After impressive Stanley Cup, Panthers ‘don’t know what the ceiling is’ for Anton Lundell
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Bill ZIto, it turns out, might have been a little biased when it came to making his first Draft pick for the Florida Panthers back in 2020 — even though he swears he wasn’t.
Anton Lundell, he said, wound up at the top of the Panthers’ collective board by the time their choice came around at No. 12 in the first round of the 2020 NHL Entry Draft, but he was thinking about the Finnish forward long before the time came to make the selection. Long before he was the general manager in Florida or an executive of any kind anywhere in hockey, Zito was an agent and mostly represented European players, including Jan Lundell, a goaltender who played nearly 20 years in Finland’s Liiga and also happens to Lundell’s father.
“I’ve known Anton and known about him for some time,” Zito said on the eve of the 2023 Stanley Cup Final on June 2. “I didn’t tell our scouting staff that.”
The GM’s first offseason and year with the Panthers was transformative, mostly because of what he did in free agency and through trades. The first Draft pick — so far, one of only two first-round picks he has made and he might not make another anytime soon, as Florida doesn’t own another first-round pick until 2026 — was a quieter move in the moment, especially because Lundell didn’t come to the United States until the start of the 2021-22 NHL season, and yet has turned out to be perhaps as important as just about anything he did in his first offseason here.
As a rookie, Lundell was a dark-horse contender for the Calder Memorial Trophy, his pursuit of the rookie of the year award mostly derailed by some ill-timed injuries. As a sophomore, he slumped — as sophomores sometimes do — and then roared to life at the most important moments for the Panthers.
Still only 21, Lundell was one of Florida’s best forwards during the Stanley Cup Final, which the Panthers lost to the Golden Knights, 4-1.
“He’s beginning to evolve now,” Zito said.
In the Cup Final, Lundell scored a goal, had two assists, and took 13 shots and blocked three. In the 2023 Stanley Cup playoffs, he had two goals, eight assists, 43 shots, 14 blocks and a plus-minus of plus-3.
He also produced in multiple roles, first as the center for a highly productive third line and finally as the top-line left wing, playing next to All-Star center Aleksander Barkov, in the Final after injuries ravaged Florida.
The Panthers were always optimistic about Lundell’s future and he intermittently played like a star throughout his first two seasons in South Florida. After the way Lundell played with the Stanley Cup on the line, they’ve never been more bullish about his future.
“He’s covered so much ground — or ice — this year, in terms of style of play and rounding his game out,” coach Paul Maurice said last week. “I don’t know what the ceiling is for this young man.”
The comparisons to Barkov, at this point, are a little trite and yet still telling in how openly Panthers do it. Right wing Anthony Duclair called Lundell a “mini Barky” after those three teamed up to score in Game 2 of the Final in Las Vegas and Maurice explicitly said he envisions a future in which Florida can use Lundell similarly to how it uses Barkov, at least as a defensive force to match up with other teams’ top lines.
If it wasn’t for the Stanley Cup playoffs and Final, Lundell would’ve gone into his second offseason coming off a frustrating year, his average points per game dropping from 0.68 in his first regular season to just 0.45 in second. Instead, he got to continue his development for two extra months in the Cup playoffs and righted his play.
“He [was] a blank canvas of a player, but a skilled player,” Maurice said. “There wouldn’t have been a lot of heavy in his game. He didn’t know that this is what the playoffs was and this is what the NHL is, and that is what the great players are.”
He has always been a good defensive player, even contributing on the penalty kill as soon as he got to the NHL as a 20-year-old last year. He just wasn’t always physical because it’s not as necessary in international leagues, where the rinks are wider and play along the boards is therefore less important.
“They were helping me to kind of find the next level in my game, find the physical side, which I didn’t really know I kind of had,” Lundell said last week. “Here, it’s like you need to be able to play a little physical to be better on the ice.”
‘Nothing is guaranteed,’ but Panthers know Stanley Cup run should only be the start
The Panthers are in good shape as the offseason begins. Only five players from Florida’s Game 5 roster for the Final are set to become free agents this summer, and none are top-nine forwards or top-three defensemen. With their core intact and $10 million in cap space to use to augment the roster, the Panthers should once again be a contender next season.
No matter how the team changes, Lundell will be an important part of it. He has already proved capable of being a third-line center — Barkov and fellow center Sam Bennett have the top two center spots locked down — and can continue to provide high-level depth, but also could be a first- or second-line left wing if Florida uses its cap space to flesh out its depth.
After this spring, Lundell is ready for whatever the Panthers ask.
”It’s invaluable for those young guys,” Maurice said. “You never have to explain it to him again.”
