2018–19 Florida Panthers season

2018–19 Florida Panthers
Division	5th Atlantic
Conference	10th Eastern
2018–19 record	36–32–14
Home record	20–13–8
Road record	16–19–6
Goals for	267
Goals against	280
Team information
General manager	Dale Tallon
Coach	Bob Boughner
Captain	Aleksander Barkov
Alternate captains	Aaron Ekblad Jonathan Huberdeau Vincent Trocheck Keith Yandle
Arena	BB&T Center
Minor league affiliate(s)	Springfield Thunderbirds (AHL)
Team leaders
Goals	Mike Hoffman (36)
Assists	Jonathan Huberdeau (62)
Points	Aleksander Barkov (96)
Penalty minutes	MacKenzie Weegar (64)
Plus/minus	Nick Bjugstad (+2)
Wins	Roberto Luongo (18)
Goals against average	Sam Montembeault (3.04)

The 2018–19 Florida Panthers season was the 26th season for the National Hockey League franchise that was established on June 14, 1993. The Panthers were eliminated from playoff contention on March 26, 2019, after losing 6–1 to the Montreal Canadiens. This was also the final season for Roberto Luongo, who announced his retirement on June 26, 2019 after playing 19 seasons in the NHL.

Standings

Divisional standings

Atlantic Division

Team	GP	W	L	OL	ROW	GF	GA	Pts
Tampa Bay Lightning	82	62	16	4	56	325	22	128
Boston Bruins	82	49	24	9	47	259	215	107
Toronto Maple Leafs	82	46	28	8	46	286	251	100
Montreal Canadiens	82	44	30	8	41	249	236	96
Florida Panthers	82	36	32	14	33	267	280	86
Buffalo Sabres	82	33	39	10	28	226	271	76
Detroit Red Wings	82	32	40	10	29	227	277	74
Ottawa Senators	82	29	47	6	29	242	302	64

Conference standings

Metropolitan Division

Team	GP	W	L	OL	ROW	GF	GA	Pts
Washington Capitals	82	48	26	8	44	278	249	104
New York Islanders	82	48	27	7	43	228	196	103
Pittsburgh Penguins	82	44	26	12	42	273	241	100

Atlantic Division

Team	GP	W	L	OL	ROW	GF	GA	Pts
Tampa Bay Lightning	82	62	16	4	56	325	22	128
Boston Bruins	82	49	24	9	47	259	215	107
Toronto Maple Leafs	82	46	28	8	46	286	251	100

Eastern Conference Wild Card

Team	GP	W	L	OL	ROW	GF	GA	Pts
Carolina Hurricanes	82	46	29	7	44	245	223	99
Columbus Blue Jackets	82	47	31	4	45	258	232	98
Montreal Canadiens	82	44	30	8	41	249	236	96
Florida Panthers	82	36	32	14	33	267	280	86
Philadelphia Flyers	82	37	37	8	34	244	281	82
New York Rangers	82	32	36	14	26	227	272	78
Buffalo Sabres	82	33	39	10	28	226	271	76
Detroit Red Wings	82	32	40	10	29	227	277	74
New Jersey Devils	82	31	41	10	28	222	275	72
Ottawa Senators	82	29	47	6	29	242	302	64

Schedule and results

Preseason

The preseason schedule was published on June 14, 2018.

2018 preseason game log: 3–4–0 (Home: 0–3–0 ; Road: 3–1–0)
#	Date	Visitor	Score	Home	OT	Decision	Attendance	Record	Recap
1	September 17	Nashville	5–0	Florida		Hutchinson	5,806	0–1–0	Recap
2	September 17	Nashville	5–3	Florida		Montembeault	7,671	0–2–0	Recap
3	September 19	Florida	5–2	Montreal		Luongo	19,691	1–2–0	Recap
4[a]	September 22	Florida	4–3	Dallas	OT	Reimer	—	2–2–0	Recap
5	September 25	Florida	3–2	Tampa Bay		Reimer	11,485	3–2–0	Recap
6[b]	September 27	Florida	2–6	Tampa Bay		Luongo	—	3–3–0	Recap
7	September 29	Tampa Bay	3–2	Florida		Luongo	10,487	3–4–0	Recap
Notes: a  Game was played at BOK Center in Tulsa, Oklahoma. b  Game was played at Amway Center in Orlando, Florida.

