The back-to-back Stanley Cup-champion Florida Panthers got some unfortunate news on the injury front with the revelation that star left winger Matthew Tkachuk will be sidelined for approximately the next six months with an adductor injury. Tkachuk is an integral component of Florida’s well-oiled machine, and while the Panthers have the type of depth other teams strive to match, Florida clearly will be a lesser team without him.
In addition, what happens if Tkachuk’s absence leads to a significant drop in the Panthers’ performance next year? We all know teams can’t win a playoff spot in November or December, but they sure can lose a playoff spot with terrible showings in the early months. That brings up an intriguing angle to this discussion: namely, forget about clearing cap space right now – should the Panthers add a rental player with the cap space Tkachuk’s injury frees up? And what could happen if they don’t do that and Florida stumbles out of the gate?
According to David Pagnotta, Tkachuk is sidelined until January, so that’s basically half the season that Florida will be without him. But seeing that Panthers GM Bill Zito has shown repeatedly he’s willing to double down on his players, why not help the players out and get back into the trade market to make the team better right away? Even if the player you acquire is a rental under contract for only the 2025-26 year, you’ve protected your long-term picture while still managing to add talent. Thus, it makes sense for the Panthers to bring in another proven commodity, and worry about the cap situation that will come to a head when Tkachuk is ready to play.
Florida is currently $4.5 million over the salary cap, according to PuckPedia. If the Panthers were to place Tkachuk on the long-term injured reserve list, they'd have $5 million in cap space to work with.
When Tkachuk does become healthy, Zito is going to have to move out some bodies. But that shouldn’t scare away Zito from making moves like the one he made last season with the mid-season addition of star defenseman Seth Jones from the Chicago Blackhawks.
Since Jones' arrival from the Blackhawks, he recorded two goals and nine points, while averaging 24:55 of ice time in 21 regular-season appearances for the Panthers. Jones played a huge role when D-man Aaron Ekblad faced a 20-game suspension for violating the NHL's performance-enhancing drug policy.
Remember, the addition of Jones caused some to speculate that Ekblad wouldn’t get a decent new contract from Florida and wind up playing elsewhere next season. But lo and behold, Zito found a way to not only re-sign Ekblad, as well as fellow UFAs Brad Marchand and Sam Bennett.
They found a way to make it work with everyone they wanted to, and as a result, the Panthers are once again the odds-on favorite to win their third straight Cup. Sportsbook BetMGM has the Panthers at 7.00 odds (+600), the highest odds in the NHL.
This is why the Panthers should be adding talent with their soon-to-be-freed-up cap space when they likely place Tkachuk on LTIR. Because if they slip down the Atlantic Division ranks and wind up fighting for a wild-card spot all season long, they may have other injuries and/or sub-par play that could combine to result in them finishing ninth or worse in the Eastern Conference next year.
That's not a far-fetched potential situation. As we saw with the New York Rangers' disastrous season last year, a once-productive team can go from winning the Presidents’ Trophy and a conference final appearance one year to falling out of the playoffs completely the next year. Even the best teams can be in trouble if they're not firing on all pistons, and while it may be a long shot that Florida misses the playoffs, they wouldn’t be the first team to fall so far so fast.
We’re not suggesting the Panthers are definitely going to falter significantly next season. But there’s every reason to capitalize on the cap space freed up by Tkachuk’s absence. Florida already has an embarrassment of riches that can still be made better by bringing in another proven veteran, and though Tkachuk will be a key player once again when he returns next year, Zito can figure out how to get out of cap trouble once the 27-year-old is ready to play again.
Really, anything can happen between the start of the season and the midpoint of the year. Some Panthers players might get injured, and other Panthers players may make themselves expendable. Zito has got a lot of time to figure that part out, but right now is the time for him to take advantage of an opportunity and acquire someone else the team can lean on.
Stars And Slugs: How NHL Teams Copied The Florida Panthers This SummerFielding questions from the media in the aftermath of his second consecutive Stanley Cup, Florida coach Paul Maurice had praise for all of his Panthers in their six-game victory over the Edmonton Oilers.
The Panthers are fallible like every other team, so Zito has every reason to strengthen his roster as soon as he can. When you’re a GM who takes big swings, you instill confidence in your group. And the misfortune of Tkachuk’s injury can be converted into more talent in the room. Indeed, no Panthers player will be complaining about having another skilled player on board.
Zito can seize the moment and take control of the opportunity birthed by Tkachuk’s injury by landing another above-average player between now and the point Tkachuk returns. Given their druthers, the Panthers would want Tkachuk in the lineup from opening night through the last game of the year. But they have no choice in that matter, and Zito would do well to turn the issue in his favor by swinging for the fences on the trade front.
It’s easy for Florida to panic because of cap concerns and start trading players they’d otherwise want to retain, but Panthers management isn’t going to be that knee-jerk about it. Better to breathe, exhale, and see how things develop in the time between now and the time they’d be forced to make a decision.
If you do that, you just might make your team a championship-calibre squad once again.
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