Kristen Shilton is a national NHL reporter for ESPN.
Jordan Staal sat in his locker looking shell-shocked. Again.
The Carolina Hurricanes had just been blown out for the second straight night — a rarity in itself — but by the same team, no less: the reigning Stanley Cup champion Florida Panthers.
And it was fair to say the Canes captain was reeling from the experience.
“We got beat in every facet,” Staal said following the 6-0 drubbing last month. “Not a whole lot of positives out of any of it.”
Even less so when the outcome just 24 hours earlier — a 6-3 defeat for the Hurricanes — had prompted Staal to point out the Panthers “don’t give you anything — it’s always a battle against that team.”
Call it cliché. But the rest of the league would co-sign. In an era where it’s tough enough to go on one Cup Final run, the Panthers are fresh off back-to-back journeys (with one victory) and appear no worse for wear despite long springs and short offseasons.
Still, the Panthers are an elite club, battling for first place in the Atlantic Division and remaining (mostly) on track through the quarter mark of this season.
How have they done it? What’s kept Florida from falling off? And can they sustain — and extend — their success into another Cup run, as just the second team in nearly four decades to make three straight Final appearances?
It could happen. Here’s why.
WHEN REINHART COLLECTED an astonishing 57 goals in a career-best showing last season, it was easy (and predictable) to suspect he’d fail to reach such heights again.
Well, consider this season Reinhart’s rebuttal.
The 29-year-old is earning every dollar of the eight-year, $69 million contract extension he inked on July 1 as not only the Panthers’ leading scorer but sitting top 10 in the league (with 18 goals and 34 points through 26 games). Reinhart sets a tone for Florida’s offense as a high-powered, unrelenting force that’s deep with talent.
Florida is averaging the fourth-most goals this season (3.65 per game) by being the opposite of a one-line wonder. That can make things hard on an opponent.
“The Panthers can generate scoring in unique ways,” an Atlantic Division defenseman said. “There’s no real script with how they’ll attack. It’s tough to prepare for them.”
They’ve proven it before. Florida’s offense is trending above where it ended off in 2023-24 (11th overall, averaging 3.23 goals per game). But the trend, year-over-year, is clear: the Panthers’ depth holds up even through injuries, scoring slumps and losing streaks.
The Panthers were in a season-long skid through early November, dropping six of seven, and searching for answers. They responded with three routs — first of the Toronto Maple Leafs and then the two takedowns of Carolina — with a combined 17 goals scored. Florida has never been afraid to look inward and honestly assess its issues. That’s how the Panthers’ offense finally rebounded.
“It’s not about … fixing. It’s [saying] okay, the problem is identified,” coach Paul Maurice said. “To play that [elite] way every night is very, very difficult. And we’ve been looking for a bit of that emotional well, about where do we get the energy to play like that again.”
Maurice knows how to get the most of this group, too. Saturday’s 3-1 win over the San Jose Sharks made Maurice the winningest coach in Panthers’ history, with 111 victories under his belt (he’s 111-65-16 overall) since replacing Andrew Brunette behind the bench in 2022. And Maurice isn’t going anywhere after signing a multi-year extension with the Panthers in October.
If Reinhart is steering the offense with his output, then Tkachuk is powering his team’s engine in other ways. Even when the latter doesn’t make it onto the scoresheet, he’s providing the intangibles that only he can, and that’s been a difference-making mentality for Florida since Tkachuk came on board three years ago.
“Our entire game is better at a certain emotional level, and he is the driver of that,” Maurice said. “Matthew brings an intensity to the game every night. He’s just wired into it. He’s not faking it. That’s just the way he is when the puck is dropped, and that’s infectious.”
IT’S EASY TO BE a Florida Panther.
That was the refrain from players like Vladimir Tarasenko and Kyle Okposo when they were acquired by the team at last year’s trade deadline.
“They’ve been so good,” Okposo told ESPN last month of the Panthers helping him transition. “The organization has extremely high standards and there’s no secret what the expectations are. That’s an exciting thing.”
GM Bill Zito projects to be busy again working the phones to strengthen an area the Panthers haven’t been dominant in — goal prevention. Florida is seventh-worst in goals against per game (3.33), a long way from where they left off last season (second, 2.41).
It was inevitable that losing Montour and Ekman-Larsson in free agency would leave a significant void on the Panthers’ blue line that Adam Boqvist and Nate Schmidt — two low-cost, free-agent signees — have not entirely filled. Zito is in the market for a right-shot defender who can elevate that group.
