Florida Panthers

Joe Thornton and the Florida Panthers fell short in the 2022 Stanley Cup Playoffs with a second-round sweep to the Tampa Bay Lightning, and now it's unclear if "Jumbo Joe" will get another shot at a Stanley Cup.

The Ontario native, who will turn 43 on July 2, told reporters Wednesday that he hasn't decided whether to return to the NHL for a 25th season in 2022-23.

"My wife was kind of asking me last night," Thornton said. "And really, I have no plans. It's kind of exciting that way. I came here to win a championship, and we fell short of that. But I think the Florida Panthers are going to be good for a long time. It's exciting around here now."

Thornton signed a one-year deal with the Panthers ahead of the 2021-22 campaign because he thought the team would give him his best shot to win a Stanley Cup. 

Thornton told reporters at the time:

Well, I watched the playoffs last year, Florida-Tampa, and it was a great series and I love their team and it left a big impression on me. I talked to [Panthers general manager] Bill [Zito], I talked to 'Lou' [special adviser Roberto Luongo], I talked to [coach] Joel Quenneville, and they were just so excited about their team, what they're building down there and just thought I'd be a great fit with this group. My family was behind me. I have two young kids who are on board in meeting the players and they're excited. But talking with Bill, Lou and Joel, it was an easy decision after that." 

During the regular season, the Panthers were the best team in the NHL, finishing with a 58-18-6 record to earn the Presidents' Trophy with 122 points. They set franchise records in goals, wins and points and looked primed to make a deep run in the playoffs. 

The Panthers eliminated the Washington Capitals in the first round but had an incredibly disappointing performance against the Lightning. 

Thornton appeared in only one playoff game—the Game 4 loss to the Lightning. He was a minus-one in 6:18 and didn't record a shot. 

He appeared in just 34 regular-season games, tallying five goals and five assists. 

That said, Thornton could be a solid locker room presence for a Stanley Cup contender next season. In 1,714 games with the Panthers, Toronto Maple Leafs, San Jose Sharks and Boston Bruins, the centerman tallied 430 goals and 1,109 assists. 

Thornton is also a four-time All-Star and won the Hart Memorial Trophy and Art Ross Trophy during the 2005-06 campaign, when he tallied 29 goals and 96 assists in 81 games for the Bruins and Sharks. 

Thornton is sixth in regular-season history in games played and seventh in assists. He also ranks 12th with 1,539 points.

When Thornton does decide to retire, there's little doubt he will be enshrined into the Hockey Hall of Fame. 

The Florida Panthers were lambasted Sunday on Twitter for a perceived lack of effort in a 5-1 loss to the Tampa Bay Lightning in Game 3 of their second-round playoff series.

Florida looked listless at times in getting outplayed and outworked by the two-time defending Stanley Cup champions, and the Panthers now find themselves in a 3-0 series hole, one loss away from elimination.

The teams were tied 1-1 after one period Sunday, but after the Panthers were unable to beat Lightning goalie Andrei Vasilevskiy in the second period despite a bevy of scoring chances, the Bolts took over.

David Lang of WPLG-TV in Miami offered perhaps the most worrisome and brutally honest assessment of the Panthers' performance:

Lang was joined by several observers who made fun of the Panthers' play and effort level in the playoffs compared to what they did in the regular season en route to winning the Presidents' Trophy:

Twitter users also questioned why the Panthers have looked so different against the Lightning than they did in the regular season, plus TNT NHL analyst Paul Bissonnette had some strong words regarding Florida's lack of grit:

Another popular reaction on social media was comparing the Panthers' uninspired effort to what the Miami Heat have accomplished thus far in the NBA playoffs, reaching the Eastern Conference Finals and going up 2-1 in the series on the Boston Celtics:

Despite the fact that the Panthers finished with the best record in the NHL this season and made the playoffs for a third consecutive year, Sportsnet's Nick Alberga even suggested that a coaching change should be considered:

Andrew Brunette took over as head coach of the Panthers this season after they parted ways with Joel Quenneville in October, and he did a remarkable job in the regular season.

It seems unlikely that the Panthers would fire him after a second-round playoff exit, but it is fair to wonder if a coach like Barry Trotz would be able to get more out of the team.

The season isn't over quite yet for the Panthers, but given all the Lightning have accomplished in recent years and how thoroughly they have outplayed the Panthers during this series, coming back from a 3-0 deficit seems nearly impossible.

The words "power" and "play" might just be banned from the city of Miami.

The Florida Panthers failed to score on three power plays in a 4-1 Game 1 loss against the Tampa Bay Lightning, moving to 0-for-21 with a man-advantage in this year's postseason.

Power plays were the difference in the game, as the Lightning scored three extra-man goals on their six attempts. And after the game, fans were livid with Florida's inability to take advantage of their special teams' opportunities:

Game 1 started off on a high note for the Panthers, as Anthony Duclair opened the scoring in the first period. 

But Corey Perry evened the proceedings in the second period, and Pierre-Edouard Bellemare, Nikita Kucherov and Ross Colton each struck in a dominant third period for the Lightning.

