Thanks For Playing: Florida Panthers

Each spring 16 NHL teams play for Lord Stanley's Cup. At the end one team is left holding the cup while the other 15 teams can only think of what might have been. 

This is about one of the 15 teams who wasn't so lucky.

How They Finished:

38-26-18   94 points  1st in Southeast Division, 3rd in Eastern Conference.

What Went Wrong: 

The Florida Panthers couldn't beat Martin Brodeur.

Now a lot of NHL clubs have had the same problem over the years and this year things weren't any different.

Florida led the series three games to two and had a chance to close it out in New Jersey. Instead the Panthers fell behind early in the game 2-0.

Florida was able to tie the game at 2-2 thanks to goals by Kris Versteeg and Sean Bergenheim. The game would go into overtime where Travis Zajac would get the game winner for the Devils.

In game seven the same script would play out as New Jersey once again grabbed a 2-0 lead. Florida would score two goals in the 3rd period to tie the game 2-2 and force overtime once again.

The game would continue to be deadlocked until 3:47 into the 2nd overtime when Adam Henrique would score his second goal of the game, ending the Panthers magical season. 

Where Do They Go From Here: 

Florida has nothing to be ashamed about as they ended the longest playoff drought in the NHL this season. Now they have to capitalize on this.

Last summer GM Dale Tallon turned over half the roster. I don't think that will happen this off-season as most of their players are under contract. The Panthers do have a little over $23 million in projected cap space going into the summer. If they want to be a player in free agency they have the resources to do so.

My guess is Florida will worry about the restricted free agents on their roster and let their unrestricted free agents hit the open market on July 1st. The only UFA I can see the Panthers trying to re-sign is Mikael Samuelsson.

Florida surprised everybody by winning the Southeast Division but I'm not ready to say the Panthers are back. Eighteen of their points came as a result of losing in overtime or a shootout. I expect every team in the Southeast to be much improved next season.

I think Florida will have a hard time duplicating their success going into next season. The Panthers might contend for a playoff spot but their first division title may be their only one for a while.