Panthers' elimination could be good news for Kent Hughes and the Canadiens
On Monday night, the Florida Panthers were knocked out, in just four games, by their Florida rivals, the Tampa Bay Lightning.
After dominating the regular season and winning the President's Trophy, the Panthers had a tough playoff run. After beating the Washington Capitals, they were no match for the Lightning. However, they were among the favorites to win the Stanley Cup.
This disappointment could have consequences for next season and, in the end, help the CH. As Marc-Olivier Beaudoin reminds us, Kent Hughes was able to get the Panthers' first round pick, and an unprotected one at that, for next season.
On that note, Marco d'Amico of Montreal Hockey Now revealed in a recent article that historically, the Panthers' chances of having a good 2022-2023 season are slim to say the least.
D'Amico gives an example to prove his point, the 2017-18 Senators. In the spring of that year, the team was one goal away from reaching the Stanley Cup final. They were, over the summer, very aggressive in trying to improve their team and at the beginning of the season to try and make the team competitive. Even after the major acquisition of Matt Duchene, the Senators struggled and finished with 67 points in 82 games.
"The comparisons to the 2017-2018 Ottawa Senators are all there: limited cap space, a key UFA contract to come, a defense that will need to be retooled and very few assets available to help improve. By improving the team for the 2022 NHL playoffs, the Panthers no longer own a 1st round pick until 2025 at the earliest and, barring additional trades, will pick in the top 64 of an NHL draft once in the next three years." - Marco d'Amico
The Panthers, who already have $71.3M generated on the 2022-2023 payroll with only 16 contracts, will definitely have to dismantle their core to make room. Add to that the fact that the team will have their early exit in mind, so the chances of the Panthers crumbling in the standings are good.
The 2019-2020 Sharks could also be cited as an example... They had lost in six games in the Western Association Finals in 2019 before seeing their subsequent season be disastrous. They had finished that pandemic season in dead last place in the West with a 29-36-5 record. A year earlier, confident of their chances, the Sharks traded for Erik Karlsson and gave away, among other things, an unprotected 1st round pick in 2020. Remember who the Sens drafted with the 3rd overall pick in that draft, a certain Tim Stützle...
Imagine if the Panthers don't finish in the playoff picture next season and give the CH a golden gift. It will certainly be a tough summer for the Panthers' staff who will have to anticipate the next contract of Jonathan Huberdeau (who still has one year left in the bank). The Quebecer will certainly make more than his current annual $5.9M. A file to follow...
| POLL | ||
Are you hoping for the Panthers to have a bad season so we can pick high in the draft next year? | ||
| Yes, I hope they suck! | 47 | 92.2 % |
| No wtv | 4 | 7.8 % |
| List of polls | ||
