While there are plenty of familiar faces coming back on the blue line, there’s some new blood on its way in as well. Unable to retain Brandon Montour and Oliver Ekman-Larsson, the Panthers signed three new defensemen to fill the gaps and have the possibility to move up one or two defensemen from Charlotte to the main hockey club. Coming off the Stanley Cup win has made Florida an attractive place for players to land, as well as what they’re showing in future possibilities for players’ careers. Montour got a large pay increase going to Seattle, OEL is making $3.5M AAV in Toronto, and Lomberg’s getting paid $2M up in Calgary. Bill Zito said it best in his interview following the free agency opening that one of Florida’s goals is to set its players up for future success elsewhere. The new players may have smaller contracts with the Panthers currently, but depending on how this year goes, they could be in for some nice pay increase once their tenure is up.
Nate Schmidt:
Coming in from Winnipeg is Nate Schmidt. While he’s struggled numbers-wise a bit with the Jets, during his tenure with Vegas, his numbers were solid, so there’s potential there for increased production with the Panthers. Zito said that Schmidt is a veteran puck-moving defenseman, and they expect him to fit in seamlessly into the Panthers’ style of play. Schmidt had a short stint with HC Paul Maurice up in Winnipeg before Maurice took the head coaching job with the Panthers. He’s no stranger to deep playoff runs, as he was with Vegas when they made the 2018 Cup Final and the 2020 Western Conference Final. During his interview with the Florida podcast Territory Talk, he spoke about the personality in the locker room, team culture, and how players are treated, which are reasons why he thought the Cats would be a good fit for him. Schmidt also said in that interview that he’s looking forward to playing under HC Paul Maurice again and that Maurice’s intense training camp gets players ready for the year. In speaking about his playoff experience, he said that playoff hockey, with the extra added pressure, suits his play and that he loves it. Last season, Schmidt played 63 games, scoring two goals and having 12 assists for 14 points. He was +/- +10 with one power-play goal, three power-play assists, and one game-winning goal while averaging 16:48 minutes of ice time. While Schmidt took the fewest amount of shifts out of the Jets’ defensemen he also played the fewest games, in those 63 games he totaled 1403 shifts which is just over 200 fewer shifts than Samberg who played 15 more games. In comparison to the Panthers, he’s in the ballpark of Aaron Ekblad, but Ekblad only played 51 and would’ve had much higher shift numbers if he’d played the same amount of games as his partner Forsling. Schmidt’s average ice time puts him right around Kulikov’s, who averaged 16:30 minutes. Nate only played three of the Jets’ five postseason games and had one goal but was +/- -5 while averaging 15:12 minutes of ice time. Unfortunately, there’s not an easy one-to-one comparison to Florida as all the Panther defensemen played every single postseason game, so all those numbers are going to skew higher for the Cats. Nate’s looking to improve his game next season, and if there’s a place that can do that, I think it’s Florida.
Jaycob Megna:
The Panthers signed Megna to a two-way deal, meaning that while he could play with the Cats, there’s also a good chance that he’ll go down to Charlotte and play with the Checkers. He’s a player that I think could benefit from development in the Panthers’ Organization as he’s only hit double digits in points once, and that was with San Jose during the 2022-2023 season before he got traded to Seattle. With that said, he also hasn’t played in any top hockey organizations, with him getting drafted by Anaheim, then going to San Jose, being a depth/healthy scratch player for Seattle, and then going to Chicago. In 44 games with the Blackhawks, he had two assists and was +/- -15 while averaging 17:31 minutes of ice time. I personally haven’t watched him play much, so I don’t have a good benchmark for his style of play. I do think that Florida will be a great place for him to develop this season, especially if he gets extended playing time with the Checkers.
Adam Boqvist:
The Panthers certainly like to have brothers on their team, after signing his brother Jesper from the Bruins, Florida signed Adam to help fill their blue line. His stats are interesting to look at because while he’s played fewer games over the last three seasons, he’s averaged more time on ice. During his first season with Columbus, he played 52 games and averaged 17:02 minutes of ice time, while last year, he only played 35 games but averaged 18:17 minutes of ice time. In every season he’s played in the NHL he’s hit double-digit points, his best season was 2022-2023 where he had five goals and 19 assists for 24 points but was +/- -12, his worst +/- mark to date. In his first season with the Blue Jackets, he had 11 goals and 11 assists for 22 points but was also +/- -11. In just looking at his +/- numbers, I’m willing to chalk some of that up to him playing on bottom teams. His points production during the 2022-2023 season puts him above Mikkola’s numbers from this year while playing fewer games; Mikkola had three goals and 14 assists for 17 points in 82 games, while Boqvist only played 46 games for his numbers. If he ends up being a depth player like Mahura, he’s about the same in terms of numbers from last year, the biggest differences being that Boqvist scored a goal in addition to his nine assists, and he averaged more ice time. It’s likely going to be a fight between himself and Uvis Balinskis for the final starting spot on the main Panther roster.
Uvis Balinskis:
Last season, Balinski split his time between the Charlotte Checkers and got called up to the Panthers’ main roster. In 37 games he played with the Checkers, he scored three goals with 18 assists for 21 points and was +/- +4. With the Panthers, he played 26 games and had one goal with two assists for 3 points. He was typically the first defenseman to get the call-up if someone was out injured or unavailable if Mahura was already filling another spot. In those 26 games with the Cats, he still averaged 14:06 minutes of ice time, and for shifts, he took 500, which is around as many as Mahura had at 553. Looking at the numbers, he’ll be competing against Adam for the final starting spot on the roster this year, and I think training camp will be telling as to who is going to earn that final spot. Boqvist is a more seasoned veteran but Balinskis played well in the games that he got called in for. Either player would be a solid replacement for OEL on the points production, but I think whoever adapts best to the Florida system will ultimately get the nod to start. It’s hard to replace a player with as much experience as OEL, but there’s also something to be said for new blood coming into the team, which can bring a new energy or new level of competitiveness.
Looking at the blue line, the returning players are some of the best in the league they may not put up massive offensive numbers like other defensemen, but their focus is defense first, and they are a formidable group for opponents. The new blood coming in shows promise with a strong veteran in Nate Schmidt, who boasts extensive playoff experience, and then the newcomers who haven’t had nearly as much playing time in the league or have played on bottom teams. They have the opportunity to develop their skills and blossom into something special. The Panthers have shown over the last few years that they have the ability to bring out the best in players with current roster members having career years in that span, just look at Reinhart, Mikkola, or Forsling. Matthew Tkachuk was the hero of the 2023 playoff run that got them to the Cup Final, and Cater Verhaeghe has shown how clutch he is in high-pressure situations.
Next week, I will conclude my roster preview coverage, saving my favorite position for last, the goalies.