That will be tricky considering the Panthers will have only about $2.9 million in available cap space ahead of the March 7 deadline. That’s where Zito’s forte at finding the right pieces for the right price pays off. He’ll need that again, because his team faces every opponent’s best every night out.
EVERYONE WANTS TO BEAT the best — and take the proverbial throne. It’s part of what makes any sport great.
For a team on top like the Panthers, that means bearing the heavy target on your back without cracking under the pressure.
That’s another area in which Florida is able to excel.
“Yes, other teams are playing us possibly even harder than they did last year,” Maurice said. “You’re getting everybody’s A-game. In the games that we think we were emotionally in tune, we’ve been pretty darn good. We’re dealing with, and have dealt with, what we thought would be the challenge: It would be the emotional energy to play our game.”
Doing that night after night can take a toll, but the Panthers are nothing if not resilient. Consider their recent bout against the Philadelphia Flyers, where Florida blew an early 3-0 lead to hang on for a 7-5 victory. Emotions? They were high. And the Panthers used them to fuel their overall performance instead of making excuses for mistakes.
It’s true that every team will have their hills to climb — because of anything from injuries to unexpected sub-par play — but not all clubs can stand tall in the face of those trials. Florida does. The Panthers’ goaltending this season is an example of it. Florida’s gone primarily with a tandem of Sergei Bobrovsky and Spencer Knight, and neither netminder has stunning stats; Bobrovsky owns an .890 save percentage and 3.04 goals-against average, while Knight is at .890 and 2.84.
Florida’s dynamic offense has picked up slack for the team’s more porous defense and goaltending. Sometimes, that’s what it takes. Of course, the Panthers want to be well-rounded and effective in every area, and it goes back on Zito to make the proper adjustments. But the Panthers are special in that they can lean on one aspect of their game to keep them on an elite track while still improving those other areas.
Even through all their achievements the Panthers aren’t resting on any laurels.
WHEN THE PANTHERS aren’t at their best, it’s obvious what’s missing: the (sometimes) dirty details.
Great zone entries and exits don’t make the highlight reel. All but a few of the hockey-obsessed are scanning for who won the most board battles or broke the puck out effectively through the neutral zone. But those things come with the territory of being champions. And Florida is excellent in every of those categories.
The Panthers innately know themselves. They’re a physical team, and that has to be on display. It’s no wonder that Florida is averaging the third-most hits per 60 minutes this season (27.68) and they’re top five in takeaways (5.76 per game).
Flash and finesse are easily relished. But balancing that with grittiness, physicality and a workmanlike effort can set a club apart — and tee them up for rounds of victory when it matters the most.
“I think we’re structurally ahead of where we were in each of the last two years,” Maurice said. “So when you cut video, you’re not cutting video on where we’re out of position on our neutral-zone defense, so there’s not a lot of technical stuff that we’re doing right now.”
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Sam Reinhart scores on the power play for Florida Panthers
Sam Reinhart scores on the power play for Florida Panthers
CONSISTENCY IS THE KEY. Florida has been dominant on the power play this season (third overall, at 28.4%) and have an above-average penalty kill (12th, 80.8%), both of which can be difference-making momentum-drivers.
How do we know? Roll the tape.
Since 2022-23, the Panthers are eighth overall on the man advantage (23.9%) and 14th overall shorthanded (79.4%). The certainty behind those numbers breeds confidence in a team, and that’s how Florida can push through periods where even-strength offense is at a premium or they aren’t as dialled in defensively.
That’s not to say the Panthers aren’t dependable at 5-on-5. Florida is top-10 in even-strength scoring the past three seasons, and sixth overall in goals per game (3.43).
Fact is, Florida has found its formula. The Panthers have stayed atop the league because they’re built not for short bursts of achievement but to thrive for sustained stretches. That’s a foundation most teams would strive towards, and it’s what separates these Cats from the pack when it matters most — like, say, in the playoffs.
It’s impossible to say what the next six months will bring for Florida. If the Panthers stay on pace though, there’s potent for another short and sweet offseason — a prospect any team would like looming in December.
The San Francisco Giants acquired three-time All-Star Rafael Devers from the Boston Red Sox on Sunday in a stunning trade that sent a player Boston once considered a franchise cornerstone to a San Francisco team needing an offensive infusion.
