SUNRISE - The Florida Panthers wrapped up training camp Friday still $896,000 over the NHL’s $104 million salary cap limit with only 21 players under contract, leaving coach Paul Maurice to sort out a final roster before Tuesday’s season opener against the Carolina Hurricanes.
The cap crunch, reported by Florida Hockey Now, hinges largely on how the team handles two injured forwards. Brad Marchand, carrying a $5.25 million salary, will miss at least until November, Maurice said, making him eligible for long-term injured reserve. Jonah Gadjovich, owed $905,000, is out indefinitely and will almost certainly be placed on LTIR as well. Together, the two moves would free enough cap space to give the Panthers room to maneuver heading into the regular season.
“When you are fortunate enough to have ownership willing to spend to the cap,” Maurice said, “you try and maximize that.”
Once placed on LTIR, a player must miss 10 games and 24 days. The Panthers are scheduled to play 14 games between Tuesday’s opener and the end of October, satisfying that threshold well before November.
The projected 23-man roster is anchored by forwards Sasha Barkov, Brady Tkachuk, Sam Reinhart, Matthew Tkachuk, Sam Bennett, Carter Verhaeghe, Anton Lundell, Eetu Luostarinen, Sandis Vilmanis, Lars Eller and Garnet Hathaway. The defensive corps is expected to feature Aaron Ekblad, Gus Forsling, Seth Jones, Niko Mikkola, Dmitry Kulikov and Radko Gudas, with Uvis Balinskis projected as the seventh defenseman. Jacob Markstrom and Akira Schmid are set in goal.
Three players remain on the bubble: forwards Bokondji Imama and Cole Reinhardt, and defenseman Alexander Petrovic. Cole Schwindt is also competing for what may amount to a single open forward slot. Maurice said the competitive nature of camp, even for players who won’t make the opening night roster, carries weight going forward.
“It’s been a constant jockeying for position and that is true for players who won’t start here,” Maurice said. “We had a lot of good pros here and a lot of guys fighting for almost non-existent jobs in some ways. But how they leave camp gives with the opportunity to have a leg-up on other players who go down. When you hear in three weeks or a month that this guy is doing well, they are the next one up.”
Players who clear waivers may be assigned to Charlotte within hours of Friday night’s final preseason game against the Tampa Bay Lightning in Sunrise, which drops at 6 p.m. The Panthers will have Sunday off before their first official practice Monday, when the roster must be finalized by afternoon.
“There is cake in the coaches room right now,” Maurice said. “Monday will be a good day.”
Florida’s home opener follows on Oct. 10 against the Minnesota Wild at 6 p.m. on Scripps.