Photo by Colby Guy

Leading up to the beginning of training camp, Pucks and Palms will be previewing each of the key pieces of the defending Stanley Cup Champion Florida Panthers in a series called ‘Panthers Pulse’ heading into the 2024-25 season. Anton Lundell is next.

2023-24 Stats: 13 goals, 35 points, 78 GP (Playoffs: three goals, 17 points, 24 GP)

After a slow start to the 2023-24 regular season, Anton Lundell showed signs of star power down the stretch which earned him a big pay day.

Lundell finished the regular season with five goals and 11 points in his final 22 games before shining in the playoffs with three goals and 17 points. He played arguably his best hockey in the Stanley Cup Final, where he notched five assists in the seven-game series victory.

All of that was enough to earn the 22-year-old a new six-year contract carrying a $5 million annual value.

So, what changed to allow Lundell to break out?

For one, the pending unrestricted free agent was entering the first contract year of his career and there was a lot of pressure that came with it.

He also had to learn how to carry his own line when usual linemate Sam Reinhart caught fire next to Aleksander Barkov to start the season.

It was something he had to work through during the regular season before he caught fire midway through March.

That was also when the Panthers acquired Vladimir Tarasenko, allowing Evan Rodrigues to drop back to his line at the time and Tarasenko himself would finish the season on his line.

Both of those veteran wingers helped Lundell calm things down and simplify his game, with the highly-skilled two-way forward focusing on making the right plays in his own end, then threading the needle in the offensive zone. That much was very apparent during the playoffs.

And that is where Lundell has always played his best hockey.

Three years into his NHL career, Lundell is a known playoff performer.

In this past year’s run, he scored the game-tying goal and notched the primary assist on Gustav Forsling’s game-winning goal in the series-clinching Game 6 against the Boston Bruins in Round 2 and he notched the primary assist on Tarasenko’s series-clinching goal in Game 5 in the Eastern Conference final against the New York Rangers.

He is not afraid of the moment. He plays his best hockey when the stakes are high and that is what earned him his big contract.

He finds himself in a similar position as he was last season however.

With Tarasenko now with the Detroit Red Wings, Lundell now finds himself positioned to be the offensive driver of his line.

He has shown at times he is capable of doing so, but those flashes will have to shine more often — especially at that cap hit.

Lundell could have an offensively-potent reinforcement coming in if Mackie Samoskevich shines in camp and makes the roster or he could have a depth piece like AJ Greer or Mackenzie Entwistle jumping up to fill in. That remains to be seen.

But, if he shows those flashes of confidence he showed during latter half of the season — the gusty overtime goals he scored against Ottawa, the big assists he threaded together time and time again in the playoffs — it might not matter.

Lundell could be ready to break out as a star soon, and perhaps that $5 million annual price tag on his contract will look like a steal.

Up Next in Panthers Pulse: Goalie Day!

Previously: Matthew Tkachuk, Gustav Forsling, Sam Bennett, Evan Rodrigues, Eetu Luostarinen, Uvis Balinskis