The Sheet Blog: It’s time to start copying the Cats

May 26, 2025, 12:30 EDT

The Sheet Blog: It’s time to start copying the Cats

Credit: Sam Navarro-Imagn Images

So, when do they start coming for the Florida Panthers?

Sure, there will be some tough decisions at season’s end about pending unrestricted free agents like Sam Bennett, Brad Marchand, and defenseman Aaron Ekblad, and we all assume the Panthers will do their best to try to keep the on-ice band together as much as they can. But what about other people in the organization? In a copycat NHL, it’s not tough to imagine teams around the league wondering how the Panthers put an elite playoff-built team together and how they could do the same.

Quick solution – how does the old saying go? “If you can’t beat ‘em, hire ‘em.” Or something like that.

The Panthers have seemed to crack the code for what works in the postseason. And while I personally don’t feel there is only one way to be successful in the playoffs, Bill Zito’s organization is the envy of the hockey world with a Stanley Cup, an appearance in the Final, and with one more win, another shot at it again.

Hard for teams not to wonder what’s going on there and if they can get some of that?

Here are some of the things I wonder about…

Sylvain Lefebvre. He’s the assistant coach who handles the Panthers’ defense. The evidence is right in front of us. Lefebvre has transformed this back end into one of the best in the league, all the while helping to turn Gustav Forsling into an elite defender, Niko Mikkola into a scary top-four presence, helped Seth Jones rediscover his own brilliance in short order, and made this unit hum. I would have to think Brandon Montour’s game was helped by Lefebvre, leading to his $50 million contract, to say nothing about what he was able to unlock in Oliver Ekman-Larsson after he struggled in Vancouver.

Rick Dudley. Pierre Maguire and I spoke about him on The Sheet last week, and he wonders if Dudley is exactly who the Buffalo Sabres need around GM Kevyn Adams in some kind of senior advisor role. Given his knowledge of the GM position, his grasp on the league, and his background with that market, it makes a lot of sense.

Sunny Mehta. As much as the Panthers may look and feel like an old school team, this is still an analytics-driven organization and Panthers Assistant GM + Head of Analytics Mehta is and always has been top of the class around the league. As the GM position has long turned away from ‘did you play?’ to ‘can you think?’ Mehta will one day get his shot. This Panthers run only helps build his impressive resume.

Quick Thinking

Good catch by Troy Smith of Hockey IQ.

Fun clip on the #panthers 3rd goal last night. Does Tkachuk pull his stick back? Or does Bobrovsky wave him off? Leave your thoughts in the comments. #hkyiq #seetheice #maketheplay pic.twitter.com/tElTz9n6RS

— Troy Smith (@dtroysmith) May 25, 2025

Does Matthew Tkachuk pull the stick offer back, sensing the Panthers are going to break the puck out? Or does Sergei Bobrovsky wave him off and send him up ice, leading to the Mikkola goal? If it’s the latter, I’m giving the goalie an assist on this play.

The Next Big Brady

I also wonder if we see the ‘Florida effect’ at the NHL draft and if teams think more about drafting with playoffs in mind as opposed to the regular season. And with that in mind, I wonder about Brady Martin of the Soo Greyhounds, who many feel plays a Panthers style of game more than anyone else in this year’s crop. I’ve been saying all along there’s no way he gets past Philadelphia or Boston at 6/7, but maybe he ends up going as high as fourth to Utah?

Herning a Hockey Hotbed?

Coming off that stunning upset at the World Championships last week, where Denmark knocked off Canada, I had an interesting conversation with someone about a hockey town we should really devote more attention to – Herning. Located in central Denmark, this town, boasting a population of 50,000, is keenly adept at producing NHL players at a spectacular per capita rate, considering Denmark isn’t exactly a hockey-focused country. Frans Nielsen, Frederik Andersen, Peter Regin, Nicklas Jensen, and Oliver Bjorkstrand – all from Herning.

Impressive, right?

Hockey’s Most Efficient Cities

I’ve always been under the assumption that Thunder Bay, Ontario, has produced the most NHLers, and that’s true. TBay has sent 99 players to the show with a population of around 100,000.

Daily Faceoff stats guru Scott Maxwell pointed out to me this weekend to pay attention to a few other Canadian towns that are more efficient in this category. Look at what Maxwell put together (this is based on towns/cities that have produced a minimum of 10 NHLers):

Rouyn-Noranda, Quebec: 889.74 citizens per player (27 players, 24,023 population)
Petrolia, Ontario: 663.7 (10, 6,637)
Humboldt, Saskatchewan: 646.7 (10, 6,466)
Brandon, Manitoba: 624.62 (42, 26,234)
Trail, BC: 420. 3 (20, 8,406)
Kirkland Lake, Ontario: 367.32 (22, 8,081)
St. Boniface, Manitoba: 313.29 (17, 5,326)

And drumroll for the most efficient city…

Flin Flon, Manitoba: 276.11 (18, 4,970)

Maxwell also points out that Hibbing, Minnesota, appears to be the leader stateside who have produced a player per 1,452.64 citizens (11 players, 15,979 population).

Of course, we know populations change as do development programs and some of this is based on distant history but it’s a pretty interesting snapshot, nonetheless.

Memorial Cup Check-Up

Great start to the Memorial Cup this year so far with all three games nail-biters. The London Knights lead the tournament at a perfect 2-0 but a big game against Gavin McKenna and the Medicine Hat Tigers still looms.

How about the story of Sylvain Losier, the official working his record-breaking eighth Memorial Cup? 32 seasons in the QMJHL for the former firefighter of 27 years, turned teacher, including a record 247 playoff games. Great stuff.

Rink Fries

Going to be interesting to see which direction Tampa goes to replace Jeff Blashill on Jon Cooper’s bench. Do they go with the young AHL coach or a veteran who’s had NHL coaching experience?… Philadelphia Flyers director of player of development Riley Armstrong is considered an up-and-coming manager in the NHL. I wonder if, through all the movement in the league, he ends up taking the next step in his career. Just throwing darts here, he did play with Mathieu Darche on the AHL’s Worcester Sharks…when you consider how many established coaches call Dallas Eakins for advice, I find it stunning that his name isn’t more prevalent in coaching searches. His former players mention him as a good communicator which is a more crucial skill now than ever. Eakins is coaching in Germany with Mannheim…You have to be impressed with the job Rochester Americans head coach Michael Leone did in his first year behind the bench in the AHL. Rochester became one of the best teams in the league and just lost a tough five-game series to Laval yesterday in the North Division finals. He’s been a good story in a tough year in the Buffalo Sabres organization…as much as we’ve focused on NHL coaching decisions, I wonder about Jared Nightengale, head coach of the South Carolina Stingrays, who just won coach of the year in the ECHL. Is there a jump to the AHL in his future?…as we mentioned here previously, the OHL’s Niagara Ice Dogs are currently in the process of looking for both a GM and head coach. Names we’ve mentioned before for the management position include London Knights assistant GM Rob Simpson, GTHL Toronto Titans head coach Lindsay Hofford and you can also add Windsor Spitfires Director of Scouting and Hockey Operations Frank Evola…and finally, major stick taps to the Hyman family. As we watch Zach + the Oilers Oilers chew on the Dallas Stars, the family announced recently he’ll be part of an August hockey camp for aged kids 6-11 at the Honey and Barry Memorial Arena in Toronto with 100% of proceeds going to charity while half the camp will be devoted to underprivileged kids who get the whole camp for free. Details at honeybarryarena.com.

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