Boston received left-handed starter Kyle Harrison, right-hander Jordan Hicks, outfield prospect James Tibbs III and Rookie League right-hander Jose Bello.
The Red Sox announced the deal Sunday evening.
The Giants will cover the remainder of Devers’ contract, which runs through 2033 and will pay him more than $250 million, sources told ESPN.
The trade ends the fractured relationship between Devers and the Red Sox that had degraded since spring training, when Devers balked at moving off third base — the position where he had spent his whole career — after the signing of free agent Alex Bregman. The Red Sox gave no forewarning to Devers, who expressed frustration before relenting and agreeing to be their designated hitter.
After a season-ending injury to first baseman Triston Casas in early May, the Red Sox asked Devers to move to first base. Devers declined, suggesting the front office “should do their jobs” and find another player after the organization told him during spring training he would be the DH for the remainder of the season. The day after Devers’ comments, Red Sox owner John Henry, president Sam Kennedy and chief baseball officer Craig Breslow flew to Kansas City, where Boston was playing, to talk with Devers.
In the weeks since, Devers’ refusal to play first led to internal tension and helped facilitate the deal, sources said.
San Francisco pounced — and added a force to an offense that ranks 15th in runs scored in Major League Baseball. Devers, 28, is hitting .272/.401/.504 with 15 home runs and 58 RBIs, tied for the third most in MLB. Over his nine-year career, Devers is hitting .279/.349/.509 with 215 home runs and 696 RBIs in 1,053 games.
Boston believed enough in Devers to give him a 10-year, $313.5 million contract extension in January 2023. He rewarded the Red Sox with a Silver Slugger Award that season and made his third All-Star team in 2024.
Whether he slots in at designated hitter or first base with San Francisco — the Giants signed Gold Glove third baseman Matt Chapman to a six-year, $151 million deal last year — is unknown. But San Francisco sought Devers more for his bat, one that immediately makes the Giants — who are fighting for National League West supremacy with the Los Angeles Dodgers — a better team.
To do so, the Giants gave a package of young talent and took on the contract that multiple teams’ models had as underwater.
Harrison, 23, is the prize of the deal, particularly for a Red Sox team replete with young hitting talent but starving for young pitching. Once considered one of the best pitching prospects in baseball, Harrison has shuttled between San Francisco and Triple-A Sacramento this season.
Harrison, who was scratched from a planned start against the Dodgers on Sunday night, has a 4.48 ERA over 182⅔ innings since debuting with the Giants in 2023. He has struck out 178, walked 62 and allowed 30 home runs. The Red Sox optioned Harrison to Triple-A Worcester after the trade was announced.
Hicks, 28, who has toggled between starter and reliever since signing with the Giants for four years and $44 million before the 2024 season, is on the injured list because of right toe inflammation. One of the hardest-throwing pitchers in baseball, Hicks has a 6.47 ERA over 48⅔ innings this season. He could join the Red Sox’s ailing bullpen, which Breslow has sought to upgrade.
Tibbs, 22, was selected by the Giants with the 13th pick in last year’s draft out of Florida State. A 6-foot, 200-pound corner outfielder, Tibbs has spent the season at High-A, where he has hit .245/.377/.480 with 12 home runs and 32 RBIs in 56 games. Scouts laud his command of the strike zone — he has 41 walks and 45 strikeouts in 252 plate appearances — but question whether his swing will translate at higher levels.
Bello, 20, has spent the season as a reliever for the Giants’ Rookie League affiliate. In 18 innings, he has struck out 28 and walked three while posting a 2.00 ERA.
The deal is the latest in which Boston shipped a player central to the franchise.
Boston traded Mookie Betts to the Dodgers in February 2020, just more than a year after leading Boston to a franchise-record 108 wins and a World Series title and winning the American League MVP Award.
Devers was part of that World Series-winning team in 2018 and led the Red Sox in RBIs each season from 2020 to 2024, garnering AL MVP votes across each of the past four years. Devers had been with the Red Sox since 2013, when he signed as an international amateur free agent out of the Dominican Republic. He debuted four years later at age 20.
Boston is banking on its young talent to replace Devers’ production. The Red Sox regularly play four rookies — infielders Kristian Campbell and Marcelo Mayer, outfielder Roman Anthony and catcher Carlos Narvaez — and infielder Franklin Arias and outfielder Jhostynxon Garcia are expected to contribute in the coming years.
