New Jersey Devils: 5 Players To Consider From Florida Panthers
By Nick Villano
The New Jersey Devils can help the Florida Panthers make changes.
The Florida Panthers, much like the New Jersey Devils, made huge moves this past offseason that they hoped would propel them to a playoff spot. It kind of worked, as they were able to make it to the play-in round of this strange 2019-20 NHL season. It was a disappointment overall, as they hired head coach Joel Quenneville, signed goalie Sergei Bobrovsky, defenseman Anton Stralman, and forwards Brian Boyle, Brett Connolly, and Noel Acciari
They spent a ton to be contenders, and it didn’t work out. That’s why they decided to move on from general manager Dave Tallon. With a new boss in town and rumors they’d like to shed some payroll, the New Jersey Devils could be of service to the Panthers. They have some needs that match the other’s strengths, and the Devils have a ton of cap space to give the Panthers flexibility.
The Panthers have some very strange contracts on the books. They gave Michael Matheson a very long-term contract, and he was terrible in the play-in series against the New York Islanders. Anton Strahlman has two more years as he plays into his late 30s. Keith Yandle is not only still in the league, but he’s making $6.3 million for the next three seasons on the Panthers blue line.
Despite the big contracts the Panthers have given out, they still have more than $20 million in cap space to work with. The problem there is the Panthers have six forwards signed next season. They need to sign/bring up at least seven more, and possibly eight more. Owen Tippett could probably make the roster, but there are considerable question marks after that.
The Devils have a lot of forward prospects that could slip into a lot of lineups and play bottom-six minutes. It seems like these two teams can make something happen, but with so many free agents leaving the Panthers, the Devils should consider them, too. There are some players on this roster that could make the Devils better.
Advanced stats were used from the great people at Natural Stat Trick.