2023 Fantasy Hockey Team Previews: Florida Panthers
The 2023 DailyFaceoff Fantasy Hockey Projections has projected stats for over 650 skaters and goalies.
The Fantasy Hockey Team Previews have all the projections for that team and mini-bios for all the Re-Draft and Dynasty relevant skaters and goalies. We will release the previews from September 5th through September 14th.
| Anaheim Ducks | Columbus Blue Jackets | Nashville Predators (Sept.9) | Seattle Kraken (Sept.13) |
| Arizona Coyotes | Dallas Stars | New Jersey Devils (Sept.9) | St. Louis Blues (Sept.13) |
| Boston Bruins | Detroit Red Wings | New York Islanders (Sept.9) | Tampa Bay Lightning (Sept.13) |
| Buffalo Sabres | Edmonton Oilers | New York Rangers (Sept.9) | Toronto Maple Leafs (Sept.13) |
| Calgary Flames | Florida Panthers | Ottawa Senators (Sept.12) | Vancouver Canucks (Sept.14) |
| Carolina Hurricanes | Los Angeles Kings | Philadelphia Flyers (Sept.12) | Vegas Golden Knights (Sept.14) |
| Chicago Blackhawks | Minnesota Wild | Pittsburgh Penguins (Sept.12) | Washington Capitals (Sept.14) |
| Colorado Avalanche | Montreal Canadiens | San Jose Sharks (Sept.12) | Winnipeg Jets (Sept.14) |
In addition to the Fantasy Hockey Previews, Daily Faceoff is previewing all 32 NHL teams for 2022-23, with a new in-depth breakdown dropping every weekday! Click here to find every preview in one place.
Skaters
Aleksander Barkov
| GP | G | A | PTS | (+/-) | PIM | PPG | PPA | PPP | SOG | S% | ATOI | FOW | BLK | HIT |
| 72.1 | 36.9 | 49.7 | 86.6 | 26.1 | 19.7 | 13.5 | 16.6 | 30.0 | 228.4 | 16.2% | 20.41 | 768.9 | 46.0 | 45.5 |
Barkov ended his 2021-22 fantasy season prematurely, finishing top 20 in points (17th), goals (18th), and plus/minus (11th). Only nine other players averaged more points per game than Barkov (1.31 P/GP) throughout the year. The Finnish star has yet to surpass 40 goals or 100 points in his nine NHL seasons on the Panthers. Barkov’s electric 2021-22 was cut short due to injury for the third straight year, leaving question marks about his durability when considering him as a top fantasy pick. Solid, high 80s/low 90-point production can be expected this season, with the potential for more if he can put together a full 82-game season. Barkov has a safe floor and is a good building block for your team in the late-first/early-second round.
Matthew Tkachuk
| GP | G | A | PTS | (+/-) | PIM | PPG | PPA | PPP | SOG | S% | ATOI | FOW | BLK | HIT |
| 81.6 | 34.6 | 48.4 | 83.0 | 33.8 | 74.3 | 9.0 | 16.0 | 25.0 | 238.7 | 14.5% | 18.04 | 12.5 | 19.3 | 126.6 |
Tkachuk was the main piece of the biggest blockbuster deal of the summer that saw Jonathan Huberdeau and his 115 points head out of town. Tkachuk starts his Panthers’ tenure with a fresh 8-year, $76-million contract looking to build off a career year in Calgary, which saw him surpass the 100-point mark for the first time. His 104 points were eighth best in the league, while his 42 goals tied him for ninth among all skaters. He excelled on the power-play, collecting the 21st most PPP (29) and 19th most PPG (12) with Calgary’s special teams unit. Tkachuk enters 2022-23, ranked 14th league-wide in point production in the last three seasons (208). Everything needs to break perfectly again for him to get to 100 points for a second straight season. He shot a career-high 16.6 percent with an obnoxiously high 14.0 on-ice SH%. He’s a fantasy gem with multi-category coverage, but he should settle in closer to a point-per-game.
Sam Reinhart
| GP | G | A | PTS | (+/-) | PIM | PPG | PPA | PPP | SOG | S% | ATOI | FOW | BLK | HIT |
| 79.2 | 32.8 | 39.6 | 72.4 | 21.1 | 15.3 | 12.7 | 12.9 | 25.6 | 185.1 | 17.7% | 18.72 | 155.2 | 32.9 | 41.3 |
Reinhart’s escape from Buffalo saw his breakout into the fantasy star many expected he would be when he was originally drafted No.2 overall in 2014. He surpassed the 30-goal mark for the first time in his eight-year career, becoming one of four players to top that mark without reaching 200 shots on goal (186). Posting over a point-per-game for the season, his 82 points were good for 27th best in the NHL. Reinhart enters 2022-23 as a solid fantasy option on a team that scores a lot of goals. Projected to be a safe bet on draft day, he should have a similar mid 30’s goal, 70-point production in the Panthers’ middle-6 and top power-play unit.
