It’s no secret that the Florida Panthers have one of the deepest forward groups in the National Hockey League.
Panthers General Manager Bill Zito and his front office staff have done an amazing job of building a roster full of talented, hard-working hockey players that has become the envy of the league.
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A big part of why Florida’s forward lines are so formidable is due to the men they have lining up down the middle.
Strong centermen play is a major key to success in the NHL, and the Panthers have some of the best in the league at that position.
Recently, The Athletic’s Harman Dayal dissected statistics and film of centermen across the NHL in order to rank every team based off their top two faceoff men.
As you might expect, the Panthers were featured toward the top of that list.
Florida’s top two centermen are Sasha Barkov and Sam Bennett.
Barkov is arguably the best two-way player in the world and Bennett is a gritty, clutch Conn Smythe winner who is great at getting underneath the skin of his opponents.
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Those paying attention to Panthers games in recent years know that when either Barkov or Bennett are out of the lineup, the quality of Florida’s play will drop.
It’s just a byproduct of the team playing an incredibly aggressive and physical defensive system that relies on centers to drive play on both ends of the ice.
For Barkov and Bennett, that brand of hockey is a perfect compliment to the strong possession-pushing play they both excel at utilizing.
According to Dayal’s list on The Athletic, only two teams have a better 1-2 punch down the middle: the Edmonton Oilers with Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl, and the Colorado Avalanche with Nathan MacKinnon and Brock Nelson.
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There were several teams listed in the tier below Florida: the New Jersey Devils with Jack Hughes and Nico Hischier, the San Jose Sharks with Macklin Celebrini and Michael Misa, the Toronto Maple Leafs with Auston Matthews and John Tavares, the Vegas Golden Knights with Jack Eichel and William Karlsson, the Dallas Stars with Wyatt Johnston and Roope Hintz, and the Carolina Hurricanes with Sebastian Aho and Logan Stankoven.
Now, if this list was ranking team’s overall center depth, not just the top two lines, Florida would likely come in at number one.
Adding Anton Lundell to the mix, who would easily slot into the number two center spot on dozens of teams, and new fourth-line center Lars Eller, shows how the physical Panthers are able to come at opponents in waves with little time for rest of reprieve.
What do you think of Florida’s spot on The Athletic’s list? Let us know in the comments below.
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Photo caption: Mar 31, 2022; Sunrise, Florida, USA; Florida Panthers center Aleksander Barkov(16) celebrates his goal against the Chicago Blackhawks with center Sam Bennett(9) during the third period at FLA Live Arena. (Jasen Vinlove-USA TODAY Sports)
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