chip later in the season.