Aaron Ekblad
| GP | G | A | PTS | (+/-) | PIM | PPG | PPA | PPP | SOG | S% | ATOI | FOW | BLK | HIT |
| 76.0 | 16.9 | 43.8 | 60.7 | 32.2 | 39.9 | 4.9 | 14.4 | 19.3 | 210.3 | 8.0% | 24.52 | 0.0 | 82.4 | 63.3 |
Even while missing 21 games, Ekblad finished sixth in goals (15) and ninth in points among defensemen (57 points). His 0.93 P/GP was fifth behind only Adam Fox, Victor Hedman, Cale Makar, and Roman Josi. Ekblad has elite shot volume, ranking in the top-10 among defensemen in Shots/60 (7.1). Scoring double-digit goals every season but one in his eight-year career, Ekblad is a sure bet for 10-plus goals, a feat only 32 other defensemen achieved in 2021-22. If Ekblad can stay healthy for a full 82-game season, he should find himself easily in the fantasy top-10 defenseman. With the Panthers leading the league in goals and having a top five power-play (24.4 PP%), Ekblad finds himself entrenched in a fantasy gold mine as the leader on both the top power-play and defensive unit. Having missed 30 percent of the games over the last two seasons, durability is the only concern when drafting Ekblad. He has a chance to be a top-3 fantasy defenseman.
Carter Verhaeghe
| GP | G | A | PTS | (+/-) | PIM | PPG | PPA | PPP | SOG | S% | ATOI | FOW | BLK | HIT |
| 71.9 | 24.3 | 29.0 | 53.3 | 24.2 | 41.4 | 1.0 | 2.5 | 3.4 | 160.9 | 15.1% | 16.52 | 23.3 | 17.1 | 48.6 |
Carter Verhaeghe enters 2022-23 fresh off of a breakout 55-point campaign. Landing the coveted role next to Barkov on the top line, Verhaeghe potted 24 goals with 31 assists in 78 games. If Verhaeghe can maintain his top-line role, he should finish with a similar 25-goal, 30-assist season as he works to maintain his incredibly high 15.4 career shooting percentage. Verhaeghe was an elite point producer in the OHL and AHL, so there’s no reason to think he can’t continue to grow his point totals at the NHL level. He has draft day steal written all over him.
Sam Bennett
| GP | G | A | PTS | (+/-) | PIM | PPG | PPA | PPP | SOG | S% | ATOI | FOW | BLK | HIT |
| 70.7 | 24.9 | 23.4 | 48.2 | 23.4 | 100.7 | 4.4 | 4.8 | 9.2 | 224.0 | 11.1% | 16.95 | 353.9 | 28.1 | 138.1 |
Bennett finally broke out in 2021-22, scoring more goals (28) than he had in his previous four years combined. His 241 shots ranked 31st in the NHL, while his seven game-winning goals ranked 19th alongside his plus-27 rating, 29th among all players. Bennett enjoyed an incredible 22-game stretch (15G /7A) from late December into early March, making him one of the most sought-after fantasy free agents by mid-season. The concern for Bennett is the loss of Huberdeau. The two played together for 65 percent of Bennett’s 5v5 ice-time last season. Suppose Tkachuk lands with Barkov as we expect. In that case, the Panthers’ second line will lack the superstar power they had a season ago. Anton Lundell is also lingering behind him, looking for more playing time, so there is no shortage of red flags for Bennett coming into 2022-23.
Anton Lundell
| GP | G | A | PTS | (+/-) | PIM | PPG | PPA | PPP | SOG | S% | ATOI | FOW | BLK | HIT |
| 70.0 | 19.6 | 24.1 | 43.6 | 17.8 | 32.7 | 3.9 | 6.0 | 9.9 | 134.6 | 14.5% | 15.73 | 359.6 | 60.3 | 28.0 |
The young Finnish centre ended his year fifth in rookie points (44), sixth in goals (18), fifth in game-winning-goals (4), and first in plus/minus (+33). These strong numbers saw Lundell on the cusp of fantasy relevance throughout the year as he flirted with just over 15 ATOI on one of the hottest third lines in the NHL. He likely will find himself in a similar top-9 role as the season commences, capping expectations for his sophomore season. He’s a great dynasty piece but likely needs an expanded role to have re-draft value early in the season.