Florida's power-play woes took a turn toward the cruel in that decisive third period, when it appeared the team had scored while a man up. Just before the goal, however, the puck hit the netting, and the play was overturned on review:

Granted, the Panthers beat the Washington Capitals without scoring a power-play goal, and they also lost Game 1 of that series. 

So perhaps it isn't all doom and gloom for the Panthers. Maybe they'll just take the path less traveled:

Maybe. But it's more likely a trend they would prefer to end quickly. Beating the two-time defending Stanley Cup champions will be near impossible if the Panthers can't take advantage of those chances.

The Philadelphia Flyers are finalizing a trade that will send veteran forward Claude Giroux to the Florida Panthers, according to The Athletic's Pierre LeBrun.

Sportsnet's Elliotte Friedman reported Connor Bunnaman will join Giroux in heading south to Florida, while the Flyers will land Owen Tippett. The Athletic's Charlie O'Connor shared the full parameters:

The Flyers are sitting seventh in the Metropolitan Division with 49 points and will almost certainly miss the playoffs for the second straight season. Giroux, meanwhile, is in the final year of his eight-year, $66.2 million contract.

Combine the two factors, and the 34-year-old was an obvious candidate to get moved ahead of the NHL's trade deadline.

Because of his no-movement clause, the ball was largely in Giroux's court. He had spent his entire 15-year career in Philadelphia and didn't sound like he was jumping at the chance to leave at the first opportunity.

"I haven't had a chance to talk to [general manager Chuck Fletcher]," he told reporters on Feb. 17. "We have a lot of things to talk about, what's best for the Flyers organization, what's best for me, and we'll just go from there."

By Thursday, his departure looked inevitable.

The no-movement clause meant Giroux could basically pick his next destination. He had little incentive to sign off on a trade to another franchise languishing near the bottom of the standings.

Despite that and his impending free agency, the Flyers still stood to gain quite a bit from this trade.

Giroux was arguably the best forward on the market. Through 57 games, the seven-time All-Star has 18 goals and 24 assists. He also has a great track record in the playoffs, putting up 73 points (25 goals and 48 assists) in 85 appearances.

Keeping him around with an eye toward having him spend his entire career in Philly would've made sense if that was the plan to which all parties agreed. This trade seems to send the message that the Flyers thought there was a chance he'd sign elsewhere in the offseason.

For Florida, Giroux will make an immediate impact in the forward line.

The Athletic's Charlie O'Connor wrote how the All-Star Game MVP is "not the same dynamic power-play weapon he once was" but pointed to how he has adapted his game to fit his current skill set:

He's more of a two-way threat, capable of helping his team both create and suppress scoring chances while still producing points at an impressive rate. This season, he ranks 46th out of 421 NHL forwards with at least 200 minutes played in isolated RAPM (Regularized Adjusted Plus-Minus) impact on his team's even-strength expected goal differential (89th percentile league-wide), and over the past three seasons, he's in the 94th percentile in that regard, grading out well offensively and defensively. He still takes risks, but he's dialed back his aggressiveness and is probably a more well-rounded player now than he was in his youth.

This is a clear signal of intent for the Panthers. Simply making the playoffs isn't enough. Anything short of a deep run in the postseason will be considered a disappointment.

Adding Giroux will undoubtedly help them in looking to achieve that goal.

He was only ever going to leave Philadelphia for a title contender, and Florida certainly fits that bill this year.

The team has an Eastern Conference-high 90 points, and DraftKings Sportsbook lists Andrew Brunette's squad as the second-betting favorite (+600; bet $100 to win $600) for the Stanley Cup behind the Colorado Avalanche.

The Panthers haven't won a playoff series since 1995-96, when they reached the Stanley Cup Final. General manager Bill Zito knows how important capitalizing on this season might be. Giroux could help put the organization over the top.

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The Calgary Flames, Colorado Avalanche and Florida Panthers have been shut down through the NHL's holiday break because of COVID-19 outbreaks within each club, the league announced Friday.

Calgary has already missed matchups with the Chicago Blackhawks, Nashville Predators and Toronto Maple Leafs. It will also miss games against the Columbus Blue Jackets, Anaheim Ducks and Seattle Kraken.

Colorado's postponements are for games against the Tampa Bay Lightning, Detroit Red Wings, Buffalo Sabres and Boston Bruins, while Florida will miss contests against the Minnesota Wild, Blackhawks and Predators. 

The Flames have 19 players and 13 club employees in COVID-19 protocols. Five Avalanche players are in protocols, and the Panthers have seven, per ESPN's Kristen Shilton. 

Other NHL franchises are also experiencing COVID-19 outbreaks, including the Boston Bruins, whose matchup against the Montreal Canadiens on Saturday was postponed. 

The NHL has mandated enhanced health and safety protocols amid the outbreaks across the league, including increased mask-wearing, virtual meetings and daily testing. 

ESPN's Emily Kaplan noted that the more games are postponed, the less likely NHL players will participate in the Winter Olympics. The league may need that time for makeup games.

NHL Players' Association Executive Director Don Fehr said last week that players are uncertain about participating in the Beijing Olympics because they haven't received definitive answers about COVID-19 protocols for the Games, per ESPN's Greg Wyshynski. 

It's unclear if the NHL is considering a leaguewide shutdown given the rapid increase in COVID-19 cases.