The Florida Panthers were the talk of the offseason. They acquired every bully in the league, including Brady Tkachuk. Everyone thought they were destined to be back in the Stanley Cup Final. However, it’s starting to look like they might just be mid.
The Panthers have yet to lose a game in regulation, but they’ve lost their captain to injury for the second straight season. Without Barkov, the team is largely devoid of truly elite talent. Sam Reinhart can’t carry a team, neither can the Tkachuks, Sam Bennett is a glorified third-liner, Brad Marchand is old, and they don’t have a true stud defenseman. While the goaltending has been good so far, Markstrom is no Bobrovsky.
Most people will convince themselves that Matthew Tkachuk can carry the load, but I promise you he is not an elite talent without a great supporting cast. While his profile was elevated by the podcast and the gold medal, the truth is that he is a below-average NHL skater who is likely to max out at around 80 points on this roster. His brother, Brady, is also a below-average skater and an even worse talent from an offensive standpoint (0 points in 3 games so far).
I look at this roster without Barkov, and I find it to be extremely mid. We’ve seen bully hockey work before. The LA Kings won two Cups with this style. However, the game has gotten so much faster in the past decade, and let’s not forget that the Kings had a Barkov equivalent in Kopitar. The Kings also had a prime Drew Doughty, and Jonathan Quick might have been the best goalie in the league during their run. The Panthers don’t have similar goaltending, nor do they have anyone on Doughty’s level, and they’re devoid of a Kopitar-like talent with Barkov injured.
Maybe they will make the playoffs, but I don’t see them going far. Most teams in the East will skate circles around all of these big bullies they chose to deploy over talented NHL players.
What do you think about the Panthers’ chances this season?