Regular season

The regular season schedule was released on June 21, 2018.

2018–19 game log
October: 2–4–3 (Home: 0–2–1 ; Road: 2–2–2) # Date Visitor Score Home OT Decision Attendance Record Pts Recap 1 October 6 Florida 1–2 Tampa Bay SO Reimer 19,092 0–0–1 1 Recap 2 October 11 Columbus 5–4 Florida Reimer 14,394 0–1–1 1 Recap 3 October 13 Vancouver 3–2 Florida Reimer 11,953 0–2–1 1 Recap 4 October 16 Florida 5–6 Philadelphia SO Hutchinson 19,038 0–2–2 2 Recap 5 October 19 Florida 6–5 Washington SO Hutchinson 18,506 1–2–2 4 Recap 6 October 20 Detroit 4–3 Florida OT Hutchinson 14,534 1–2–3 5 Recap 7 October 23 Florida 2–5 NY Rangers Hutchinson 17,016 1–3–3 5 Recap 8 October 24 Florida 3–2 NY Islanders OT Reimer 9,743 2–3–3 7 Recap 9 October 27 Florida 2–3 New Jersey Reimer 15,927 2–4–3 7 Recap
November: 8–6–1 (Home: 5–2–1 ; Road: 3–4–0) # Date Visitor Score Home OT Decision Attendance Record Pts Recap 10[a] November 1 Winnipeg 4–2 Florida Reimer 13,490 2–5–3 7 Recap 11[a] November 2 Florida 4–2 Winnipeg Luongo 13,490 3–5–3 9 Recap 12 November 8 Edmonton 1–4 Florida Luongo 11,484 4–5–3 11 Recap 13 November 10 NY Islanders 2–4 Florida Luongo 11,947 5–5–3 13 Recap 14 November 11 Ottawa 1–5 Florida Reimer 11,192 6–5–3 15 Recap 15 November 13 Florida 2–1 Philadelphia Luongo 19,147 7–5–3 17 Recap 16 November 15 Florida 3–7 Columbus Luongo 14,872 7–6–3 17 Recap 17 November 17 Florida 2–4 NY Rangers Luongo 18,006 7–7–3 17 Recap 18 November 19 Florida 7–5 Ottawa Reimer 11,750 8–7–3 19 Recap 19 November 21 Florida 3–7 Tampa Bay Luongo 19,092 8–8–3 19 Recap 20 November 23 Florida 1–4 Carolina Reimer 13,226 8–9–3 19 Recap 21 November 24 Chicago 5–4 Florida OT Reimer 14,283 8–9–4 20 Recap 22 November 26 New Jersey 3–4 Florida OT Reimer 9,456 9–9–4 22 Recap 23 November 28 Anaheim 3–2 Florida Reimer 9,078 9–10–4 22 Recap 24 November 30 Buffalo 2–3 Florida OT Reimer 12,179 10–10–4 24 Recap
December: 7–5–2 (Home: 3–2–2 ; Road: 4–3–0) # Date Visitor Score Home OT Decision Attendance Record Pts Recap 25 December 1 Tampa Bay 5–4 Florida OT Reimer 12,361 10–10–5 25 Recap 26 December 4 Boston 0–5 Florida Luongo 12,058 11–10–5 27 Recap 27 December 6 Colorado 5–2 Florida Luongo 10,077 11–11–5 27 Recap 28 December 8 NY Rangers 5–4 Florida SO Luongo 15,295 11–11–6 28 Recap 29 December 11 Florida 3–4 St. Louis Luongo 16,255 11–12–6 28 Recap 30 December 13 Florida 1–5 Minnesota Reimer 18,714 11–13–6 28 Recap 31 December 15 Toronto 3–4 Florida OT Luongo 14,177 12–13–6 30 Recap 32 December 18 Florida 5–2 Buffalo Luongo 17,602 13–13–6 32 Recap 33 December 20 Florida 1–6 Toronto Luongo 19,329 13–14–6 32 Recap 34 December 22 Florida 2–1 Detroit Luongo 19,515 14–14–6 34 Recap 35 December 23 Florida 6–3 Chicago Reimer 21,789 15–14–6 36 Recap 36 December 28 Montreal 5–3 Florida Luongo 19,512 15–15–6 36 Recap 37 December 29 Philadelphia 1–2 Florida Reimer 15,737 16–15–6 38 Recap 38 December 31 Florida 4–3 Detroit SO Reimer 19,515 17–15–6 40 Recap
