The Florida Panthers return from the Olympic break eight points out of the playoffs.
The back-to-back Stanley Cup champions have some work to do, and if they don’t get hot in a hurry, they may have to be sellers before the March 6 NHL trade deadline.
Even if the Panthers get rolling, though, they may have to move on from at least Evan Rodrigues.
There are big salary cap implications, especially with the NHL operating differently on how injured player salaries are accounted for in the postseason.
If the Panthers expect Aleksander Barkov back at some point, they may be facing a crunch unless they move Rodrigues now.
“If the Panthers have designs on taking a run for the playoffs, and knowing Aleksander Barkov may still return in the regular season, the team could still run into cap troubles,” Sportsnet’s Nick Kypreos wrote in a new article on Tuesday. “That’s where trading Rodrigues’ $3-million cap hit comes in. How he’s handled by March 6 will indicate just where Florida sees itself at this stage of the season.”
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It’s hard to see the Panthers wanting to give up on this season, even though it hasn’t gone to plan in pursuit of a three-peat.
It’s also a tough road back toward the playoff picture, especially with key players coming back from the Olympics in varying degrees of health.
“It’s going to be fascinating to see what happens with Florida in the next couple of weeks,” Kypreos writes. “Eight points out of a playoff spot, the back-to-back champs aren’t throwing in the towel yet, and a strong start out of the Olympics could lead to them hanging on for another go. But we’re also waiting to see how affected they will be by injuries, and if anyone gets shut down out of the break.”
Rodrigues might be the odd man out either way. That could open the door for a contender to swoop in and acquire a proven winner.
