The Florida Panthers are an absolute wagon. Winners of a ridiculous 16 of 18 games dating back to Jan. 22, the Cats have surged into the top spot in the President's Trophy race, leading NHL standings with a 43-16-4 record through 63 games. And general manager Bill Zito made the club even more potent on Wednesday, adding sniper Vladimir Tarasenko to an already stacked offensive group.
We have all seen what this roster can do at its peak. After barely sneaking into the 2023 Stanley Cup Playoffs, Florida pulled off one of the most miraculous comebacks in the history of the league, erasing a 3-1 deficit to the powerhouse Boston Bruins in Round 1. The Panthers won Games 5 and 7 in overtime, dispatched the Toronto Maple Leafs and Carolina Hurricanes in Rounds 2 and 3, and came within three wins of defeating the Vegas Golden Knights in the Stanley Cup Final.
The roster as currently constructed — after being derailed by injuries for much of the first half — is nearly identical to the cinderella team that nearly brought South Beach its first championship. Add Tarasenko to that, and you have, not a Stanley Cup favorite, but the Stanley Cup favorite.
Vladimir Tarasenko will be playing in front of his family in Florida
With a no-trade clause as part of the pact he signed with the Ottawa Senators, Tarasenko had a ton of say in where he ended up. And with family currently residing in Florida, it was reported that he basically refused to go anywhere else, forcing GM Steve Staios to get an underwhelming return for the veteran.
For Florida, it's best-case scenario. They didn't give up important draft capital, and brought a proven winner into the fold. Tarasenko won a Stanley Cup with the St. Louis Blues in 2019, and he's scored 30+ goals six times. Although he isn't quite the player he once was, he should be a great addition to this forward core.
That's especially true after he was skating on the top line with Sasha Barkov and Sam Reinhart at Thursday's morning skate. With much more close family coming to see him play than when he was north in Canada, expect Tarasenko to be highly motivated with his new team as he chases a second championship.
“It is exciting to come to Florida, I know a couple of the guys here,” Tarasenko told NHL.com on Thursday. “This team plays with emotion, and they are a hard-working team with a lot of skill. They are hard games to play against, so I am very excited to join this side here. I am going to do everything I can to help. This team has a chance to win the Stanley Cup.”
And Vladdy has a chance for his second.
Panthers' nightmare scenario is making any other changes to this roster
At this point, the Panthers are well past wagon status. And they don't really need to make any other moves — or give up any more draft capital — at the deadline. It's hard to point to any situation that would truly be a nightmare for this roster, besides a serious injury, and the Cats are well-prepared to make another deep run. But they really don't need to make any other moves that will jeopardize the future. The roster is in perfect shape.
“In acquiring Tarasenko, Panthers GM Bill Zito addresses his squad’s most significant need on paper – another winger to ride shotgun with Sam Bennett and Matthew Tkachuk. 30-year-old Nick Cousins, who has just five goals and 10 points in 51 games, has been shouldering top-six minutes with Anton Lundell and Evan Rodrigues finding chemistry together on Florida’s third line,” wrote Pro Hockey Rumors' Josh Erickson.
“The defending Eastern Conference champions are now deeper than ever, adding Tarasenko’s 17 goals and 41 points this season to an offense that already ranked eighth in goals per game. Even his middle-of-the-pack possession metrics should be an improvement over the struggling Cousins, who’s hurt both the Bennett and Lundell lines, per MoneyPuck. When flanked by Carter Verhaeghe, Bennett and Tkachuk have controlled 60.4% of expected goals compared to 51.8% with Cousins.”
Now, Tarasenko can join Barkov and Reinhart, meaning the potent second line of Tkachuk, Bennett and Verhaeghe will remain intact. And Evan Rodrigues can move to the third line, adding another weapon to the bottom-six.
The Panthers came within three wins of a championship in June of 2023, losing to a better team but being decimated by injuries throughout the postseason. If that doesn't happen again, Florida has as good a chance as any team to hoist the Stanley Cup in 2024.
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