January: 3–5–2 (Home: 2–0–1 ; Road: 1–5–1) # Date Visitor Score Home OT Decision Attendance Record Pts Recap 39 January 3 Florida 3–4 Buffalo Luongo 18,551 17–16–6 40 Recap 40 January 5 Columbus 4–3 Florida OT Reimer 15,213 17–16–7 41 Recap 41 January 8 Florida 1–5 Pittsburgh Luongo 18,526 17–17–7 41 Recap 42 January 10 Florida 3–4 Edmonton SO Reimer 18,347 17–17–8 42 Recap 43 January 11 Florida 3–4 Calgary Luongo 18,579 17–18–8 42 Recap 44 January 13 Florida 1–5 Vancouver Luongo 18,610 17–19–8 42 Recap 45 January 15 Florida 1–5 Montreal Reimer 20,576 17–20–8 42 Recap 46 January 18 Toronto 1–3 Florida Luongo 16,741 18–20–8 44 Recap 47 January 19 Florida 4–2 Nashville Reimer 17,716 19–20–8 46 Recap 48 January 21 San Jose 2–6 Florida Luongo 14,014 20–20–8 48 Recap
February: 8–5–2 (Home: 6–5–0 ; Road: 2–0–2) # Date Visitor Score Home OT Decision Attendance Record Pts Recap 49 February 1 Nashville 4–1 Florida Luongo 13,158 20–21–8 48 Recap 50 February 2 Vegas 1–3 Florida Reimer 15,202 21–21–8 50 Recap 51 February 5 St. Louis 3–2 Florida Reimer 10,243 21–22–8 50 Recap 52 February 7 Pittsburgh 2–3 Florida OT Luongo 14,712 22–22–8 52 Recap 53 February 9 Florida 5–4 Washington OT Luongo 18,506 23–22–8 54 Recap 54 February 10 Tampa Bay 5–2 Florida Reimer 13,566 23–23–8 54 Recap 55 February 12 Dallas 3–0 Florida Luongo 9,472 23–24–8 54 Recap 56 February 14 Calgary 2–3 Florida SO Reimer 10,198 24–24–8 56 Recap 57 February 17 Montreal 3–6 Florida Reimer 16,212 25–24–8 58 Recap 58 February 19 Buffalo 2–4 Florida Reimer 10,340 26–24–8 60 Recap 59 February 21 Carolina 4–3 Florida Reimer 10,750 26–25–8 60 Recap 60 February 23 Los Angeles 1–6 Florida Luongo 14,290 27–25–8 62 Recap 61 February 25 Florida 4–3 Colorado OT Luongo 14,338 28–25–8 64 Recap 62 February 26 Florida 3–4 Arizona SO Luongo 11,912 28–25–9 65 Recap 63 February 28 Florida 5–6 Vegas SO Luongo 18,281 28–25–10 66 Recap
March: 7–7–2 (Home: 3–2–1 ; Road: 4–5–1) # Date Visitor Score Home OT Decision Attendance Record Pts Recap 64 March 2 Carolina 4–3 Florida OT Montembeault 13,923 28–25–11 67 Recap 65 March 3 Ottawa 3–2 Florida Luongo 11,752 28–26–11 67 Recap 66 March 5 Florida 2–3 Pittsburgh OT Luongo 18,484 28–26–12 68 Recap 67 March 7 Florida 3–4 Boston Luongo 17,565 28–27–12 68 Recap 68 March 8 Minnesota 2–6 Florida Montembeault 12,388 29–27–12 70 Recap 69 March 10 Detroit 1–6 Florida Montembeault 15,238 30–27–12 72 Recap 70 March 14 Florida 4–2 San Jose Montembeault 17,388 31–27–12 74 Recap 71 March 16 Florida 4–3 Los Angeles Montembeault 18,022 32–27–12 76 Recap 72 March 17 Florida 2–3 Anaheim Montembeault 16,523 32–28–12 76 Recap 73 March 19 Florida 2–4 Dallas Montembeault 17,654 32–29–12 76 Recap 74 March 21 Arizona 2–4 Florida Luongo 12,576 33–29–12 78 Recap 75 March 23 Boston 7–3 Florida Montembeault 17,129 33–30–12 78 Recap 76 March 25 Florida 5–7 Toronto Luongo 19,125 33–31–12 78 Recap 77 March 26 Florida 1–6 Montreal Reimer 21,029 33–32–12 78 Recap 78 March 28 Florida 5–2 Ottawa Luongo 14,230 34–32–12 80 Recap 79 March 30 Florida 4–1 Boston Luongo 17,565 35–32–12 82 Recap
April: 1–0–2 (Home: 1–0–2 ; Road: 0–0–0) # Date Visitor Score Home OT Decision Attendance Record Pts Recap 80 April 1 Washington 3–5 Florida Luongo 14,376 36–32–12 84 Recap 81 April 4 NY Islanders 2–1 Florida SO Montembeault 13,775 36–32–13 85 Recap 82 April 6 New Jersey 4–3 Florida OT Luongo 15,259 36–32–14 86 Recap
Legend:       Win (2 points)       Loss (0 points)       Overtime/shootout loss (1 point) Note: a  Game will be played at Hartwall Arena in Helsinki, Finland.

