Regular Season Finish: 9th in Eastern Conference
After falling just short of the postseason in 2008-09, Florida is probably regretting the fact that they did not move superstar defenseman Jay Bouwmeester at the trade deadline, when he would have garnered at the very least, a high first round draft pick. Instead, the Panthers got another solid defenseman in Jordan Leopold. Not to knock Leopold, who is certainly a very capable player, but Florida could have gotten much more for the top defenseman in the 2009 market. They chose to hold onto him, hoping to make the playoffs this season, rather than get what they could and build for the future.
Regardless, the Panthers did make a solid pickup at the draft, when they selected Russian defender Dmitry Kulikov. Kulikov has the potential to be a very solid offensive defenseman, but may not be ready to make the jump to the NHL this season. Aside from signing backup keeper Scott Clemmensen, the only other move that Florida made this offseason was trading for veteran forward Steven Reinprecht. Again, like Leopold, Reinprecht is a very solid roleplayer, but is not the high scoring forward that the Panthers have been missing for some time now.
With Bouwmeester gone, and no real offensive talent to speak of on the roster, Florida’s best shot for this season could be at the draft lottery, where they will hopefully be able to find some serious offensive help.