What the Devils Can Learn From Stanley Cup Champion Panthers

The Florida Panthers are the 2024 Stanley Cup Champions. The 2023-24 season has officially come to a close and the offseason is officially underway. The New Jersey Devils have already begun checking off their desired items on the offseason checklist. However, there is still much to do by way of improvement this summer, and we could know what that all looks like at the end of this week. However, reflecting on the Panthers’ Stanley Cup victory, what can the Devils learn from Florida’s championship pedigree?

One thing is for sure. Fitzgerald has certainly been open about what he wants to do with his roster this summer.

A few items on the wishlist are to solidify the blueline, become a little “heavier,” and get a little more “violent.” It sounds like Fitzgerald is taking notes.

The Devils have much of the right pieces in place. Sheldon Keefe, the new head coach, has a winning resume. They have their No.1 defenseman in Dougie Hamilton, although the supporting cast is quite young. They have their franchise and Selke-worthy centers in Jack Hughes and Nico Hischier. Timo Meier and Jesper Bratt add additional elite talent. And Jacob Markstrom in tandem with Jake Allen should finally stabilize a crease presence that’s otherwise been a crapshoot.

However, when examining the Panthers, they’re not exactly a parallel comparison to the Devils. That’s not to say there aren’t different ways to win, but there’s certainly traits that New Jersey can take away from Florida.

Checking and Physicality

What was the one common trend in all four Panthers victories over the Edmonton Oilers? The Panthers won the hit-battle in each of the four victories, throwing a 57 hits in Game 7 en route to their Stanley Cup victory — and they weren’t just chasing the puck.

If you’re going to compete in the playoffs, you have to be able to check.

The Devils have few physical players on the roster at the moment. Meier can throw his body around, as can Curtis Lazar who led the team in the statistic. However, the Devils just traded their second leading hitter in Kevin Bahl in the Markstrom trade. New Jersey is going to need to find a replacement, and then some.

Finding those players should come in the form of the bottom six that will likely look different next season. Lazar is perhaps the one player who can definitively be written in ink somewhere on the third or the fourth line. Ideally, Erik Haula and Ondrej Palat will be down there as well.

Yet, the Devils will need to find their Kevin Stenlund, Ryan Lomberg, or Kyle Okposo — who are all pending free agents — to fill out the bottom of the lineup. They totaled 44 hits in the series final and provided a heavy presence on the ice. Some of that heaviness on the blueline would help as well.

Fitzgerald shouldn’t be looking for just anyone to go out there and throw a bunch of hits. The art of checking has evolved and the Devils need strategic checkers who know when to throw the body while keeping themselves in position to defend.

Which brings up the next point…

Defending

The Devils’ issues last season weren’t filling the net, scoring 3.22 goals per game, 12th best in the NHL during the 2023-24 regular season.

Instead, their issues were keeping the puck out.

In 2022-23, the Devils’ possession game was far superior than last seasons. And even when it wasn’t, the defense was much more cohesive than in 2023-24. Injuries and inexperience were certainly a factor. When Hamilton missed the remainder of the season, John Marino served as the most experienced regular in the lineup on the blueline.

The Devils certainly need more experience within the defense core, and are rumored to be the favorites to land Brett Pesce in free agency.

That’s a start.

However, it wasn’t the blueline alone who defended really well in the playoffs. Yes, the Panthers had a three-game lull when they almost blew the run they went on, taking a 3-0 series lead in the Final and then handing the Oilers back three wins in a row to force a Game 7.

Yet, in Game 7, the Panthers got back to their game, and the defense worked in layers. Although he didn’t win the Conn Smythe, Panthers captain Sasha Barkov was one of the playoff MVPs this postseason. Before the final round, Barkov limited David Pastrnak, Artemi Panarin, and Nikita Kucherov to just one goal through three series. After grinding in the first three rounds, limiting Connor McDavid — the best player in the world — was a tall order. However, in each of the Panthers’ wins, McDavid was limited to just three assists, largely due to the work of Barkov and Gustav Forsling.

Barkov is considered the best defensive forward in the NHL ever since Patrice Bergeron retired. However, the Devils’ captain, Nico Hischier, is well regarded in that conversation as well. It’s tough to expect Hischier to replicate the kind of performance Barkov had, but in the big moments, the Devils will need something similar from their captain.

The Panthers’ defense as a whole in the playoffs was excellent. They often limited their opponents high-danger chances, pushing the opposition to outside, B-grade chances when they were at their best and were able to do so up and down the lineup. The Devils could use a little of that themselves, and we know they’re capable of it via the 2022-23 season.

“Senior” Goaltending

After the Devils acquired Jacob Markstrom, among the satisfied community, there certainly was some criticism.

Many, including a former Devils goaltender, cited Markstrom’s age (34, 35 by January) as an issue, implying he’s steadily declining and perhaps he wasn’t the right goaltender for New Jersey.

However, what just happened in the final?

Sergei Bobrovsky, a 35-year-old goaltender, was a major factor in the Panthers hoisting Lord Stanley.

Bobrovsky has been a polarizing netminder since he signed his mega-deal in Florida. For a long time, he was viewed as unworthy of his $10 million average annual value and had a similar narrative written about him stating his decline.

Yet, the future Hall-of-Fame goaltender had a bounce-back season after some struggles in 2022-23, albeit, did so behind a defensively inclined team.

Well, Markstrom rebounded this year after a tough season in 2022-23 as well. He didn’t quite play as strong as Bobrovsky, but was tending the net for a less defensively inclined Calgary Flames team.

Still, a closer look at Markstrom’s year shows he had a similarly strong season, accruing a 13.7 goals saved above expected as opposed to Bobrovsky’s 15.6. The plan, according to Fitzgerald, is to become stronger defensively. All the Devils need is average goaltending, and now they have an above-average netminder to provide it.

It’s a long-winded way of saying goaltenders in their mid-30’s can still play, and can even steal games like Bobrovsky did in the playoffs. Perhaps Markstrom’s age was overstated and there’s an argument to be made that his stats — which were solid in 2023-24 — would have been even better behind a stronger defensive group.

So long the Devils provide adequate defense, they should receive at least average goaltending from Markstrom. With today’s sports science, players are playing at a higher level longer than ever before. A proper offseason of training and nutrition should translate to Markstrom being just fine despite his age.

The Devils are off to a good start. They got their goaltender and they already have the core pieces in place. Now, it’s up to Fitzgerald to make good on his word to improve the defense and provide the physical, heavy presence in the Devils’ lineup. The rest will certainly sort itself out.

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