Player statistics

As of April 6, 2019

Skaters

Regular season

Player	GP	G	A	Pts	+/−	PIM
Barkov, AleksanderAleksander Barkov	82	35	61	96	–3	8
Huberdeau, JonathanJonathan Huberdeau	82	30	62	92	–14	40
Hoffman, MikeMike Hoffman	82	36	34	70	–24	30
Dadonov, EvgeniiEvgenii Dadonov	82	28	42	70	–6	8
Yandle, KeithKeith Yandle	82	9	53	62	–17	50
Vatrano, FrankFrank Vatrano	81	24	15	39	–10	38
Ekblad, AaronAaron Ekblad	82	13	24	37	1	47
Trocheck, VincentVincent Trocheck	55	10	24	34	–9	54
Matheson, MikeMike Matheson	75	8	19	27	–24	44
Brouwer, TroyTroy Brouwer	75	12	9	21	–6	47
McCann, JaredJared McCann ‡ || 46 || 8 || 10 || 18 || –9 || 18
Borgstrom, HenrikHenrik Borgstrom	50	8	10	18	–14	4
Malgin, DenisDenis Malgin	50	7	9	16	–10	14
Sceviour, ColtonColton Sceviour	59	5	10	15	–2	15
Weegar, MacKenzieMacKenzie Weegar	64	4	11	15	–3	64
Hawryluk, JayceJayce Hawryluk	42	7	5	12	–8	16
Bjugstad, NickNick Bjugstad ‡ || 32 || 5 || 7 || 12 || 2 || 16
Pysyk, MarkMark Pysyk	70	1	10	11	–1	26
Hunt, DrydenDryden Hunt	31	3	7	10	0	8
Sheahan, RileyRiley Sheahan † || 33 || 2 || 8 || 10 || –2 || 4
Kiselevich, BogdanBogdan Kiselevich ‡ || 32 || 0 || 8 || 8 || –3 || 12
McGinn, JamieJamie McGinn	19	4	3	7	–5	6
Lammikko, JuhoJuho Lammikko	40	0	6	6	–7	6
Brassard, DerickDerick Brassard †‡ || 10 || 1 || 3 || 4 || –6 || 2
Haley, MichealMicheal Haley ‡ || 24 || 1 || 2 || 3 || –2 || 30
McCoshen, IanIan McCoshen	19	1	1	2	–2	8
Brown, JoshJosh Brown	37	1	1	2	–3	28
MacDonald, JacobJacob MacDonald	2	1	0	1	1	0
Petrovic, AlexAlex Petrovic ‡ || 26 || 0 || 1 || 1 || –8 || 24
Wideman, ChrisChris Wideman †‡ || 1 || 0 || 0 || 0 || –1 || 2
Mamin, MaximMaxim Mamin	7	0	0	0	–2	5
MacKenzie, DerekDerek MacKenzie	1	0	0	0	0	0
Greco, AnthonyAnthony Greco	1	0	0	0	–3	0
Stillman, RileyRiley Stillman	1	0	0	0	0	2
Keeper, BradyBrady Keeper	1	0	0	0	1	0

