Florida Panthers News

Forsling played 21:15 TOI in his season debut on Sunday but the Panthers want to get a couple of new bodies in the lineup for the second game of the season, so Riley Stillman will replace him on Tuesday.

Bobrovsky has been ramping up his work in practice but the Panthers will be cautious with him and keep him out of Sunday’s game. Chris Driedger will start but the Panthers are hopeful that Bobrovsky will be available for Game 2 on Tuesday.

Bobrovsky had not been on the ice for the first two weeks of training camp but jumped right back between the pipes for Wednesday's practice. The start of the season for Florida has been pushed back to Sunday, so it looks like there's a chance that Bobrovsky could be ready for their season opener.

Bobrovsky has yet to take the ice for training camp and remains on the unfit to play list. With Bobrovsky still not on the ice, it seems highly unlikely that he will be available for Sunday's season opener vs. the Blackhawks. With Bobrovsky out, Chris Driedger and Samuel Montembeault will be the Panthers' goaltending duo.

Forsling is familiar with new Panthers bench boss Joel Quenneville from their days together in Chicago. Forsling has had a tough time becoming a full-time player in the NHL, never playing more than 43 games in a single-season (2019). He has 27 points (8G / 19A) in 122 career NHL games and will likely continue to serve a similar, fringe roster player role in Florida.

In 2020, Reinhart was on-pace to set a new career-high in goals but when the season was paused he had 22 goals and 28 assists (50 points) in 69 games. Reinhart has not missed a game in three seasons, averaging 24 goals and 34 assists (58 points) per 82 games. With the addition of Taylor Hall, Reinhart could be pushed from the top-line in 2021 but should still finish with 20-plus goals and 30-plus assists.

Forsling had 26 points (8G / 16A) in 57 games with the Charlotte Checkers (AHL) during his first season in the Hurricanes' organization. He was acquired from the Blackhawks in the summer of 2019 in a deal that sent Calvin de Haan and Aleksi Saarela to Chicago. Given the fact that Carolina has such a deep blueline and Jake Bean is ahead of him on the AHL depth chart, Forsling likely won't be in the NHL in 2021.

Kulikov had two goals and eight assists (10 points) in 51 game with the Jets last season. Kulikov topped 100 huts for the sixth time in his 11-year career and will bring a physical element to the Devils blueline. His one-year deal buys Ty Smith an extra year of development before he likely becomes a full-time NHLer in 2022.

Nosek scored eight goals with seven assists (15 points) in 67 games in 2020. He has been super consistent but unspectacular during his time in Vegas, recording 15, 17 and 15 points in three seasons. Look for Nosek to be the Golden Knights' fourth line centre with Will Carrier and Ryan Reaves on his wings.

Bitetto was in and out of the Jets lineup during 2020, finishing with eight assists in 51 games. In 2021 he will be with his fourth team in three years and will likely be on the outside looking on their solid blueline.

Rodrigues was acquired from Buffalo last February and then his rights were flipped to Toronto in the Kasperi Kapanen deal this summer. Toronto did not tender the RFA, so he was free to re-join the Penguins on Friday. Rodrigues had six goals and four assists (10 points) in 45 NHL games last year and GM Jim Rutherford said on Friday that he'll be on the third line with Mark Jankowski and Jared McCann to start 2021.

Verhaeghe scored nine goals with four assists (13 points) in 52 games in his rookie season in the NHL in 2020. The 25-year-old is a former third-round pick (2015) and led the AHL in goals (34) and points (82) in 2018-19. He's shown offensive ability at lower-levels in the past, now it's a matter of getting opportunity in Florida to showcase he can do it at the NHL-level.