Ohtani, 21 months removed from a second repair of his ulnar collateral ligament, will be used as an opener, likely throwing one inning. Because of his two-way designation, Ohtani qualifies as an extra pitcher on the roster, giving the Dodgers the flexibility to use a piggyback starter behind him.
That is essentially what will take place in his first handful of starts — a byproduct of the progress Ohtani has made in the late stages of his pitching rehab.
Ohtani, 30, initially seemed to be progressing toward a return some time around August. But he made a major step during his third simulated game from San Diego’s Petco Park on Tuesday, throwing 44 pitches over the course of three simulated innings and compiling six strikeouts against a couple of low-level minor leaguers.
Afterward, Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said it was a “north of zero” chance Ohtani could return before the All-Star break. When he met with reporters prior to Sunday’s game against the San Francisco Giants — an eventual 5-4 victory — Roberts said it was a “possibility” Ohtani could pitch after just one more simulated game.
After the game, Roberts indicated the timeline might have been pushed even further, telling reporters it was a “high possibility” Ohtani would pitch in a big league game this week as an opener, likely during the upcoming four-game series against the Padres.
“He’s ready to pitch in a big league game,” Roberts told reporters. “He let us know.”
If you’re just getting back home from your Father’s Day activities, you had better sit down, because Sunday evening’s Boston Red Sox–San Francisco Giants trade is a doozy.
Rafael Devers, second among third basemen and seventh among hitters in fantasy points this season, is headed to the Giants, traded minutes before their game against the Los Angeles Dodgers. Boston’s return includes pitchers Kyle Harrison, who was the Giants’ scheduled starting pitcher Sunday night (subsequently scratched), pitcher Jordan Hicks, outfield prospect James Tibbs III and pitching prospect Jose Bello.
Expect Devers to continue to serve in a designated hitter-only capacity with his new team, considering his season-long stance, which is primarily an issue for his position eligibility for 2026. He might factor as the Giants’ future first baseman if given a full offseason to prepare for the shift to a new position — or it could happen sooner if he has a change of heart in his new environment.
As for the impact on Devers’ numbers, the move from Fenway Park to Oracle Park represents one of the steepest downgrades in terms of park factors, specifically run production and extra-base hits. With its close-proximity Green Monster in left field, Fenway Park is a much better environment for doubles and runs scored, Statcast reflecting that it’s 22% and 10% better than league average in those categories, respectively, compared with 8% worse and only 2% above par for Oracle Park.
Devers is a prime-age 28, with a contract averaging a relatively reasonable $31.8 million over the next eight seasons, and he’s leaving a Red Sox team where his defensive positioning — he has played all but six of his career defensive innings at third base — was a manner of much debate, to go to a team that has one of baseball’s best defensive third basemen in Matt Chapman (once he’s healthy following a hand injury). Devers’ unwillingness to play first base probably played a big part in his ultimately being traded, and it’s worth pointing out that one of the positions where the Giants are weakest is, well, also first base.
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Perez: Devers gives Giants a ‘really good offense’
Eduardo Perez, David Cone and Karl Ravech react to the Giants acquiring star 3B Rafael Devers from the Red Sox.
Devers’ raw power is immense, as he has greater than 95th percentile barrel and hard-hit rates this season. He has been in that tier or better in the latter in each of the past three seasons as well. He’s at a 33-homer (and 34 per 162 games) pace since the beginning of 2021, so the slugger should continue to homer at a similar rate regardless of his surroundings. He should easily snap the Giants’ drought of 30-homer hitters, which dates back to Barry Bonds in 2004. Devers’ fantasy value might slip slightly, mostly due to the park’s impact on his runs scored and RBIs, but he’ll remain a top-four fantasy third baseman.
If you play in an NL-only league, Devers is an open-the-wallet free agent target. He’s worth a maximum bid, considering he brings a similar ability to stars you might invest in come the July trade deadline, except in this case you’ll get an extra month and a half’s production.
Harrison is an intriguing pickup for the Red Sox, though in a disappointing development, he was immediately optioned to Triple-A Worcester. A top-25 overall prospect as recently as two years ago, Harrison’s spike in average fastball velocity this season (95.1 mph, up from 92.5) could be a signal of better things ahead. Once recalled to Fenway Park, his fantasy prospects would take a hit, as that’s a venue that isn’t forgiving to fly ball-oriented lefties, but he’d be a matchups option nevertheless.
Expect Hicks to serve in setup relief for his new team, though he’d at best be fourth in the Red Sox’s pecking order for saves.