The Florida Panthers’ injury nightmare last season created a long line of openings, and a lot of players made the most of them.
Florida finished with an NHL-high 540 man-games lost to injuries, and that kind of damage turned the roster into a revolving door. By the time the season wound down, all six regular defensemen were out, and the Panthers were leaning heavily on AHL call-ups just to get through games. The team still fell out of playoff contention, but plenty of those fill-ins played well enough to catch attention around the league.
That was especially true for players who arrived on short-term deals and had little to lose. Several of them turned those chances into new contracts, either with Florida or somewhere else.
Backup goalie Daniil Tarasov was one of the clearest examples. Before the season, GM Bill Zito brought him in on a one-year contract as a low-risk addition, and he proved to be a useful fit behind Sergei Bobrovsky.
The two shared family ties and both came from the same town in eastern Russia. Tarasov showed flashes of brilliance, though he also had bad early puck luck.
With the Panthers already out of the race late in the year, coach Paul Maurice gave him a bigger look, starting him in five of the final six games. Tarasov then signed a one-year $2 million deal with Detroit, nearly doubling his Florida salary after the Panthers traded for Akira Schmid to handle the backup role.
Donovan Sebrango also took advantage of the chaos. Florida claimed him off waivers from Ottawa at the start of the season after Dmitry Kulikov was hurt in the second game.
Sebrango bounced in and out of the lineup early, then became a regular on the battered blue line during the second half as injuries piled up around Seth Jones, Niko Mikkola and Uvis Balinskis, while Jeff Petry was traded away. He did enough to land a one-year deal at the increased minimum of $850,00.
Sebrango will now compete for the seventh defenseman job with Balinskis and veteran Alexander Petrovic, though he does have the security of a one-way contract.
A few late-season call-ups also made their mark. Mike Benning was buried on the depth chart, but when Florida finally turned to him, he looked right at home.
Maurice even put him out in overtime against Columbus, and Benning set up Sam Reinhart’s game-winner. He finished the season with two goals and six points in 18 games, then moved on with a two-way contract from his home province Calgary Flames.
Vinnie Hinostroza, a veteran of seven NHL teams in 11 seasons, was another depth pickup Zito added at the deadline for the “future considerations.” Hinostroza made a quick impact, scoring on his first shot in his first game against Detroit’s John Gibson and adding an assist for a two-point debut that earned him second-star honors.
With no real path to the Panthers’ roster this season, he signed a two-year deal slightly above the minimum with Colorado. It is a two-way contract, but his minor league salary is well above the AHL average.
Wilmer Skoog finally got his rookie lap at 26 and made it count in a small sample, posting two assists in three games, including a helper on Benning’s first NHL goal. He hit free agency and immediately signed a one-year minimum contract with Detroit, where he has an outside shot at a bottom-six role.
Jack Studnicka’s story followed a similar path. After bouncing between the NHL and AHL for five years, he joined Florida as a depth signing and showed enough promise without producing much in 19 games.
He was better in Charlotte, where he put up 12 goals and 30 points in 40 games, and that earned him a two-year two-way deal with Philadelphia. His minor league salary sits not far below the NHL minimum.
Nolan Foote also came in on a one-year deal after being cut loose by the New Jersey Devils, but he never got much of a chance with Florida and left for a new deal with Philadelphia.
Cole Schwindt, a 2019 Florida draft pick, was claimed off waivers from Vegas before the season and spent most of the year injured. Even so, the Panthers rewarded him with a two-year one-way contract. For a player with six NHL career goals, that was a strong vote of confidence.
There were also signs that Florida still sees value in its farm depth. Toby Bjornfot and Mikulas Hovorka each have only an outside chance at the seventh defenseman spot, but both showed they can step in when the blue line gets thin. Each signed a one-year two-way deal with the Panthers, and Bjornfot’s minor league salary is well above average.
Last season’s injury mess gave Florida plenty of chances to test its depth. This season, the Panthers would clearly prefer the stability that comes from not needing it.