Goaltenders

Regular season

Player	GP	GS	TOI	W	L	OT	GA	GAA	SA	SV%	SO	G	A	PIM
Luongo, RobertoRoberto Luongo	43	40	2,346:38	18	16	5	122	3.12	1,205	.899	1	0	1	0
Reimer, JamesJames Reimer	36	29	1,805:11	13	12	5	93	3.09	929	.900	0	0	0	0
Montembeault, SamSam Montembeault	11	10	591:24	4	3	2	30	3.04	282	.894	0	0	1	0
Hutchinson, MichaelMichael Hutchinson ‡ || 4 || 3 || 201:14 || 1 || 1 || 2 || 14 || 4.17 || 87 || .839 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 0

^†Denotes player spent time with another team before joining the Panthers. Stats reflect time with the Panthers only.
^‡Denotes player was traded mid-season. Stats reflect time with the Panthers only.
Bold/italics denotes franchise record.

Transactions

The Panthers have been involved in the following transactions during the 2018–19 season.

Trades

Date	Details		Ref
June 23, 2018 (2018-06-23)	To Nashville Predators 3rd-round pick in 2019	To Florida Panthers 3rd-round pick in 2018
December 29, 2018 (2018-12-29)	To Toronto Maple Leafs Michael Hutchinson	To Florida Panthers 5th-round pick in 2020
December 30, 2018 (2018-12-30)	To Edmonton Oilers Alex Petrovic	To Florida Panthers Chris Wideman Conditional 3rd-round pick in 2019
February 1, 2019 (2019-02-01)	To Pittsburgh Penguins Nick Bjugstad Jared McCann	To Florida Panthers Derick Brassard Riley Sheahan 2nd-round pick in 2019 4th-round pick in 2019 MIN 4th-round pick in 2019
February 22, 2019 (2019-02-22)	To San Jose Sharks Future considerations	To Florida Panthers Vincent Praplan
February 25, 2019 (2019-02-25)	To Carolina Hurricanes Future considerations	To Florida Panthers Cliff Pu
February 25, 2019 (2019-02-25)	To Colorado Avalanche Derick Brassard Conditional 6th-round pick in 2020	To Florida Panthers 3rd-round pick in 2020
February 25, 2019 (2019-02-25)	To Pittsburgh Penguins Chris Wideman	To Florida Panthers Jean-Sebastien Dea
February 25, 2019 (2019-02-25)	To Winnipeg Jets Bogdan Kiselevich	To Florida Panthers 7th-round pick in 2021

