Which Goalie The Florida Panthers Should Target This Offseason

1 day ago  /  NHL Trade Rumors

The Florida Panthers traded Spencer Knight to the Chicago Blackhawks as part of the deal to bring in Seth Jones. While it might work out for them right now with Sergei Bobrovsky signed through next season, he is 36 years old and nearing the end of his career.Bobrovsky has no reason to stick around the NHL longer than he has to and play into his 40s because he already has all of the hardware. His name is on both the Stanley Cup and Vezina Trophy and has earned more than enough money. I can see a 1-2 year deal after his current contract is up, but he will decline more than he has eventually.Within the next two years, the Panthers are going to have to seriously look into replacement options as the rest of the team is at the top of their game and they are hunting for more Stanley Cups within a competitive division. Vitek Vanecek is not the long-term solution in Florida, so who else could the team bring in for help this offseason?Young options in net like the talent the Panthers just moved in Knight are very hard to come by. The team also traded Devon Levi a couple of years ago, a piece that would be nice to have right now. That being said, the options in free agency are predominantly veterans who shouldn't be signed for longer than two years.This group that could come in and give Bobrovsky some support next season include Alex Lyon, Jake Allen, Frederik Andersen, Anton Forsberg, Dan Vladar, and Ilya Samsonov. If the Panthers are looking for someone to take over for Bobrovsky in two years if he happens to call it a career, I would bank on Samsonov or Forsberg as the best options here. They are not too old and have shown really good stuff at times.A sneaky trade target could be Leevi Merilainen from the Ottawa Senators too. There are a few goalies in that pipeline, he's proved himself in the NHL, and the Senators have Linus Ullmark signed for multiple more years.The Panthers will have to get creative, but I don't see the GM leaving the team out to dry in net. Bill Zito will do something and it has to start this summer.Photo credit: © Nick Turchiaro-Imagn Images...

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