Panthers' biggest reasons for hope after 2025 NHL Trade Deadline

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The Florida Panthers have had back-to-back memorable playoff runs under head coach Paul Maurice. The Panthers made it all the way to the Stanley Cup Finals from the No. 8 seed in the Eastern Conference. They earned their spot in the postseason on the last day of the regular season and defeated the record-setting Boston Bruins in the first round of the playoffs.

They followed with wins over the Toronto Maple Leafs and Carolina Hurricanes before dropping the final series to the Vegas Golden Knights. There was would be no denying the Panthers last season, as they made a return trip to the Stanley Cup Finals and outlasted the Edmonton Oilers in 7 games.

The Panthers are in first place in the Atlantic Division and they have a 4-point lead over the Maple Leafs with 16 games to go in the regular season. The Panthers have one of the most talented and driven teams in the league, and they should have a good chance of winning a second consecutive Stanley Cup when the regular season comes to a conclusion.

While general manager Bill Zito knows the Panthers have a powerful core featuring Matthew Tkachuk, Sam Bennett and Aleksander Barkov, he refused to stand pat at the trade deadline. He made multiple moves — including an earth-shattering trade for Brad Marchand of the Boston Bruins — that give the team legitimate hope of raising the Stanley Cup for a second consecutive season.

Marchand joins the Panthers

It’s one thing when a superstar’s name is mentioned in trade rumors, it’s quite another when a player like Marchand actually gets moved. It’s even bigger news when a team like the Bruins trades their captain to the team that eliminated them from the postseason in consecutive years.

The Bruins captain was in the final year of his contract with the Bruins, and while the two sides had negotiated during the season, a deal could not be completed. Still, trading Marchand did not seem to be a move the Bruins would make, particularly after he had been injured in a game against the Pittsburgh Penguins less than a week earlier.

Nevertheless, Panthers and the Bruins completed a deal that sent Marchand to South Florida in the final hours of the trade deadline. Marchand may not don a Panthers uniform until the final week or two of the regular season, but he should be recovered from a lower-body injury in the coming weeks.

Marchand was skating with the Panthers in a no-contact jersey in the days that followed the trade. When he returns to action, the Panthers will have a relentless player who can make plays at both ends of the ice. While he is no longer at his peak, the 36-year-old left wing has scored 21 goals and 26 assists in 61 games this seasonwith 47 penalty minutes.

Marchand is an established playoff performer who has scored 54 goals and 81 assists for 135 postseason points in 157 games.

Panthers bring in right-shot defenseman in Seth Jones

One of the team’s most valuable performers in their last two playoff runs was defenseman Brandon Montour. He moved to the Seattle Kraken in the offseason and the Panthers have needed a right-shot blue liner since that departure.

The Panthers acquired Seth Jones from the Chicago Blackhawks to fill that role. Jones had scored 7 goals and 20 assists for the Blackhawks, and while he was minus-18 for the Blackhawks, the Panthers have high hopes that he can play an effective role on a contending team.

Jones is a 4-time All-Star with size at 6-4 and 213 pounds. He should be able to pick up his level of play for the Panthers. He has been playing with Gustav Forsling on the team’s first defensive pairing.

Panthers add goalie Vitek Vanecek and Nico Sturm from Sharks

The Sharks are not a team that would appear to have much that could help the Panthers, but backup goalie Vitek Vanecek should be able to provide some relief for Sergei Bobrovsky. Vanecek won his first game in a Florida uniform, registering a shutout in a 4-0 victory over the Buffalo Sabres. He has a 4-10-3 record overall this season with a 3.66 goals against average and an .886 save percentage.

Sturm is a solid 4th-line player for the Panthers and he does an excellent job in the faceoff circle. He is not a major offensive factor, but he has scored 7 goals and 6 assists this season. He has been successful on 62.1 percent of his faceoffs. That could be a huge factor in the postseason.

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