The Florida Panthers had a mission in the 2023-24 season. They wanted to return to the Stanley Cup Final and win the famed trophy after falling short a year ago.
Actually, the Panthers had a brilliant run in 2023, upsetting the heavily favored Boston Bruins, the Toronto Maple Leafs and the Carolina Hurricanes before losing to the Vegas Golden Knights. By the time the Panthers got to the championship round, they had suffered multiple injuries and were not at their best against a talented and motivated team.
But the Panthers learned they were an excellent team, and they proved their championship mettle a year later. They finished off their playoff run by beating a powerful Edmonton Oilers team in seven games. The series was quite a bit closer than head coach Paul Maurice, Matthew Tkachuk, Aleksander Barkov and Sam Reinhart wanted since the Panthers jumped out to a 3-0 lead, but Florida got the job done in a 2-1 Game 7 triumph.
General manager Bill Zito and Maurice can still feel good about the triumph, but the Panthers have changed quite a bit since winning the title and celebrating on South Beach.
Key Panthers leave through free agency
However, a number of key players have already departed. Two of the most important players to leave include defensemen Brandon Montour and Oliver Ekman-Larsson. Montour has been an outstanding offensive defenseman for the Panthers and he regularly demonstrated the ability to raise his level of play in the most important playoff games
Ekman-Larsson found his identity with the Panthers after languishing with teams like the Arizona Coyotes and the Vancouver Canucks before joining the Panthers last year.
Montour signed with the Seattle Kraken while Ekman-Larsson is bringing his talents to the defensively needy Toronto Maple Leafs.
In addition to those losses, backup goalie Anthony Stolarz signed with the Maple Leafs and veteran forward Vladimir Tarasenko inked a contract with the Detroit Red Wings.
Stolarz was relegated to the bench throughout the playoffs, playing just 35 minutes. However, he played an important role during the regular season, taking pressure off of Sergei Bobrovsky.
Tarasenko had joined the Panthers at the trade deadline, and he scored 14 points in 19 regular season games also contributed 5 goals and 4 assists in the postseason.
These losses are going to hurt the Panthers as they prepare for a title defense in 2024-25. However, they still have most of their core and should be a team. However, Zito needs to look at a couple of potential additions to give his team a more legitimate chance to make it two titles in a row.
Panthers can make moves, but there are major salary cap considerations
After winning the Stanley Cup, the Panthers have more than $88 million in salary cap commitments for next season. According to Spotrac, they are more than $500,000 over the cap.
That does not represent a stop sign to Zito. There are moves and machinations to consider, but he could bring in a defenseman and a forward.
One of the players Zito must consider is defenseman Mark Giordano.
Giordano is a solid veteran defenseman who has played 18 years in the NHL with the Calgary Flames, Toronto Maple Leafs and Seattle Kraken. At the age of 40, Giordano is no longer at his peak, but he understands the position and he can still play a tough, physical game.
Giordano has seen it all throughout his career, and he would be a solid player for a strong team like the Panthers.
They could also use some help on the front line. Tarasenko was not a star with the Panthers, but he was a key contributor. Cal Clutterbuck could be a solid veteran addition to a third- or fourth-line role.
The 36-year-old Clutterbuck has played 11 seasons with the New York Islanders and 6 more seasons with the Minnesota Wild. Clutterbuck scored just 7 goals and 12 assists last season for the Islanders and he hasn't been a double-digit goal scorer since 2015-16 when he scored 15 for the Islanders.
However, Clutterbuck will go into the corners hard and leave it all on the ice. He could make it tough on Panthers opponents if Zito is able to secure his services.
There are other players Zito can consider before the start of training camp, but Giordano and Clutterbuck are two that understand the nuances of winning hockey and they would be solid trade or free agent acquisitions.
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