What If Florida Panthers Drafted Correctly in the Last 5 Years

The Florida Panthers have showed over the last decade why they are a losing organization but their draft success in last 5 years is especially bad. If the Florida Panthers drafted correctly in the last 5 years, they would have been a contender by now.

2015

11-Matt Barzal over Lawson Crouse

102-Ethan Bear over Denis Malgin

132-Kirill Kaprizov over Karch Bachman

Matt Barzal and Kirill Kaprizov will some much needed secondary scoring to the team and Ethan Bear can be a solid top 4 defenseman.

2016

23-Tage Thompson over Henrik Borgstrom

38-Sam Girard over Adam Mascherin

Sam Girard is a solid young top 4 defenseman, while Tage Thompson can grew to be a good power forward

2017

10-Robert Thomas over Owen Tippett

Robert Thomas is much better then Owen Tippett at this point in their careers.

2018

No Change in draft picks

2019

52-Nic Robertson over Vladislav Kolyachonok

The Panthers still draft Spencer Knight but draft Nic Robertson over Vladislav Kolyachonok, which is a major upgrade.

2020

No Change in draft picks

Due to the Changes in draft picks, the Panthers have to make several trades:

Florida Panthers trade Aaron Ekblad to the Anaheim Ducks for Sam Steel, Maxime Comtois, Josh Manson and a 1st rd pick '21.

The Panthers add Steel and Comtois, two great young players and Josh Manson as well as a 1st round pick picks for Aaron Ekblad.

The Panthers also trade Keith Yandle to the Calgary Flames for Noah Hanifin, 1st rd pick '21.

The Panthers trade Keith Yandle for Noah Hanifin, a defenseman who is entering his prime and a 1st rd pick.

Ryan Merkley is acquired from the San Jose Sharks for Radko Gudas, Tage Thompson, Grigori Denisenko, 1st rd pick '21.

The Panthers get a very talented defenseman in Ryan Merkley, which really bolter the young defense.

In a separate trade, Noel Acciari is dealt to the San Jose Sharks for a 6th rd pick '21.

This is a cap dump on the part of the Panthers.

Florida Panthers dump Brett Connolly, Frank Vatrano to the Boston Bruins for Anders Bjork, 3rd rd pick '21.

The Panthers unload Connolly and Vatrano to the Senators and gain a valuable depth player in Bjork and a draft pick at the same time.

Lastly, the Panthers send Anton Stralman, Owen Tippett and Vladislav Kolyachonok to Ottawa Senators for Connor Brown, 3rd rd pick '22.

The Panthers dump the Anton Stralman contract along with two prospects to the Senators for Connor Brown, a top 9 forward and a 3rd round pick.

This is how the lineup would look like by the 2020-21 season:

2020-21 Florida Panthers

J.Huberdeau-A.Barkov-R.Thomas

K.Kaprizov-M.Barzal-P.Hornqvist

M.Comtois-S.Steel-Co.Brown

A.Bjork-A.Wennberg-V.Hinostroza

S.Girard-J.Manson

N.Hanifin-E.Bear

M.Weegar-R.Merkley

S.Bobrovsky

C.Driedger

Spares: M.Nutivaara, R.Stillman, C.Verhaeghe, R.Lomberg,

Top Prospects: A.Lundell, N.Robertson, S.Knight

If the Florida Panthers had drafted correctly the last 5 years, they would have be poised to be contenders this upcoming season.

FANTASY HOCKEY WAIVER WIRE PLAYERS TO PICKUP

C Sean Couturier -After missing 2+ years, Sean Couturier is back and it seems like he hasn't missed a beat. Believe it or not, Couturier has been one of the top centers in the league so far with his all-around play, putting up 2 goals, 3 assists, 2 PPP, 63 FW, 24 SOG, and 1 SHP. Despite showing that he is still an elite center, Couturier is only owned in 20% of fantasy leagues. Pick him up now, while you still can. Ryan Johansen - Serves as the Avalanche's 2nd line center and plays on their all-world 1st pp unit. Despite not being the player he used to be, Johansen is still a valuable fantasy asset because of the players he plays with. Johansen has 4 goals and 4 PPPs along with 63 FW so far this season. He is owned in 29% of fantasy leagues. Sean Monahan - Someone must have gotten a time machine and put Sean Monahan in it because he is playing like he was back when he was in his prime. Monahan has been arguably the best player on Montreal this year, with 3 goals, 6 points, 2 PP

FANTASY HOCKEY WAIVER WIRE PLAYERS TO PICKUP

Here are some players you should pickup in Fantasy Hockey, sorted by position. Center Colton Sissons Colton Sissons is one of the best 4th line centers in the league, but in fantasy hockey, he could be even more valuable than he actually is in real life because of what he provides in the peripheral categories. So far this season Sissions has 5 goals, 1 PPP, 1 SHP, 12 PIM, 20 SOG, 89 FW, 15 hits, and 9 blocks. This is a terrific stat line and although you can't count on Sissons scoring a ton, he will fill out the FW, Hits, and blocks usually. Sissons is owned in 6% of fantasy leagues, snag him up while you can. Nick Bjugstad Nick Bjugstad is having an excellent year so far with the Arizona Coyotes, in fact he has played so well that he earned himself a promotion to play on the 2nd line along with Mattias Maccelli and Lawson Crouse. Bjugstad also gets time on Arizona's 2nd PP unit and 2nd PK unit. Bjugstad may not be a name who stands out to casuals, but his fantasy stat line is

Fantasy Hockey Forwards to Trade For

Here is a list of Players who you should consider trading for in Fantasy Hockey. Tage Thompson Tage Thompson had very high expectations of him heading into this season but has been a massive disappointment to this point in the season with only 7 goals, 8 assists, 4 PPP, 60 SOG, and 99 FW. Thompson has been better after coming back from injury and you would think that he is going to eventually start putting points in bunches. Because of how bad Thompson's statline is this season. it would be a good idea to trade for him because you may not have to give up a lot in return. Elias Lindholm Elias Lindholm is another player who has had a slow start to the season with only 7 goals, 10 assists, 3 PPP, 68 SOG, and 297 FW so far this season. Lindholm is definitely going to want to play better if he wants to increase his value for his next contract and also showcase himself for a trade at the deadline. If Lindholm gets dealt to a contending team, his fantasy value would drastically improve b

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