Florida Panthers - Challenges

After a 2012-13 season that created far more questions than answers for the Florida Panthers, one lingered above all others: "What the heck happened?" A free-fall from division champ to NHL-worst has Florida entering this season wondering if anything else can go wrong. The Panthers don't score much, so they have keep the other team from putting pucks in the net, and last season they didn't. Their 170 non-shootout goals allowed were 11 more than any NHL team. Primary responsibility for stopping the puck now falls to 23-year-old Jacob Markstrom, who is being handed the starting job with Florida choosing to not re-sign Jose Theodore and keeping Scott Clemmensen as veteran insurance. Markstrom allowed 68 goals in 23 games last season for a 3.22 goals-against average that resulted in an 8-14-1 record. During the final month of the season, when the Panthers were playing a number of young players on a nightly basis, he gave up six goals in a game twice, five once and four twice. Markstrom signed a two-year contract July 15, so he must prove he is the long-term answer. Jonathan Huberdeau was second on the Panthers with 14 goals and 31 points, skating in all 48 games. That's 23 goals and 53 points pro-rated to an 82-game season, numbers he certainly should be able to reach if he's healthy. Not since Derek Sanderson won the 1968 Calder after Boston Bruins teammate Bobby Orr won it the year before has a team produced consecutive rookies of the year. In the past 13 seasons, 13 NHL teams have had a Calder Trophy winner. Huberdeau pioneered what's expected to be a long line of future all-stars to emerge from the Panthers pipeline. Forwards Nick Bjugstad and Vincent Trocheck, maybe even Aleksander Barkov, the 17-year-old No. 2 pick in the 2013 NHL Draft, will be given ample opportunity to duplicate Huberdeau's feat in 2013-14. A No. 3 draft pick, just like Huberdeau, Erik Gudbranson hasn't produced the same results as a defenseman. It went completely off track for him last September, when he injured himself while wakeboarding. He was sidelined and suspended, costing him what would have been valuable development time in the American Hockey League during the lockout. After starting his NHL season Feb. 7, he had four assists in 32 games and was a minus-22. He's minus-41 over the past two seasons, tied for worst in the NHL (Mark Streit). At 21 years old, the 2010 draft pick already is facing a career crossroads. If Gudbranson does not improve, the decision to pass on Seth Jones will become even more scrutinized. The Panthers lost the 2013 NHL Draft lottery to the Colorado Avalanche, who chose forward Nathan MacKinnon at No. 1. Sitting second, Florida also picked a forward, Barkov, rather than Jones, the defenseman who was Central Scouting's No. 1-rated North American skater. With 22-year-old Dmitry Kulikov also coming off a step-backward season on the Panthers blue line, Barkov will be judged against more than just his own play, at least in the near-term. Jones fell to No. 4 and the Nashville Predators, who could use him on their top pairing this season. Even though the Southeast Division produced just as many Stanley Cup champions as any other since the 2003-04 season (two), realignment was not kind to the Panthers. Florida is leaving a competition-cozy collection of teams to take on some tradition-rich Cup contenders in the Atlantic Division, the new home of the Boston Bruins, Detroit Red Wings, Montreal Canadiens, Ottawa Senators and Toronto Maple Leafs. At first glance, the Panthers likely will compete with the Tampa Bay Lightning and Buffalo Sabres for sixth place. Add to that a travel log of 45,136 miles (according to Ontheforecheck.com), most in the Eastern Conference. The bright side? Midwestern snowbirds spending the winter in Florida could fill BB&T Center to watch their favorite teams.