No team in the NHL endured more physical punishment from the 2022 to 2024 seasons than the Florida Panthers , who played 68 playoff games during their three consecutive runs to the Stanley Cup Finals. That wear and tear caught up to the team last season as they missed over 500 combined games due to injury.
Entering training camp next week a key storyline for the Panthers will be how the defense responds after a season that was well below their standards. Florida ranked 10th in shots-on-goal allowed per game (26.8) but 28th in both total goals allowed (274) and goals allowed per game (3.34).
Gustav Forsling led the top six blue liners with 80 games played, while Seth Jones (72), Aaron Ekblad (72) and Niko Mikkola (68) were for the most part available the majority of the season. Dimitri Kulikov appeared in only 19 games last year to a broken finger, and his return will give the defense more depth.
Forsling is one of the best pure defenseman in the league, combining smooth skating with elite hockey IQ and defensive positioning. He is not known as an offensive minded player but did have double digit goals every year from 2021 to 2024, and led the league with a plus 56 for the 2023 season.
Forsling's plus/minus of -5 was the worst in his six seasons in Sunrise, though factors such as injuries to the forward group and inconsistent goaltending did play a part.
Seth Jones endured an upper body injury in January which kept him out for two months, then his season ended with a broken foot late in April. Jones appeared in just 52 games for the Panthers but was solid, notching seven goals and 25 assists.
The Panther's power play conversion rate during the regular dropped from 23.5% during their two cup runs to 19.6% last year. Jones is often with the top power play unit as the only defenseman, if he returns to form expect improved play for the Panthers with the man advantage.
It feels like Aaron Ekblad has been with the Panthers forever, but the former first overall pick will be just 30 years-old when the season starts. Ekblad took the NHL by storm as an 18 year-old, winning the Calder Trophy as Rookie of the Year for the 2014 season. During the first nine years of his career, Ekblad scored double digit goals eight times and was one of the top offensive defenseman in the NHL. He still projects as a top penalty killer with his experience, and will also see time on the power play. Ekblad has just 11 goals combined over the last three seasons, if he stays healthy and the power play execution improves he could see an uptick in offensive production.
Niko Mikkola has quietly been a consistent, net positive for the Panthers in his three year tenure. He sits at a plus 22 during that span, and has shown flashes of improved offensive potential. At six-foot-six and 200 plus pounds, Mikkola gives the Panthers blue line some size and physicality.
Speaking of physicality, the return of Radko Gudas adds another tough nosed veteran to keep opponents on notice.
Gudas just missed the Panthers back-to-back Stanley Cups as he spent the last three seasons with the Anaheim Ducks . The 36 year-old Gudas was injured at the end of last season and missed most of the postseason with Anaheim. A healthy Gudas won't be asked to do too much and could likely anchor the third defensive pairing. Deployed situationally, Gudas can still be very effective to swing momentum and set a physical tone for the Panthers when called upon.
This article was originally published on www.si.com/nhl/panthers/onsi as Florida Panthers Training Camp Preview: Defense .