Gustav Forsling
| GP | G | A | PTS | (+/-) | PIM | PPG | PPA | PPP | SOG | S% | ATOI | FOW | BLK | HIT |
| 71.0 | 9.7 | 25.3 | 35.0 | 20.0 | 14.4 | 0.6 | 1.5 | 2.1 | 150.6 | 6.4% | 21.22 | 0.0 | 82.5 | 47.2 |
Someone needs to replace Mackenzie Weeger’s 44 points from a season ago on the Panthers’ top defensive pair, and who better to dip into that production than the 37-point producer, Gustav Forsling? A breakout season from Forsling saw him double both his previous career highs in goals (10) and assists (27). His double-digit goal production tied him for 23rd among all defensemen. Forsling filled in admirably for Ekblad at year’s end, posting a whopping eight goals and 12 points with 45 shots in the final 14 games of the season. Unfortunately, Ekblad is a roadblock to more power-play time for Forsling. Still, if they end up playing together on the top-pair, Forsling will play massive minutes on a nightly basis. Forsling makes for a sneaky final defenseman on your fantasy team as he is one Ekblad injury away from a true fantasy breakout, as shown at the end of last season.
Goalies
Sergei Bobrovsky
| GS | W | L | T/O | SV% | GAA | SO |
| 44.0 | 25.8 | 13.2 | 4.9 | 0.904 | 2.91 | 1.3 |
At 33 years old, Bobrovsky still has the ability and contract to lead the Panthers in starts. His 39 wins tied him for the most in the NHL, with his 2.67 GAA and .913 SV% ranking him in the league’s top 30. As we head into the 2022-23 season, there may be no harder crease to predict, but even if it’s a 50/50 split, both goalies will make for great starts when they get the call. Bobrovsky may be one of the more frustrating goalies to own this season, but we saw him lead the league in wins while being 12th in games started a season ago. So there’s a clear path for him to be a top-10 fantasy netminder; just know there may be some bumps along the way.
Spencer Knight
| GS | W | L | T/O | SV% | GAA | SO |
| 38.0 | 22.3 | 11.4 | 4.3 | 0.913 | 2.65 | 2.5 |
Knight was drafted above Bobrovsky in most leagues after the 2021-22 fantasy draft. A mistake that would see many Knight owners grow increasingly frustrated as the young talent failed to both perform and see starts for the Panthers through the first few months of the season. His .908 SV% had him ranked just outside the top 35. A heavy division lead saved Knight’s disappointing season as he pitched a record of 10-3-1 with a .921 SV% and two shutouts in his last 14 games. He enters 2022-23 expected to take the lower end of the Panthers’ timeshare. His early ADP (75.0) is lower than Bobrovsky’s (60.0), making it a little easier to take the risk on Knight this season.
Remaining Panthers Projections
| Player | Pos | GP | G | A | PTS | (+/-) | PIM | PPG | PPA | PPP | SOG | S% | ATOI | FOW | BLK | HIT |
| Patric Hornqvist | RW | 64.8 | 12.7 | 18.1 | 30.8 | -3.9 | 25.6 | 5.6 | 4.2 | 9.8 | 163.1 | 7.8% | 12.67 | 5.8 | 23.9 | 102.8 |
| Rudolfs Balcers | LW/RW | 74.0 | 13.8 | 15.2 | 28.9 | 4.4 | 19.0 | 0.0 | 0.8 | 0.8 | 119.5 | 11.5% | 15.00 | 6.6 | 52.5 | 142.3 |
| Brandon Montour | D | 72.9 | 9.1 | 19.8 | 28.9 | 12.0 | 44.0 | 0.7 | 4.4 | 5.1 | 128.3 | 7.1% | 17.90 | 0.0 | 65.0 | 63.1 |
| Colin White | C/RW | 69.4 | 11.1 | 16.6 | 27.7 | 8.9 | 26.3 | 2.8 | 6.8 | 9.6 | 112.4 | 9.8% | 15.19 | 272.9 | 24.4 | 76.2 |
| Nick Cousins | LW | 72.9 | 9.2 | 15.6 | 24.9 | 6.2 | 40.9 | 0.9 | 2.5 | 3.4 | 106.9 | 8.6% | 12.90 | 27.9 | 28.9 | 75.7 |
| Eetu Luostarinen | C | 72.5 | 7.4 | 13.7 | 21.1 | -2.0 | 12.7 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 71.9 | 10.3% | 13.35 | 302.9 | 42.3 | 94.3 |
| Lucas Carlsson | D | 69.0 | 5.5 | 13.5 | 19.0 | 10.6 | 6.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 91.4 | 6.0% | 17.90 | 0.0 | 64.4 | 92.8 |
| Ryan Lomberg | LW | 65.8 | 9.1 | 9.1 | 18.2 | 1.5 | 78.3 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 108.4 | 8.4% | 11.40 | 0.9 | 12.2 | 157.3 |
| Radko Gudas | D | 76.5 | 2.9 | 13.6 | 16.5 | 21.0 | 84.1 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 108.0 | 2.7% | 18.00 | 0.0 | 110.8 | 332.9 |
| Marc Staal | D | 70.6 | 3.2 | 11.6 | 14.8 | 3.4 | 26.2 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 71.1 | 4.5% | 17.74 | 0.0 | 73.7 | 87.7 |