The fantasy season is upon us. One other 12 months of tears of pleasure and heartbreak.
That can assist you alongside, right here’s your fantasy outlook for the Florida Panthers:
2022-23 Fantasy Outlook: Florida Panthers
Final season: 58-18-6, 1st Atlantic, 1st general. GF: 1st, GA: twelfth, PP: fifth, PK: sixteenth.
It’s that previous adage once more: protection wins championships. After blitzing by the common season with a juggernaut offense, the Panthers seemed unprepared and outmatched within the playoffs, barely squeaking by the Capitals, whom they need to’ve dominated, after which getting swept by their in-state rival after being held to simply three targets your complete sequence. A final-ditch effort in Recreation 4 bore no fruit with Andrei Vasilevskiy making 49 saves for the shutout victory, however the fact is, the sequence was most likely over even earlier than that when Ross Colton scored with 3.8 seconds remaining in Recreation 2 to present the Lightning a 2-0 lead because the sequence moved to Tampa Bay.
The season was no fluke; the Panthers ranked first in 5v5 CF% and second in 5v5 xGF%, in keeping with naturalstattrick.com, and had only one shedding streak that lasted longer than three video games. They began off 8-0-0 and by no means seemed again, and the most important query mark going into the season – Sergei Bobrovsky – led the league with 39 wins and had his greatest season ever in a Panthers uniform. They did the identical the earlier season, staying unbeaten in regulation till their ninth sport (6-0-2), solely to lose to the Lightning in six video games in Spherical 1.
However regular-season success doesn’t matter a lot – simply ask the Avs or Lightning, who discovered the way to tempo themselves and flip the swap within the playoffs. (The winner of the Presidents’ Trophy has solely received the Cup eight instances in NHL historical past). The disappointing exhibiting spurred GM Invoice Zito, who had inherited a little bit of a multitude in 2020 and made shrewd strikes to vault the Panthers into the elite tier, to make daring strikes. Buying and selling Jonathan Huberdeau and Mac Weegar to the Flames for Matthew Tkachuk was an enormous bombshell commerce, and in doing so had swapped two of the Panthers’ lacklustre playoff performers for a participant who usually kicked and dragged his groups into battle.
Greatest fantasy choice: Aleksander Barkov, C
For the third time in 4 seasons, Barkov completed top-five in Selke voting as a two-way drive. He registered a career-high 1.31 P/GP with massive because of Huberdeau’s 115-point season, and at a deep place nonetheless warrants a first-round choose in most traditional fantasy leagues. There’s an argument to be made for Tkachuk in banger leagues, however the massive benefits are in PIM and photographs, each of which may be simply stuffed within the later rounds with checking-line gamers or one-dimensional scorers. Barkov is projected to attain extra factors than Tkachuk in THN’s Pool Information, if solely barely, but when faceoffs received is a class, Barkov has the potential to win 1,000 faceoffs. It will place him simply within the prime 10 – he ranked sixteenth regardless of lacking 15 video games final season – and word that their projected No. 2 and three facilities, Sam Bennett and Anton Lundell, received solely roughly 45 p.c of their faceoffs. Barkov was tied-eighth at 57 p.c, which signifies that in any stress state of affairs, he’s virtually their solely alternative.
Hidden gem: Colin White, C/RW
White was purchased out three years right into a six-year contract that carried a modest $4.75 million cap hit, which really seemed like a discount when he signed the contract as a result of he was projected to be a sure-fire top-six heart. Accidents and inconsistency have robbed him of that position in Ottawa, however at simply 25 years previous, there’s an opportunity he might actually revive his profession. The uncooked stats trace White is merely a median offensive participant (profession 0.44 P/GP) with poor ending means (profession 10.4 S%), however his possession metrics additionally point out a participant who had been enhancing. A small pattern measurement of 24 video games skews issues, however word he completed third on the Sens in 5v5 CF% and second in 5v5 xGF%. The buyout wasn’t completely reflective of White’s play, nevertheless it was a less expensive than regular buyout because of his younger age and the Sens opted to allocate their cap {dollars} elsewhere. He’s a attain in most fantasy leagues, but when White can win a spot on the highest two traces, there must be some untapped upside, to not point out he comes with dual-position eligibility.
Goalies
The Panthers’ insistence on beginning Bobrovsky throughout your complete playoffs was a curious resolution. He wasn’t dangerous, however he additionally confirmed (once more) that he wasn’t well worth the $10-million price ticket. Spencer Knight completed the season with an excellent profitable file (19-9-3) as properly, and he’s within the ultimate 12 months of his entry-level contract. Ultimately, the Panthers should decide. For now, because the incumbent starter, Bobrovsky is the one to focus on in fantasy leagues, however word that as a result of unsure future of their web, ought to rank on the backside of top-10 lists. The departure of Weegar, which wasn’t adequately addressed on a crew that already lacked high quality depth on the blue line, means the GAA and save percentages received’t be fairly, however their supreme offense ought to make it simply as straightforward for Bobrovsky to win 35-plus video games once more. Draft Bobrovsky and go away Knight on the waiver wire till it’s apparent that he wants be added to your roster.
Outlook
There aren’t any scarcity of high quality choices on the Panthers, beginning with Barkov, Tkachuk and Aaron Ekblad on the prime. When wholesome, Ekblad ranks among the many greatest fantasy defensemen along with his means to attain double-digit targets and fireplace 200-plus photographs on web. Sam Reinhart is a sneaky point-per-game participant who could also be accessible within the center rounds, and don’t neglect about helpful depth scorers Bennett, Lundell and Carter Verhaeghe. Brandon Montour and Gustav Forsling present some extra offense from the again finish, however neither are projected to attain greater than 30 factors in THN’s Pool Information.