NHL 2008 Season Preview: Florida Panthers Look to Young Talent for Success

The loss of long time Florida Panthers captain Olli Jokinen in this years draft proved that Panthers management is looking to the future. The deal for Jokinen shows that the Panthers are hopeful for their young talent, and are ready to step up and prove their worth. At the draft, Florida used 3 of its picks to select defensemen. Florida is known for a weak back end, so they also drafted Swedish goaltender Jacob Markstrom 31^st overall.

Shawn Matthias, selected in the second round in 2006 is one of the players who are ready to break out this season. Matthias arrived in Florida with the deal for forward Todd Bertuzzi at the trade deadline. Matthias helped the 2008 Canadian World Junior Team to a gold medal putting up 3 goals and 5 points in 5 games. With the departure of both Olli Jokinen and Josef Stumpel, look for Matthias to step into a centermen position this fall.

The Panthers finished without a playoff birth the last seven straight seasons. Florida's management hopes that the addition of new players like Matthias, and the re-signing of players like Nathan Horton and goaltender Tomas Vokoun will be the mix of players they need to make it to the post season this year. In the final stretch of the season, the Panthers finished strong with a record of 10-4-1 in their final 15 games. March was a special time for the team as they went 8-3-1 in 12 games, keeping them close in the playoff race. In the end, they ended up just missing the playoffs, but the experience gained was valuable to all the young players involved. The Panthers also learned how to win games on the road, winning a franchise best 20 games away from home in the 07-08 season.

One ingredient that may be missing from Florida's success is key defensemen Jay Bouwmeester. The restricted free agent is the teams best scoring defensemen and plays the most minutes for Florida on the back end. Bouwmeester set a personal best of 15 goals, 4 of which came on the powerplay. Even with Bouwmeester missing for the time being, the Panthers wasted no time backing up their defense by adding Nick Boynton and Keith Ballard in the deal with the Phoenix Coyotes for Todd Bertuzzi. They also have steady defensemen Mike Van Ryn under contract for another two seasons, and Bryan Allen for another four.

Goaltending will be a major issue as the Panthers move forward into next season. With Tomas Vokoun in net, the Panthers are in good hands. Last season, Vokoun saw 2213 shots against him, which was by far the most of any goalie in the NHL. Vokoun started in 69 of the Panthers 82 games last season and registered a record of 30-29-8. For Vokoun to make a difference, he needs solid defense in front of him. He needs shots to be blocked and the Panthers need to cut down on the amount of shots he sees every night.

The final piece of the puzzle for the Panthers may be their coaching staff. After missing the playoffs the last seven years, a change was needed. New coach Peter DeBoer will be behind the Panthers bench next season, providing inspiration and vision for a young team. DeBoer was a successful coach with the Kitchener Rangers of the Ontario Hockey League before making his move to the NHL.