The Florida Panthers continue its annual development camp in Ft. Lauderdale as the group of 39 prospects on hand work towards Thursday’s scrimmage, which will be open to the public, with on-ice sessions today and Wednesday.
In a trio of “way-too-early” preseason power rankings, the Cats were highly-regarded by NHL.com, ESPN and Sportsnet.
On NHL.com, staff writer Tom Gulitti offered this on the top-ranked Panthers:
The Panthers were crowned the Stanley Cup champions two weeks ago, so they’re still No. 1 in my Super 16. Their biggest offseason move so far was re-signing Sam Reinhart to an eight-year contract, keeping a key piece of their core, which remains intact with Aleksander Barkov, Matthew Tkachuk, Sam Bennett, Gustav Forsling, Aaron Ekblad and Sergei Bobrovsky. It will be difficult to replace Brandon Montour, who signed with the Seattle Kraken, but there’s still time this offseason for Florida to fill in the rest of its roster and take a shot at repeating.
The Panthers were also ranked first in ESPN’s power rankings with the site having this to say:
If we borrow the lineal champion concept from the world of boxing, then it’s logical that the Cats remain in the No. 1 spot, having just won the first title in franchise history. The Panthers retained Sam Reinhart, who was set to make a mint as an unrestricted free agent, and extended “Baby Barkov” Anton Lundell, along with several other moves.
In Sportsnet’s Off-season movers and shakers version, the Cats found themselves third behind the Edmonton Oilers and Dallas Stars. A Canadian team in the top spot? You don’t say…
Losing Brandon Montour and, to a lesser degree, Oliver Ekman-Larsson on the back end is a blow. But Nate Schmidt should do just fine on the third pair and Florida’s big business was obviously inking Sam Reinhart to an eight-year deal to prevent him from hitting the open market. (And, don’t forget, they also locked up potential UFA Gus Forsling on an eight-year deal in early March). The real question here is, just how much does this team have left in the tank after consecutive trips to the final, with the second one being a grueling seven-game win that had to take a huge physical and mental toll?
There were four new signings around the league on a rather quiet Monday.
The Utah Hockey Club re-signed restricted free agent forward Barrett Hayton to a two-year contract worth $5.3 million. Hayton, 24, was limited to just 33 games last season, producing three goals and ten points.
Restricted free agent forward Raphael Lavoie signed a one-year, two-way deal with the Edmonton Oilers. Lavoie amassed 28 goals and 50 points in 66 games with the AHL’s Bakersfield Condors last season. He also appeared in seven NHL games with the Oilers.
The Buffalo Sabres inked its first round pick (18th overall) in the 2024 NHL Draft, forward Konsta Helenius to an entry-level contract. Helenius put up 14 goals and 36 points in 51 games with Jukurit in Finland’s Liiga.
Forward Calum Ritchie signed an entry-level contract with the Colorado Avalanche. Ritchie, who was chosen 27th overall by the Sabres in 2023, had a strong 2023-24 campaign that saw him total 80 points in 50 games and lead his team to the OHL finals.