Florida Panthers Notes: MacKenzie Named Captain, Huberdeau Out
The Florida Panthers’ have named their new captain, as well as alternates. Veteran Derek MacKenzie has bee named the ninth captain in the history of the organization, following in Willie Mitchell‘s footsteps.
Not known for his offense – he only has registered 95 points in 453 games – MacKenzie signed a two-year contract extension this year. As expected, his offensive metrics are among the worst in the league, but few are relied upon like he his in his own zone.
President of Hockey Operations Dale Tallon went on about why MacKenzie was the right fit as the team’s captain.
“Derek embodies the type of character and work ethic we want a Florida Panther to possess,” He said. “He is a respectable leader both on and off the ice and within the South Florida community. We are very excited to move forward with Derek as our team’s captain.”
The team also announced that Jussi Jokinen and Aaron Ekblad will be the alternate captains this season.
Huberdeau To Miss Significant Time
Another Panthers’ forward is set to miss a good chunk of time to start the season. After losing Nick Bjugstad to a broken hand, they will now be without Jonathan Huberdeau for the next 3-4 months.
In the team’s final preseason game, Huberdeau and New Jersey Devil’s forward Sergey Kalinin collided behind the net. Kalinin’s skate came down on the back of Huberdeau’s leg, cutting him.
Huberdeau was in immediate pain, and had trouble skating off the ice.
Huberdeau was the team’s first round pick back in 2011, third overall, behind only Ryan Nugent-Hopkins and Gabriel Landeskog. After struggling to get acclimated to the NHL level, Huberdeau has posted back-to-back 50 point seasons under former junior hockey coach Gerard Gallant.
Last year’s career season of 59 points (20 G, 39 A) earned Huberdeau a brand new six year contract extension, worth $35.4 million. In 272 career games, he has registered 172 points (58 G, 114 A).
This situation is almost somewhat familiar to what happened to Ottawa Senators’ defenseman Erik Karlsson, who suffered a cut to his Achilles after coming together with Matt Cooke along the boards.
He would go on to miss two months, but judging from the time frame given for Huberdeau, his seems to be worst.
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