Free agents

Date	Player	Team	Contract term	Ref
July 1, 2018 (2018-07-01)	Connor Brickley	to Nashville Predators	1-year
July 1, 2018 (2018-07-01)	Alexandre Grenier	to Laval Rocket (AHL)	1-year
July 1, 2018 (2018-07-01)	Michael Hutchinson	from Winnipeg Jets	1-year
July 1, 2018 (2018-07-01)	Harri Sateri	to Detroit Red Wings	1-year
July 2, 2018 (2018-07-02)	Jacob MacDonald	from Binghamton Devils (AHL)	2-year
July 2, 2018 (2018-07-02)	Paul Thompson	from Vegas Golden Knights	2-year
July 3, 2018 (2018-07-03)	Curtis Valk	to Barys Astana (KHL)	1-year
July 3, 2018 (2018-07-03)	Ed Wittchow	to KooKoo (Liiga)	1-year
July 13, 2018 (2018-07-13)	Julian Melchiori	from Winnipeg Jets	1-year
August 27, 2018 (2018-08-27)	Troy Brouwer	from Calgary Flames	1-year
August 30, 2018 (2018-08-30)	Gregory Chase	to Wichita Thunder (ECHL)	1-year
February 24, 2019 (2019-02-24)	Chris Driedger	from Springfield Thunderbirds (AHL)	1-year
March 18, 2019 (2019-03-18)	Brady Keeper	from Maine Black Bears (Hockey East)	2-year
May 16, 2019 (2019-05-16)	Ludvig Bystrom	to Oulun Kärpät (Liiga)	2-year
May 17, 2019 (2019-05-17)	Henrik Haapala	to Jokerit (Liiga)	2-year
May 17, 2019 (2019-05-17)	Vincent Praplan	to SC Bern (NL)	4-year
May 28, 2019 (2019-05-28)	Rodrigo Abols	from Örebro HK (SHL)	2-year

Waivers

Date	Player	Team	Ref
February 20, 2019 (2019-02-20)	Micheal Haley	to San Jose Sharks

Contract terminations Date Player Via Ref

Retirement Date Player Ref April 8, 2018 (2018-04-08) Radim Vrbata

Signings

Date	Player	Contract term	Ref
June 29, 2018 (2018-06-29)	Frank Vatrano	1-year
July 1, 2018 (2018-07-01)	Jared McCann	2-year
July 6, 2018 (2018-07-06)	Alex Petrovic	1-year
July 25, 2018 (2018-07-25)	MacKenzie Weegar	1-year
February 25, 2019 (2019-02-25)	Frank Vatrano	3-year
March 8, 2019 (2019-03-08)	Serron Noel	3-year
April 2, 2019 (2019-04-02)	Ryan Bednard	2-year
April 30, 2019 (2019-04-30)	Chris Driedger	2-year
May 15, 2019 (2019-05-15)	Aleksi Heponiemi	3-year

Draft picks

See also: List of Florida Panthers draft picks

Below are the Florida Panthers' selections at the 2018 NHL Entry Draft, which was held on June 22 and 23, 2018, at the American Airlines Center in Dallas, Texas.

Round	#	Player	Pos	Nationality	College/Junior/Club Team (League)
1	15	Grigori Denisenko	LW	Russia	Loko Yaroslavl (MHL)
2	341	Serron Noel	RW	Canada	Oshawa Generals (OHL)
3	892	Logan Hutsko	RW	United States	Boston College (Hockey East)
6	170	Justin Schutz	LW	Germany	Red Bull Hockey Akademie (Czech U18)
7	201	Cole Krygier	D	United States	Lincoln Stars (USHL)
7	2073	Santtu Kinnunen	D	Finland	Pelicans U20 (Nuorten SM-liiga)

Notes:

1. The Arizona Coyotes' second-round pick went to the Florida Panthers as the result of a trade on August 25, 2016, that sent Dave Bolland and Lawson Crouse to Arizona in exchange for a third-round pick in 2017 and this pick (being conditional at the time of the trade).
2. The Nashville Predators' third-round pick went to the Florida Panthers as the result of a trade on June 23, 2018, that sent a third-round pick in 2019 to Nashville in exchange for this pick.
3. The San Jose Sharks' seventh-round pick went to the Florida Panthers as the result of a trade on June 19, 2018, that sent Vegas' fourth-round pick in 2018, a fifth-round pick in 2018 and a second-round pick in 2019 to San Jose in exchange for Mike Hoffman and this pick.